Colorado city considers ban on red and green Christmas lights

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[ThisLittleLightofMine]

That’s where they send their kids to college.

[cubreporter]

All very good sayings. Love them. thanks.

[red irish]

amen amen! Bring back the true celebration of the birth of Jesus. Give money for those who need help getting their medication or need food,or money for gas. Anything but buying thousands of dollars of stuff and calling it Christmas. I always had the idea

[red irish]

Sorry had an interruption. I thought it would be just plain smart to wait until after Christmas and get some deals.

[mware]

"And verily they came. Three wise men from afar bearing gifts of red and green light bulbs for the baby Jesus."

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

YAHOO! WE WON!

Yup, I spoke tonight. And so did 42 others. The overwhelming majority of us spoke against the Task Force's recommendation of: "only white lights outside, no red ribbons on wreaths, and why can't we all just get along and unite as one community around a Mitten Tree?"

Of the half dozen or so who spoke supporting the Task Force, at least 3 of them were liberal members of the Task Force itself! The City Council, having been absolutely inundated with calls and emails and buttonholing on the street, virtually all of it being sentiment against the Task Force, had come up with a third alternative called "the hybrid option".

BTW, there were a number of cops there tonight because of a death threat against the mayor, who happens to be one of 3 conservatives on the 7 member City Council. Ostensibly the call came from a Christmas supporter, but I know it's not unheard of for the Left to fake "anonymous death threats from conservatives" in order to try to push middle of the roaders and even conservatives to react by voting for the liberals. So who knows.

Here were the 3 choices:

1. Keep the policy as is. Colored lights allowed on outside trees on city land and at least one city building (Police HQ), though the main display at Oak St Plaza actually has gone mostly to white in the past few years, but nobody has complained, because it was gradual and unpublicized and it's on the less populous north end of town. Still, there were a few remaining colored light trees on city property last season.
2. Accept Task Force recommendations. No colored lights outside. No red ribbons on wreaths. Colored lights allowed inside but regulated by some (as of yet unwritten) policy. And as a bone to throw to the other side to make them appear even-handed overall: Set up a display of all religions and all secularisms remotely associated with winter (including a nativity, menorah, "mitten tree," etc), and place them at the Ft. Collins Museum, which just happens to be in an out of the way location bounded by seldom-driven streets several blocks from any main drag. I.e. have their cake and eat it too - talk incessantly of how their proposal includes a special place that's wonderfully all-inclusive of everyone, but put it where almost nobody will see it.
3. New "hybrid" option that none of us heard about until tonight, which does a great job of CYA for the City Council by making it look like a compromise between the first two plans, but in reality sounds like a win-win for our side. Because the piece it keeps from Plan #1 is that it continues allowing colored lights, indoors and outdoor, same as the current policy. And the only thing it really borrows from the odious Plan #2 is "the thrown bone" of putting up an all-religions display at the Museum. So the net result is MORE of Christmas being displayed than previously.

The vote was 6 to 1 for the "Hybrid Option".

Nobody voted for Plan #2. They seemed overwhelmed by the response, both locally and nationally. One conservative member moved that the CC go on record as "voting against Plan #2," but nobody seconded it because they apparently wanted to vote FOR something rather than against something.

He also was the only one who didn't vote for #3, apparently because he didn't like the idea of museum staffers (who are city employees) doing justice to a display they were creating for religions they probably have no connection to, or feeling for. He wanted to explore the idea of inviting people from the displayed religions to come create those displays themselves.

A good point, and there was consensus to explore that at some later date. But everyone else, including the other 2 conservatives, wanted to vote tonight on the favored proposal, get it all over with for the near future, and put this nightmare behind them. Good Riddance! - as far as they all were concerned!

There were a few negative comments about Bill O'Reilly. Our (conservative) mayor even made one of these. Allegedly B O'R said something along the lines of, "Fort Collins is banning Christmas! Let's all boycott Ft. Collins!" (though I'm guessing this might be an exaggeration). If he did say it, then I can see why the mayor is "Reilled Up". First of all, the "boycott" quote. Secondly, it was only a task force proposing a recommendation to the CC for consideration, and not a fait accompli by any means.

Also, see my detailed explanation of the makeup of the Task Force in an earlie post to FR.

[CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC]

BTW, the room was packed, as were the overflow areas. But most chose to not sign up to speak at the mikes.

[beaversmom]

Great News and report CCMVRWC. I’m so happy that this nonsense didn’t pass. So glad there was a FReeper there that spoke up with all the others. Keep me on the ping list for any future updates.

[beaversmom]

BTTT for firsthand report from FReeper CCMVRWC from Fort Collins.

[mware]

you have freep mail

[Types_with_Fist]

... it sounds like the nut cases in Boulder have escaped, and invaded Fort Collins.

You give Colorado too little credit. We've got leftist nuts galore statewide. Boulder does not have an exclusive. The invading horde of nuts could just as easily have escaped from Pueblo in the southeast.

[Kozak]

I suggest the city just ignore the holiday completely, and that all the employees come to work.

[suzyjaruki]

Yup, I spoke tonight. And so did 42 others.

Thank you, CCMVRWC! And thanks to the others as well.

[mollynme]

That meeting must have run late. I watched for you on the report on the local 9 pm news but it wasn't over yet by 10 pm.
Glad to hear it turned out well!

[dynachrome]

Good Job! Need more like you and the others who spoke up and spoke out!

[SuziQ]

Good for you, and I’m glad so many took the time to come out and express their displeasure at the attempted hijacking by the libs in town!

[william clark]

Exactly right. Funny how I don’t see anyone suing because they’re offended at being given December 25th off from work. If the city government is that determined to not show “religious favoritism,” then by golly every local office should be open and operating on that day, and every service in full force.

[mware]

Just saw a segment on the townhall meeting on Fox news. Two speakers were on, I saw the fellow who had a British accent.

[Coleus]

Colorado City Council Votes to Keep Christmas Trees and Lights

After getting an earful from residents, the Ft. Collins, Colo., City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to keep the streets decorated with Christmas lights, trees and wreaths.

“I am pleading with council to afford Christmas the dignity it deserves,” said Neil McCaffrey. “Don’t lump it together with other celebrations.”

A “citizen task force” — made up largely of activists who oppose any hint of Christmas in the public square — had gone so far as to call for only white lights and “secular winter symbols not associated with a particular holiday” to appear on most city property.

According to The (Ft. Collins) Coloradoan, the compromise plan approves colored lights, Christmas trees and wreaths outside, but allows for only secular displays inside city buildings.

[relictele]

The black lights are all in use by the hippies who think it’s still 1968.