Tyrone Terrill should be called to account as to why it's OK to insult the intelligence of sane thinking people. Nobody has complained so the only person not thinking sanely is our very own Tyrone Terrill. The City authority should consider Terrill's judgement as predudice has been exercised in this case. This type of action is truely pathetic and provocative.

Happy Easter everyone!

Posted by: Turbinehead at March 25, 2006 7:18 AM

Tyrone Terrill, the city's human rights director...

Saddled with a name like that, you'd want to get your own back on the world. The Easter Bunny is just an egg-scuse to get a terrill out of petty tyrony.

These bans on toy pigs, Christmas lights and so are usually instigated by council officials with nothing better to do, rather than by Muslims themselves.

Posted by: Interested at March 25, 2006 7:27 AM

Synecdochically next on the list are the non-Easter bunnies, and the batteries that charge them. And Faberge eggs on display in the Richmond Museum and other museums around the world. And bakeries that sell Kulich. And Easter bonnets, and those who, like Irving Berlin, dare to celebrate those bonnets. And the bees that can sometimes be found in those bonnets. And even Shakespeare, for alluding anachronistically to Irving Berlin's song when he wrote of "well-appareled April."

There is no end to this.

Posted by: Hugh at March 25, 2006 7:44 AM

Upon first perusal, my brain read "Tyrone Terrill, the city's human rights dictator....".

I kid you not.

Posted by: Vee at March 25, 2006 7:46 AM

Since when do our cities require a "human rights director"?

The doctrine of human rights seems to be replacing two things: patriotism and religion.

Human rights uber alles.

Posted by: Rebecca JW at March 25, 2006 7:47 AM

Will the White House Easter Egg Roll have to go? What would Tyrone say?

Posted by: Rebecca JW at March 25, 2006 7:51 AM

If you get rid of bees in bonnets, then you're going to have to get rid of flies in ointment, elephants in rooms, hobbyhorses and other bêtes noirs.

Posted by: Interested at March 25, 2006 8:29 AM

http://www.stpaul.gov/contact.html

Why don't you send this moron a message? I did and it felt good.

PJ

Posted by: PJ at March 25, 2006 8:34 AM

PJ l just sent in a rather nice comment to their idoit Tyrone. is does feel good!

Posted by: Lulu at March 25, 2006 9:23 AM

Uh-oh, this is bad news for Vegreville, Alberta. The world's largest pysanka (Ukrainian Easter egg) is located in the city park:

http://www.roadsideattractions.ca/egg.htm

I wonder if Chabad in St. Paul will be allowed to have the giant Menorah next year? I wonder if this banning all references to all religions except That Which Cannot Be Named can get any more absurd?

Posted by: libbysmom at March 25, 2006 9:30 AM

Fire this guy!!

Posted by: freewoman at March 25, 2006 9:37 AM

It is unfortunate that we have to fight these battles when we could be out helping the homeless or something positive. I think we all realize this is just another attack on western religion. A few thousand, letters, phone calls and the like should restore order. Let’s get started.

Posted by: Ronin at March 25, 2006 9:58 AM

Whats totally out of control is the fact that we have just got some very sick people in control of decision making at the moment. We just need to stop accepting what we are told to do and oppose it everytime. As these request have no legal validation in a free democracy. Cant fight any bully by accepting their demands like skullking scolded children. Politely tell them where to go, with a confident and stern manner. If they dont understand the polite approach, then stand up for your rights in a more clear way that leaves them in no doubt as to what you are telling them. This is a battle each and every single person can take on through our everyday lives, that if stuck to by all will percolate up through the rank and file, to become a loud cry of HELL NOOOO END THIS BULLSHIT NOW!

Posted by: dizzyfatplonka at March 25, 2006 10:19 AM

As a Christian, I don't celebrate the Easter Bunny. I celebrate the resurrection of my Savior.

Eliminating the Easter Bunny as a religious symbol is going too far!

Posted by: WatchfulEye at March 25, 2006 10:43 AM

How long before someone proposes changing the name of the city itself? After all, it might offend some people's sensibilities to have to write "St Paul" in the upper left corner of all their outgoing mail. Truly, even the daily receipt of mail addressed to so and so in "St Paul" could be viewed as causing unnecessary emotional distress to the recipient. And I've never been there but there must be millions of offensive signs all over the place - "Welcome to St Paul", the St Paul hardware store, the ST Paul public library, etc etc. Why should people have to endure the constant reminder in their daily lives of a Christian saint?

Posted by: Caroline at March 25, 2006 10:49 AM

Poor Easter bunny, just another casualty of PCness in Dhimmisota. It also shows that a lot of Americans don't even know what Christianity is anymore if they think that we regard a rabbit as holy.

That must mean Minneapolis will have to remove the huge metal rabbit statue on Minnehaha Parkway. Every Easter, someone decorates it.

It should be noted that Norm Coleman was the mayor of St. Paul awhile ago. In the middle of that run, he changed from Democrat to Republican....

Posted by: Itachi at March 25, 2006 12:04 PM

"The doctrine of human rights seems to be replacing two things: patriotism and religion"
- from Rebecca's post

I wouldn't mind if human rights were considered more important than patriotism or religion, in general. In this case, I'd rather take a look at what "human rights" means in this horrendous newspeak usage. What kind of "human rights" are evoked here? Which "human rights" did the bunny violate?

Apparently, the followers of the "Religion of Peace and Tolerance" have a "human right" not to be exposed to the visible signs of other religions or cultures in public places.

This appalling misuse of the term "human rights" transcends Orwell's own worst fantasies. Looks like non-Muslims have no "human right" to practice their religious or cultural mores, while Muslims have a "human right" to eliminate all signs of non-Islamic cultures from their sight, anywhere where they choose to settle. What's next? Demolition of churches in all Western countries in order to protect "the human rights of non-Christians"? They're so disturbingly located in public places as well! So offensive! So against the religious rights of the Most Tolerant of all peoples!

Oh, and of course, the followers of the ROP also have a "human right" to behead the apostates in their midst, as is made clear in the "new, democratic" Afganistan. Just why not recognize their "human right" to exterminate all Infidels? With a logic like this, it wouldn't be a very far-fetched idea, would it?

Posted by: rahel at March 25, 2006 12:36 PM

Tyrone Terrill, the city's human rights director, asked that the decorations be removed. Terrill said no citizen had complained to him.

This dipstick has a make-work job so he's obviously trying to justify his existence on the city payroll. Just another puerco feeding at the public trough. His only difference with a welfare bum is having a college degree (or two) tucked under his belt

Posted by: dennisw at March 25, 2006 1:00 PM

The name "SAINT Paul" must go. It offends billions of non-Christians. We could call it The City. So as to not offend anyone anywhere, all of our cities could be named "City Number 1" through "City Number N". All Christian names must also be banned. We need a government approved list of non-offensive names for children. There may be an opening coming up for the post of Handicapper General. Mr. Terrill should consider applying. By the look of things though, competition would be very stiff.

Posted by: Hulegu Khan at March 25, 2006 1:04 PM

I, uh, sent the Mayor a suggestion that it might be a good idea to change the name of the city - it's so - Chrisitan sounding. Don't want to be offensive, do we?

Actually, this is pretty absurd, most Christians do not have anything to do with the Easter bunny at all, in fact think it is a pagan celebration of the equinox.

Posted by: Kay at March 25, 2006 1:15 PM

It could be a statue the Easter Bunny, Optimus Prime, or Mr. T representing Easter; the fact that all of the above are graven images notwithstanding, the real problem they have is with Easter itself... And yet, I'd expect it's still an official holiday in the state of Minnesota.

So they can put that in their pipes and smoke it in a non-sectarian, nondenominational sort of way.

Posted by: Shinoliite at March 25, 2006 1:23 PM

A bit of clarification from the People's Socialist Republic of Minnesota:

1. The official objection was to the sign that said "Happy Easter", not to the bunny and the eggs. Neither rabbits nor eggs are haram.

2. The original name of St Paul was Pig's Eye (named after the notorious Pierre "Pig's Eye" Perrault). There may be some cause for offense and seething here since the name "Pig's Eye" has been retained for a large island in the Mississippi where the St Paul sewage treatment plant is now located. There also used to be a Pig's Eye beer brewed here, but I haven't seen any for many years.

Posted by: Norseman at March 25, 2006 1:29 PM

Oops, that's Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, not Perrault. And I am informed that Pig's Eye beer still exists, but that it is brewed in Wisconsin! Sacre bleu!

Here's a link to Pig's Eye's Notepad, where you can get the whole story.

Posted by: Norseman at March 25, 2006 1:38 PM

"other bêtes noirs..."
-- from a posting, originating from near Camden Passage, above

Noire, I'd wager, were I a betting man, though one wishes it were otherwise. One likes one's betes rough and tough and savage. Possibly the misassignment of gender here reflects an unacknowledged unwillingness to accept, when Beauty meets her Beast, whether in Perrault or Cocteau, the implied sapphism of the same-sex definite articles. These la-las jar, not the long-inured French, but rather the innocent speakers of English whose inner censors assume that if Beauty is feminine (which she is, when not busy being Truth), then the beast in view must be masculine. Disturbed to discover it is not so, our verbal weal turns round to verbal woe.

Posted by: Hugh at March 25, 2006 2:09 PM

Just you wait, Henry Higgins.

Posted by: Interested at March 25, 2006 2:21 PM

Interested, wouldn't that be "Just you waight?"

Posted by: Infidel Pride at March 25, 2006 2:47 PM

The Muslim version of the Easter egg hunt is the minefield traipse, where children are sent out to see if there are any live mines left in a field.

Posted by: Television at March 25, 2006 2:51 PM

Norseman wrote:
Here's a link to Pig's Eye's Notepad

Did you take a look at the root URL?
See: http://www.lareau.org/

It has some very strong views, which the author of "Pig's Eye's Notepad" must subscribe to, but views that probably aren't held by many who read and post on JihadWatch.

Posted by: xapie128 at March 25, 2006 3:44 PM

That See: http://www.lareau.org/ site, aside from being emblazoned with sentiments that would warm the cockles of Tim McVeigh, also leads the surfer to a venue where he or she can purchase Pitcairner scrimshaws.

Posted by: Television at March 25, 2006 4:54 PM

I propose renaming the city for a combination of its historical names - PIG's eYe and ST paul -and calling it PIGSTY (just to give some folks something to really complain about). Come to think of it that's a pretty good name for a town that wants to deter a large influx of Muslims. How many Muslims would actually move to a town called Pigsty? Do they shop at Piggly Wiggly?

Posted by: Caroline at March 25, 2006 5:29 PM

Rahel, you're right. Upholding human rights would mean allowing everyone to display their religious symbols, including pagan bunnies.

As an atheist I've tolerated many a prayer at the beginning of workplace meetings (mainly due to many Maori's and Pacific Islanders' devout christianity here in NZ), but put up with it since it was important to them, did me no harm, and put everyone in a more relaxed and peaceful mood. When it was my turn to lead the 'meeting opening' as they officialy called it, I used a song or poem.

But if anyone had started using prayers of any ilk that actually undermined human rights and violated the peaceful workplace atmosphere (e.g. something about 'killing infidels' or 'opressing women), I would have complained.

Isn't that what these human rights people should be focusing on: encouraging the peaceful aspects of all beliefs (including atheism), and curbing any that truly interfere with human rights?

Posted by: Lili at March 25, 2006 8:41 PM

Caroline:

How long before someone proposes changing the name of the city itself? After all, it might offend some people's sensibilities to have to write "St Paul" in the upper left corner of all their outgoing mail.

Then how about St Louis?

And the statue, for the matter of that?

The statue is of the Crusader King Louis IX of France, clad in 13th Century armor and depicted going into battle with an inverted sword symbolizing a cross.

http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/parks/forestpark/history/statue.html

Posted by: Yojimbo at March 26, 2006 9:31 AM

PJ,
My cousin's wife just sent an email to: http://www.stpaul.gov/contact.html

She forwarded to me and doesn't mind me sharing it. So here it is:

"I have an aunt and other relatives who live in St.Paul and was absolutely disgusted that you've banned the EASTER BUNNY!

How petty can you get? I'm a Latina Catholic, my husband is Jewish and neither of us can believe that anybody would be offended by a stuffed fuzzy little rabbit. In fact, I can think of thousands of people like myself who are DAMN OFFENDED that some petty-minded hyper-sensitve IDIOT would even think of attacking something that is beloved to millions of children like the Easter Bunny. Tyrone Terrill needs to get a real job. More important he needs to get a life."

Posted by: Provoslavni at March 26, 2006 5:27 PM

Isn't this the same St. Paul with the dhimmituded citizens agreeing to support a Charter Islamist School that prohibits art classes as unIslamist? Was it in St. Paul that the college professor had her privately displayed Mohammed cartoons removed by her department head because she was not 'sensitive enough' to the Muslim 'students'? Perhaps I'm confusing these occurances. Maybe they happened in yet another major American city.

Tyrone et al are moving in on a name change for the uber offensive Saint Paul. I've suggested it before but here goes again: Minnesota? No. Dhimmisota.

I hope the good people of St. Paul hop on over to Tyrone's building and decorate the place themselves. Human Rights Director indeed!

Posted by: Daisytoo at March 27, 2006 12:31 AM

Britain is becoming a pee cee nightmare for everyone. A handful of seventies type Trots seem to dominate the policy making decisions in public life and are policing every aspect of the public's life. Naturally, these people gravitate to those kind of jobs because they're not much good at anything else and they'll have a comfortable life with a good pension at the end of it.

Posted by: londongirl at March 27, 2006 6:45 AM

I'm a non christian, and hey it's okay put the bunny back, it's not offensive at all, also I enjoy christmas.

I think this must be a huge misunderstanding. How could anyone possible be offended by the easter bunny unless they are mentally unwell?

Posted by: meredith at March 27, 2006 12:45 PM