A grocery store in St. Louis has stirred up some controversy over one store manager's public expression of faith.
Tom Collora, manager of Cullinaria in downtown St. Louis, put up a crucifix behind the customer service counter in view of the checkout registers. Collora has worked for the chain for 40 years and has displayed a crucifix at 2 other Schnucks (name of the parent company) stores with no complaints from customers.
This time, though, someone is upset. Lori Weinstock,who is Jewish, said that the crucifix in the St. Louis store upset her enough to write a letter to the Jewish Light newspaper. Weinstock says, "It would have been equally startling if it had been a Star of David or an emblem of another religion. It's grocery shopping, and it should be welcoming to all and exclude none."
Collora says that the crucifix is not meant to promote his faith over another. He says, "It's just an opportunity to share a part of my faith with people I work hard to serve every day."
Lori Willis, communications director for Schnucks, says that Collora is the only manager to request to display such an object and that company leaders granted the request out of respect for Tom and his faith.
One reason for the controversy is that the crucifix, which shows Jesus nailed to a cross, is an ambiguous symbol that can mean something good to one religion and something entirely different to another. To the Jewish people, like Lori Weinstock, it can mean, "You're a Christ killer."
Whatever the opinions about Tom's display may be, it continues to hang in the store. The Anti-Defamation League of St. Louis has decided not to lodge an official complaint with Schnucks, despite recieving individual complaints. Says a company spokesperson, " After some significant discussion within the Jewish and interfaith communities, we felt this was not a battle that should be pressed right now."
The first line of the article simply says that a manager of a grocery store is causing some concern after hanging a crucifix behind the customer service counter of his store. My initial reaction is of course it's going to cause concern! A religious symbol hanging in a public business? Not the best idea if you don't like to attract negative attention.
I read a little farther and discovered that this is a chain of stores, not just one store belonging solely to this guy. That's when I started to wonder how on earth he was getting away with with a stunt like this. Isn't there someone at the corporate level who wouldn't allow such a blatant display of faith in one of their chain of stores? I wasn't upset with Collora though. Far from it, in fact. I was already admiring the guy for having the guts to do something like this. But I still wondered how he managed to pull it off.
So I read the rest of the article and was pleasantly surprised to read that the company leaders had already approved this display of faith in at least 2 other stores. I had been worried about this guy losing his job over his beliefs, but the company is backing him! I think that's pretty awesome, myself. I'm happy for him that he has a job where he can express his beliefs without fear of being reprimanded or fired.
As for those who complained about the crucifix, I say shop somewhere else. If it makes you uncomfortable to see such displays, don't leave your house. What's next? Telling churches that every cross or other symbol has to be moved to the inside of the building just so no one has to feel uncomfortable while walking down the sidewalk? Sadly, ideas like that don't seem so far-fetched anymore.
We are a country that prides itself on being accepting of everyone, no matter what they believe or what lifestyle they choose. That is, unless that faith happens to be the Christian one. In that case, you'll most likely be labeled a fanatical, overbearing faith-pusher if anyone hears a peep from you.
Anyway...time to come down from soap box now. One last thing though-
I have to wonder if Ms. Weinstock really would feel the same way about any other religious symbol that didn't remind her that the Jewish people killed Jesus?
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When you think about it, any business that is vocal about their political, social or religious beliefs is just asking for trouble and less sales. People are easily offended and love to complain about anything these days. Other businesses have intertwined their religious beliefs into their marketing. For example Chick-Fil-A, a Christian based fast food chain who are notoriously closed on Sunday so their employees can go to church. If people don't like something they don't have to support them by spending their money there. Good article.
ReplyDeletePeople need to grow up and realize the world does not revolve around them. We have become a society of pansies, each afraid of offending one another. As an individual if there is something on TV that I don't like, I don't complain to the station, I change the channel or turn the set off. If someone writes a book that I don't agree with, I choose to not read it. We have made it a point to make everyone think that their opinion is important, truthfully it's not important at all. The United States as a whole needs to stop molly coddling these whiny, cry baby, children, and tell them to grow up.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad to hear someone say that! Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard a little bit. I've always had the same view on this kind of thing. If you don't like it, don't look at it, don't read it, don't listen to it, etc. I'm glad there are a couple of people who agree with me :)
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