Jim Inhofe On Parade Slight: 'Why Do They Always Pick On The Christians?'

Last week, if you recall, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla) had some emotions because of that time he could no longer participate in a Tulsa parade because they had named it the "Holiday Parade Of Lights." This forced Inhofe into a position where he would have had to validate other holidays of other people who practice other religious faiths. Despite the fact that the parade remained Christmased-out to the max, and had always welcomed Tulsans of all stripes to celebrate their particular holidays, Inhofe had to travel almost fifteen miles in order to find a parade that had the name "Christmas" in it in order to ride his horsey, which is some of the worst religious persecution ever meted out to humans.

Per Alex Seitz-Wald at Think Progress, Inhofe went on Fox and Friends this morning to continue to have emotions over this minor inconvenience he forced himself to face for no good reason:

[WATCH]

CARLSON: So, what you're saying is, that it's not like you're not tolerant of other religions. ... What you're saying is -- what a lot of people are saying in our society right now -- which is if we're supposed to be tolerate of all these other religions, which pretty much everyone accepts, why does it always seem like Christianity is the one to take the boot?

INHOFE: They're the ones to get the hit. ... I think there are a lot people of other faiths who wonder also, why do they always pick on the Christians?

There can be no doubt that Inhofe's personal struggles do not in any way cheapen the suffering of other Christians, such as, say...the congregants of the Our Lady of Salvation Church of Baghdad -- which was attacked by terrorists just over a month ago. Right? I mean, Christians are so terribly picked on, in America. Next you'll be telling me that Christians aren't allowed to worship in some parts of Lower Manhattan, or something.

RELATED:
Inhofe: 'Why Do They Always Pick On The Christians?' [ThinkProgress]

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Comments

[bart4u]

02:47 AM on 12/22/2010

I just read a great comment which I agree. I do not care if you celebrate a Christmas parade, just do not use my tax dollars to do it. Not everyone celebrates your Christian holiday.

[silverfox500]

10:29 PM on 12/14/2010

The word "Holiday season" is an insult.

[silverfox500]

10:23 PM on 12/14/2010

This is such a pet peeve. "Bah, Humbug" on Holidays. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

[baileywick]

06:08 PM on 12/13/2010

".........what a lot of people in our society ( on Fox Gnus ) are saying, is", Fox is B#LLS#IT!

[ChaCubed]

11:38 AM on 12/11/2010

The local newspaper published a list of 15 different Christmas celebrations, including pagents and concerts and plays and nativity-scene-lightings, etc., etc., etc., held at Christian Churches in my area; and not one "war" has been started against Christmas, nor has there been any hint of anyone "picking" on the Christians celebrating it.

Reality is always the best antidote to lies and statements by extremists and muckrakers.

[JR Jake]

02:13 PM on 12/08/2010

Why? Because most people think that just because Jesus said 'Turn the other cheek' and 'forgive 7 x 70' times; that we won't harbor ill will or bare our fists. Well I only have a possibility of four cheeks on my person, 2 of which are on my face. And I can still accept forgiveness of the clown who is stupid enough to confront me while I lean down and pick him up off the ground, can't I?

To be a Christian means we are to have broader acceptance and tolerance of others even when the average man might fight, we should avoid confrontation. But when someone creates a danger to my family and others we are supposed to stand up to bullies and worse.

The God of Israel was no wuss in the sense he allowed Samson to lay bare a hall full of Philistines. Ninevah was warned by Jonah, they repented but turned back to their EVIL/VILE ways and 30-40 years later they were wiped bare of humanity. What happened to them, the Amorites, the Amelkites? I have not seen any records of their whereabouts lately have you?

[Danilo Gurovich]

07:36 AM on 12/08/2010

Wanna "pick" on Christians? Tax the church!

If the Bard were alive today, he might say "The Senator doth Grandstand to much, methinks"

[From the Raft]

05:53 AM on 12/08/2010

The same reason, Senator Inhofe, you always pick on "homosexuals!"

[Rick Heisler]

03:22 PM on 12/07/2010

Global Warming Denier Inhofe's got it right! White, European male Christians have always been persecuted throughout history:

They were battled and killed by the thousands during the Crusades (wait, they did the crusading); they were subjugated and killed by European disease during the Discovery Period (wait, they were the conquerors): they were tortured during the Inquisition (wait, they did the torturing); they were killed by the millions during the Holocaust (wait, they killed the Jews); they injected their religion into US politics and government (wait, they're the "Moral Majority")....

OK, now I'm confused.....

[baileywick]

06:11 PM on 12/13/2010

Fanned for funny

[Semper813]

02:55 PM on 12/07/2010

I can understand his sentiment in the sense that Christmas is becoming more and more generic and anesthetized in the name of political correctness (calling a parade that is clearly a Christmas parade a "holiday" parade, for example). It's not that Christians should not be tolerant of other religions--we should be. It can get frustrating, however, when it feels like we have to tiptoe around labels, just in case someone gets offended.

[Jan GrahamMcMillen]

03:09 PM on 12/07/2010

Imagine the centuries of frustration felt by so many of the rest of us non-Christians who have had to tiptoe around our Christian friends lest we offend them. One of the solutions to all this tip-toeing around is to openly, fairly and generously include more of our society in this biggest holiday of the year.

[Semper813]

11:14 PM on 12/07/2010

I don't want to exclude anyone from celebrating Christmas or any other holiday. My frustration arises from the ridiculous level of political correctness our society exerts on certain things, including Christmas. There isn't a religion/faith (fill in the blank) in the world that hasn't been persecuted over the centuries, including Christianity. I guess it just gets tiresome when you can't call an apple an apple. That said...happy holidays!

[DD2005]

11:34 AM on 12/12/2010

Jan GrahamMcMillen : I bet you don't complain about the day off work though do you? "Christ"Mas .... not hard to understand. And I doubt you've sufferred for "centuries". Have a little respect and tolerance for one of the biggest Christian days of the year. Non-Christians made it the "biggest holiday of the year" in terms of what Christmas has become. Santa, sleighbells, etc.....nothing at all to do with Christmas in the traditional sense.....you are all included in the the "Commercial Christmas" but all we ask is that Christmas, the religious holiday be respected.

I don't ask my Jewish friends to change the name of Hanukkah, Chanukah to "Holiday" or to call their Hanukkah candles "Holiday Candles" or to call the Menorah a holiday candle holder.

[charlygardel]

12:28 PM on 12/08/2010

..."It's not that Christians should not be tolerant of other religions-­-we should be. It can get frustratin­g, however, when it feels like we have to tiptoe around labels, just in case someone gets offended."

Might I propose a simple solution that should make all sides happy? Have as many "Christmas Parades" as you like, but don't use public funds (i.e., money that includes that of non-Christians) to do so.

In turn, I promise that I will use no taxpayer money for my large "Sakya Pandita Day" festival in downtown Oklahoma City.

However, if you are going to use *our* non-Christian money for your parade, at least do us the common courtesy of pretending that it isn't exclusively about celebrating and propagating *your* religion.

[blewvelvet]

02:44 PM on 12/07/2010

Uh..because there are OTHER people who live in your community and PAY for the taxes which pay for the parade......and you exclude people..you are separating yourself.

Why not join the Democrats and invite EVERYBODY to the party..they are the Party of everybody else who's not a self-important religious elitist ..make the season universal..and hey..come on board to the Democrats....we can make your horsey a classic!

[charlygardel]

12:36 PM on 12/08/2010

..."Why not join the Democrats"

Please, please no. For the love of Zeus, no.

I'm all for a big tent, but I don't think that there is a tent big enough to accommodate Mr. Inhofe's oversized sense of entitlement and still leave room for anybody else to breathe.

[baileywick]

06:26 PM on 12/13/2010

Thank you. I wouldn't want Mr. Imhofe to have to justify dinosaurs in the parade.

[whirledgonecrazy]

02:23 PM on 12/07/2010

Why isn't Christmas Christian?

[peacespy]

07:34 PM on 12/07/2010

Christmas isn't really a Christian celebration any longer (if it ever was) because it is so commercialized and because it has become so NOT a religious celebration and because Christians have become to believe in the "Christian Prosperity Philosophy" rather than humbleness, humility, service to the poor and powerless that the Christmas Celebration no more resembles what Christianity is truly about than the Easter Bunny represents the meaning of Christ's crucifixtion!

[whirledgonecrazy]

10:27 AM on 12/08/2010

That's my point! It's a pagan holiday that was swallowed by Christians.

[onionboy]

02:23 PM on 12/07/2010

This is a bit of self-plagiarism from a couple of my own past posts. I believe that Senator Inhofe has read the following biblical passages:

From the holiest of all saints, Saint Nick:

"The Lord didst appear before me in the form of a talking snowman...in the desert...and instruct me in the ways of tree adornment. Then didst he instruct me to find a sled...in the desert...from which to guide magically-blessed flying reindeer...also found in the desert; that I might travel God's Earth delivering gifts to all baptized children; decreeing that only a chimney shall an egress or ingress make; and at the North Pole must I reside."

Lest Easter be left out, here are Jesus' last words to the Romans as he hung crucified.

"Lo, when I doth rise again, an embryonic plight shall I deliver on Rome; for thou shalt find that thine eggs have gone hither and thither. Thou shalt search for thine eggs and find them adorned with non-toxic vegetable dyes, so that thou wouldst place them in decorative baskets. Thine pride shalt not be spared either; for the instrument of thine annual clandestin­e assault on nourishmen­t shall be the base enemy of Rome itself. For as Rome was founded by he who was raised by wolves; so shall it be assaulted by that which has been ravaged by wolves as Rome has ravaged me...the bunny."

[peacespy]

07:36 PM on 12/07/2010

I liked this post much better than mine above.

[charlygardel]

12:41 PM on 12/08/2010

Single best post that I have read in the last 12 months.

I stand in aught of your profound knowledge of Scripture. Fanned, Faved, copied and pasted into my notebook (where full credit will be given to you for pointing out the relevant passages, of course).

[onionboy]

01:48 PM on 12/08/2010

I see I forgot the citation. Book of Jabberwocky 12:17 and 13:2, respectively.

Dog be with you, my son.

[llmitchellb]

02:19 PM on 12/07/2010

Poor Christians

[Jan GrahamMcMillen]

02:19 PM on 12/07/2010

Really, it's high time for Christians like Inhofe and his ilk to shove over and give those of us who do not share their specific beliefs a little celebration space. Those of us who hold other beliefs might like to see a little of the cordiality that our culture has extended to Christianity all these centuries. I'm happy to see public expressions of Happy Holiday and Season’s Greetings extended to the world at large. These expressions allow me to feel a little inclusion, and I appreciate it when I see or hear them. Ours is not and should not be regarded an exclusively Christian culture, but in point of fact our whole way of life is heavily influenced by it, and Christianity will dominate the season for the foreseeable future. But as representative of the faith, Inhofe’s whining and childish behavior reminds me of the mindless selfishness demonstrated in the old fable of the dog in the manger.

Inhofe should make an appropriate display of Christ-like generosity as well as a thoroughly American inclusiveness and back off, shut up and ride in the damned parade with a little grace and style.

[sobaytransplant]

02:27 PM on 12/07/2010

Indeed! Fanned!