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1 - Goose
- Cogito ergo sum
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Nonsense in Lancaster County
Fox News, Breitbart Falsely Suggest Jewish Family Is to Blame for Cancellation of Christmas Play
Update, Dec. 22, 2016, 8:40 p.m.: The Anti-Defamation League has spoken with the parents in question and asserted that the original report in Lancaster Online overstated their fear. The parents told the ADL that they left on vacation and did not “flee.” I asked ADL regional director Nancy Baron-Baer whether she believed the Lancaster Online report was inaccurate. She told me that “the actual story content” in the report was not necessarily incorrect, but that “the issues related to the word ‘fled,’ ” which “conjures up a very scary scenario.”
Mark Joseph Stern is a writer for Slate. He covers the law and LGBTQ issues.
Original post: A Jewish family whose child attends an elementary school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania has been subject to false reports on Fox News and Breitbart implying that the family forced the school to cancel a Christmas play.*
Centerville Elementary School has put on a production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for years, but educators have grown concerned that the play requires 20 hours of classroom time to produce. Changing state educational standards no longer allow for that luxury, Principal Tom Kramer noted in a post explaining why the school had cancelled the play. Educators also called off the production because they wished “to be respectful of the many cultural and religious backgrounds represented by the students.” (A Christmas Carol is unmistakably Christian.)
By coincidence, a Jewish family had requested that their child be excused from performing in the play back in September. They did not complain or ask that the play be cancelled, and the school insists that their request had nothing to do with the decision to cancel the production. But as Breitbart and Fox News’ Todd Starnes reported the story, “unnamed parents” complained about the line “God bless us, every one” and essentially forced the school to scrap the play.
These untrue claims fit neatly into both outlets’ “War on Christmas” narrative—and, as intended, sparked outrage among readers. “It would be nice if we had the addresses of those concerned citizens and, I bet, this info is known to people living in the area,” one commenter wrote in response to the Breitbart story. Several commenters posted the address of the school, and a self-professed white nationalist urged others to “take action.”
Lancaster Online reports that the Jewish parents who asked to excuse their child from the play were unnerved by these reactions.* “There’s no way we’re going to take a chance after the pizza incident,” one parent said, referring to the man who fired his assault rifle in a pizza restaurant after reading fake news stories alleging that the pizzeria housed a child sex ring run by Hillary Clinton. The parents say their child was also harassed by classmates after the school canceled the play in November.
A wave of hate crimes and harassment, some of it anti-Semitic, followed Donald Trump’s electoral victory in November. The FBI recently reported that anti-Semitic hate crimes are the most common religion-focused hate crimes and that bias-motivated violence against Jews is on the rise following an extensive period of decline. Last Friday, a neo-Nazi website issued a call to “take action” against Jews living in Whitefish, Montana, the hometown of white nationalist leader Richard Spencer. The site posted names, pictures, contact information, and addresses of purportedly Jewish Whitefish residents. Several have received death threats.
*Correction, Dec. 22, 2016, 8:40 p.m.: The original post and headline reported that the family fled the county, citing a Lancaster Online article. That story misstated the parents’ reaction. They have now told the ADL that they left the county on vacation and did not flee.
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
- Common Sense
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
School cancels play following complaints about famous line, education concerns
CENTERVILLE, Pa. (WHTM) – A fifth-grade play that has been a December tradition for 40-plus years is not happening this year, and many parents believe it is because two parents complained about a line.Centerville Elementary School students perform “A Christmas Carol” each year.
This year, though, the students will not bring the Charles Dickens classic to the stage.It began when the school received complaints about the line “God bless us, every one.”“I was very surprised because it’s been going on for decades and it’s a tradition at the school that everybody looks forward to,” said Jane Burkhart, who knows children at the school.
Hempfield School District leaders confirm the original complaints are what led to an examination of the play that ended with its cancelation, but they claim it was not canceled because of the line, but because it took 20 hours of classroom education away from students.“It’s not a part of the written curriculum of fifth grade, but students and teachers were required to participate in it and we can’t allow that to continue,” said Shannon Zimmerman, a district spokeswoman.District leaders say parents are encouraged to try to organize their own after-school play.
Last edited by Common Sense (12/23/2016 5:50 am)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” former vice president Biden said during a campaign event in Texas on Monday. "All men and women created by — you know, you know, the thing.”
- Common Sense
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
SCROOGE! Grade School Cancels ‘Christmas Carol’ Because Tiny Tim Says ‘God Bless Us’
For decades, fifth-graders in Centerville Elementary School in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, have performed “A Christmas Carol,” the famous reenactment of Charles Dickens’ classic.But no more.One simple line in the production prompted two parents to complain – and now the play has been cancelled.
The parents (who are unnamed) were offended by the words Tiny Tim utters: “God bless us, every one,” ABC27 reports. “I was very surprised because it’s going on for decades and it’s a tradition at the school that everyone looks forward to,” resident Jane Burkhart said.In this deeply religious community, Burkhart was saddened by the decision.“One little line shouldn’t ruin it for every kid,” she said. “Charles Dickens is a class author, not a religious author.” Responding to the criticism, Principal Tom Kramer denied the play was cancelled because of two offended parents:“We understand that some parents are upset that the play was cancelled, but we have heard from families on both ends of the spectrum, including those who expressed appreciation that the play, as it had traditionally been prepared and delivered, was cancelled,” he wrote.
Kramer went on to reject reports that their decision was based on one or two families.“That’s just not true,” he said.He did not specifically address the parents’ allegations that the play was cancelled because of the line, “God bless us everyone.” But he did seem to hint at some sort of issue.
“Our decision is rooted in the desire to be respectful of the many cultural and religious backgrounds represented by the students attending Centerville Elementary,” he wrote.There’s your clue – to promote tolerance and diversity, they removed the name of God from the public schools.Randy Wenger is the chief attorney for the Independence Law Center in Harrisburg and a longtime resident of Lancaster County.“As a constitutional attorney I hate to see traditions taken away in my own community,” he told Fox’s Todd Starnes. “What does this communicate to our kids? It says that anything religious is really not appropriate in public life. It’s something you’re supposed to keep to yourself.”
Wenger said Lancaster County is a conservative area and has a rich history of religious liberty.“It seems like people are trying to take aware our traditions left and right,” he said. “We need to do something to push back.”
Last edited by Common Sense (12/23/2016 5:58 am)
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” former vice president Biden said during a campaign event in Texas on Monday. "All men and women created by — you know, you know, the thing.”
- Goose
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
Now, this being 2016, someone is bound to say that they don't believe that this kerfuffle really happened, because it was reported by Slate which leans left.
Well, the story is reported in many outlets.
AND here are links to the original articles by Fox's Todd Starnes and Breitbart.
SCROOGE! Grade school cancels performance of 'A Christmas Carol'
The Breitbart article really isn't all that bad. It was the reaction to it by readers that got out of hand.
The Starnes piece is his usual awful baiting stuff and squarely blames "Two unnamed parents" for the play's cancellation.
Anyway, things got out of hand from there with much hyperbole, hatred, silliness, and poor reporting about this family having to flee in the night. Poor reporting by Lancaster online, and even the Washington Post in the final regard.
My take:
We should all calm the F*#* down.
And Todd Starnes should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.*
*Before anybody gets their panties in a twist, that is a literary reference. A quote from A Christmas Carol, and not a call to actual violence. Sheesh.
Last edited by Goose (12/23/2016 6:00 am)
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter- Goose
- Cogito ergo sum
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
And, as commonsense has pointed out, The Federalist Papers got the story wrong as well, falling into the silly "war on Christmas" narrative.
And the local ABC Affiliate did a little better.
Thanks, Dude!
Last edited by Goose (12/23/2016 6:05 am)
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter- Common Sense
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
Look at the ABC 27 story...... Slate is a rag publication!
“We hold these truths to be self-evident,” former vice president Biden said during a campaign event in Texas on Monday. "All men and women created by — you know, you know, the thing.”
- Goose
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
Common Sense wrote:
Look at the ABC 27 story...... Slate is a rag publication!
Yes, I already did look at the ABC story.
And, "rag".
Oh, you just knew that was coming.
I just love it when common makes my point for me.
One of the reasons that it is so hard to reach extremists, is that they have developed their own mental armor. Any story that they don't like, they can run to some wingnut publication to see the story spun in a way that tells them what they want to hear.
Last edited by Goose (12/23/2016 6:59 am)
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter- Goose
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
Philly.com actually does a pretty good job telling the story and how it got out of hand.
The "story" was picked up nationally by professional fear and outrage mongers like Todd Starnes.
There was uproar, then counter uproar, hyperbole and so on.
It was America 2016, in microcosm.
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter- Tarnation
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
Suppose the allegation was true--only a militant atheist could find objection to Tiny Tim's line as "God bless us" is very non-specific as to the Diety named.
There is nothing uniquely Christian about the phrase. In fact, it is a derivative of the opening phrase of Psalm 67 (the Jewish hymn-book) "May God be merciful to us and bless us..."
An observant Jew should have recognized those words.
But, fortunately, this was a false allegation.
Life is an Orthros.
- Goose
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Re: Nonsense in Lancaster County
Good post.
The entire premise of the story has a false ring to it.
Why would a jewish person object to that line?
Or even an agnostic?
We live in a time in which decent and otherwise sensible people are surrendering too easily to the hectoring of morons or extremists.
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Thread Starter