Piggy banks banned on Muslim fears

[Lisa]

24oct05


BRITISH banks are banning piggy banks because they may offend some Muslims.



Halifax and NatWest banks have led the move to scrap the time-honoured symbol of saving from being given to children or used in their advertising, the Daily Express/Daily Star group reported today.



Muslims do not eat pork, as Islamic culture deems the pig to be an impure animal.



Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, backed the bank move.



"This is a sensitive issue and I think the banks are simply being courteous to their customers," he said.



However, the move brought accusations of political correctness gone mad from critics.



"The next thing we will be banning Christmas trees and cribs and the logical result of that process is a bland uniformity," the Dean of Blackburn, Reverend Christopher Armstrong, said.



"We should learn to celebrate our difference, not be fearful of them."



Khalid Mahmoud, the Labour MP for a Birmingham seat and one of four Muslim MPs in Britain, also criticised the piggy-bank ban.



"We live in a multicultural society and the traditions and symbols of one community should not be obliterated just to accommodate another," Mr Mahmoud said.



"I doubt many Muslims would be seriously offended by piggy banks."










http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17019370%255E1702,00.html (http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,17019370%255E1702,00.html)

[Dravyk]

In other news, Muslim extremist banks have no plans of stopping the traditional gifts of toy severed head banks which have become a favorite of Islamic street children.

[Trev]

This is madness. Well be banning bacon and sausages next. :mad:

[Newton]

You can't ban Danish bacon, there would be a riot ..

During The Middle Ages, in about the fifteenth century, metal was expensive and seldom used for household wares. Instead, dishes and pots were made of an economical clay called pygg. Whenever housewives could save an extra coin, they dropped it into one of their clay jars.They called this their pygg bank or their piggy bank.

Over the next two hundred to three hundred years, people forgot that "pygg" referred to the earthenware material. In the nineteenth century when English potters received requests for piggy banks, they produced banks shaped like a pig. Of course, the pigs appealed to the customers and delighted the children.

[el pres]

Using a pig on your advertising if it offends 5% of your possible customer base, some of them bloody rich, maybe it's not a bad idea.

Pretty big banks aswell, alot of Arab oil money flows though Londons markets.

[Bhelliom]

I agree with the comment in the article that most muslims woudln't seriously be offended by piggy banks.

Just like most Muslims aren't extremists and religious zealots (these people would be the only ones offended and not because its a pig but because it represents western culture), Most muslims wouldn't be offended by it.

I think most people in the world regardless of their religious beliefs, can at least be tolerant of other cultures.

The Entire PC movement has great intentions but like most movements is now going beyond the boundaries of their original intentions.

Equality among races - Fine, great idea even, But to boost up one race at the expense of knocking down and blaming others is going too far. For example, the piggy bank article, But in another example in Toronto city hall has banned xmas trees and you can't say merry christmas anymore... its season's greetings... seems like I'm sacrificing my background and culture just to not "offend" some people of i'm sure the vast majority don't give a fuck what you do on your own individual holiday.

Womens' rights - fine, great idea even, but its getting to the point where women's rights activists don't seem to be fighting for equality anymore and instead are pushing for female dominance.... what happens then? do we start a mens' rights movement when men are being supressed? No because that's not PC

These are just a few examples of where I think we're going too far with things and need to take a step back and say "Are we doing this for the majority? or to please a very very small segment of society?" These things get pushed through legislation because of that small minority that brings it up ... while the rest of the population remains silent because we dont' see it as a problem or one that would even come up.

Phew I'm done now.

[MorganGrayson]

I just erased a lenthy post.

I glanced down and read Bhelliom's.

What he said.

Of course, I'm the one that got pissed off at the elementary school who justified their Nativity play as a "cultural thing" for the Hispanic students...while tossing a fit over any display of "Santa" at the "Holiday" festivities. I stuck a tree in the library and smacked an angel on top...and just watched them all freak out and try to cope with it.

Having people be very, very afraid of you is fun. :)

They didn't appreciate my loudly proclaimed remark that "Santa" is a religious symbol only if you worship at the Church of the Holy Mastercard much, either.

[Bhelliom]

Excellent point Morgan
Santa isn't a religious symbol any more than Christ was actually born on Christmas.

They celebrate his birthday on a day that was traditionally a pagan holiday so that it would be easier to convert pagans to the christian religion. the thinking that .... well if they're already celebrating something on that day we'll make it easy for them and just ask them to celebrate something else instead. Other examples of this in christian religion... adding things to the religion so that it would be easier to convert the heathens. The halo around angels head. A pagan symbol for the sun god. there are many many more but i'm still pissed about the piggy bank thing so i can't think of anything.

what was the pagan holiday you ask? the winter solstice. Christ was actually born sometime in late january.

And whoever said it would offend 5% of the customer base is full of shit. It will offend some tiny percentage of the muslim population. As mentioned, it will only offend religious zealots that demand everyone else respect their religion and culture but make no effort to respect others.

My biggest problem with the PC movement isn't the ideas behind it, because i happen to respect a lot of things I don't necessarily understand. The problem with it is that we seem to be catering to a miniscule percentage of the population that demands respect for themselves and their culture but refuse to return the favour.

[Trev]

I think Toni was going to post this but she's a tad busy at the moment so I will.

I may or may not have mentioned that my next door neighbour is a Muslim, she's pleasant and relatively friendly but keeps herself to herself mainly.

However Toni was talking with a few of the other mothers in our street. It turns out that a few weeks ago my good neighbour forced the school that her children attend to purchase a new refrigerator to store their food in.

They're the only Muslim children at this school and her "fears" that their food may be stored along with "undesirable" foodstuffs forced the school to buckle...

That was £360 ($635 US) that could have been spent on books if you ask me...

[Bhelliom]

Ummm You have refridgerators at your school for the students? Interesting. I just had to keep everything in my backpack or desk.... How do they keep other kids from say, stealing snak pacs and cookies and stuff? (snak pacs are individual pudding cups)


As to the muslim fridge thing... I choose not to comment on individual cases since I don't know the whole story. As I said I'm open to being tolerant and doing things like that for people that have the emotional and intellectual capacity to reciprocate and be tolerant of the majority. For example, would she also demand that pork be removed from the cafeteria because it offends two people(the children) and deprive the 500 that do eat it? or would she demand a halt to the holiday festivities of the majority of students just to satisfy herself? That in my opinion would be going too far and caving to something like that is ridiculous.

Fair and reasonable request should be treated fairly and reasonably. an Addition to the norm is fine and healthy in a multi-cultural society. But Taking something away from one to appease another isn't.

Just my opinion. I'll stop now before I go off on my classmates

[Trev]

Ummm You have refridgerators at your school for the students? Interesting. I just had to keep everything in my backpack or desk.... How do they keep other kids from say, stealing snak pacs and cookies and stuff? (snak pacs are individual pudding cups)
The refrigerators are in the schools kitchen, her children get different meals from the rest of the children and now they're stored in a refrigerator of their own. She'll be asking that they be prepared on their own cooker in pans only to be used for them next... if she hasn't already..

[MorganGrayson]

The refrigerators are in the schools kitchen, her children get different meals from the rest of the children and now they're stored in a refrigerator of their own. She'll be asking that they be prepared on their own cooker in pans only to be used for them next... if she hasn't already..

While meanwhile, I'm sure every Kosher Jewish kid has a sack lunch his Mom made at home, in the proper kitchen. (I hope Mom never find out the kid is hawking his lunch to Goyim kids who crave the tasty nibbles.)

The celebration of "Yule," (the Winter Solistice) is just another one of those days where pagans make with the merry and give thanks for things. Oh, kind of like Christmas would have been if done correctly. I don't have more than a humorous irritation at the early Christians who boosted all of our holidays and made them their own. It was really quite sensible from a "takeover" standpoint. The early pagans most likely rocked out totally with the whole "Happy Birthday, cool dude" aspect of the whole thing. Stars, angels and talking animals appeal to our appreciation of magick. It wasn't until later, when the Church of the Holy Mastercard took over, that things got totally out of hand.

I send Yule gifts to one daughter and her husband and some friends; Christmas gifts to two daughters and some friends; Hannukah gifts to my sister and her family and some friends...basically, my family celebrates everything.

In my none-too-humble opinion, if a religion doesn't afford as many opportunities as possible to throw a party, give thanks and in general love life, it has no business existing.

[Trev]

While meanwhile, I'm sure every Kosher Jewish kid has a sack lunch his Mom made at home, in the proper kitchen. (I hope Mom never find out the kid is hawking his lunch to Goyim kids who crave the tasty nibbles).
The nearest Jewish community to me is about 11 miles away in Gateshead. In a very expensive part of Gateshead I must add. :)

[MorganGrayson]

The nearest Jewish community to me is about 11 miles away in Gateshead. In a very expensive part of Gateshead I must add. :)

Now I know where to go to find the good delis! :clapping:

[domtheboy]

What a fucking joke.

I'm not even going to comment on this any further than that, my blood pressure can't take it.

[PornoDoggy]

Sigh.

A financial institution not using "piggy banks" as promotions strikes me as kind of dumb.

A separate refrigerator to keep Islamic children's food away from "unclean" food doesn't strike me as terribly unreasonable, however. That could be because I came from a right-wing Christian Republican suburban community that saw fit to do that for the 25+ Jewish children spread out over 18 grade schools, 3 junior highs, and 1 high school some 30+ years ago.

I part company with people when contact with reality is broken. "[I]ts getting to the point where women's rights activists don't seem to be fighting for equality anymore and instead are pushing for female dominance..." is an excellent example. Idiocy is an equal opportunity feature that has most certainly struck some members of the feminist community, the gay community, every religious community I am aware of with more than 4 members, ad nausem. The fact that some of the idiots advocate extreme positions shouldn't be used to tar entire movements, genders, races, religions, classes of people, etc.

I, for one, am no fan of politically correct language. I don't believe that children should be taught that Christopher Columbus perpetrated crimes against humanity. I also believe that children should be taught that much of what Christopher Columbus did would be considered crimes against humanity if committed today. The same standard should be applied when teaching about European (ALL European - Anglo, French, Spanish, and Portugese) interaction with aboriginals on both continents of the Western Hemisphere.

I don't give a fuck if they ban saying Merry Christmas in schools or government offices. Santa's representation of commercialism run amuck and the gimme mentality offends me far more.