When a high school teacher in Bangor, Maine, attempted to be more inclusive by putting a Hello Kitty-themed Christmas Tree that included no religious symbols — not even stars — she was caught off guard when Social Justice Warriors (SJW) demanded the educator remove the Christmas decoration.
Catherine Gordon has been putting up decorations for the past 30 years, but it’s only recently that people have been complaining about the pink colored Christmas decoration.
“I am very sad… After 30 years of decorating my classroom for the holidays, I was told today by the building principal that I could no longer put up my little pink tree and to take it down,” Gordon wrote on her Facebook wall. “The tree had no religious symbols on it whatsoever. No crosses or angels – just pink Hello Kitties and my students really enjoyed it and it cheered me up during the day. When I first started teaching, we had parties the last day of school before vacation and the kids would bring in cookies and we played holiday music – none of that is allowed now. I feel that this is definitely a turning point in our society – when everything offends everyone all the time – it just sucks the joy out of everything.”
In a follow-up interview with the Bangor Daily News, Gordon said “It just seems that in our quest to be tolerant of everything, we’ve become intolerant to everything.”
Maine’s Republican Congressman Bruce Poliquin also took to Facebook saying the teacher should have every right to display the Christmas tree in her classroom.
“Displaying a Christmas Tree is a longstanding tradition in our country. It should not be condemned, especially in our classrooms,” Poliquin said. “We should be able to wish our fellow citizens Merry Christmas. We should be able to wish people Happy Hanukkah or to offer a holiday greeting. Eliminating safe decorations from classrooms, something we all grew up with, is going too far.”
Despite the public outcry, the school system refuses to change their demands. According to Boston.com, Bangor School Superintendent Betsy Webb said in a statement that “the school department aims to maintain consistency with its approach to educate students to become global citizens.”
Ironically, people celebrate Christmas around the entire globe. Nonetheless, SJWs can celebrate another small victory as they have successfully stopped a plastic pink tree from violating small children in a town in Maine.
