A maths teacher at a high school in Maine, USA has been allowed to keep her pink Hello Kitty Christmas tree in her classroom. The tree was made from pink plastic and was adorned with Hello Kitty ornaments. The teacher, Catherine Gordon, had earlier been ordered by the school principal Paul Butler to remove it after he decided it was an "inappropriate" Christmas decoration. Mr Butler explained to ABC News that he initially believed the tree did not fit with the way the school celebrated the different religious events happening at this time of the year. He said: "A concern was shared with me regarding an inconsistency with our balanced approach to holiday observances."
在美國緬因州,高中數(shù)學老師準許在教室擺放Hello Kitty粉紅圣誕樹。圣誕樹由粉色塑料制成,掛有Hello Kitty裝飾物。但稍早時,因圣誕裝飾“不適宜”,校長保羅·布特勒勒令凱瑟琳·戈登移除圣誕樹。布特勒在接受美國廣播公司采訪時稱,他起初認為這棵圣誕樹與學校慶祝其它宗教方式不符。他認為;“在奉行宗教節(jié)日方面,此做法并不事宜。”
Ms Gordon said: "I didn’t think a pink Hello Kitty tree was offensive. It's a tree that's been up in my classroom for years." She posted her story on Facebook and it quickly went viral. She wrote: "The tree had no religious symbols on it whatsoever. No crosses or angels, just pink Hello Kitties and my students really enjoyed it." She added that society was becoming too worried about upsetting different people. She said: "I feel that this is definitely a turning point in our society when everything offends everyone all the time. It just sucks the joy out of everything." She told the local newspaper that: "It just seems that in our quest to be tolerant of everything, we've become intolerant to everything."
戈登認為:“我不認為Hello Kitty粉紅圣誕樹是大不敬。這棵樹已經(jīng)在教室里擺放多年。”她將經(jīng)歷發(fā)到“臉書”,并迅速走紅。她寫到:“這棵樹沒有任何宗教含義。沒有十字架,沒有天使,只是粉色的Hello Kitty。我的學生很喜歡。”她還補充道,整個社會擔驚害怕,生怕會刺激一些人。她認為:“當我們總是對任何事情感到不安時,這正是社會的轉折點。這只會讓所有事情了無生趣。”她在接受當?shù)孛襟w報道時稱:“當我們希望包容一切時,我們反而對所有事情都無法包容。”