新奇事件簿 粉红圣诞树遭封杀（在线收听）

A maths teacher at a high school in Maine, USA has been allowed to keep her pink Hello Kitty Christmas tree in her classroom. The tree was made from pink plastic and was adorned with Hello Kitty ornaments. The teacher, Catherine Gordon, had earlier been ordered by the school principal Paul Butler to remove it after he decided it was an "inappropriate" Christmas decoration. Mr Butler explained to ABC News that he initially believed the tree did not fit with the way the school celebrated the different religious events happening at this time of the year. He said: "A concern was shared with me regarding an inconsistency with our balanced approach to holiday observances."

在美国缅因州，高中数学老师准许在教室摆放Hello Kitty粉红圣诞树。圣诞树由粉色塑料制成，挂有Hello Kitty装饰物。但稍早时，因圣诞装饰“不适宜”，校长保罗·布特勒勒令凯瑟琳·戈登移除圣诞树。布特勒在接受美国广播公司采访时称，他起初认为这棵圣诞树与学校庆祝其它宗教方式不符。他认为；“在奉行宗教节日方面，此做法并不事宜。”

Ms Gordon said: "I didn’t think a pink Hello Kitty tree was offensive. It's a tree that's been up in my classroom for years." She posted her story on Facebook and it quickly went viral. She wrote: "The tree had no religious symbols on it whatsoever. No crosses or angels, just pink Hello Kitties and my students really enjoyed it." She added that society was becoming too worried about upsetting different people. She said: "I feel that this is definitely a turning point in our society when everything offends everyone all the time. It just sucks the joy out of everything." She told the local newspaper that: "It just seems that in our quest to be tolerant of everything, we've become intolerant to everything."

戈登认为：“我不认为Hello Kitty粉红圣诞树是大不敬。这棵树已经在教室里摆放多年。”她将经历发到“脸书”，并迅速走红。她写到：“这棵树没有任何宗教含义。没有十字架，没有天使，只是粉色的Hello Kitty。我的学生很喜欢。”她还补充道，整个社会担惊害怕，生怕会刺激一些人。她认为：“当我们总是对任何事情感到不安时，这正是社会的转折点。这只会让所有事情了无生趣。”她在接受当地媒体报道时称：“当我们希望包容一切时，我们反而对所有事情都无法包容。”