There have been some very interesting points raised here:
Lisa said:
It seems to me the Mexicans get an easy road of it, probably because of the potential growth Mexico represents to the WTS.
JeffT said:
My first thought on looking at this was "it's about numbers." What group in the US is the oly one still positively contributing new members? Answer: Hispanics. They've reached the point where they are now selling out their so-called principles to keeping the numbers up.
That was my twist on the whole thing. It's all about numbers, membership, and money. Jourles said:
While never coming out and outright banning the use of pinatas, the Society uses their famous KEYWORDS in demonizing the use of them altogether. The entire article reeks of negative connotations. No where in this article can be found a positive mention on the use of pinatas.
When you read the Awake article from 1971, that Jourles posted you can see how the whole jist of the information presented in the September 22, 2003 article has been relaxed to basically say 'it's no big deal'.............now ! Undercover said:
What about throwing rice at weddings? What about Birthdays? There is no proof that it is wrong to begin with and today it has NO pagan connections. What about toasting and clinking glasses? What about saying "bless you" or "geshundheit" or something similar when one sneezes? What about costume parties? What about wind chimes?
One would hope if they have relaxed their stand on Luaus and now Pinatas, they could come out and say, all these things are a personal choice. Who knows what could be next? Mothers and Fathers Day? Birthdays. Perhaps the WTS is leaning towards becoming an mainstream religion !