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I love the main library in Birmingham, Alabama.
I have been a loyal customer since age five.
I pay my fines immediately before they cut me off and I don't dog-ear their books.
I am, in fact, a perfect patron, so to speak.
But I am also a busybody and I don't mind rocking boats.
Wednesday morning I returned some overdue books to the front desk and said,
"Merry Christmas, librarian, where is your Christmas tree this year?".
“Uh, yeah, right,” she hem-hawed. “ We don’t have the staff to put the tree up.”
“I see” I said. Not seeing at all but suspecting a vast conspiracy most grave and foul.
Jumping on the escalator I rode up to Arts and Literature on the second floor.
A single poinsettia adorned the desk there .
Turning, I raced over to the Used Book Store and saw not even a poinsettia but three fat white cardboard snowmen who stood without comment on the far wall.
Zip! I was off to Science and Technology on the third floor where no snowman , no poinsettia, no nothing, awaited a visitor to the plush work station where the Staff milled about but did no work.
“Humbug!” I said loudly. A awkward moment passed. Finally a young fella stepped forward and said ...”We had a poinsettia ...but it died.”
“Wait Mister!” He called as I turned away . “Over in Southern History... in the Annex; I think they’ve got a Christmas Tree over there.”
He was right. There, in the main high-vaulted reading room was a grand twelve-foot-high Christmas Tree - or it might have been a pagan tree, or a witch tree; no sign told.
Silver balls and white lights were hung about its spreading silver branches along with miniature paper hymnals of sheet music lettered in German. How stylish, how sterile.
No presents were under the tree and no sign wished anyone a happy anything. This was great!
Carefully I began plotting my assault on this stunning example of bureaucratic ineptitude ...but wait! The children’s department! Surely they celebrated Christmas over there.
Double stepping stairs I was back in the new building in a flash and what I saw in the Children’s Department there would make a cornsnake cry - the entire display for the budding young future book readers of Birmingham , Alabama consisted of two ten-inch-tall fat Santas - one white and one black. The white Santa was animated and slowly gyrated his hips doing the boogaloo although there was no music. Across from him the unanimated black Santa simply stood there grinning , or maybe he was just embarrassed. He was outfitted in the short pants of a tyrolean mountain climber. Very quaint, very stupid. I waited a long moment... half-expecting the black Santa to suddenly yodel.
Neither Santa, I noticed, had a sack.
But then out of the corner of my eye I saw some papers scotch-taped to a big round pole over by the stuffed dinosaurs where the kindergarten kiddies play. I walked over and examined the crayon drawings there.
I found the artwork generally poor, only marginally better than say, Andy Warhol or Jackson Pollock. But if unrefined these crude drawings exhibited a sweet and innocent courage found nowhere else in this library of a million books. Somewhere in each, amid odd-looking reindeers, wall-eyed snowmen, Santas, and snow blizzards and such, could be found the crudely lettered greeting “Merry Christmas”. A simple message that a fey committee of library high staffers had lacked the courage to say.
I wore a determined grin as I walked out the library door.
This is not Oregon or Vermont; this is Birmingham, Alabamdama ! Birmingham - where over a dozen right-wing radio talk show hosts curse all forms of governmental bureaucracies twenty four hours a day except Sunday. Yes,- the great state of Alabama, - where we the people dare defend our rights.
And this is Birmingham , where 85% of the people and 75% of the people who work at the Birmingham Library, and 65% of the library “staff” are card carrying members of a Christian church.
I walked lightly. I was a man who knew the future. No hurry. Christmas is a time of peace and not a time of contestation, contestation will come Monday. I’m a nice guy but I will not have the library that I have loved since I was five being surreptitiously corrupted by weak and cowardly administrators who hide behind money-grubbing lawyers and jack-leg judges who bring shame to the concept of freedom of speech.
I am a peaceful man but Monday comes slow.
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Joined: Oct 2001
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Monday comes slow
Monday comes slow, themilum, but Monday comes ashuddering in the shuttering of Christmas.
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Not to fuel your Yule-tide flames, themilum, but this Letter to the Editor published in the London Times yesterday in response to a column lamenting the loss of cultural traditions in England, including Christmas merrymaking, might be of interest.
Santa’s reindeer gets the hump
From Mr Chris Moran
December 24, 2004
Sir, As many as 80,000 Brits (as well as a huge number of others from non-Islamic nations) live in the United Arab Emirates, where the country’s indigenous people live by Sharia (Islamic law). Yet shopping centres are decorated with Christmas finery, stores pipe Christmas tunes to every corner, malls are full of children of all nationalities excitedly queueing to see Santa, and advertisements are fully geared to everything Christmas-related . . . a bit like it used to be in the UK before political correctness crept in.
Hotels hold tree-lighting ceremonies and carol services by swimming pools, and holidaymakers stand amazed when Santa rides into town on a camel, handing out gifts.
I have heard of no local being offended by any of these supposed insults and no one complains of being singled out for persecution.
Bah humbug to the ignorant council killjoys who obviously have no understanding of what it really means to have a faith; we in the UAE are having a very happy Christmas, thank you.
Faithfully,
CHRIS MORAN,
Dubai Country Club,
PO Box 5103,
Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
chris2fm@hotmail.com
December 22.
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BTW "Santa's Reindeer get the Hump" appears to have been written in response to this Comment published in the London Times the day before (December 21, 2004) **: We are committing cultural suicide
Anthony Browne
Christianity is being insidiously erased from the map. It’s time we fought back Extract: COMPARE AND contrast 1: (a) Sikhs storm a theatre in Britain showing a play depicting rape inside a Sikh temple; (b) The Red Cross bans Nativity scenes in its shops; Compare and contrast 2: (a) Christmas trees and decorations are banned in Saudi Arabia; (b) Christmas trees and decorations are banned in Britain’s Jobcentres. The extremes that other religions go to preserve their cultural heritage is only matched in Christianity by its extreme death-wish. Christmas has always stirred passion, attracting opponents and supporters. But until recently banning it has been so culturally offensive that fictional Christophobes entered the English language for their infamy. Ebenezer Scrooge declared “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly in his heart”. Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas declared that the Grinch’s motivation was “that his heart was two sizes too small”. But real-life Scrooges and Grinches have banned Christmas before, not because their hearts were too small, but because their bigotry was too great. And now it is happening again." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1072-1410786,00.html** BTW someone just asked me, in a PM, where I stand with respect to the "separation of church and state". I replied saying I stand resolutely in favor of the separation of church and state, consistent with the U.S. Constitution [and in my country with "the Charter of Rights and Freedoms"]: But I don't think the celebration of the Christmas season in public buildings such as libraries amounts to the practice of religion in North America. It is a cultural tradition enjoyed as much by atheists and agnostics as it is by Christians. Perhaps those of non-Christian faiths who oppose such festive traditions in public buildings in North America do not understand this. If they could think of Christmas as a sort of Hallowe'en with a positive message, they could join in the fun -- as they do in the United Arab Emirates which is a state governed by the Islamic law of Sharia, as the writer from Dubai explains. Personally, I am all in favor of public libraries giving equal space to all major religions to celebrate their important religious festivals so long as it doesn't amount to the practice of religion in a public library. [No preachers or mullahs, thank you, and no sermons or calls to prayer.] I can only speak for myself, of course, but I think anyone who visits a public library would be enriched by the opportunity to learn about other major religious traditions, just as we are enriched to learn about Native American spiritual traditions. When we start shuttering Christmas, we start shuttering tolerance. Tolerance should be a two-way street, it seems to me. We should give it, and expect it, in equal measure.
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Tomorrow is Monday. Today is my birthday. Today, Russ Fine who has a Radio and TV Talk Show in Birmingham wrote me this letter. He will read my letter on his show tomorrow. Which is Monday. He wrote... You are an elegant writer. I'd like to read more of your words. This
piece is exceptionally well done. I am going to use it on my show. May
I have your permission to place it on our website?
- Russ
(Please reply to all if affirmative so Mark Harvard will be informed to place it on our website under a link which should read, Mark,
<Christmas is over...maybe forever at the Birmingham Library>
Thanks In Birmingham, you see, we get things done. 
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re "Christmas is over in Birmingham"Congratulations, themilum. If/when they post your letter on their website, I hope you will post the url so we can all read it. It looks like you're going to put some heat on the chill on Christmas. BTW HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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You'll know that it's time to start worrying in earnest when they start serving food during daylight hours in the school lunchrooms during Ramadan.
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enthusiast
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Several old friends had this conversation just last night. I will show them this - it says so very well what we were trying to say.
Merry Christmas and God bless you and yours, from my owl and me among the sacred oaks.
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the sacred oaks
Sacred oaks from sacred acorns grow.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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this holiday, i stumbled on a word i thought i knew..ICONOCLAST. I learned the term had first been used (extensively) in the 8/9th centuries.. when there were religious wars between the iconoclast and iconophiles.. (the iconophiles won out, eventualy, with the support of pope justine) Milo, rightly started out discussing word (the act of saying Merry Christmas (vs seasons greatings) but the language is part of a larger iconoclast vs. iconophiles battle that is going on in society. from merriman webster: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=iconoclast
Main Entry: icon·o·clast
Pronunciation: -"klast
Function: noun
Etymology: Medieval Latin iconoclastes, from Middle Greek eikonoklastEs, literally, image destroyer, from Greek eikono- + klan to break -- more at CLAST
1 : one who destroys religious images or opposes their veneration
2 : one who attacks settled beliefs or institutionsand from another sourse... http://www.bartleby.com/61/55/I0015500.html
WORD HISTORY: An iconoclast can be unpleasant company, but at least the modern iconoclast only attacks such things as ideas and institutions. The original iconoclasts destroyed countless works of art. Eikonoklasts, the ancestor of our word, was first formed in medieval Greek from the elements eikn, “image, likeness,” and –klasts, “breaker,” from kl()n, “to break.” The images referred to by the word are religious images, which were the subject of controversy among Christians of the Byzantine Empire in the 8th and 9th centuries, when iconoclasm was at its height. In addition to destroying many sculptures and paintings, those opposed to images attempted to have them barred from display and veneration. During the Protestant Reformation images in churches were again felt to be idolatrous and were once more banned and destroyed. It is around this time that iconoclast, the descendant of the Greek word, is first recorded in English (1641), with reference to the Byzantine iconoclasts. In the 19th century iconoclast took on the secular sense that it has today, as in “Kant was the great iconoclast” (James Martineau). i read and enjoy history, but to be honest, i didn't and still don't, know anything about the iconoclasts.. i have mostly stayed out of the discussion, because i am a bit of an iconoclast.. i don't believe in destroying icons or religious images, but i think there place is in churches, and or private buildings/spaces. Not in public ones. in language, i tend to stick with the more neutral 'seasons greeting' unless i am certain of a persons religious beliefs. i am only nomimal a christian-i feel more comfortable with the term deist to describe myself (i was raised catholic) --i left the catholic church when i realized i was unable to recite the Niacian creed and mean every word of it.
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Carpal Tunnel
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formerly known as etaoin...
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i realized i was unable to recite the Niacian creed and mean every word of it
It seems we have more in common than uncommon, Of Troy.
If an iconclast means someone who busies themselves shattering other people's cherished beliefs, for the sake only of ridding the world of a personal annoyance, than they are no better than the original iconclasts, in my opinion, in fact, they are worse, for they have no false god to prick the sides of their intent.
But if an iconoclast is someone who dares to speak their truth with the force of reason, and no other force, tho that reason be anathema to the established truth or the conventional truth or the popular wisdom, then I am an iconoclast, and so are you, I daresay.
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Iconoclast! Lovely word, but my post here is to bring my many minions to currency on my worthy crusade... As he said he would, Russ Fine read my story about the silly censorship of the word "Christmas" by the Birmingham Public Library Administration on his radio/TV show Monday morning. But if he posted it on his website I couldn't find it. Russ and Dee's website is a bit jumbled and besides, during that very morning the television station pulled the plug on Russ and Dee's television program and as of last Friday Russ and Dee can now only be heard on radio. Some of you would like Russ and Dee. They advertise themselves as the Voice of Alabama. Transplanted Yankees, they insinuated themselves into polite Alabama society about twenty years ago and have become a staple of the morning drive among literate rednecks in northern Alabama. To give you an idea of the relationship between Russ and Dee and their listeners last week one such listener (I think it was Robert Earl from Cullman) phoned in this crude but poignant holiday greeting... For all you do
Jew Baby, Jew boy
We love you.A clip of Robert Earl’s call now serves as a promo and lead-in into their radio show. But anyway the upshot of all this is that the hours of their radio show were filled with callers cussin’ WIAT CBS and offering tea and sympathy to Russ and Dee for being kicked off TV, so in that climate my tirade against the Grinches at the public library received short shrift. Un- deterred I wrote a letter to the Birmingham Library asking about their Christmas decoration policy. Yesterday I received by email this reply... ___________________________________________________ Dear Mr. Washington, Having just returned to work from celebrating the Christmas and New Year's Holidays, I am responding to your comment concerning the absence of the word Christmas in the library's displays. Unfortunately, since the Birmingham Public Library consists of two Central buildings and 20 branches located throughout the City, I am not certain as to which building you are referring to. Nevertheless, allow me to respond with the following general statement: At the Central Library where my office is housed, I think we did the normal things such as hanging wreaths, decorating the desks with Poinsiettas, decorating the Christmas trees, etc. I did not recognize a change from previous years. Since I did not visit all 20 of the other locations, I cannot speak to what they did or did not do. Here's hoping that your Christmas was just as wonderful as mine! Barbara Sirmans, Director Birmingham Public Library barbara@bham.lib.al.us (205) 226-3614 (Wk Phone) (205) 226-3743 (Fax) _________________________________________________ Now what? The bloom is off my ire but the condescensional tone of Bureaucrat Sirmans needs addressing...? Mmm. Maybe I'll email her back and tell her that she misspelled "poinsettia". .
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