Stupid People bitching about holiday greetings!

[AdminAssistant]

Ah, Dionysus. The god of sex, wine, and theatre. We have the best god!

[Lace Neil Singer]

I'm an atheist; and I wish people "Happy Christmas." I see it as a family occasion more than anything. I never really got the hang of "Happy Holidays/Festivus/Winterville" XD

[anriana]

I'm an atheist; and I wish people "Happy Christmas." I see it as a family occasion more than anything. I never really got the hang of "Happy Holidays/Festivus/Winterville" XD

That would be because you're an atheist and not Jewish/Pagan/a practicer of Kwanzaa.

[daleduke17]

That would be because you're an atheist and not Jewish/Pagan/a practicer of Kwanzaa.

Because, you know, everyone has to get offended by something, right?

[Lace Neil Singer]

That would be because you're an atheist and not Jewish/Pagan/a practicer of Kwanzaa.

I'm sorry, but I fail to see the point you're trying to make. So, you're saying that cuz I'm an atheist, I'm therefore not allowed to say "Happy Christmas" on the offchance that I might offend a pagan, Jew or someone who celebrates Kwanza? Strange, my dad is Jewish and doesn't get offended. Nor do any people who have common sense... so unless I'm telling people "Go fuck yourself and have a happy Christmas" I really don't see why people have a right to be offended.

[anriana]

I'm sorry, but I fail to see the point you're trying to make. So, you're saying that cuz I'm an atheist, I'm therefore not allowed to say "Happy Christmas" on the offchance that I might offend a pagan, Jew or someone who celebrates Kwanza? Strange, my dad is Jewish and doesn't get offended. Nor do any people who have common sense... so unless I'm telling people "Go fuck yourself and have a happy Christmas" I really don't see why people have a right to be offended.

Oh, I love people who roll their eyes and say "I have a family member who is X and isn't offended by Y so there can't possibly be a problem with it, and only people with no common sense could possibly get offended by what I'm saying" argument.

And no, my point was that as someone who doesn't celebrate Hannukah/Solstice/Kwanza/etc, of course you wouldn't "get the hang of" those holidays or those religious greetings.

[Pedersen]

Oh, I love people who roll their eyes and say "I have a family member who is X and isn't offended by Y so there can't possibly be a problem with it, and only people with no common sense could possibly get offended by what I'm saying" argument.

Oh, I love arguments made by people who feel that personal attacks are the easiest and most reliable way to discredit a person. And yes, what you wrote there very much sounds like a personal attack.

And no, my point was that as someone who doesn't celebrate Hannukah/Solstice/Kwanza/etc, of course you wouldn't "get the hang of" those holidays or those religious greetings.

But, being an atheist, Lace will obviously "get the hang of" Christmas. Right. I like how many assumptions can be put into that statement, so let's list them out, shall we?

• Lace was born into and lived in a society that preaches Christmas.
• Lace was not born in a region where Christmas is considered "odd" (such as much of the Middle East, East Asia, etc).
• Lace was born into a household which would have allowed Christmas to be the norm, including the possibility that Lace was born into a Christian household.
• Lace later stopped following the practices of the parents, and became an atheist independently.
• Lace's parents were not atheists.

That's the list I could think of quickly. I'm sure there's quite a few others packed into that sentence of yours. I wasn't sure it was possible to pack so many assumptions into so small a thought. Impressive.

[anriana]

Oh, I love arguments made by people who feel that personal attacks are the easiest and most reliable way to discredit a person. And yes, what you wrote there very much sounds like a personal attack.

A personal attack would be something like "you're a condescending asshole incapable of communicating in a polite manner." Sarcastically expressing my dislike of people who rudely roll their eyes at me and then paraphrasing their argument is not a personal attack.

But, being an atheist, Lace will obviously "get the hang of" Christmas. Right. I like how many assumptions can be put into that statement, so let's list them out, shall we?

• Lace was born into and lived in a society that preaches Christmas.
• Lace was not born in a region where Christmas is considered "odd" (such as much of the Middle East, East Asia, etc).
• Lace was born into a household which would have allowed Christmas to be the norm, including the possibility that Lace was born into a Christian household.
• Lace later stopped following the practices of the parents, and became an atheist independently.
• Lace's parents were not atheists.

That's the list I could think of quickly. I'm sure there's quite a few others packed into that sentence of yours. I wasn't sure it was possible to pack so many assumptions into so small a thought. Impressive.

Did you read anything in this thread other than my reply?

I'm an atheist; and I wish people "Happy Christmas." I see it as a family occasion more than anything. I never really got the hang of "Happy Holidays/Festivus/Winterville" XD

She specifically said that she sees Christmas as a family occasion, so, yes, it is reasonable to assume all of these things, except for the last two, which I did not assume.

[Boozy]

Oh, I love arguments made by people who feel that personal attacks are the easiest and most reliable way to discredit a person. And yes, what you wrote there very much sounds like a personal attack.

And *I* love it when no one bothers using the report button.

Oh, wait -- that's right. I don't love that. It drives me batshit insane.

Don't call people out in the thread, please. If you feel there has been a personal attack, please report the post and let the moderators deal with it.

On a related note, sarcasm is best used very sparingly. It sets an antagonistic tone, and has the tendency to make arguments seem personal whether that was intended or not. If you have something to say, say it clearly and respectfully.

[Slytovhand]

My 2 cents is being spent on saying that I got lost in the thread of argument (or lack thereof).

I believe that Anriana was trying to say that Lace wouldn't get the hang of "Happy Holidays/Festivus/Winterville" because that's not a part of her cultural reference... just as those born and bred as atheist wouldn't get the hang of Merry Christmas... and those in Islamic countries wouldnt' either. How would "Happy Hannukah" go down with christians? Muslims??

Also, everyone has a right to get offended at any damn thing they want. That's the nature of being human. Whether you agree with them or not is a completely different, and irrelevent, issue.

I'm not a Xtian type person. Nor Jewish. I am pagan. Saying 'Merry Christmas' to me I take as a well wishing from someone who is ignorant of my beliefs. But if my friends do it... watch out! (especially since most - if not all - of my friends aren't christian either -and some celebrate the Solstice... and I really don't like hypocrisy).

Anriana's post makes perfect sense given her sigline.... (and "my friends are X, but they Y - thus everyone must Y as well" fits nicely into that saying).

[Flyndaran]

I'm a born atheist, so no religion makes sense. I still respond in kind to those wishing me a happy anything. I will respond with a happy holidays, kwanza (no matter what I think of intentionally made up holidays less than 100 years old), and merry christmas. Happiness is too rare in this world to actually lose it because someone wishes it upon you.
That's silly.

[AFPheonix]

Besides, Christmas has moved away from its religious roots, both Christian and Celtic. It shouldn't be any more insulting to a random person to wish them a Merry Christmas than wishing someone a happy President's Day, as both are secular holidays.

[Amethyst Hunter]

everyone has a right to get offended at any damn thing they want. That's the nature of being human. Whether you agree with them or not is a completely different, and irrelevent, issue.

You (generic you) may have the right to be offended at whatever you want; however, that doesn't necessarily always give one the right to act like an asshole about it. That's the type of idiot we're talking about who freaks out over "Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas." Wouldn't the Christian thing to do be a simple "thank you" and/or friendly greeting in return, instead of claiming persecution (where there is none; sorry, you aren't being persecuted when you're still the dominant religion in this country) and playing the martyr card?

[Slytovhand]

AH - yes, this is true. I wasn't trying to defend those idiots who make massive big deals about such things to everyone who comes along - especially about the "Happy Holidays" line - I mean, that'd be more of a 'persecution' (ha!) to only say "Merry Christmas" is an accepted greeting. "Holidays" is more encompassing - "Christmas" isn't.

How about..."Happy Consumerism Day"??

[Rapscallion]

How about..."Happy Consumerism Day"??

I prefer 'commercialmas'.

Rapscallion