The New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is objecting to the new logo for the Village of Tijeras. Some village residents are objecting to the ACLU.
At issue is the village seal, an image containing depictions of a conquistadorâs helmet, a sword and a Catholic rosary. Itâs the last item that has the ACLU concerned.
âReligious minorities cannot be made to feel like outsiders simply because the government endorses in an unenlightened way the majority faith,â says Peter Simonson, the executive director of the New Mexico ACLU.
Nah, that's not a rosary, it's a set of Islamic "worry beads," traditionally carried by Middle Eastern men (and for good reason if history is an accurate guide). The thing on the end is another traditional Islamic item, a dagger.
Yeah; that's the ticket, worry beads.
The village is simply declaring its solidarity with the understandably anxious Michael Moore Minutemen in Iraq.
See, Mr. Simonson, it's ok, they're Islamic.
You can go home now.
âItâs part of the culture that has been the Village of Tijeras for centuries,â argues Mayor Gloria Chavez, who later said, âthe response I got from people is fight it, donât sit back.â
âI donât see why this needs to be an issue or an episode,â said Tijeras resident Norm Scott. âThis has nothing to do with the first amendment or my civil liberties. This has something to do with people having nothing better to do.â
Simonson has said the ACLU would rather settle this disagreement without taking any legal action. But on Thursday, Simonson said that village officials are not listening to reason and he may have to resort to the courts.
If the case winds up before a judge, the legal precedent will be on the ACLUâs side: In 1985 the ACLU successfully sued Bernalillo County to have a Spanish cross removed from the countyâs seal. That cross has been replaced with a Zia.
Both "Peter" and "Simon" are New Testament names specific to Christianity. Mr. Simonson should therefore either change his name to "Moonbeam von Multicult" or something similar, or shut up. We surely can't have him polluting the public airwaves with the religious propaganda inherent in his own name.