Chase Bank told a businessman to remove the Christmas tree he donated to a local branch because it could offend people.It would be one thing if you could make the argument that a Christmas tree is a religious symbol, but it's not. It's more pagan than anything else, and given that everywhere you go right now you will see trees or other representation of trees, it's stupid to take them out of a bank branch because some radical might get their turban in a knot.
Antonio Morales, owner of Bellagio Day Spa in Southlake, had assembled and decorated a 9-foot-tall tree in the lobby of the Chase Bank branch at 1700 E. Southlake Boulevard as a favor to the branch manager, who is one of his clients.
The tree remained in the lobby from the Monday before Thanksgiving until Tuesday. Morales said his friend called him Wednesday to tell him the tree had to go. She later showed him an e-mail from JPMorgan Chase saying that the tree had to be removed because some people were offended by it.
The bank referred questions to corporate offices.
Greg Hassell, a JPMorgan Chase spokesman, said that the company's policy isn't anti-Christmas. "People wish their customers merry Christmas when it's appropriate," he said.
However, to ensure that everyone who visits Chase branches feels welcome and comfortable, the bank's policy is to use only decorations supplied by the company.
"We appreciate the thoughtful gesture from Mr. Morales," Hassell said. "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," Hassell said.
But others see the tree as a symbol of the season.
A spokeswoman at Trinity Bank in Fort Worth said it has had a tree in its lobby since the Friday after Thanksgiving.
"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," said Linda Robertson, assistant vice president.
Bryan Fischer, director of issue analysis for the American Family Association, called Chase's decision absurd.
"According to Advertising Age, 91 percent of American people celebrate Christmas," Fischer said. "That means that the single most inoffensive thing you can do at this time of year is wish someone a merry Christmas."
Fischer said that companies that have gotten away from acknowledging Christmas claim that they do it because they want to be inclusive.
"The most inclusive thing you can do is wish someone merry Christmas," he said. "This means that Chase is running the risk of offending far more people by disrespecting Christmas than they are by honoring it."
When I was in banking we bought trees for every one of our branches and our corporate headquarters from a professional service. They looked nice, smelled nice, and our customers loved them. And to my recollection none of my managers had their heads cut off.
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