*Pokes head in tentatively*
Er...yeah, stepping into this thread rather late. Just going to avoid the arguments that have been going on here and simply say this:
MrsSpringsteen said:
For the record I love Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, whatever. I don't care if you say Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas to me, just don't assume certain things about me because of my religious beliefs and/or affiliation, and don't disrespect that in other ways. I really don't think that's asking too much. It has gone too far when it can't even be called a Christmas tree, like I said in one of the other Idon'tknowhowmanythreads there have been about this topic.
. Agreed. Personally, I see both sides here. On the one hand, if Christians were in the minority here in this country, I would be willing to bet some of them would expect the majority to bend to their will and have "Happy Holidays" be the greeting of choice so they didn't feel left out and all that sort of thing. And if that were indeed the case, then that should be taken into consideration with the way things are now in regards to which religions are in the majority and which are in the minority.
But, at the same time, we can't go tiptoeing around constantly worried we'll offend people. I'm not going to tell people what they can and can't be offended by, but personally, it just seems a bit odd to me that people can get
that upset over something as simple as a greeting, a well-wishing from a person who most likely is not meaning it to be offensive at all. Regardless, everyone has the right to be as offended as they want at whatever they want. But to try and tell people flat out what they should and shouldn't say just seems...I just don't agree with that, personally. Free speech and all that good stuff.
I personally do celebrate Christmas, so I don't really care if anyone says "Merry Christmas" to me. And I personally won't go out of my way to upset anyone who doesn't celebrate the holiday. But I still think people should greet others during the holiday season however they wish, and I also just personally think that considering all the other crazy stuff going on in the world right now, how someone greets you really isn't that much of an issue in the grand scheme of things. Besides, I would assume that every holiday, regardless of the religion it is affiliated with, would be promoting peace and harmony and goodwill and everything, so for people to be fighting at this time of year is kinda sad.
But meh. That's just my 2 cents.
*Quietly shuffles off to a corner and watches debate continue*
Angela
if going around in circles ad infinitum for no purpose is fun I suppose
Doug's probably right--I need to come up with a loving way to explain my position. I think I've done that on previous threads on this topic. I was--and am--so stunned though by the fact that Z. posted what he posted in defense of Christianity that I'm afraid for now at least, this is the best I've got.
