A Salvation Army bell ringer in Arizona was recently assaulted for wishing a shopper “Happy Holidays.” The perpetrator? A supposed Christian woman.
Salvation Army worker Kristina Vindiola told ABC15 that she was collecting donations outside a Walmart in Phoenix, Arizona when she was struck.
“The lady looked at me,” Vindiola said. “I thought she was going to put money in the kettle. She came up to me and said, ‘Do you believe in God?’ And she says, ‘You’re supposed to say Merry Christmas.’ And that’s when she hit me.”
According to ABC15, the woman swung at Vindiola and hit her arm. She then walked into the store.
Media outlets like Fox News have successfully fueled the Christmas debate during the last few weeks. Last week, on Fox’s Spirited Debate, host Lauren Green and co-author of The Answer: Proof of God in Heaven, Marius Forté, told American Atheists, Inc. president David Silverman that they were offended by his group’s Times Square billboard, which states: “Who needs Christ in Christmas? Nobody?”
Shortly thereafter, Fox’s Megyn Kelly decided to comment on a Slate article during her show, The Kelly File. In the article, Slate’s Aisha Harris suggested that perhaps the image of Santa, a fictional character, should be altered to avoid alienating children of other races. Kelly responded that both Jesus and Santa are white, and that is that.
“By the way, for all you kids watching at home, Santa just is white, but this person is just arguing that maybe we should also have a black Santa, but Santa is what he is,” Kelly mockingly said. “Just because it makes you uncomfortable,” she continued, referring to the article’s author, “doesn’t mean it has to change. I mean, Jesus was a white man too…”
Enough is enough.
During the holiday season and throughout the year, everyone would do well to remember this: Attempting to force your personal beliefs on others, or treating others with disrespect because they hold different beliefs is not only not a Christian thing to do, it’s not a moral thing to do.
That sort of behavior is not appropriate for any human being from any ideological background. Mind your own business and treat others with respect. That goes for everyone, whether you’re preaching about keeping the “Christ” in Christmas or out of it.
Alisha is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow her on Twitter @childoftheearth.
