Nov 16 2008
The Christmas Cross
There are times when you really have to wonder what people are thinking… or even if they are thinking. This is one of those times.
For a suggested donation of only $81.85 (shipping included), the American Family Association will send you your very own Christmas Cross. It is five and half feet tall and has “210 individual ultra bright lights.” Assembly requires only a screwdriver.
Tell me… would you want this cross burning brightly on your front porch or lawn during this holiday season (or at any other time)?
In the event the AFA removes the webpage offering this “cross” (and who could blame them if they did?), a screen capture of it is here.
Merry Christmas!
Related: “Post-Racial USA? Not So Fast.”
(h/t Balloon Juice)
27 Responses to “The Christmas Cross”
Wow. And it’s just coincidence that this happens right after a black man is elected President of the United States. Yessiree. And unicorns are real too, yay!
- Badtux the Snarky Penguin
That’s not even funny! Anyone who buys one of these things has got to be out of their freakin’ mind. I would like to believe it’s just coincidence – but – it does make you wonder, doesn’t it?
see…we can agree on some things, Len!
Uh, yikes! I’m Southern so that “brightly burning cross” is just downright disturbing. That thing is best avoided.
I notice the American Family Association is based in Mississippi. They ought to know better…
Frightening. And so subtle.
I wonder if anyone really is buying any of these? I sure wouldn’t. Wonder if they are offering a white hood with those?sparky
I put a story on this too on my personal blog. Don’t worry Len, I gave you mad props! It truly is disturbing.
I’ve seen crosses like this in the past without associating it with a burning cross. I’m sure there is only a select few that would think of it as such. For everyone else, they’ll find it a nice Christmas lawn or rooftop (where it will more likely be placed) decoration.
Thank God for Common Sense. What is really disturbing is that so many are so eager to keep hate alive by associating a cross wrapped in Christmas lights (which has been around for several years – and has a message of hope) with a burning cross:
http://drjshousecalls.blogspot.com/2008/11/christmas-cross-class-morons-point-of.html
@U.S. Common Sense ; @Dr. Mary Johnson : I envy your innocence.
It’s not innocence, Common Sense. It’s about what you’re looking for.
The Cross is the most powerful symbol (of/for good) in existance. The KKK does not, IN ANY WAY, “own” it – they hijacked for hate. And if you just let them have it, THEY WIN.
I find it very sad that those talking up hope seem so determined to focus on hate – and are so bound by it.
The real/true meaning of this Cross sets one free.
I don’t want to get into a big debate about religion, but wouldn’t a cross (lighted or otherwise) be a more appropriate adornment for Easter than it is for Christmas? After all, Christmas is supposed to commemorate the Birth while Easter is for the Death and Resurrection?
Anyway… a lighted cross is a bad idea. It will always bring back memories of those horrible times just the same way the Confederate flag does.
Well, Bob, if your contention (that I do not agree with) is that a lighted Cross is all and only about hate, displaying it at Easter would be no more appropriate than displaying it at Christmas.
I think that comparing a lighted Christian Cross to a Confederate flag (a whole nuther day or two of arguments) is very, very sad.
We’ll also have to tell all those churches that putting up massive lighted Crosses on the sides of highways and such that it’s a “bad idea”.
Let’s face it people. Some of you jumped on this train without really thinking about the message you youselves are sending:
And that is, “We can’t be the change in the world we want to see.”
If I were a black American Christian, I would go out and buy one of these things and plant it in my own front yard as a sign of hope and power and (even) defiance . . .
. . . and as a way to take the Cross back for Christians/Christmas.
@Dr. Mary Johnson : And the German Nazi party “hijacked” the swastika. So, as a “sign of hope and power and (even) defiance” we all should be displaying a swastika in our front windows.
Sorry, Dr. Mary, but I’m not buying it. Hijacked or no, the burning cross is a symbol of racism, bigotry and hatred. Perhaps at some point in the future that stigma will have been erased, but for now it exists and is very real. You may wish it to be otherwise… I know I do… but it isn’t.
But, hey, if you want to display a burning cross on your lawn, front porch or rooftop (or whatever) as a sign of your hope, power and defiance, then I say go for it. It is a free country. You have freedom of speech and of expression. I wish you luck and good fortune. I and my family, however, will not be joining you in that endeavor.
Actually, I am thinking about getting the lighted Cross back out: if only to answer hate-mongering like this.
Yes, the Nazis got the swatiska. But the damned Klan doesn’t EVER get my Cross.
Again, the “Christmas Cross” is covered in lights . . . the message behind it being that Jesus, The Light of the World was born to die for us.
As a decoration, it’s actually been around for several years – but only this Christmas, in the wake of putting a black man in the White House, is the lighted Cross suddenly a PTSD-generating symbol of “racism, bigotry and hatred”.
The Cross is NOT on fire. It’s NOT burning. Hate is NOT the message unless YOU make it the message.
If you truly wish this “stigma” to be erased, you CAN make it so.
And YOU CAN DO IT NOW.
You don’t have to wait.
As noted above, a cross would be more appropriate during Easter, though there is no issue with displaying one during Christmas as well. For myself, I would display neither a cross nor a manger scene out front, since I don’t need symbols of my faith in order to celebrate a holiday (just as you can sing “Christmas” songs throughout the year for the reason, not the season.
In any case, I find it unfortunate that people see a lighted cross and their first thought is that of a burning cross. Call it innocence or maturity; people are going to see what they want to see. There is no reason for someone not to display a lighted cross because someone somewhere might view it as a sign of hate. And if someone does, I encourage them to visit with the family that is displaying the cross and talk to them about it; not in anger but with an open mind. Maybe the person that is seeing a symbol of hatred is the one that needs to understand the meaning of the season the most.
Just for discussions sake, did anyone look closely at the second picture Len provided? Do you see a child standing at the base of the burning cross? “Hatred” is often a learned trait brought about by their environment when growing up. If we want to “erase the hate,” we would have to get past the parents and reach the child. Unfortunately, that is a difficult task, but it is one that would need to be achieved if we were to be successful.
“Maybe the person that is seeing a symbol of hatred is the one that needs to understand the meaning of the season the most.”
Exactly. And that starts with the environment we choose to provide – and the message we decide to pass on.
Hope or Hate?
I’m going with Hope.
Uhm, folks, there is a difference between a lighted cross — a cross with lights pointing at it — and a burning cross — one that has lights on it to emulate a cross that is burning. If you want a cross on your rooftop during Christmas, fine and dandy — just put it up there and point some lights at it. Same deal if you want it on your front lawn — just plunk it there and point some lights at it. I don’t think the cross Jesus was hung on had blinking lights on it, after all! But if you are going to put a burning cross in your front yard or on your roof, don’t be surprised if you get the same kinds of looks as someone who puts a swastika on his front yard or on his roof. You’re free to do so, of course… and I’m free to call it disgusting too.
- Badtux the Lighted!=Burning Penguin
@Dr. Mary Johnson : As I stated, you are free to view that thing in any way you wish. When I look at it, I see a cross on fire. I believe that is what it is meant to represent. A cross on fire is a symbol of racism, bigotry and hatred. Those sentiments are not part of my family’s Christmas celebration. As Badtux so eloquently pointed out, if you want to put a lighted cross up on your lawn, roof or whatever, then have at it. I just do not see the point of pushing people’s buttons with a cross with lights representing fire on it.
I, and others, have stated our views on this as best we can. Feel free to continue arguing. There is really nothing more I have to say on this matter… other than to call “B. S.” on your “I’m going with hope” statement and your accusing me of hate mongering. I’m sorry, but that was just weak.
Dr. Mary,
You keep making the suggestion that those of us pointing this product out are hate-mongering. I can say from my part, and the other comments thus far, that no one “hates” you or your beliefs. Most of those making comments are simply suggesting that this product may not be the most thought out design and does bring back some undesirable memories… even though that was not the intention. If you feel it’s appropriate and would help you to display your beliefs then more power to you. If I feel it’s appropriate to comment on how this product may be misinterpreted by others then more power to me.
That’s the beauty of the First Amendment working for both of us.
U.S. Common Sense… you stated things better than I ever could. I agree with your comments. Well done.
Oh puhlease. The lights do not “emulate” a cross that is burning. That was NOT the intent of the designer – and it was certainly NOT my intent in displaying the lighted (as opposed to burning) Cross one Christmas a few years ago.
It was the Christmas after my Father died. And this Cross lifted my spirits as nothing else could/did.
I actually have already gotten some feedback -from folks following this thread (and mine – and another one at one of my local newspapers – world renowned for race-baiting). And they all think the “burning cross” premise is beyond ridiculous. One quote: “It’s almost as if the Left wing wants to retaliate against the Christian faith.”
Before you howl in protest (your First Amendment right), it’s an interpretation of some of the comments here.
If you are determined for this Cross to burn, IT WILL BURN. What’s the theme of this blog? Doing/thinking the same things over and over again and expecting different results?
That’s what’s really “disgusting”.
At the very least make the lights blink or something so that your house doesn’t look like a Kkklavern hall. Unless you *want* your house to look like a Kkklavern hall…
And next up, I suppose you will tell us that the swastika is a misunderstood symbol of peace and harmony (being a cross with legs to represent the travel of the Christian faith around the world), and that the Confederate battle flag is an expression of heritage, not hate. And that it’s coincidence, coincidence I say, that a bunch of hate-mongers in Mississippi put a burning cross for sale on their web site only days after a black man is elected President. Yeppers, coincidence.
- Badtux the “Pull the other flipper, will ya?” Penguin
Badtux, it sounds like you already know what the swastika was and meant (not just to Christians) before it was hijacked and forever desicrated beyond any rehabilitation by Nazi Germany.
And I am telling you that I am not willing for that to happen to my Cross – I am not willing to let the KKK just have it. And I think that, with this election, we as a nation could be well on the way to some serious rehabilitation. It’s going to take a lot of work. Once again, it’s about the choices you make. Hate vs. hope. Open minds vs. closed.
It’s a fact that, depending on one’s point of view (in this free country), the Confederate battle flag can be both an expression of heritage and hate. Again, that’s a discussion that could go on for hours and hours. For my own part, I don’t fly one.
Just like I don’t burn Crosses. You see, Len/Badtux/justBob, the hate-mongers in Mississippi do not speak for me. Moreover, they don’t speak for the people who designed this cross – or have bought it and displayed it over the last few years – all intending to send a message of hope and love and the Ultimate Sacrifice – before that meaning was hijacked/distorted this year (of all years) by people who seem determined to see something that simply is not there.
I didn’t see the website of which you speak, but I personally don’t know how one would sell an actively burning cross over the Internet.
If you don’t mind, Badtux, you can pull your own flippers. I’m not interested.
“You see, Len/Badtux/justBob, the hate-mongers in Mississippi do not speak for me.”
And these posters who insist on equating the lighted cross with a burning cross don’t speak for anyone except their fellow race baiters who see “intolerable racism” at every opportunity.
The absurdity of that premise is absolutely astounding….but par for the course in this day and age.
I’m not sure that a lighted cross like jillions of the ones I’ve seen before would be so strange to people. I think the thing about this one is that the way the lights are kind of spiky all over it makes it look like it’s on fire. We always had a regular wooden cross that we just kind of strung lights around and I don’t think any of us thought of the KKK. But the one on this post? Too weird for me!
I don’t supposed anyone has considered that the Cross’s appearance may be a function of the photo?
That point aside, as crespo has demonstrated here, it is all in the eye of the beholder. And in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, what is “too weird” for one person may be exactly what someone else needs to see.
It’s called Freedom of Religion and Speech. Constitutional Amendment Number One.
And/or “tolerance”. In this particular case, I think some of those sneering/screaming the loudest in protest need to practice what they preach.
@Dr. Mary Johnson : I think we all pretty much understand your position now.
Thanks, Mary.
Well, Len. You “wondered” what people who sold/bought/displayed this Cross were thinking – or if they were thinking.
Now you know.