Post Office Treats Christmas Stamp Like Pornography; Sells It from 'Under the Counter'

Human Events ^ | Mike Thompson

[torqemada]

Saturday after Thanksgiving is the traditional day to purchase stamps for my annual Christmas card mailing... [snip] So, shortly before noon on that most recent post-turkey day, I sauntered into a neighborhood "U.S. Postal Store," [snip] and headed for the stamps-only section. I quickly found a packed wall of display racks offering a panoply of first-class postage devoted to the various elements of the year-end holiday season, specifically:

1) Christmas, featuring colorful, contemporary designs of Santa Claus with an array of inanimate, secular Yule symbols;

2) Kwanzaa, with not just one but two stamps promoting a totally fabricated "harvest holiday" for African-Americans, [snip]

3) Hanukkah, the ancient Jewish festival that marks the rededication of the temple wrested from the savage control of Syria's King Antiochus IV; and

4) Eid (Arabic for "festival"), a two-part, post-Ramadan feasting period for Muslims.

Beholding such philatelic diversity in a simple American post office truly is a multicultural moment that a few weeks earlier would have reduced John Kerry to tears of joy.

Something, however, was missing. "Where," I asked the attending postal clerk, "are the traditional Madonna & Child stamps?" (Postal authorities for years have issued both nonreligious and religious commemorative stamps for this holiday season, to satisfy equally those citizens who groove exclusively on office-partying and those who quaintly still revere the birth of Christ.)

"Those stamps," said the clerk with an odd, ecumenical smile, are here in this drawer, "under the counter." She slowly pulled open the discreet trove and withdrew samples of the Virgin Mary and her Baby Jesus for my fascination, as if they were products of an eccentric artist with copious red body hair who works at night, alone in the P.O. attic.....

Read the rest of the article at: http://www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=5906

[bd476]

Are you saying that the only stamps which you can purchase are on display? Have you ever asked a clerk if they have any other stamps available for purchase?

Commercial displays of Christian icons do not convey any message of spirituality, nor religiosity nor even feelings of holiness for me personally. I have to go to God in prayer for that.

[beckysueb]

Well if the PO is going to cater to other forms of celebrating Christmas, they should include the Birth of Christ version, too. How is it the real meaning of Christmas? Cause the Holy Bible says so and it is the inspired Word of God and God cannot lie.

[beckysueb]

In this day and time it does sound crazy but if this were to happen all over America, you just stand back and watch The Lord bless this nation.

[beezdotcom]

That's ridiculous. One would have to be a toddler not to be aware the Madonna and Child stamps are customary. As to how the post office deals, I've been in many across the nation and they always ask what design I want.

You're ridiculous, and you're living in a fantasy world. I work with college graduates with engineering degrees who think that Apollo 13 was an unrealistic movie, because obviously you would just send up another ship to go rescue the astronauts. If engineering students can get basic physics, industry and history this wrong, it doesn't surprise me that similarly aged people would also suffer from a dearth of cultural references, especially those that have anything to do with Christianity. I've certainly received cards with Christian-themed Christmas stamps recently - but it's been a few years since I received the Madonna/Child stamp. It's not hard for me to believe that it's a less common sight than YOU seem to believe.

Therefore, if somebody says they didn't realize how many different Christian stamps there were, I'm inclined to believe them. You can choose to call them liars if you wish, but that speaks volumes about you.

[beckysueb]

It happens here in my Tennessee town. Go into the PO and ask for a book of stamps and they will just hand you whatever is closest. I have never been asked which ones I prefer.

[cyncooper]

Really?! That's very odd. I have always been asked what kind of stamps I want, whether in Maryland, Wisconsin, California, here in Arizona, and so on. My point remains as I stated early on; those places that don't ask seem to me to be isolated, not the rule.

[cyncooper]

You are very hostile.

Seek help.

[beezdotcom]

LOL

Chill out.

I find your tone, however you might describe it, tiresome.

[beezdotcom]

But then again, no one who knows me would call me "observant".

But you see, Cyncooper can't believe that everything isn't as patently obvious to everyone else. Therefore, people like 7thson and you must be "liars", according to THIS POST

[beckysueb]

Sounds to me like it all depends on which post office people are going to. Some are displaying it, some are not.

[beezdotcom]

You are very hostile.

Seek help.

I'm always hostile to people who accuse other people of lying with little provocation.

Seek help.

[cyncooper]

And I'm supposed to care, why?

The poster I directed my other comment toward took it in the spirit it was intended. You made your opinion known and then decided to harrass me. It isn't reflecting well on you and my advice is to stop embarrassing yourself.

[discostu]

The vast majority of their available stamps are "under the counter", the post office has a truly frightening variety of stamps available at any given time and don't have the display space for all of them, only the most popular are out in the machines.

The only thing to be at a loss about is how some people go so far out of their way to be offended.

[cyncooper]

retrokitten and I get along very well, thank you for trying to undercut that. There is no need for you to gossip about me without pinging me to your comment.

[retrokitten]

I need to start reading more before I jump into things! LOL!!

[cyncooper]

:)

[beckysueb]

You are probably right. I think they just don't take the time to ask you. But I didn't know you could get which ones you want. They always give me the ones with the flags on them.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"If someone really wanted to do it right where would they look to know for sure?"

Start with your Bible, then throw in some western European traditions. Mix well. Bake in a slow oven for a few thousand years. Ta-Da! Christmas! :)

[beezdotcom]

And I'm supposed to care, why?

You're only supposed to care to the extent that you expect us to care about those things that YOU find tiresome.

The poster I directed my other comment toward took it in the spirit it was intended.

Huh? What spirit was that? The spirit that you found them tiresome, or the spirit where you accused them of lying?

You made your opinion known and then decided to harrass me.

Well, at least I haven't yet accused you of lying. True, I did call you tiresome - but I guess I still have some catching up to do.

It isn't reflecting well on you and my advice is to stop embarrassing yourself.

How thoughtful of you.

[Old Professer]

Just trying to keep the customers from "Going Postal."