The only people who seem to be fighting a "War on Christmas" are conservative Christians; curiously, they also seem to be losing it. Perhaps this is a good illustration of the principle "the only way to win is not to play"?
Atheists are accused of waging a war on Christmas, but the only thing atheists really "fight" is illegal government support for or endorsement of religion -- and that's any time of the year, not just around Christmas. What this means is that Christian complaints are little more than fantasies of conspiracies arrayed against them. They seem to want to believe that there is a war on Christmas because it makes them feel persecuted and makes them feel justified in treating everyone else like dirt.
A forum member writes:
A local business posted "Happy Holidays!" on their Facebook page this afternoon, and a surprising number of respondents shot back with how THEY were going to say "Merry Christmas" no matter WHO is offended by it, harumph harumph, and a few even decided to "Unlike" the business for extending inclusive seasonal greetings to everyone instead of only to Christians. (As if there are no other holidays occurring around this time of year... but I guess they don't matter.)
Granted, my evidence is anecdotal, but I haven't seen too many atheists go off the deep end when someone wishes them a Merry Christmas. (I certainly don't care, and have been known to say it to others in the same generic way I'd tell them to have a nice day.) I have, however, seen quite a few Christians turn into petty little grinches when someone doesn't properly cater to them by correctly guessing which specific holiday they celebrate and wishing them a happy one. Seems to be that anyone secure in their own beliefs wouldn't get so defensive about something so silly.
Anyway, if we forces of evil can cause this sort of trouble every year without even half trying, then we must be doing something right.... ;)
For those who find "Happy Holidays" to be some sort of passive-aggressive verbal weapon... well, I find that stance rather mystifying -- it strikes me as little more than manufactured outrage all out of proportion to the actual "crime." The people on the Facebook page I referred to in my first post claimed that they said "Merry Christmas" and didn't care who was offended by it, but the only people claiming offense was *them* and the only offensive thing about the whole discussion was *their* unpleasant reaction to a pleasant seasonal sentiment. If they want to say "Merry Christmas" to one another, then that's delightful -- nobody is stopping them. But to react to someone else wishing them "Happy Holidays" as if it is a calculated insult is just Scroogelike.
When and how did "Merry Christmas" become a tribal marker or cultural cudgel for Christians to use against everyone they don't like?
Nothing says 'Christian Love" like having "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" hurled at you like a bat to the head.
I read a comment on another forum (which shall remain nameless) where one good Christian said that when he is wished "Happy Holidays" by a sales clerk he makes a point of asking which one specifically to make them squirm.
All I could think is that If I were a sales clerk just trying to be inclusive as politeness to all my customers, and someone came back at me like that to make me squirm my response wouldn't be to think, "Gee, clearly I'm wrong to wish Happy Holidays. From now on I will wish everyone a Merry Christmas."
No, my thoughts would be more like "What an @$$hole. If this is how Christians behave then I'm glad I'm not one. Merry $^&*($## Christmas d***head."
If these self deluded "war on Christmas" victims want to say "Merry Christmas" fine. But when they do it in a way that makes them seem like jerks they are just doing their cause more harm than we possibly could.
Perhaps another response would be "You're right, I shouldn't wish you happiness on the holidays this year. Instead, I'll say to you 'Horrible Holidays!'" After all, if a person finds it "offensive" to be wished happiness, then perhaps it would be better to hope their holidays go poorly.
Add your thoughts to the comments here or join the ongoing discussion in the forum.
No comments:
Post a Comment