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25 Dec, 2015 12:11

‘We are politically incorrect’: Texas restaurant v America at Christmas

A restaurant chain in Texas has warned its customers that it will be “politically incorrect” this Christmas. The notice on their door has gone viral, with other places requesting it, too.

The Berryhill Baja Grill chain posted the sign outside its nine restaurants in Texas, “Notice: This store is politically incorrect. We say 'Merry Christmas,' 'God bless America.' We salute our flag and give thanks to our troops, police officers and firefighters. If this offends you, you are welcome to leave. In God we trust.”

What made the chain’s CEO do it? Surprisingly, it’s Starbucks, or namely its Christmas cups that have stirred controversy over their ‘politically correct’ design, which some have said is “simplistic” and doesn’t reflect the Christmas holiday spirit.

“It was called ‘a politically correct coffee cup,’ [Starbucks didn’t] put typical Christmas decorations on the coffee cups. I was sort of thinking to myself, we have a lot of problems going on in the world, and for people to be worried about whether there is a Christmas decoration on the coffee cup or not seemed pretty absurd to me,” CEO Jeff Anon told RT.

“Then, a cashier in one of my restaurants told a customer, ‘Merry Christmas,’ and the customer got offended because she said [that] and not ‘Happy holidays!’ That was sort of the straw that broke the camel’s back,” he added.

READ MORE: Brooklyn principal bans Christmas, Santa & Thanksgiving from school

These are by no means the only two cases of overdoing it with political correctness this holiday season.

A couple of weeks ago, the University of Tennessee warned students against throwing Christmas parties - to prevent causing offense.

Last week, a California school left parents outraged after it canceled a class field trip to visit Santa, citing concerns that some pupils could feel excluded from the experience.

Getting back to the Texas restaurant’s political incorrectness: Berryhill Baja Grill’s locations have been adorned with all kinds of festive holiday decor, including Hanukkah decorations.

“To me, it’s not a religious thing of saying ‘Merry Christmas,’ it’s the spirit of the holidays,” Anon said to RT.

And for every piece of negative feedback, there are hundreds of positive reviews, Anon said.

"The outpouring of support [for our ‘politically incorrect’ message] has been absolutely terrific. We’re actually getting a lot of requests from people to get the sign.”

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