Piggy Banks Banned as PC Sinks to New Lows

Yes, it's true. Halifax Bank and NatWest Bank in the U.K. have banned your old friend and mine, the piggy bank, from their promotional/advertising campaigns. Read the entire story here. Apparently, it's no longer OK for little Johnny to save up his pennies in a piggy bank -- like his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. did before him -- because...well, let's take a look at why, shall we?

Because:
Muslims do not eat pork, as Islamic culture views the pig to be an impure animal.
MJ says:
A piggy bank is not pork. It is a fake pig, usually made out of a synthetic material like plastic, and often only barely resembling an actual pig. No one is asking any Muslims to eat these fake pigs (which, even with a generous topping of HP sauce, would taste pretty gross, being made out of plastic). No one is even asking any Muslims to have a piggy bank.

and because:
Salim Mulla, secretary of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, endorsed the bank initiative. "This is a sensitive issue and I think the banks are simply being courteous to their customers,” he said.
MJ says:
Actually, it's NOT simply "being courteous to their customers." Courteous is "Good afternoon, Mr. Smith." and "Thank you for your business, Mr. Perez." and "Have a good day, Mr. Mulla." Courtesy is NOT "Plump, jolly pigs have been the beloved caretakers of children's careful savings for generations, but, WHAT THE HELL, lets toss this innocent, time-honored tradition for kids out the window because that guy over there can't eat pork."

and because:
Councilor Mahbubur Rahman, a practicing Muslim, backed the ban, saying "It’s a tolerance of people’s beliefs.”
MJ says:
I know what tolerance is, and it has NOTHING to do with forcing someone else to say or not say, do or not do, something because it isn't in accordance with YOUR beliefs. I am tolerant of Councilor Rahman's beliefs and traditions because I recognize and respect his right to practice them. If he truly understood and practiced tolerance, he would recognize and respect the rights of Non-Muslim kids to carry on the tradition of piggy banks, and he would rejoice to be living in a country where his piggy-bank-free kids could live side-by-side in harmony with them.