‘Tis The Season To Be Offended

Fa la la la la, la la la la.

According to this, there are some people who bank at Chase Bank in Southlake, TX, who are total a$$holes.

The owner of a local day spa, Antonio Morales, donated and decorated a 9-foot tall Christmas tree for the lobby of the Chase branch as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients. That’s a super nice thing to do, if you ask me. And Antonio does this for other clients, as well as his landlord (who’s Jewish, and apparently thought it was a lovely gesture).

But Antonio was asked by the bank to take down the tree after it had been on display in the lobby for a few days, because it “offended people.” WHIZZUH WHUZZAH?

What kind of a sick freak are you if you’re offended by a freaking TREE? And why in the world would Chase feel obligated to pacify what was hopefully a tiny percentage of people who objected to the tree? Why not say to those people, “You guys are jerks. It’s a tree. If you don’t like it, use the drive-thru.”

A Chase spokesman said that Chase is NOT anti-Christmas, and that their banking employees wish customers a Merry Christmas “when it’s appropriate.” I have no idea what that means. How do they determine when that is or isn’t appropriate?

Apparently, Chase has strict rules about holiday decorations. The spokesman said, “We appreciate the thoughtful gesture from Mr. Morales. Unfortunately, we’re unable to keep it [the tree] on display for the remainder of the holiday season. JPMorgan Chase ensures that decorations are something everyone is comfortable with, regardless of how they celebrate the season.”

It’s a FREAKING TREE. Antonio didn’t put up a crucifix for crying out loud. GAWD.

Other banks in the area even think this whole thing is completely stupid. A spokeswoman from Trinity Bank said, “I’ve been in this business more than 30 years, and every place I’ve worked we’ve put up a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.”

According to a quote in the source link, 91% of Americans observe or celebrate Christmas in some way. So I am stumped as to why Chase would risk offending a huge majority of its customers, who I would be willing to bet will react to this news in a less-than-positive way, in order to placate a few people who are OBVIOUS A$$HOLES.

I’d tell you to contact the manager at the Southlake Chase branch, but they’re referring all inquiries to their corporate office. You might try Ann Marie Hauser, who is listed on the corporate contact list as being in charge of “Corporate Social Responsibility.” Her address is [email protected].

This crap is getting old.

UPDATE: ALERT ALERT ALERT! A tree is up at Chase!!! Common sense has prevailed.