Christmas. Muslim. Church fury.
The article begins:
Church leaders have hit out at a branch of McDonald's which is to open on Christmas Day.
Which 'church leaders' are in a 'church fury' according to the article?
Parish Rvd Wayne Stillwell said the decision to open the branch showed 'the continuing decline of Christendom in this country' and his reaction was 'one of great sadness'.
So he's 'sad' rather than in a 'fury'. Who else?
Well, the only other 'church' leader quoted in the story is the Dean of Derby, who says:
"Families and friends should come together at Christmas, and if they want to do that in McDonald’s then who is the Church to object?"
So one 'church leader' is a bit sad about McDonald's opening on Christmas Day, a rather more senior church leader says he has no objection. The Mail spins that as 'church fury' by 'church leaders'.
At the end of the article, a McDonald's spokesman reveals:
"We expect there to be about 60 stores in the UK that remain open this year."
That begs the question: why has the Mail decided to highlight this one store where a 'Muslim manager' has been 'drafted in'?
Posts
Fury used to mean extreme anger. Now it seems to mean someone being a bit sad about something. Strange.
ReplyDeleteThis is a textbook Mail article. Anger at a muslim being involved in something the Mail doesn't approve of and getting on a high horse over something that isn't worth the effort one bit.
Hey, I covered this one.
ReplyDeleteChurch fury over opening of McDonald’s on Christmas Day as Muslim manager is drafted in
And yes, I learned my craft from this blog; so keep up the good work :)
"FURY OVER POLICE XMAS SNUB: In previous years McDonalds has opened various branches on Christmas day to provide hot food to the brave essential workers who patrol our streets year round. This year the chain has decided to close all its branches leaving many paramedics and police officers without access to a warm meal."
ReplyDeleteetc.
Am I being dim here but doesn't this fall foul of the PCC Code 12 ii) Details of an individual's race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability must be avoided unless genuinely relevant to the story.
ReplyDeleteA muslim manager "drafted in". Almost as if to imply you wouldn't hire a muslim unless it was absolutely unavoidable.
ReplyDeleteWhat a dismal excuse for an article. Several pubs around where I live are opening for a few hours on Christmas Day, and have done for many years. None of them are run by Muslims, just people who recognise some of us might like to get out of the house for a bit.
ReplyDeleteThis was taken from a local newspaper in Derby that gave a much more balanced take on the story. There were quotes from locals saying it was a good idea that maybe people of other faithes could use and quotes from McDonalds about serving people who have to work at Xmas.
ReplyDeleteThe the Mail does this to it.
Great to see the Mail standing up for good old fashioned Christian values:
ReplyDeleteAll men are brothers (except Muslims).
Love thy neighbour (unless he's a Muslim).
Turn the other cheek - er, well flogging's better. Even God can't be right all the time and obviously the editor's decision is final.
The Mail's late to the show with this one. Our local Argos has been open on Christmas day more often than not over the last few years.
ReplyDeleteBlatant racism. The branch was opening anyway regardless of the religion of the relief manager. How do they get away it?
ReplyDeleteWhat if, for example, this story was about Christian (or at least non-Muslim) managers who were brought in to cover Muslim staff who took a day off for Eid? I'm sure it would be something like 'Fury as Christians forced to work at McDonalds during Eid'. A no-win situation if there ever was one.
ReplyDeleteMany people are allone at Christmas so it's important for them to have places to go. Whilst I wouldn't choose MacDonald's, I'm sure there are plenty who would. Keeping such a place open might well be considered an act of religious charity.
ReplyDeleteThe Mail Hack who wrote this does know that a lot of stuff is open as usual on Christmas Day otherwise the nation would grind to a halt, right? Or am I just irrationally applying logic and reason to a Mail article here...?
ReplyDeleteI have heard it said that thousands of pubs also open on the 25th of December. Most of which are probably not run by Muslims. But I'm sure there are exceptions.
ReplyDeleteFor once in my life I actually feel slightly better after reading the comments from DM readers below the story, they basically point out that pubs are always open, and who are we to tell anyone when they should have the day off. Someone even questions why they mention this 'Muslim manager' - and the comment is really well rated! Wow.
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