Merry Christmas $(*#&@$!!!

The Lowell Green Show on CFRA in Ottawa is discussing the fact that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty's "Christmas" card does not come right out and wish recipients a Merry Christmas in English or French.

It is extremely offensive to me that Dalton McGuinty deems it offensive to say "Merry Christmas" and avoids doing so to stay in the good books of some minorities... but apparently not all. He doesn't say it in English or French, but he does in Filipino, Spanish and, apparently, in German too. Greetings are there in about thirty languages and it seems that "Merry Christmas" is OK in at least a couple dozen of them. Callers to the show are translating for those of us who do not speak the thirty languages Mr. McGuinty evidently can.

Earlier this morning I was told that employees at a rather large nursery off of Innes Road are told that they must express warm wishes of "Happy Holidays" to customers as they complete a sale. I will not shop at a store that has a policy prohibiting staff from saying "Merry Christmas". If I find out after a sale that there are such rules in a given establishment, I'll wander over to the refund counter to get my money back.

Each so-called "minority" who is asked by members of the media whether they are offended by "Merry Christmas" responds by saying it is utterly ridiculous that "we" in most part refrain from using the offensive statement. Rabbi Reuven Bulka has said so in each of the past three years. Many "on the street" new Canadians who are interviewed claim that Canada's diversity is one of the factors that attracted them here. Why can my culture and my Christmas not be part of our multicultural mosaic?

I'm not against multiculturalism, I'm not against equal rights. When one's rights become "more equal" than someone else's, however, I get annoyed. So Merry Christmas, everyone. If you don't want to wish people a "Merry Christmas" for fear of offending, then don't send greeting cards and just keep to yourself.

Humbug.