"Oh... right. Uhhhhh...."
The American Family Association is selling this Christmas Cross as a way of "letting your light shine for Christ this Christmas season." Can you spot the horrifically offensive cultural faux pas they somehow failed to notice during the product design phase? I bet you can!
Buy A Christmas Cross [American Family Association via Qt3]
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Well, given the AFA's statements on gays and Jews, they might not mind the association so much.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Family_Association#Criticism_and_controversy
That they want a passive aggressive way of telling certain persons that "it's time to leave"?
Here's my statement, and it's a dog whistle everyone in the AFA will understand:
"Oh, American Family Association. Well, Bless Your Hearts."
Here in the South, blazing crosses ain't kosher, no matter what time of year.
Happy Festivus, everyone!
So the abuse of a symbol by evil people is supposed to stop Christians from making different use of it just because it looks "close" to the evil symbol?
Evil gets to win?
Apparently the AFA is not the only group selling these:
http://www.faithandworkresources.com/pages.asp?pageid=64215
etc.
Think of it like a Hitler mustache. Sure it was common facial hair style before Hitler, does anyone wear it now? Hell no. Because it's associated with Evil. So is a burning cross. It's just not accept to display.
The Nazi symbol is another example. In India, the mirrored reverse of it is considered a symbol of good. Doesn't mean your going to paint it on the side of your house.
Just because it's a cross doesn't mean it's above social demonization.
Come. On. Yes AFA are jerks, and it looks a little tacky, but this is just a Christmas themed cross, just like the thousands I've seen every year around my home town, and the one they prominently light every xmas on the mountains surrounding. It's right up there with a lit xmas tree. Despite my atheist leanings, still puts me in the Christmas spirit somehow. Seeing that photo and connecting it with a racist atrocity is frankly creepy of you, almost offensive. I can't imagine that the african american religious community would agree with you in any way, and would probably characterize a statement like this as frank and unabashed abuse of political correctness perpetrated by someone that should know better.
It's possible that it doesn't look quite so much like a burning (as opposed to christmas-tree-lighted) cross as the photo suggests.
On the other hand, the association is still there for some of us. There's a big illuminated cross on top of a hill somewhere in Connecticut, and even though it is clearly lit from within rather than burning it has still always struck me as an uncomfortably ambiguous statement.
Personally, I put this in the same category as the apocryphal Japanese novelty item which attempted to combine two holiday symbols by nailing Santa to a cross. I accept that the intent is benign, but channeling Iniago Montoya: "I do not think that means what you think it means."
"So the abuse of a symbol by evil people is supposed to stop Christians from making different use of it just because it looks "close" to the evil symbol?
Evil gets to win?"
- - - - -
How stupid do you think we are?
Of course this was done on purpose.
Of course the AFA is evil.
And of course many, many Christians are filled with hate, racism, homophobia and all things evil, even during x-mas.
When will people stop equating "Christian" with "good and decent"?
And Osama is holy, right?
In a still photo, I can see giving it a second glance. In real life, if you confuse this for fire, you're a moron.
Perfect for your loved one who voted Yes on Prop H8TE and thinks Obama is the Antichrist.
"Christianity as antiquity. When we hear the ancient bells growling on a Sunday morning we ask ourselves: Is it really possible! This, for a Jew, crucified two thousand years ago, who said he was God's son? The proof of such a claim is lacking. Certainly the Christian religion is an antiquity projected into our times from remote prehistory; and the fact that the claim is believed—whereas one is otherwise so strict in examining pretensions—is perhaps the most ancient piece of this heritage. A god who begets children with a mortal woman; a sage who bids men work no more, have no more courts, but look for the signs of the impending end of the world; a justice that accepts the innocent as a vicarious sacrifice; someone who orders his disciples to drink his blood; prayers for miraculous interventions; sins perpetrated against a god, atoned for by a god; fear of a beyond to which death is the portal; the form of the cross as a symbol in a time that no longer knows the function and ignominy of the cross—how ghoulishly all this touches us, as if from the tomb of a primeval past! Can one believe that such things are still believed?"
—from Nietzsche's Human, All-Too-Human, s.113, Walter Kaufmann's Translation in "The Portable Nietzsche".
Wouldn't a light-up manger (celebrating his birth) be a little more appropriate than something celebrating his death?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiery_cross
Dog Whistling, across the universe.
Yes. This is done on purpose. The AFA, and its' constituency, does not live in "America". They live in a Live Action Role Playing Game where America is a feudal state of the Kingdom of Jesus, and they are the footsoldiers.
It's a marking of territory and a call to action. There is, after all, a Catholic^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HBlack Muslim in the White House.
Evil gets to win?
No, the good guys do. If there is a God Jr. as characterized by the Bible, can there be any doubt that he's looking down at this and saying, "WTF? How did my preaching turn into tacky merchandising junk? Just kill me. Oh wait, I already died for their sins. And to thank me, they take the very thing I died on, wrapped it in lights and are selling it as a lawn decoration. Jesus Me Christ."
When will people stop equating "Christian" with "good and decent"?
When Christianity is no longer associated with Jesus Christ, a man who (regardless of what you actually think of Christianity itself) was both good and decent. Admittedly, that time might not be far off...
akbar56:
For many people who have been raised within a "Traditional Western Culture" - the culture that is dominated by a dichotomy between rational thought and faith - the crucifix / Christian cross is a powerful symbol: It is a cube, unfolded - and the cube is an archetypical symbol in that culture for the Self.
Mangers just don't hit the primitive brain the way that large crosses blocked out on a 5 x 5 matrix, with a white background, and a little red for colour, do.
People who give a s*** about symbols are the problem. Symbols mean nothing. The same people who say don't burn the flag are the same people who don't stay informed, don't vote, cheat on their taxes, and generally crappy citizens. Swatstikas were around before Nazis, and if I choose to wear one, so what? I should expect some questions as to why I'm wearing one, but when I explain my reasoning that should be the end of it. Hell, if I choose to wear a nazi uniform and sing the Horst Wessel song people should ignore me. I don't go around kicking the s*** out of catholics in clerical garb for the jews they killed during the inquisition, or the jews they could of saved during the holocaust.
Merry KKKristmas!
Pseudonym: If symbols mean nothing, then your rant is meaninglessness defined.
Any rational person knows what kind of agenda, behaviour, and mindset to expect out of anyone glorifying the First Martyr of National Socialism.
Bardfinn,
1. I repeat, people who thinks symbols mean something are the problem.
2. Just for clarification, I do not subscribe to the nazi ideology.
3. But if I did, so what ? When the KKK or Nazis rally, people should ignore them. It will drive them crazy. People have a right to believe horrid things, and should only be judged on their actions. If you want to burn a cross in your yard, fine. Everyone will know what you are. If you burn a cross is someone else's yard, get charged with criminal tresspass and disturbing the peace. Hate crime legislatio n equals thoughtcrime.
To pduggie @5 and technogeek @9:
There is a giant cross on the highway near my hometown that is lit up at night with regular outdoor lightbulbs. When you are driving towards it, for some reason (dopplering light waves, or air pressure differences, or who knows what) the lights seem to flicker and look horrifyingly like flames.
So this particular one, featuring "fuzzy" lightbulbs, certainly has the potential to be pretty startling the first time an African American family drives by it.
Cassandra
Pseudonym: Symbols mean as much as people let them, which is to say a lot. Just like words. It's intentional ignorance to say they don't.
If they mean nothing, then they aren't symbols.
DCULBERSON,
Thank you for bringing that up. People shouldn't let them have any importance. Sticks and stones. If an individual has some horrid viewpoint, and all he does is talk, BFD. If a person spouts off in a racist way, or puts up a swatstika in their yard, people should make them a social pariah. The use of those symbols by an idiot is "words can never hurt me." The christian cross is a symbol of ignorance and oppression, but I don't care if someone wears it. If they disrupt a soldiers funeral, yelling "God hates fags" or shoot an abortion doctor, they have acted.
DCULBERSON,
Thank you for bringing that up. People shouldn't let them have any importance. Sticks and stones. If an individual has some horrid viewpoint, and all he does is talk, BFD. If a person spouts off in a racist way, or puts up a swatstika in their yard, people should make them a social pariah. The use of those symbols by an idiot is "words can never hurt me." The christian cross is a symbol of ignorance and oppression, but I don't care if someone wears it. If they disrupt a soldiers funeral, yelling "God hates fags" or shoot an abortion doctor, they have acted.
It would be funnier if they offered the 'Flickering Flame Effect' light bulbs with this.
#25: Curse you to ashes. I skipped all the serious talk to make just that exact point, and you go and ruin my Xmas for me.
Pseudonym, isn't yelling "god hates fags" (or the funeral for that matter) just another symbol?
Anonymous@7:
"Think of it like a Hitler mustache. Sure it was common facial hair style before Hitler, does anyone wear it now? Hell no. Because it's associated with Evil."
* cough cough *
((Boggles at Pseudonym dismissing the power of symbols while he puts asterisks in "shit"))
first thing I thought when I saw that pic is that its supposed to be burning. woulda been alot worse if there was a lawn jockey next to it tho.
Allayall stop bashing on pseudonym. I'm sure ever one of us was just as goofy when we were his age.
I put asterisks in shit because I wasn't sure about the policy about "curse" words. I sure as shit don't have a fucking problem using them. As far as the yelling during the funeral, I said disrupt, like being too loud. I personally would ignore them because I don't care what fundamentalist idiots believe, which is exactly the point I have been making.
Does it blink or do any fancy flashing stuff?
So who's making the light-up pentagram for my front window?
@#33
Hot topic
Pseudonym makes a good point. You should ignore idiots.
LOL, Had to read halfway through the comments to find out what people might be upset about...Its a cross all covered in lights...looks like a pub sign. Personally I want one of those crosses with santa on, sounds like that could turn some heads!
Well, from this side of the Atlantic (the side that doesn't have an idiot running the shop ... oh, wait ...), that is an unmistakably awful thing. Thank the photographers of time for that - they recorded the burning crosses etched into our memories.
For the record, I suspect if a white family had one of these crosses in Brixton, something would certainly happen to make their xmas harder than the credit crunch already is.
Don't delve into the meta-structures behind semiotics. They are what they are, and change only with influence.
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/cross.asp
Picture halfway
If you found stupidity offensive, you'd be angry all the time. Mountain out of a molehill. Its a cross with lights on it. Theres a difference between intentionally causing suffering and someone deciding to be pissed off because of anothers unintended thoughtlessness.
On a separate note, is it ok to burn a cross if it's your only source of wood and heat? Or is it more politically correct to chop it into pieces with an axe first? Are two pieces of wood leaning against each other a cross?
I bought one and it caught fire. Then my electric Menorah started giving off odd-smelling fumes. Must be a problem with my electricity supply.
Pseudonym, I'm not trying to pick on you, and here's the thing: I agree that symbols shouldn't have as much power as they do. But in the world we're stuck with, they do have a ton of power, and so as such we have to respect that power.
I'm all for changing things, but at the same time you have to deal with the way things are currently and work within those confines.
#15 FTW.
"Look, dad - I went down there I told them to be groovy, drink a bit of wine - they split into groups: the Jesuits, the Methodists, the Free Presbyterians, the Locked-up Presbyterians, the Quakers, the Bakers, the Candlestick makers..."
-Eddie Izzard
I left the followin comment on the AFA website...
Well, first off, the very idea of decorating the symbol of our Lord's painful sacrifice seems oddly inappropriate. But worse than that, it bears a striking resemblance to a symbol used by a certain organization that one tends to associate with racism and hatred...
Really, think about it. Shoot, ya'll are located in Tupelo, MS. Ya'll must be more than a litte familiar with the Ku Klux Klan.
Truly sad...
(Scene: night, very late, very dark, swamp sounds: crickets, peepers, the occasional owl. By the light of a thin moon, we can only just barely make out the outlines of a small cabin, maybe a dimmed lantern or a banked hearthfire peeking out the edge of a heavy oilcloth curtain.)
(Sound: several sets of footsteps coming along a gravelly path.)
(Several men's voices, all in hoarse whispers:)
"This'll surprise 'em!"
"Surprise the hell out of 'em!"
"Hush up you moe-rons! C'mon!"
(We can barely make out four or five figures, maybe in white robes and pointed hoods, carrying something. Two of them step up onto a low porch and knock at the front door.)
(pause)
(more knocking)
"C'mon Mose! We *know* yer in there! C'mon out and see what we brung ya."
(some shifting and whispering inside the cabin. door opens. Mose holds a shuttered hurricane lantern, which shows his features. He's a black man, about 60 years old, heavy-set, disheveled white hair, wearing a pair of old patched overalls. Behind him stands a small, wiry woman with wispy grey hair, holding a shotgun that she clearly knows how to use. They're both scanning the porch and the yard beyond, trying to get a look at their visitors.)
"Evenin' Mose, Mizz Lureen. We brought you a Christmas present."
(one of the voices out in the yard chuckles "Yeah we sure as hell did!" followed by the sound of a dope slap to the back of a head and "shut yer damn mouth, jack-ass!")
The first night visitor says, "Ain't ya gonna say nothin'?" Mose glances for an instant at Lureen, then back at the visitors, fear and determination wrestling in his eyes.
The other porch visitor leans quickly toward the lantern, unhooks the shutters, to let the light out full onto his face, wreathed in smiles. "Ain't you glad to see us Mose?"
"Mistah Pinckney? From down the mill?"
Pinckney, and the others are all in their festive church white choir robes, with white Santa's elves hats conical on their heads. They're all grinning and the ones in the yard are waving shyly and shuffling their feet.
"That's right Mose. And I think you know Mr. Broomall from the bank," indicating the other gent on the porch. "And Judge Wainwright, Rev. Hollis, and Dr. Averett," pointing to the three in the yard.
Gesturing to Lureen to lower the shotgun, Mose asks, "And what can I do for you gentlemen," -- they look at him oddly -- "excuse me, fo' yo gennumuns, at this hour?"
"Well Mose," speaks up the Reverend, "remember how last year, at Christmas, we came by and light up a big ol' cross in your yard? We worked for a week to make that big ol' thing, in Judge Wainwright's garage." Wainwright nods. A chorus of "sure did"s and "uh-huh"s buoy him along.
"And it lit up something beautiful. But then, as we were standing off in the trees, singin' Christmas carols to you and the missus, she started a-shootin' at us! Well didn't we run off like jackrabbits at that."
"And then," breaks in the physician, "next week at church, we come to hear that you were afraid someone was tryin' ta kill you or scare you outa town. We felt just awful! And embarrassed. We didn't know what to do, or how to explain, and before we could figure out what to say, it was past Easter, and we figgered, bygones and such."
"But just a few weeks ago," continues the Judge, we saw this beauty," smiling as he holds up a sturdy cross about three foot wide, four tall, "and danged if Pinckney here didn't say..."
Pickney picked up his cue, "Wouldn't *this* be just the thing for the Curtis's front porch! 'Specially after what we done last year." He grinned to show his back teeth, and set the cross onto the porch, sturdy on its weighted wooden stand.
Mose took a step back, bewildered.
"Don't worry none, Mose," chimed in the banker. We know how you feel about the firey ones now, so this one's ee-lectric! Wait'll you see it!!"
"That's right," said Wainwright. "We wanted to surprise you, but we're gonna have to plug it in somewheres. You don't have an extension cord, do you?"
(And somewhere, a little angel blew a fuse. And so, a Merry Christmas to all.)
I wonder how well it burns.
I was laughing so hard I was gasping for air and all my coworkers came over mystified to calm me down.
Two comments
1. It's ironic that the cross as a symbol has come full circle twice: first a weapon for killing a prophet; then a symbol of the significance of that prophet; next a burning version used with racial significance; and finally the burning version, without any irony intended, as a symbol of the season of giving.
2. Symbols have meaning, else we wouldn't be pushing keys emblazoned with them to communicate.
I'm dreaming of a White Christmas! But what I'm wondering is - and pardon the digression - why are these (alleged) followers and lovers of Jesus using the instrument of his death by torture to symbolize and celebrate the (alleged) anniversary of his birth? This seems like just one more in a series of bizarre acts from this cannibalistic death cult. Transubstantiation anyone?
They forgot the sage advice of recommending that you deliver this as a gift on your neighbor's lawns and then light it