What about the fact that the toys are also graven images? While we're tiptoeing around certain unnamed "religious sensibilities," can we expect an animal-free farm set, too?
Of course, this decision defies logic on so many levels, but it is part of a broader pattern of illogical assumptions and expectations. There is the unnecessary, self-inflicted burden taken on by non-Muslims to assume all responsibility for not offending Muslims -- in other words, pre-emptive dhimmitude. There is the self-inflicted sense of helplessness and bewilderment in the face of threats of "radicalization" brought about by an unwillingness to address the supremacist impulse and sense of entitlement to rule that is inherent in Islamic teachings. There is the hope against hope that if one is just "nice," and gives people everything they demand, that will solve the problem and there can be peace once everyone's "hearts and minds" are set aright.
And so, illogic generates more illogic: are toy plastic pigs now ritually unclean? Is the company afraid of going under due to poor performance in the overseas market for farm sets against their non-pig-including competitors? Are they afraid of an interview on the BBC 15 years from now where a jihadist explains: "Well, it was the pig in my farm set all those years ago. That's what put me over the edge. That's what did it"?
On the bright side, consumer outcry did manage to reverse this decision, unfortunate as it is that it could happen in the first place. "Toy pig pulled from farm set on religious grounds," by Josie Clark for the Independent, November 16 (thanks to all who sent this in):
A retailer withdrew a toy pig from a children's farm set to avoid the risk of causing offence on religious grounds, it emerged today.
This is not, however, the first time something like this has happened.
A mother who bought the Early Learning Centre's (ELC) HappyLand Goosefeather Farm for her daughter's first birthday contacted the store after finding that the pig was missing, the Sun newspaper reported.
The £25 set contained a model of a cow, sheep, chicken, horse and dog but no pig, despite there being a sty and a button which generated an "oink".
But ELC chiefs have since decided to reintroduce the pig, with parents who have bought the set invited to get the toy from the company's website.
The mother, named only as Caroline, posted about her experience in a forum on parenting website Netmums.
She wrote: "Checked the box and discovered that there isnt a piggy. Went online, nope no piggy. So I emailed ELC and the response that I had makes my blood boil...(The ELC wrote) 'Previously the pig was part of the Goosefeather farm however due to customer feedback and religious reasons this is no longer part of the farm."'
Caroline added: "This is political correctness gone loopy. On what basis did they remove it?
"This is as bad as no more 'baa baa black sheep' or other such things. Stuff like this is just insipid, it worms its way into every aspect of our lives and we just let it happen. Surely if someone has issue with a toy that they don't agree with, then don't buy it!"
A mother called Chouli responded: "Does it have a disclaimer on it, though? 'Pig sold seperately (sic)'? Perhaps they keep a stash of them in the back somewhere in brown paper bags?"
And another named Safiyyah said: "I'm Muslim and it doesn't bother me. It's just another animal.
"What are the store going to do next? Ban the Peppa Pig cartoon? Stop selling books with pigs in? This is a multi-cultural country."
The ELC later said it had decided to reinstate the pig.
A spokeswoman said: "ELC is a truly global brand, which means we need to be aware of the full range of customer expectations and cultural differences. The decision to remove the pig from our Goosefeather Farm set was taken in reaction to customer feedback in some parts of the world.
So, British customers don't matter, and simply have to conform to the tastes of the "global" market. Classy.
"We recognise that pigs are familiar farm animals, especially for our UK customers. Taking on board all the customer feedback, we have taken the decision to reinstate the pig and to no longer sell the set in those international markets where it might create an issue.
"Any customers who have bought Goosefeather Farm in the last few months will be able to order a pig free of charge to complete their set via our website in the coming weeks."
The tighter we are bound by Political Correctness, the worse and possibly more violent will the backlash be.
I'm suspicious of that Muslimah claiming the toy pig doesn't bother her. Yeah, right, she was probably one of the ones on the phone demanding the pig be removed.
How far are things going to go, before the non-"minority" set begins to get really fed up?
----
Be nice to Muslims? I'd sooner french-kiss a Murloc.
How disheartening! Just more unnecessary appeasement and politically correct crap! The can either not purchase the set, or purchase it and toss the pig themselves.
Just more for them to whine about! Screw em'!
So are these are these UK dhimmis next going to ban pig cartoons? No Porky pig? No three little pigs? no piglet? No Babe? and that cute pig from Green Acres? Are dogs next? Where does the appeasement and dhimmitude end? perhaps it ends in an Iraq,Egypt, Porkiestan or other islamic places where the christians are second class noncitizens and really have no rights.
What is wrong with these dhimmis??? the backbone is totally missing!!! Are they "devolving" into tadpoles now??
The Ultimate Muslim toy set will contain only a Quran.
The Ultimate Muslim Fast Food Purchase will contain only a Quran.
The Ultimate Muslim Library will contain only a Quran.
The Ultimate Muslim University will teach only from the Quran.
The Ultimate Muslim Shopping Mall will sell only Qurans.
The Ultimate Muslim Movie Theater will only show Jihad Films and lunatic Muslim clerics reading the Quran.
THe Ultimate Muslim world will occur when all on the planet are Islamic drones not unlike the SCI-FI Borg...mindless, clueless, unimaginative, non-thinking slaves with nothing to do except to seek out Non-believers and convert them or kill them...
Future travelers from yet undiscovered civilizations from distant planets will destroy the Planet Earth to keep the Islamic virus from spreading...
exsgtbrown:
Actually, I've always thought of Muslims are more like Daleks.
"Amy, what does hate look like? It looks like a Muslim." - The 11th Doctor, paraphrased. (Victory of the Daleks).
-----
Be nice to Muslims? I'd sooner french-kiss a Murloc.
Fellow Travelers,
I could use a helping hand here:
http://www.tuftsdaily.com/op-ed/a-film-for-israel-s-real-allies-1.2405857
It's nice to see that a Muslimah thought taking the pig out was PC-gone-mad, too.
What about Jainism? The ELC clearly hasn't thought twice about how much offence a farm of any kind might cause them.
Could that be because it's only Islam that counts?
Specifically, these comments are troubling:
***********************************************
Anonymous Mon Nov 15 2010 18:48 "It's tiring replying to all the Hitler-lovers at Tufts. What is it about Tufts that attracts these kind?"
Arafat expect a bias incident report in the near days. How dare you have the audacity to comapre pro-Palestinians to that fascist killer. Your IP Address will be surrendered. You have no idea who are you messing WITH. I am ready for you.
Ramzi Mon Nov 15 2010 17:53 So I read through comments from Arafat and a couple of others that were so outrageous, I've taken the liberty to compile a few lines for everyone to see blatantly. I'm not just misconstruing his comments by taking lines out of context; these are serious statements from Arafat and a couple of others, and reflect their beliefs:
"UN has become a force for evil"
“Only Lucifer, ooops, I meant Lucas, could twist this into something against Israel and for the murderous, terroristic baby-killers of Fatah and Hamas and Al-Aska brigade, etc…”
“but he is not killed as is done in Islam.”
“The noble UN. Yeah, right. It's morphed into an evil tool in the hands of evil fascists.”
"Only difference is, instead of spending years blowing themselves up against those countries..."
“You wrongly believe that if you helped in liberating them, they wouldn't want to kill you or make you a dhimmi”
These are sweeping, hateful generalizations about a religion and ethnic group that clearly constitute racist remarks. They go along with personal insults and absurd claims (the UN is evil and fascist? that is your argument?). From their comments, it is quite clear that these people group Arabs and Muslims into one unit, with preconceived notions of its characteristics. Its such a display of ignorance that I hardly believe I'm not looking at Youtube comments.
But the saddest part is that I have to explain this to some people who are taking Arafat's statement and his various internet "sources" seriously. I shouldn't have to spell out to some people how utterly offensive, untrue, and outrageous these statements are.
Take the time to look at the arguments and sources Lucas offers (and he gives many legitimate sources, whether you like it or not) and contest them if you'd like. But some are simply writing him and his sources off as "self-hating", wanting "Israel's destruction," and the likes- which are nothing more than unsubstantiated smears that detract from a healthy discussion. This article has a point of view that needs to be heard; criticize it if you like, but please do so in a mature, sensible manner, not in the backward way that Arafat and others do.
Where is Pigman when you need him?
Tanstaafl: Actually, I saw Pigman not too long ago over on the CBC site. Like me, he was getting comments deleted left and right. :)
speaking of brilliant early Eng. punk tunes>
a treat for the brits this mornin-evenin?>
although old dead joe turned out to be far too left for my taste in the end>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQwm1v1R-qM
Of course, this decision defies logic on so many levels, but it is part of a broader pattern of illogical assumptions and expectations.
As a long time follower of the Fictive Reality game, and the opinion programming industry in general, I'm a huge fan of the Islam Fictive Reality, which is the bubble in which these illogical assumptions and expectations spring.
Also, the IFR is perhaps the most effective one of all, given how difficult it is to sell the product they're pushing.
Even with its very heavy suspension-of-disbelief handicap, the IFR is the best of breed. Bravo!
Lowes Home Improvement outlets are selling giant pig Christmas decorations. The pigs are dressed in Santa Claus suits. This could be a double haram: Christian bishops and pigs...make that triple haram -- celebrating the Messiah's birth!
I wonder if Lowes will get any "customer feedback."
The "prophet" Muhammad hated everything in God's Creation except himself and his libido. I know it seems easy enough to say that, but it's an insight derived from fairly extensive perusal of the "sacred" scriptures of Islam. Those scriptures are only sacred in the sense of "set apart, dedicated and devoted exclusively to a single use or person", (and that is, of course, Jihad and Muhammad).
The Early Learning Center has just released a CD of well-known children's songs! Here's a sample.
'Old MacDonald had a farm, ee-i-ee-oh
And on that farm there were no pigs
ee-i-ee-i-oh.........'
Then there's 'Three men and a camel, went to mow a meadow....' followed by 'Knick-Knack Paddy Wack give the parrot a bone...'
Ah, innocent childhood!
I wonder who is living in whose country - are Muslims living in Britain or Brits are living in a Muslim country??? Looks like the latter!!!
Brits are giving away their own country to slaves of Arab imperialism without even a shot being fired!!!
This is insane. Whoever made the retailer decision to remove the pig from the childrens' farm set deserves to be fired. Is the name known? Ten-to-one says it is an Muslim name. Any takers?
this is bull shit. christ, the more you give in the more they want. so this practice needs to stop.
Muslim customers will be able to get a camel and a little knife for qurbani.
Pigs are actually more intelligent than dogs, and dogs are actually more intelligent than---you fill in the blanks!!
Poor Muslims! How sad they can't "pig out" on roast pork! mmm, mmm, good!
By the way, why haven't the Jews thrown hissy fits about plastic pigs and piggy banks? They consider pork and pork products unclean, too. Could it be that they are not intent on imposing their ideology on the non-believers, and that they are tolerant of other religions and belief systems?
Just what is it that drives Muslim intolerance? Could it be...shhh... the Qur'an and Hadiths, and the capricious beliefs of the tyrannical founder of the faith??
Nah...we all just misunderstand Islam and its practitioners. They are just as harmless as Catholics, Presbyterians, Methodists, Mormons, Baptists, Hindus, Buddhists, and navel gazers!
I dread the day when this comes to the USA and frankly any company that complies to this should be boycotted. I am afraid that the more Muslims we foolishly allow to immigrate here the more likely it is going to happen but we must resist, with all our strength this form of PC.
Thank Robert for always bringing these things to our attention.
They pulled the pig because of "religious reasons" but not the cow? Wouldn't Hindus be offended? Or, is this model a dairy farm? For that matter, what about vegans? Not a religion, but who needs animals for slaughter?
When they add a camel, the games over.
SO, I say to the toy company, " HEY there matie, what's up with having ANY animals on the farm??"
You know the pig AND the dog offends the muslims, the cow the Hindu and I hate personally sheep... and lastly the whole animal thing is not needed on the farm. Why, all those animals , well........ they WILL offend the G.D. vegans!
So why not make it a vegetable farm with play dirt and phoney manure and tiny little plastic vegetables to put in the little trays of dirt??
OH! NO! Can't do that 'cause the little kiddies might put the "dirt" , the "manure" OR the tiny little plastic veggies in their little mouths. NOT SAFE!
OH, HECK!!
Why have a farm AT ALL??? Phoooey this PC crap is just too much!
SO, I say to the toy company, " HEY there matie, what's up with having ANY animals on the farm??"
You know the pig AND the dog offends the muslims, the cow the Hindu and I hate personally sheep... and lastly the whole animal thing is not needed on the farm. Why, all those animals , well........ they WILL offend the G.D. vegans!
So why not make it a vegetable farm with play dirt and phoney manure and tiny little plastic vegetables to put in the little trays of dirt??
OH! NO! Can't do that 'cause the little kiddies might put the "dirt" , the "manure" OR the tiny little plastic veggies in their little mouths. NOT SAFE!
OH, HECK!!
Why have a farm AT ALL??? Phoooey this PC crap is just too much!
OOPs why a double post ? I have no idea. Sorry all.
Kaixo writes, "Poor Muslims! How sad they can't "pig out" on roast pork! mmm, mmm, good!"
Being Jewish, I'll never "pig out" on that roast pork. But I won't deny you your pleasures. My rules don't apply to you. That's the difference between us and "them".
I should add that when I was 7 years old, one of my favorite books was the "Freddy the Pig" detective series. And when I graduated Hebrew school, the rabbi joked about my interest in "ham radio". Good thing I wasn't Muslim.
British customers don't matter any more? Neither do Australia"s in this PC, global world. I queried Sanitarium, the Christian vegetarian food company, about their halal certification, and was told that it is about the global market. So (unsaid)they have to go against their Christian principles and suck up to Muslims at the expense of their local market. So that's it. All principles out the window to please the global market, which seems to consist primarily of Muslims.
The whole globalization push has flies on it, and always did. Buying "local" is not always an option, either.
rnathansoo
Thank you for your response. I am surprised that a follower of the "Religion of Peace" has not yet posted a scathing response to Marisol's post. But what would he complain about without making a fool of himself?
It all boils down to a supremacist attitude and the "my way or the highway" philosophy inherant in Islam...
I recall a few months ago Egyptian Muslims were slaughtering the pigs belonging to Coptic Christian farmers using the flimsy pretext of the risk of a "swine flue" danger...
Lyrics to "Old Muhammad"
Old Muhammad had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a cow, E-I-E-I-O
With a "Moo-Moo" here and a "Moo-Moo" there
Here a "Moo" there a "Moo"
Everywhere a "Moo-Moo"
Old Muhammad had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Old Muhammad had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a pig, E-I-E-I-O
With an “oink-oink” here and an “oink-oink” there
Here an “oink” there an “oink”
Everywhere an “oink”
Then Gabriel said Allah hates ham, E-I-E-I-Oh-No
With a dead pig here and a dead pig there
Nowhere an “oink”
Everywhere a “Mo-Mo”
Old Muhammad had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Ol’ Mo had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a dog, E-I-E-I-O
With a "bow-wow” here and a "bow-wow” there
Here a "bow-wow” there a "bow-wow”
Everywhere a "bow-wow”
Then Gabriel said Allah hates dogs, OW-OW-OW-OW-O
He threw the dog down a well, E-I-E-I-O
Old Muhammad had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
Ol’ Mo had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
And on his farm he had a sheep, E-I-E-I-O
With a "bah-bah" here and a "bah-bah" there
Here a "bah-bah" there a "bah-bah"
Everywhere a "bah-bah"
Then Khomeini said it’s okay,
Just don’t eat the unclean meat the same day,
So ol’Mo laid it in the hay, E-I-Uh-Uh-Ohhh
Old Muhammad had a farm, E-I-E-I-O
We are at the point of no return - are we?
This is as insane as what I am going to state now: I want all pictures, festive season cards, statues and where-ever the CRESCENT MOON appears, to be removed because it is offensive to my Evangelical Christian life and world view.
Next will be all the pre-school and early grades' story and reading books - lots of "pig"-stories in those, you know! Madness upon madness! I can still remember my first English Reader(English is not my mother tongue) about farm animals, Master Willy the Pig was my favourite.
"And after the ruling pigs had become indistinguishable from their human neighbours, the animals lived a life of misery on their Farm.
However, things got worse when Farmer Mo bought Farmer Jones' farm, and began waging a war of conquest on the Animal Farm because of the pig leaders, and their dog lackeys. The animals rose up to defend the pigs, as hated as they were, because they knew that life under Farmer Mo would, if anything, be worse."
---an extension to the end of Animal Farm, with a nod to Mr Orwell.
Love to see how the ELC will rewrite Orwell's classic "Animal Farm," since the lead characters (the stand-ins for both Stalin and Trotsky, among others) are all pigs. Also love to see what they will do with E.B. White's "Charlotte's Web" and all its TV and movie adaptations (the lead character is a pig) and with the "Babe" series of movies. Not to mention Mother Goose: the Three Little Pigs. And then there's A.A. Milne's classic. Christopher Robin's best-friend in the Hundred Acre Wood is Winnie the Pooh (a honey-eating bear who is sweet but not very bright). And Pooh's best friends are a hyperactive tiger, named Tigger, a cute young kangaroo called Roo, Roo's maternally warm mother Kanga, and a terminally depressed donkey called Eeyore. Have I forgotten anyone? Oh yes, that little porcine creature. Had to decapitate and remove him due to Muslim sensitivities.
Because they are fat, funny-looking, and make funny noises (grunts, snorts, and the notorious "oinks"), pigs are subjects of derision and merriment, and also used as insults against humans (Muslims and the smug self-righteous New Left of the '60s and its ideological/cultural descendants call anyone who disagrees with them "pigs"). In fact, empirical evidence suggests that pigs are intelligent and sensitive animals.
The power of the purse! One: The U.K. now has a pretty big Muslim population. Two: Christians, Jews and other "infidels" won't miss the pigs. Three: Ergo, remove the pig, increase sales, make more money.......it's as much Capitalism at work as it is dhimmitude and, I suspect, in this case, more the former than the latter. Unfortunately the Muslim community will celebrate it as another small but significant victory and embolden them further if that's possible in the U.K.