Conservative commentator and ex-Dallasite Tomi Lahren recently warned viewers of “woke Christmas chaos.” But back in October, former President Donald Trump went ahead and claimed victory in the yuletide war: “Remember Christmas, by the way? We brought back Christmas. We brought back ‘Merry Christmas.’ Nobody fights it anymore.”
Well, someone apparently needs to notify Southlake’s school board of the Donald’s triumph. During Monday’s Carroll ISD meeting, board President Cameron Bryan decided to set the record straight on the ho-ho-holiday.
Southlake, Bryan insisted, is strictly pro-Christmas.
“I received, as we all have, several correspondences this month from the district referring to a ‘winter break,’ ‘winter parties,’ ‘holiday break,’ ‘holiday parties’ — everything but ‘Christmas break’ and ‘Christmas parties,’” he told the board, dressed in a jolly red jacket. “It's Christmas and New Year's break, and I think the district should refer to it as such.”
Take that, Old Man Winter!
But Bryan didn’t stop there. Nay, the self-appointed Santa defender then claimed that he’s heard from administrators, teachers and parents who are scared to “openly recognize” Christmas on campus, citing a “fear of retribution.”
Retribution? From whom — the Grinch?
Bryan then explained that Christmas has been a federal holiday since 1870, and the First Amendment established the freedom of religion. He also noted that former Gov. Rick Perry signed a law in 2013 that lets folks say “Merry Christmas” on school grounds without risk of persecution, litigation or censorship. (The most effective laws are, naturally, those banning things that never happened.)Southlake @Carrollisd school board president Cam Bryan has decreed that there is to be no more use of the term “winter break.” Only “Christmas and New Year’s break” is allowed.
— Southlake Together (@Southlake4All) December 19, 2023
If you know of someone that is this triggered by inclusivity, please try to get them some counseling. pic.twitter.com/NhoY7FLwwo
“That is the law in Texas,” Bryan said.
Critics, though, may note that Bryan’s longing for faith-based acceptance rings pretty hollow. It was just last December that Carroll ISD trustees voted to strip religion from the district’s nondiscrimination statement, after all.
On top of that, Carroll ISD is facing several civil rights investigations by the U.S. Department of Education, ones based on race and disability issues, as well as gender or sexual harassment.
On Tuesday afternoon, the watchdog X account Southlake Together posted a clip of Bryan’s anti-“winter break” decree.
“If you know of someone that is this triggered by inclusivity, please try to get them some counseling,” they wrote in part.
In a subsequent post, Southlake Together pointed out that this marks Bryan’s third holiday serving on the Carroll ISD board, one that’s leaned conservative “since basically forever.”
This is Cam’s third Christmas on the board, which has been Conservative since basically forever. There is no war on Christmas in Southlake, just teachers trying to make their non-Christian students feel included. They shouldn’t be shamed for that; they should be applauded. https://t.co/mwGNjzSL3u
— Southlake Together (@Southlake4All) December 20, 2023
“There is no war on Christmas in Southlake, just teachers trying to make their non-Christian students feel included,” the account continued. “They shouldn’t be shamed for that; they should be applauded.”
James Whitfield, the former Colleyville Heritage High School principal who in 2021 was a casualty in the “critical race theory” panic, took a different approach. The education advocate tried to reason with Bryan.
“Cam, This is the nonsense that got y’all in a whole podcast (Southlake) & book (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) all while undergoing numerous USDOE OCR investigations,” Whitfield wrote on X. “Please stop! Signed, A Christian who also understands it’s not a public schools place to indoctrinate.”
Let’s hope Bryan mulls this plea over winter break.Cam,
— Dr. James Whitfield (@DrJamesWhit) December 19, 2023
This is the nonsense that got y’all in a whole podcast (Southlake) & book (@Mike_Hixenbaugh) all while undergoing numerous USDOE OCR investigations. Please stop!
Signed,
A Christian who also understands it’s not a public schools place to indoctrinatepic.twitter.com/ymJwXvsunW
