Dear all

Here's a collection of news, stories and quotes for your diversity stocking this Christmas!

• Christmas is cool, says equality boss
• God in Britain?
• Migration helps fight poverty
• One for the Kids - the worst Christmas joke ever?
• The spirit of Christmas
• Diversity tearjerker (US style) – Happy Shay day!
• Chinese best seller
• A Christmas Candle
  
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Diversity Calendars - bespoke copies available on-line for your organisation

Diversity Calendars – business opportunity

Have a wonderful Christmas and joyful New Year!

Kind regards

Des McCabe

Christmas is cool, says equality boss

Britain’s equality chief has attacked “politically correct” critics of traditional Christmas festivities for undermining diversity in society.

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, has condemned attempts to “brush Christmas under the carpet” for fear of offending other religions. Citing cases such as schools scrapping nativity plays, he says that being oversensitive to minority views can lead to pointless embarrassment. “[This can] lead us down ludicrous paths; paths populated with winter festivals instead of Christmas celebrations; anodyne messages of ‘seasons greetings’ and pointless embarrassment over biblical nativity scenes.”

Phillips’ critique will be seen as significant because he heads the quango set up by the government to protect the interests of the minorities whom the “PC” lobby claim are being marginalised at Christmas.

In a speech today he will warn that measures to downplay Christmas to avoid offence are more likely to “put the ‘silly’ into the silly season, much to the delight of tabloid hacks . . . looking for yet another example of political correctness gone mad”.

In a reference to Muslim, Hindu and Jewish festivals, he adds: “The logic is baffling: to welcome Eid and Diwali and Hanukkah in celebration of our glorious diversity, whilst brushing Christmas under the carpet as an embarrassing episode in our mono-cultural past.”

Phillips will say that it is unclear who is being offended by Christmas. “Let’s stop being daft . . . it’s fine to celebrate Christmas,” he states.

The Sunday Times – 9th December

God in Britain?

Over the past decade Britain has become an increasingly secular society. According to the most recent MORI poll, more than a third of us describe our outlook as “humanist” and only 10 per cent go to church each week. However, nearly half of us believe in some sort of deity.

The Times – 8th December

Migration helps fight poverty

A new report on Migration and Developing Countries concludes that better and more coherent migration policies can contribute to the fight against global poverty. If adequately managed, migration can support development in three different ways:

• by fostering migrants' skill formation (brain gain);
• by increasing remittances sent home by migrants; and
• by absorbing excess labour supply in developing countries.
  

These results are achievable, but policy makers in rich and poor countries must recognise that neither migration policies nor aid policies in isolation are enough to stimulate and maintain the momentum of development.

Policy Coherence for Development
Migration and Developing Countries (OECD)

One for the kids - the worst Christmas joke ever?

Q What do you call people who are afraid of Santa?

A Claustrophobic!

The spirit of Christmas

It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.

Agnes M Pharo

Diversity tearjerker (US style) – Happy Shay day!

What would you do? Would you have made the same choice? At a fund raising dinner for a school that serves children with learning disabilities, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realise true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.' Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his disabilities.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognising that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay' Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

Footnote……A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them. May your day, be a Shay Day!

Chinese best seller

Demand for the bible is soaring in China. In the past foreign visitors were discouraged from bringing bibles into the country. Today, however, the 50 millionth copy will roll off the presses amid fanfare and public celebration. 41 million of these are for the faithful in Chinese and eight minority languages. The rest are for export to Africa and Russia.

The Times – 8th December

A Christmas Candle

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
It makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away;
While quite unselfish, it grows small.

Eva K Logue

Diversity Calendars - bespoke copies available on-line for your organisation

Increasing numbers of organisations (such as Bristol City Council, DEFRA, City of London Police, Openreach and the British Red Cross), are now using the bespoke download version of the Diversity Calendar and ensuring key dates in 2008 are readily available for their staff and customers/users on-line.

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