What the fuck is going on in Maryland?? Is there something in the water? Or is all the second hand smoke filtering out of people’s homes affecting the area?
Sounds to me like a case of good ole local politics. A few people complain. The Mayor’s in the outs with the aldermen. They vote to ban the Mayor from having his photo op with Santa.
Just a hunch.
Either that, or knees get jerked way too easily in the town of Kensington.
As do the political winds blow, so do I.
– Mayor Quimby
The blurb I heard on NPR (and I may be getting this wrong . . . it was the first thing I heard after being awakened by the customary blast of static from the clock radio 
) was the Santa Claus would not participate in the Christmas tree lighting because there were two families in town who objected because they do not celebrate Christmas.
Huh? Have these dorks not figured out that they are lighting a Christmas tree???
Maybe they’re picking their battles. . . this year, Santa, next year, the tree!
Or, I dunno, maybe they just think of it as a generic holiday tree, and thus don’t find it objectionable, or something. . .
What a bunch of killjoys, anyway.
There is a link here. According to the poem Santa is a pipe smoker. The whole thing sounds sinister to me.
On the other hand how can you accept the idea of a Christmas tree and reject the idea of Santa Clause. It’s like ordering liver and onions, hold the onions.
I hate living in Maryland; always have.
And now it’s just becoming embarrassing to be a Maryland native.
Sheri (thankfully NOT in Montgomery County)
I fear this is just the beginning. The smoking law blew me away (no pun intended), and now ol Saint Nick? I cant even begin to speculate what will be next. In the meantime I will sit and wait, with my jaw firmly resting on the floor.
this has to be a joke. link?
My MIL volunteers at her church’s MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) group. Nice older ladies from the church watch the kids once a month and do nice activities with them (age-appropriate) while their moms get to do something fun together. It’s church based although its my understanding that religion is not rammed down the throats of anyone present. Maybe the kids color arks and stuff. Whatever.
At any rate, two years ago they had one of the gentlemen in the church dress up like Santa and come for the kids. One of the moms complained (bitterly) because Santa represented the secularization of Christmas and she did not want her kids to be exposed to him at all.
So the next year? No Santa. My MIL was pissed. It’s so stupid. I mean, fer chrissakes (literally) these are church ladies. It’s not like they don’t fucking get what Christmas is about and don’t eve talk to the kids about that part. The whole program is faith-based! More importantly, how are you going to keep your kids sheltered from Santa Claus? I completely understand why someone who is really invested in getting back to the roots of Christmas would want to focus on the birth of the Savior. No objections there. But wouldn’t it make sense to TELL your kids about the history of Santa Claus and why it is that so many families do choose to make Santa an important figure? Give the kids a way to rationalize Santa, to understand him, even if you don’t want to make him a part of your personal family traditions. Sheesh. How can something as ubiquitous as Santa Claus be something you want to stick your head in the sand about? It’s like me trying to make sure my son never lays an eye on a Menorah because GASP it isn’t a part of our Christian holiday celebration. Come ON.
Some people just like to bitch. I tell this story to make the point that it’s not just non-Christians that might object to Santa Claus. Alas, some Christians do, too.
Okay… good. I’m not alone in being stunned by this.
I’m still trying to figure out exactly what is offensive about the fat man in red. Against a belief, or possibly contrary to a religious view sure, but that’s different than being offensive. It’s like allowing a Minorha but banning candles. What kind of fucked up individuals even have the balls to complain about it?? What kind of fucked up city leadership even considers it?? It’s fucking SANTA CLAUS! I imagine they’ll open a special hunting season for the Easter Bunny? Does the Tooth Fairy get locked up for breaking and entering for purposes of solicitation of body parts?
I wish like hell that my life was going so well that the only thing I could find to complain about is stuff like this. This kind of shit just fucking riles me to no end.
If there’s anyone in that town with a hair on their ass, they will sue the complainers and the city for their child’s emotional distress over Santa not being allowed to come to town.
And I want 10% for the idea!
And here I thought it was funny several years ago when Southpark ran an episode like this…
You know, I’m not really surprised. After all, Maryland is the home state of the infamous Jabez Dawes.
Technically they were correct. The following is from Snopes
But it doesn’t really matter anyway. If you look at the origins of what Santa Claus represents, you can’t deny that it is still a Christian representation honoring the birth of Christ. If only they had done their research.
Hell, I’m shocked(almost as shocked as the smoking thing), and I’m a fucking Jew!
If I complained every time I heard about prayers in public school, or Nativity scenes around my city, Etc, Etc, Oy, what a place this would be. No Santa, no churches, no caroling, no trees, no smoking.
What a bunch of whiners, and what a no-backbone having legal system in Md.
Sam
You know what’s “great” about this? Is that more kids are going to be traumatized by Santa not being there, than would be if he were there! Because the little kids are going to expect Santa to be there (after all, he was there last year), and when he doesn’t show up, they’re gonna wanna know why! Imagine the joy parents will feel as they have to explain to the kids why Santa can’t be there. (And the sadistic side of me is picturing some parent looking at their little tyke and saying, “You see what happens when you’re naughty?”)
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Yeah, yeah, Montgomery county’s got it’s head shoved so far up its ass that it gets to taste everything twice. And let’s not forget Prince Georges county either: their police department’s record of brutality and violations of civil rights would put Slobodan Milosovic to shame. But there’s a hell of lot more here than specific local legislative bodies and an ignorant, overzealous police force. This is also not the first state to do something as fucked up and intolerant as this. In other words it’s not embarassing to live here, or at least not anymore than any other state. Check out the If Maryland Had a Face I’d Slap It thread for some of the good points about MD.
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As for the banning of Santa Claus: its a completely fucking retarded idea and it’s a good thing I don’t personally know the people in charge because massive ignorance like this gets my Irish up. Santa Claus is at this point, IMO, a secular figure: when the hell was the last time you saw a fat guy in a Santa suit quoting the New Testament? Things change and Santa is no longer solely a representation of christianity, he is more a representation of the whole “holiday spirit” idea. People want him to light a Christmas tree then let him; it’s not like he’s coming to your house to discuss if you’ve found Jesus.
Conversely if some mother at a church feels that Santa is too secular than why not have their Santa start quoting the New Testament instead of having the children wonder if Santa’s not visiting because they’re fuckups?
Okay, I am really getting pissed at people bitching about Maryland. The state of Maryland has 26 counties, people. 26 counties. One county is not in any way reflective of the entire state. Montgomery County is well known, in Baltimore at least, for having a large number of wealthy, superior-minded, arrogant citizens who have a lot of pull with the local politicians.
I live in Baltimore County, which circles the city on the western side of the state. We do not have to deal with bullshit like this. No unfair smoking laws, no banning of Santa. It’s pretty similar to Manhatten, only more spread out. It’s like any other southern city. The laws are basically fair and most of the population does not have any political sway. Furthermore, if Baltimore County planned any sort of county-wide tree-lighting ceremony, and two people didn’t care for Santa, the politicians would most likely tell them to go to hell.
For the love of pete, I’m a fan of synecdeche as much as the next person, but please stop making one shitty little county with a small percentage of the MD population representative of the ENTIRE FUCKING STATE! One thread bases the OP on complete lies, this one makes a sweeping generalization about all of Maryland based on one county.
Jesus. When did Maryland replace California as the most hated state of the goddamn union?
And you call yourself a Baltimoron!
The politicians would tell them to “go to hell, hon”
I’m gonna hate myself for picking a fight with you Sara, but geeze, get a grip for a second, willya? I’ve got family that lives in Baltimore, I know what its like, and I know that the entire state isn’t like that, but even I’ve gotta wonder: Why are all these nutbags in Maryland? I mean, its been like two or three strange things coming out of the state in the past month. (Maryland’s always been a little off. John Waters and Divine are both from there. Hell, even Cecil has said, “What is it with you guys from Baltimore?”) Sooner or later some other city in another state will be making these kind of nutbag announcements and we’ll all be going, “What the fuck is it with these shitheads?”
Maybe you’ve got that “Southern Pride” chip on your shoulder, I don’t know. But get a grip, girl, and stop taking it personally. If you should be pissed at anyone, its the nutbags who keep coming out of the woodwork and making everyone in your state look like baffoons.
I’d say roughly around the time when <ahem>a small group of people not represtative of the rest of the state banned Santa Claus from the Town Square.
Since I am a nearby resident (from the side of the river where the grass is greener, because we paint it), I’ve put my investigative and photojournalist skills to work uncovering the truth behind this story.
Santa has not been what you would call a model citizen in Kensington.
He has been accused of lewd, inappropriate, and even inexplicable behavior.
After being publicly chastised for his behavior, he became suicidal. Residents feared that he would either harm himself or others, or local residents might take matters into their own hands.
Therefore, he has been banned for his own protection.
I hope that clears everything up, folks. Happy Holidays to all.