Strange Christmas lawn 'decoration' in my neighborhood.

[trof]

They have a couple of those ugly (IMHO) inflated things from Walmart in front of the house.
Off to one side there's a cross made from two by fours with a baby Jesus in a manger at the foot.

I've never seen the cross (signifying Jesus's death) in Christmas (signifying Jesus's birth] juxtaposed lawn decorations.

I'm a heathen, so it really doesn't matter to me personally.
I just find it...odd?
:shrug:

[QueenOfCalifornia]

1. They probably

have "Jesus is the reason for the season" tattooed n their ass too.

idiots.

[trof]

2. I thought Walmart was the reason for the season.

But what do I know?
;-)

[Liberal Veteran]

3. Put one of these up

[trof]

5. Is that the 'Pirates of the Carribean' creche?

cool

[Liberal Veteran]

9. It's the FSM nativity.

[trof]

12. Flying Spaghetti Monster? That's MY church!

[deucemagnet]

19. WANT!

I assume that the the beer volcano and stripper factory is optional?

[otherlander]

4. i don't understand

why christians are so into the whole cross-symbolism thing anyway. yeah, i get it, it's how their hero died, but you don't see all the trotskyites going around wearing icepicks around their necks...

[trof]

6. I guess a symbol of my 'hero/saviour' would be crutches?

Or a wheelchair?

[ghostsofgiants]

7. That's because Trotsky wasn't killed with an icepick, i was an ice axe.

:P

But it's like the old Bill Hicks joke, you think if Jesus comes back he wants to see a fucking cross?

[trof]

8. Well, I didn't know that.

I'll have to read up on it.

[ghostsofgiants]

10. It's interesting stuff, I did a term paper on it a few semesters ago...

For a Revolutionary Russian History class.

[trof]

11. And here we are.

On August 20, 1940, Trotsky was successfully attacked in his home by a NKVD agent, Ramón Mercader, who drove the pick of an ice axe into Trotsky's skull.<46>

The blow was poorly delivered and failed to kill Trotsky instantly, as Mercader had intended. Witnesses stated that Trotsky spat on Mercader and began struggling fiercely with him. Hearing the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader, but Trotsky stopped them, shouting, "Do not kill him! This man has a story to tell."<47> Trotsky was taken to a hospital, operated on, and survived for more than a day, dying at the age of 60 on August 21, 1940 as a result of severe brain damage.<48> Mercader later testified at his trial:

I laid my raincoat on the table in such a way as to be able to remove the ice axe which was in the pocket. I decided not to miss the wonderful opportunity that presented itself. The moment Trotsky began reading the article, he gave me my chance; I took out the ice axe from the raincoat, gripped it in my hand and, with my eyes closed, dealt him a terrible blow on the head.

According to James P. Cannon, the secretary of the Socialist Workers Party (USA), Trotsky's last words were "I will not survive this attack. Stalin has finally accomplished the task he attempted unsuccessfully before."<49>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Trotsky#Assassination

[Manifestor_of_Light]

23. Didn't that happen at Frida Kahlo's house?

When she was married to Diego Rivera?

Or have I got my bomb throwing radicals mixed up?

[tigereye]

22. crap, that spoils the name of one of my fave Calif. bands from the 80s!

trotsy axe doesn't sound nearly as good as Trotsky icepick. :cry:

[madeline_con]

17. Well, now that you put it that way...

:rofl:

[RFKHumphreyObama]

24. It's not the same

One of the central themes of Christianity is the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. For Christians, Jesus Christ's death on the cross and his subsequent resurrection saved humanity and bridged the gulf between God and man. The cross is meant to be symbolic of that and an acknowledgment of the suffering that Jesus underwent to save mankind

The theme of Trotskyism is his Trotsky's life and works. The ice pick is not a central theme in defining Trotskyism and its followers and therefore would serve no constructive purpose being hung around the necks of those who subscribe to its ideology.

[Drunken Irishman]

26. Because it's supposed to remind you of his suffering.

Since, you know, he suffered for you.

Yeah, it's a little macabre, but it isn't difficult to understand why religious groups embrace the cross.

With that said, the Mormons do not.

[lizerdbits]

13. At least they didn't buy this from the American Family Association

https://store.afa.net/pc-10000310-11-christmas-cross.aspx

:scared:

[trof]

14. Christmas cross? That's like 'born-died'.

Traditionally the cross is an Easter symbol.
I think we're blurring the lines here, and I DON'T LIKE IT!
:rofl:

[Liberal Veteran]

15. Seems like a good idea to me. Happy All Hallow's Christmeastergiving.

Just do up the traditional holidays in one big package.

C'mon, you know you want the bunny to bring you a pumpkin with a nativity scene on it that smells like turkey and tastes like marshmallow peeps.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

29. I found this perfect picture couple years ago...

[lizerdbits]

16. That one looks like it's on fire

which is what creeped me out.

[JitterbugPerfume]

36. I'M MAD AS HELL

and I ain't taking it any more!!!!!:rofl: :rofl: They sully our traditions!!

[madeline_con]

18. A KKK member's dream yard art. n/t

[txwhitedove]

20. Yep, saw a cross in my neighborhood last year - indeed odd.

..... of course along with the giant inflatable lawn ornaments
and one lighted Star of David!

:hi:

[tigereye]

21. those inflated things always blow down - what a pain that would be!

I like the white metal deer with lights... or a simple creche or tree....

[Drunken Irishman]

27. We had a snow globe one a few years ago.

I set it up, took a long time and the next morning I came out to find it on the other side of the lawn, smashed against the rose bushes. It had popped.

Fuck that.

I think they're ugly anyway. Especially the Halloween ones.

[trof]

33. They have 4 inflatables across the street.

One 5' high Mary-Joseph-Baby Jesus in a stable, one Santa Ship with Santa on it and Rudolph rising in and out of the smoke stack, one snow globe with snowman inside, and one stand alone snowman.
Overkill and just plain tacky.

They're only inflated at night, so during the day they look like brightly colored laundry scattered around the yard.
:eyes:

[Drunken Irishman]

38. Yeah, I see 'em all around town deflated.

And it's really tacky and ugly.

People don't seem to understand that you can go overboard when decorating for Christmas.

Those inflatables are the definition of overkill.

[blondeatlast]

34. I walked over to tell my neighbor that his had--he said they turn off the compressor during the day,

I would have thought they would just blow them up for good and refill as necessary but that seems to be the way everyone does it.

[trof]

39. I think the blower has to run continuously. How much power does THAT consume?

:eyes:

[blondeatlast]

42. I imagine a great deal. I never see those fully inflated during the day.

It must be enormous amounts of electricity.

[southerncrone]

25. EVERYTHING about this fairy tale is odd, haven't you noticed before?

[Jamastiene]

28. See? That's just more proof that some people use their Bibles

as weapons so much that they never actually open it and read it. Everybody else knows there are 33 years between Christmas and Easter

And there those people are getting ready to nail the Baby Jesus to a cross right away. That's almost like a cat wearing a bib with a fork and knife in its paws, standing over a mouse in labor. :wtf:

[MineralMan]

30. Ahh...then you'd love my front yard

[trof]

41. I like 'Gone Fishin' Santa'.

That would go over big down here on the bay.

[spinbaby]

31. There's one of those in our town

It's like a signpost to wacko fundies. The one in our town is on big ol' house that I know has nine bedrooms--probably one of those "quiver full" families.

[peekaloo]

32. You should demand those people place a placard that reads *Spoiler*

near the cross. For those who haven't read that far into the Bible. :silly:

[blondeatlast]

35. ...

:spray:

DUZY fo' sho'!

[trof]

40. Very Good!

:rofl:

[hedgehog]

37. There are a lot of people who claim to be Christians who are afraid that

somehow, somewhere, someone is having a good time!

[Lance_Boyle]

43. it's a time-saver

your lazier "christians" will just tack the plastic walmart baby jesus up to the cross and leave it to decorate the yard from late October through early-to-mid-Spring, depending upon the timing of easter.