Originally Posted By Beaumandy << Since the Easter Bunny is actually a pagan symbol tied to the celebration of the arrival of Spring, perhaps "Spring Bunny" is a more appropriate name for it. >> You think this is why the mall tried to change the name of the Easter Bunny before they got smacked down and changed their mind? I don't think so..
Originally Posted By TomSawyer No - I think they did it to draw more customers to have their photo taken with the rabbit at $14.95 a pop. But they made a mistake.
Originally Posted By Beaumandy <<If the end result is that there is less commercialism and paganism associated with the holiday, why does it matter, especially to an upbeat, look-for-the-positive-Republican like yourself?>> Because the MOTIVATION was to ban the word Easter because it is a Christian word. Kinda like they tried to ban the word Christmas Tree and make it holiday tree. What I see now is MAJOR spin from the libs who once again got caught trying to outlaw, or at least lessen Christianity in a Christian country. Trying to say it's better because removed because it's pagen and Easter is to commercial?? Nice smokescreen.
Originally Posted By Beaumandy <<No - I think they did it to draw more customers to have their photo taken with the rabbit at $14.95 a pop. But they made a mistake.>> Who is they??? Bet it was a liberal who voted for Kerry yet lost the election for a lack of moral values. I know it was a lib who had this idea.
Originally Posted By Beaumandy >>Your buddies however try and BAN the nativity scene BECAUSE it has Jesus in it.<< No they don't.>> It's not liberals who say the nativity scene has no place in the public square?? Who was it then?? The young Republicans?
Originally Posted By mele By clinging to the pagan, commercial trappings, you are the one lessening Christianity in America. Good job.
Originally Posted By cmpaley >>>>How do you have a manger scene without Jesus? It speaks for itself.<< It's actually pretty easy if you celebrate Advent. It's pretty common to only put Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve. But you seemed to focus on the symbols without focusing on the substance. << Well said... Funny that. "Conservatives" prefering symbolism over substance. I thought that only "liberals" did that. Well, that's what Rush used to say, anyway.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >>Who is they??? Bet it was a liberal who voted for Kerry yet lost the election for a lack of moral values.<< I bet it was some marketing dweeb who lost sales because of their lack of moral values.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >>It's not liberals who say the nativity scene has no place in the public square??<< Not my buddies.
Originally Posted By cmpaley I'm still trying to find the "public square." I've been to Town Square, Pershing Square, Bakers Square...but I've never been to "the public square."
Originally Posted By sherrytodd I do agree with Beau that it was done specifically because of the religious connections. The fact that the holiday originally stemmed from a pagen ritual did not factor into the decision of a marketing idiot. The problem with these decisions is that the Easter holiday DOES mean more then one thing to many people. They are pandering to a very minority of vocal idiots.
Originally Posted By cmpaley Outside of St. Basil Catholic Church on Wilshire here in Los Angeles, the parish puts up a Creche every Advent/Christmas on the front steps for people to come and look at. Olvera Street every year has a Creche AND the public celebration of Las Posadas (they also do El dia de los Muertos) in the main kiosk. Interestingly, no one has ever complained about the one in the Olvera Street kiosk...even though whole El Pueblo area (where Olvera Street is located) is owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles. I think it has more to do with the cultural heritage that Los Angeles has as being founded by the Spanish/Mexican settlers from Mission San Gabriel.
Originally Posted By mele I agree too, but I'm wondering why religious people aren't taking this opportunity to get rid of the pagen things associated with their holidays? It gets tedious to hear Beau telling us how negative liberals are and how they can't be good Christians when he is focusing on the negative aspects of this and clinging to paganism.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj <<< It's not liberals who say the nativity scene has no place in the public square?? >>>> Ummmmm, I think it's pretty much written into our Constitution that our government won't establish a national religion or unite itself with a specific church. It is not a liberal or conservative issue -- it is an issue of being an American and having a government that is independent of religious influence. The nativity on the public square is a symbol of church influence. Separation of church and state is a distinguishing characteristic of the United States of America. If you want a church run country, how about trying out Iran -- or even the Vatican? A lot of people like to point out things like "80% of our country is Christian, so we have the right to display our symbols on public property." This is a prime example of the tyranny of the majority that our founding fathers wrote about as our nation was forming. It is absolutely amazing to me how a country formed on such ideals has managed to degenerate into a nation of narrow minded opinions. Thomas Jefferson is probably frowning on us all right now. Perhaps we should just eliminate our Constitution altogether -- it appears to have been written by a bunch of kooky liberals who had no idea how to run a government.
Originally Posted By bboisvert **Stands up and claps for #113** Well said! I'd prefer to have my church be the influence on my faith.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom Looks like the Mall chain had a change of heart and the Easter Bunny is back!!! <<<THE EASTER BUNNY RETURNS TO PERIMETER MALL! Yesterday we shared an email with you from the marketing director at Atlanta's Perimeter Mall in which a shopper was informed that there would be no Easter Bunny at Perimeter this year. Instead, it would be a "Spring Bunny!' Here is the email the shopper received for you to review: Hello, I'm sorry I missed your call yesterday regarding our Bunny photos, and I wanted to get back in touch with you after hearing your concerns. I appreciate you calling Perimeter Mall and I value feedback from our shoppers on our marketing programs and the customer service we strive to deliver to encourage your patronage. Many backgrounds, cultures and religions do not celebrate the Easter holiday and Perimeter Mall wants our springtime children's character to be familiar and appealing to all shoppers. As a kick-off for the beginning of the spring season, Perimeter Mall features a butterfly garden scene as the home for the Spring Bunny. .Families are invited to meet and greet the Bunny and children receive a special storybook as a gift when they visit. Photos with the Bunny are available April 1 - 15 in the Butterfly Garden located on the lower level, Dillards wing. The Garden is open on Monday - Saturday from 10:00am - 8:00pm, and Sundays from 12:00pm - 6:00pm. Thank you for contacting Perimeter Mall management and sending us your thoughts regarding this seasonal program. Your input is important to us as we try to create special experiences for the families in the community to enjoy. Lisa Shepherd Marketing Director Perimeter Mall The same "Spring Bunny" promotion was being run at the Meadows Mall in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oddly enough, both Atlanta's Perimeter mall and the Vegas Meadows Mall are operated by General Growth Properties, Inc. of Chicago, IL. I sent an email to Ms. Shepherd Sunday evening asking if the copy of the email I had received was accurate. As the show began yesterday my producer, Belinda Skelton, started calling Lisa Shepherd. First she was in a meeting, then she couldn't come to the phone. When it became obvious that we were being avoided I went ahead and named the mall on the air. Finally, at 6:04 pm yesterday I received the following email: Dear Mr. Boortz, Thank you for contacting me about this issue. The naming of the bunny was inadvertently referred to as the 'Spring Bunny.' In fact, the bunny at Perimeter Mall is referred to as the Easter Bunny. We encourage all our shoppers to visit the Easter Bunny and have their photos taken. Thank you, Lisa Shepherd Marketing Director Perimeter Mall Inadvertently? I don't think so. My friend Dick Williams, owner of the weekly Dunwoody Crier newspaper, had been following this story also. He was hoping to break the story in this week's edition, but here comes party pooper Boortz. Williams tells me that by last night the websites for both the Perimeter and Meadows malls had been changed to reflect the arrival of the actual Easter Bunny. There was nothing inadvertent about this, and, by the way, I don't believe it was Lisa Shepherd's fault. She evidently was caught in the middle. Someone at General Growth Properties decided to play the politically correct game and rename the Easter Bunny so that non-Christians wouldn't be (gasp!) offended! Somehow whoever made this decision decided that it would be better to go ahead and offend the 85% of Americans who consider themselves to be Christians rather than the one or two percent of the followers of other or of no religions who might wail about how offended they are by a fuzzy little Bunny. Now ... for those of you who sent the Boortz show those emails yesterday with your earthshaking revelations that the Easter Bunny isn't about Easter .... well, duhhhhhh. I fully understand that the bunny tradition was one that existed outside of the Christian faith. The tradition was, though, merged with the Easter celebration many many generations ago. The word "bunny" may not have a religious connotation, but the word "Easter" most certainly does. So --- go pick your nits elsewhere. By the way ... .if anyone knows of a mall that has replaced the Easter Bunny with a Playboy Bunny, would they please let me know? Some changes are praiseworthy. >>>
