On the Front Lines

The front lines of the War on Christmas, that is.

After years of defending the words "Merry Christmas" from the assault of the words "Happy Holidays", the tide may be beginning to turn.

This year, the defenders of Christmas are on the attack against those who would replace their most important name of a Holy Day in December with a generality designed to be as politically correct as possible. Their weapon of choice: an online ratings system for retailers.

The website allows users to rate their Christmas shopping experience, from Friendly, to Negligent, to Offensive. Other potential Christmas shoppers, it is hoped, will change their shopping plans so they spend their money at places like Bass Pro Shops (97% Friendly), K-Mart (82% F), or Sears (79% F), instead of Old Navy (60% Offensive), Best Buy (76% O), or GAP (85% O).

I think there's a second interesting conclusion to be drawn. Taking a look at the places that seem to respect Christmas versus those that prefer general Holiday cheer, I'd say there's a calculated move on the part of management to stress (or un-stress) the "Christmas" aspect of their holiday sales.

The costumers at Old Navy and GAP are far more likely to desire a P.C. attitude (or at least less likely to be angered by it) than the shoppers at Bass Pro Shops or Cabela's. I'm generally in favor of saying whatever you want to say (although I don't really care for "Happy Holidays" personally), but if the stores are doing what they think will best satisfy their costumers, I'm going to count that as the market doing its job.

--