By Donna Gordon Blankinship, Editor, JTNews
King County Executive Ron Sims’ November memo reminding his workforce to remember religious diversity this holiday season was nothing out of the ordinary in politically correct Seattle.
But the telephone calls and e-mail response from people across the country — mostly from outside King County — has been virulent, profane and anything but routine.
Sims described the staff members who screen incoming phone calls as “shell-shocked” by the nasty response from people who interpreted Sims’ memo as outlawing Christmas this year. He noted, however, that the response from the local Jewish and Muslim communities has been supportive.
The Nov. 9 e-mail sent from Sims’ office to all King County employees stated: “With the post September 11 tragedy climate and the religious holidays starting, we at King County want to ensure that any upcoming holiday celebration at the workplace is held in a respectful, inclusive, and sensitive manner that does not favor one religion over another. Particularly in public areas, this means that any holiday recognition or celebration should be religion-neutral.”
It goes on to suggest using greetings such as “Happy Holidays” and “Holiday Greetings” and to check with fellow employees before planning a holiday party to make sure everyone feels included. Decorations such as poinsettias, evergreen boughs and lights are OK; religious symbols are not.
Sims says the response to the memo was relatively quiet until a month later, when an interpretation of his statement was shared on the Internet through the Web site of Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.
In a Dec. 10 story on the New York organization’s Web site, president William Donohue responds, “The time has come for employees in King County, Washington, to be arrested for saying “˜Merry Christmas.’ But before they do so, they should contact the local media. What a show this would be — having dozens of Catholics being handcuffed by the cops for uttering what their boss regards as an obscenity.”
And obscenity is exactly what Sims, who is also a Christian, has been hearing.
“The intolerance has been absolutely startling. People have made bigoted comments, anti-Semitic comments. People have been abused,” he said last week. “The real statement we’re hearing is that people are not at all willing to accept others who accept differences… I’m really disappointed by the behavior.”
Sims said that within the workforce, “We have a lot of people supporting us.” He said employees have come up to thank him for giving voice to their experiences.
“I’m always the forever optimist. I had assumed we had turned the corner,” said Sims, an African-American running a large county government renamed in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King. “The phone calls we have received reminded me of the mountain we still have to climb.”
He said the response to his November memo and a December follow-up strengthened his resolve to keep on pushing for tolerance and inclusiveness. “We’re neither as tolerant as we think we are, nor as inclusive as we must become,” he said.
One pleasant outcome has been the vocal showing of support by members of the Jewish and Muslim communities. Members of both communities have stopped by, sent e-mails and called to thank Sims, according to spokeswoman Elaine Kraft. Rabbi Jim Mirel of Reform congregation Temple B’nai Torah in Bellevue has spoken publicly in support of Sims’ efforts. A local Muslim leader invited him to attend a Ramadan celebration this week as the guest of honor.
“He went out on a limb for a good principle that’s important to the Jewish community,” Mirel said, adding that he felt it was necessary for the Jewish community to thank him for taking the heat for speaking out in favor of religious tolerance.
One person who stopped by to show her support was Robin Boehler, a leader in numerous Jewish organizations and a former employee of the city of Seattle.
“I wanted to thank him and support him because I thought it was incredibly courageous of him to step forward … and acknowledge that not everyone celebrates Christmas and it can be offensive to people working in city or county government to be bombarded by Christmas,” Boehler said. “The reason I don’t celebrate it is because I’m not a Christian, not because I’m a Scrooge.”
Boehler said she was shocked by the response and the anti-Semitism and racism that has surfaced. She wasn’t surprised, however, that people felt like they were going to lose Christmas.
“Ron is asking people to give up something. Right now, Christians have everything,” she said. “People in the majority … have to give up taking Christmas for granted.”
Boehler said this was a wonderful surprise for non-Christians during Hanukkah and Ramadan. “He didn’t do it for the Jews. He did it because he thought it was the right thing to do…. Ron just said out loud what everybody knows.”