Posted on 12/20/2010 11:01:28 AM PST by American Dream 246
(CathNews) Santa will not be visiting students in St. Peter, Minnesota this year. Muslim immigrants got him cancelled. The MinnPost reported, via Pat Dollard:
Santa Claus, as portrayed by Dennis Jackson, won’t be visiting students at the Head Start classes in St. Peter this year.
Jackson has made appearances the past four years at the classes for students who need help preparing for school, but this year officials said, “No, no, no.”
The reason: The classes have many immigrant children who don’t celebrate Christmas, says the Mankato Free Press.
Santa’s a little frosted, the paper says.
It kind of burnt me up,” he said.
The official explanation from Chris Marben, who coordinates regional Head Start programs through Mankato-based Minnesota Valley Action Council: “We have Somali families in the program. We’re respecting the wishes of families in the program.”
She didn’t say how many objections were made, but said more than one would be enough to cancel Santa…
Jackson said he’s played Santa with children from other cultures before and they were fully comfortable with him. He said it’s their parents who are being unreasonable.
“They’re not respecting the majority,” he said. “My feeling is (objecting parents) can take their kids out of class for half an hour and let the other kids enjoy it. They should sacrifice, not rule.”
Less! At least rats dispose of garbage.
“Santa Clause has NOTHING, I repeat, NOTHING to do with actual Christianity.”
oh reallly ....
http://www.suite101.com/content/st-nicholas-the-wonderworker-a127959
Santa Claus is Christian and ... American(!) update on Saint Nicholas ...
http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=35
They prefer to cut off the feet and leave a person for dead.
Morons! Minnesota is going crazy in places. I have friends there, but don’t know how they stomach the things that happen there.
That’s funny - that was my first thought too - how ironic....
Iron Range PO’d ping!
Secular? Of course not!
Actually Santa is really Saint Nicholas of Myra. As real and as holy as anyone can get. Nicholas is one of the holiest of saints in the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith.
We love him!
“No Mr. Garrison, we cannot get rid of all the Mexicans”...South Park
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But that is not how he is portrayed. The whole reindeer, sleigh and elves poison children.
If the coming of Christ to fulfill all the profecies that culiminates in His substitutionary atonement on the cross is left out of the Christian message, it means nothing.
Words mean stuff.
TROP? FM!
Minnesota. No surprise.
Good job. Few know what evil, hate and bigotry is in the Koran.
Who cares about the PUNKS in blankets?
The Minnesota Head Start Association, Inc. does not run Head Start Programs and has no oversight of local programs and policies. Head Start Programs have local authority to set policies and make decisions based on the needs of their local communities, the parents served by the programs and their organizations' governing boards. The following is a statement from the local program that serves St. Peter, MN as they worked with their community and parents to resolve an issue about holiday celebrations. Thank you for your interest in this local issue and its resolution. Exsoldier's note: I added the bold & italics.
In Minnesota Valley Action Council Head Start, our emphasis has always been on the children and families involved in the early childhood program. The goal has been to foster all holidays as a time of joy & celebration. We provide group activities that all of the children can participate in. They have been busy making ginger bread houses, snowflakes & snow men. Our emphasis has been on what brings us together.
There has not been a ban on Santa Claus, as the media has liked to make this. In fact, a Santa Claus was in the community center large motor room on Friday 12/17/10 and children & parents that wanted to go see him had the opportunity to do that. Santa Claus just wasn't going to be in the classroom.
The discussion around this issue has been a larger question. It is one about democracy, where the majority opinion rules. We understand that, and utilize that in our parent meetings. Our goal has always been to create an atmosphere where every child feels safe & comfortable in our Head Start classrooms. This isn't an issue about someone winning or losing,or of an opinion held by a few, dictating to the majority.
When it comes to the annual discussion about how parents of children in the Head Start program want to share the holidays, we believe we can develop strategies together where all children benefit.
John T Woodwick
Executive Director
Minnesota Valley Action Council, Inc
ExSoldier's note: Isn't it cute how they neatly affirmed that this is a LOCAL issue and thus basically implied folks from outside the state should butt out, me being from Florida and all....
So these Somali Mooslims are offended by Santa Claus but they have no problem putting their children in a free federally funded preschool paid for by Christian taxpayers. In San Diego the schools with large Somali immigrant populations changed the schedule to accomodate prayer time and allow an Imam on the property. They remove the non-muslim students out of the classroom, not the other way around, to continue classwork elsewhere, and they don’t use playground time because it wouldn’t be “fair” for the muslim students to miss recess. In the same state where Christian kids aren’t allowed to study their Bible during lunch, wear an American flag on te 5th of May, or fly a flag off the back of their bike. People, we surround them. Reject the tyranny of the minority.
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