Alfredo Mantovano
Alleanza Nazionale
National Direction - Internet Office
39, Via della Scrofa - 00186 Rome
Dear Mr. Mantovano:
I recently read that you are calling on the public to boycott IKEA because they do not carry nativity scenes. While I do not think it is fair to expect any one peddler of fine furnishings to supply a specific item, particularly if it is something that is widely available, the attention you have drawn to the nativity itself got me to thinking about the subject. For not only in your fair country of Italy, but here in America we, too, are experiencing controversy around nativity scenes.
We have an animal rights group here called People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and they are keeping an eye out for folks who set up “live nativities,” for the animals used in these scenes are apparently often mistreated. Do you have a similar situation there?
A baby Jesus was recently stolen from a crèche in someone’s yard, as if it was merely a garden gnome, but fortunately found its way home.
I wonder, though, what the proper means of disposal is for these items. Certainly people’s nativity sets do not last forever, and must be discarded. Here in the U.S. there are specific procedures for disposing of a retired American flag, and I wonder why there do not seem to be any rules about display and handling of representations of Jesus. In the case of the stolen baby, a man found the plastic child on his doorstep and did not want to throw it away (who wants to throw Jesus in the rubbish bin?) so he put him in the garage.
I hope that instead of focusing on the absence of nativities at a certain store, you will focus energy on raising awareness around the world about how to keep and protect the nativities they have.
Truly,
Liz Mann
