Santa a “fire hazard”?
Santa has disappeared in Manhattan Beach, CA., a suburb of Los Angeles. City employees contacted me and said the inflatable Santa that was on top of the fire house was taken down because of one complaint (is there some sort of an anti-Santa contigent in Manhattan Beach?). I also heard from scores of residents asking me to find out what happened.
The first call I made was to the Manhattan Beach City Manager Geoff Dolan. He refused to take my call. Genius. His assistant Patricia was very nice, and when I asked her what happened to the Santa, she jokingly suggested I check milk cartons. Pretty funny, but have things gotten this bad? After all, we’re not even talking about that Son of God guy. Just the Elf boss. Who, last time I checked, was not mentioned anywhere in the Bible. While Dolan wouldn’t speak with me, Patricia said he suggested I contact the city’s fire chief (did you feel that buck passing by you at 100 miles an hour?).
Manhattan Beach Fire Chief Dennis Groat told me he ordered the Santa removed because it was a “fire hazard.” Which is slightly hard to believe considering it was the firemen themselves who set up the display. Only after I laughed and then pressed him did he admit there had also been one complaint, indicating, as Chief Groat put it, “the Santa did not match the other winter celebration lights in the city.” The man couldn’t even bring himself to use the word “Christmas.”
Chief Groat insisted, however, it was not the complaint that led to the disappearing of Santa, it was primarily the “fire hazard” aspect. It was just a big, fat coincidence that Santa was removed after the one person complained. But not according to the city employees I spoke with. They all indicated the only reason they were given for the removal was the complaint alone.
In addition to City Manager Geoff Dolan refusing to take my calls, the mayor never responded to an email message.
Bottom line: if you’re a resident of Manhattan Beach, you deserve better, less juvenile representation than what I encountered. Manhattan Beach, btw, also has a traveling Santa, who visits each neighborhood on a truck bed. If a Santa on a Roof is removed because it’s called a “hazard,” how long do you think the Santa on a Truck is going to last? Speak up because it seems Christmas in Manhattan Beach is devolving into some freakish “Winter Festival,” sans not only the Baby Jesus, but Santa, too.
Have we gotten to the point where these twits have crossed the line and now believe that Santa Claus is worshiped by Christians and should also be banned? LOL! Let’s just go all the way and get rid of the lights, the trees, the gifts and how about just removing the day-off for everyone from the calender? Will this make them happy? No…because people like me will still celebrate the birth of Jesus…and THAT is what they don’t like!