The Roosevelt Field Mall is a popular Long Island destination. Anyone who lives in Nassau County can attest that the places to be are the Roosevelt Field Mall, and Rockville Centre.
So the Roosevelt Field Mall is high-profile. Want to know what the Roosevelt Field Mall did with their high-profile status? We'll tell you.
They nixed their Christmas tree so they didn't 'offend anyone.'
We were completely unaware that Christmas trees themselves were offensive, but okay, Roosevelt Field Mall. You do you.
Except, they still had a Santa Clause. Also, he was shrouded by two tiny Christmas trees and a weird, spaceship-like display.
Stripping down Christmas like that isn't taking the potential "offensive" label out it; it's just weird and kind of depressing. In the same way that Fox News calls "Happy Holidays" PC Police Overkill, this is similarly misguided.
According to the New York Post, the weird spaceship display is supposed to be a "winter themed" glacier. Honestly, we think this is an even further departure from reality seeing as it's been oppressively warm outside.
Our point is, we doubt there will be any glaciers springing up around the Roosevelt Field Mall anytime soon.
"They said [the Christmas tree omission] was because people were offended by the traditional Christmas display, that they had gotten comments in prior years," said Roosevelt Field shopper Maria Lovdahl.
Mall management in fact confirmed that they did get rid of their Christmas tree to avoid offending people, but it seems that Roosevelt Field's plan to avoid offending people in an attempt at being politically correct is backfiring horribly. One woman said she's boycotting the mall.
Simon Properties, who operates Roosevelt Field, also shifted the decor in a North Carolina mall in a twin attempt to be un-offensive. The omission of Christmas cheer in the North Carolina mall provoked 16,000 people to sign a petition on Change.org.
In a flurry of criticism, Roosevelt Field claimed they're not done decorating.
pix11news Holiday shoppers at #rooseveltfieldmall were outraged when the Santa Claus display lacked the traditional staples of a Christmas scene. the mall responded by adding two trees. Read the story by clicking the link in our bio. (Photo: @photog303 ) #longisland #christmas #christmastree #instapix #christmastree #santa #santaclaus #rooseveltfield
"Key elements are still being added to the Glacier experience at Roosevelt Field over the coming week," said RF representatives. "After hearing customer feedback, one of those elements will be a traditional Christmas tree alongside the Glacier experience," they said.
That's what we're talking about, Roosevelt Field. That wasn't so difficult, was it?
On Saturday afternoon, mall workers claimed a large Christmas tree would go up in the mall in two or three weeks.
Still, Santa's helpers aren't elves, but just regular guys and girls, wearing red ties covered in white snow flakes. On Saturday, the mall played no traditional carols.
Here's an idea, Roosevelt Field: instead of omitting holiday cheer, why don't you just try to be more inclusive of other cultures' holidays? Then, people won't be depressed you've taken their celebrations. They'll be stoked that you're including more celebrations.
At the end of the day, cheery holiday decorations are essential to wintertime happiness, Roosevelt Field. Don't forget that. And if you want to not be offensive with your decor, you need to at least be consistent. You can't have Santa Claus without a tree, otherwise, why is he in your house?
Check out 3 Cheap NYC Bars That Won't Break the Bank During the Holidays.
[via NY Post]
[Feature Image Courtesy NBC New York]