Are you Offended by the word CHRISTmas?

Contributor: Kat Shanahan Kat Shanahan
Quote:
Originally posted by Silverdrop
I don't care. I think most people don't. It's just a small minority on either side that are all vocal and getting their panties in a wad over something really stupidly insignificant. Dec 25 is Christmas, and the entire season is the ... more
Your comment kinda made me wish EF had a "like" button. *L*
12/18/2011
Contributor: GoneBabyGone GoneBabyGone
I'm not Christian by a long shot. I can't say I'm really offended by Merry Christmas, but it does bother me a little. Mostly because it does not include anyone else.

I'm tired of seeing this war on Christmas thing, no one wants to take it away but at least know your facts. Jesus was born in the spring not the winter. The Christians took a pagan holiday and started celebrating a Christian happening in an effort to recruit more people to Christianity.

I don't care about it, I'm not mad about it, but I am tired of seeing keep the CHRIST in CHRISTmas things. It was never about Christ to begin with.

Feel free to call it whatever you like but don't force it on other people. They get offended by people that say happy Holidays and Jump the gun saying we want to take it from them and that isn't the case.

We just want them to condenser the other people. We aren't whining or being butt hurt about it we just want that people accept not everyone is Christian and adjust you life in accordance with accepting other people.

By shreiking about christmas and keeping Christ in it you are just showing how stubborn and ignorant you are because you aren't accepting other people are different.

You just can't say you accept others and then get angry when people don't say Merry Christmas.
12/18/2011
Contributor: Misfit Momma Misfit Momma
I celebrate the Holiday as Yule, but I was raised calling it Christmas and the kids understand it as Christmas and it's just easier to say Christmas than anything else. If I offend someone that I say it to? Well, then that's not my problem
12/18/2011
Contributor: bayosgirl bayosgirl
Quote:
Originally posted by Airen Wolf
What offends me is when nasty Christians (not meant to include all Christians, I love a great many of you guys ) insist on not taking Christ out of the holiday and then spend themselves into insane debt. The Holy Day is a celebration of your saviors ... more
Thank you. I feel the same way about the gift hysteria. It diminishes the whole meaning of Christmas..which, for ALL of us, is spending time with family and friends.
12/18/2011
Contributor: MR Chickhabit MR Chickhabit
Quote:
Originally posted by Kat Shanahan
"When did 'sticks and stones' become inapplicable? Aren't we taught as children that what is said to us is simply words? Why get 'offended' ever?"

I fought with myself over whether or not to respond to this, but ... more
words are just words though.

your mentality has allowed lawyers to sue successfully with bullshit charges like "mental anguish"

catering to people's "offense" is wrong and frankly weak.

real legal action can be made for physical pain, MAYBE emotional.

bringing up gays and blacks is the easy way to win, those groups have always been persecuted and words are simply words to them on the whole. check out Dr Martin Luther King for examples.
  •   (1)
    I am personally offended by this
12/18/2011
Contributor: toxie m toxie m
Quote:
Originally posted by MR Chickhabit
words are just words though.

your mentality has allowed lawyers to sue successfully with bullshit charges like "mental anguish"

catering to people's "offense" is wrong and frankly weak.

real legal ... more
The entire Christmas issue aside, it baffles me how you can strongly hold this position when people kill themselves because of words. They aren't just offended, they are emotionally wounded to the point where they take their own lives. Over words.
12/18/2011
Contributor: MR Chickhabit MR Chickhabit
Quote:
Originally posted by toxie m
The entire Christmas issue aside, it baffles me how you can strongly hold this position when people kill themselves because of words. They aren't just offended, they are emotionally wounded to the point where they take their own lives. Over words.
i feel immense pity towards those who take their own lives over something as malign as words. they took the easy way out during a moment of weakness.

i feel sorry for their actions, not the words that they couldnt handle. nobody killed themself over simply words, actions and threats precluded the fateful words.
  •   (1)
    I am personally offended by this
12/18/2011
Contributor: MR Chickhabit MR Chickhabit
Quote:
Originally posted by toxie m
The entire Christmas issue aside, it baffles me how you can strongly hold this position when people kill themselves because of words. They aren't just offended, they are emotionally wounded to the point where they take their own lives. Over words.
This thread sure got derailed fast. It always amazes how personal "words" become to people.

xmas, christmas, yuletide, holiday. They are all implying good will, but when people use them they become tools of almost fanaticism instead of the offhand greeting they started out as.
12/18/2011
Contributor: toxie m toxie m
Quote:
Originally posted by MR Chickhabit
This thread sure got derailed fast. It always amazes how personal "words" become to people.

xmas, christmas, yuletide, holiday. They are all implying good will, but when people use them they become tools of almost fanaticism instead ... more
Well, words represent ideas. Communication is quite possibly the most important thing humans have going for them. Ideas are powerful, are they not?
12/18/2011
Contributor: MR Chickhabit MR Chickhabit
Quote:
Originally posted by toxie m
Well, words represent ideas. Communication is quite possibly the most important thing humans have going for them. Ideas are powerful, are they not?
ideas are even less tangible than words.

bullets become dangerous when shot from a gun, ideas only become solid when enunciated.

ideas are indeed powerful, but being offended by them is silly. offense is based in emotion, not logic. logic makes everything less damning through perspective, its also fairly cold though.
12/18/2011
Contributor: astrohoney astrohoney
Quote:
Originally posted by MR Chickhabit
ideas are even less tangible than words.

bullets become dangerous when shot from a gun, ideas only become solid when enunciated.

ideas are indeed powerful, but being offended by them is silly. offense is based in emotion, not logic. ... more
I think you're doubling down on your original post while ignoring an important word: context. Because I say Merry Christmas, and did so even when I was employed in customer service < 2 years ago. The kinds of words you're saying shouldn't offend people are all pretty benign, but to say all words IN GENERAL aren't offensive is pretty ignorant of the fact that humans are social creatures affected by the thoughts of others, thoughts generally represented by actions AND words. Oppression causes stress, a word originally used to describe forces that bend and contort solids, but then was applied to the human mind by doctors. Stress is unhealthy for the mind and words can definitely instill that if used in an oppressive way. Humans aren't robots made from the exact set of blueprints and could all experience things very differently from each other.

You're allowed to take bullshit in stride and not let it affect YOU, and you can have a philosophy that "it's best to not take other people's rude bullshit to heart", because that is in general a good idea, but humans are complex and can experience things very differently than each other. Sensitivity to certain words and their perspective of their use and history of use is one of those differing experiences.

People trying to defend the word 'Christmas' as if there's a 'War on Christmas' are living a made up fear giving to them by (the words of) places like FOX news to The Sun. It reminds me of when a straight gamer complained to Bioware that one could be gay in Dragon Age 2. The game developers responded with one great bit about being part of the privileged class:

"The truth is that privilege always lies with the majority. They’re so used to being catered to that they see the lack of catering as an imbalance. They don’t see anything wrong with having things set up to suit them, what’s everyone’s fuss all about? That’s the way it should be, any everyone else should be used to not getting what they want."

People are up in arms about their "right" to say Merry Christmas because they see businesses taking a logical move at attempting to be inclusive of everyone to attract more customers. Are people who say "Merry Christmas" being left out in the cold? No; but for once they see that they're not the only ones being tailored to and they don't like it.

Words have the potential to offend people but I don't think Christmas offends people. Being assumed to being Christian and taking part in Christian festivities offends people if they feel their culture and/or identity is being dismissed or ignored, but I can assure you there'll be no shortage of Christmas representation. I think it's mostly just Christians who think their holiday is being taking away because of the change of wording in commercials and city hall. Christmas doers are all allowed to say Merry Christmas to each other, but they'll be kidding themselves if they think this time of year is just for them or that others are going to play ball.
12/19/2011
Contributor: MR Chickhabit MR Chickhabit
Quote:
Originally posted by astrohoney
I think you're doubling down on your original post while ignoring an important word: context. Because I say Merry Christmas, and did so even when I was employed in customer service < 2 years ago. The kinds of words you're saying ... more
I agree 100% I have long ago stopped reacting strongly to people trying to offend me and likewise have found a form of pity for those easily offended.

Life is too short to run around on such a short fuse.

I wonder how much of "christmas" will be replaced by commercialism.
12/19/2011
Contributor: zeebot zeebot
I don't really care, the consumerism of "the holidays" bothers me more than religious issues.
12/19/2011
Contributor: JackRaiden JackRaiden
Quote:
Originally posted by zeebot
I don't really care, the consumerism of "the holidays" bothers me more than religious issues.
Agreed. And: I don't think I have a problem with any words, including Christmas. People who talk about, selfishly pray to and/or thank their gods in public (I'm looking at you too, pro athletes) are quite annoying and are not allowed to be my friend, though.
12/19/2011
Contributor: astrohoney astrohoney
Quote:
Originally posted by MR Chickhabit
I agree 100% I have long ago stopped reacting strongly to people trying to offend me and likewise have found a form of pity for those easily offended.

Life is too short to run around on such a short fuse.

I wonder how much of ... more
I don't know what it is that you agree with because you seemed to have missed the point. Your pity is condescending, as if you think you're better than others because they react to things you don't, like you're "sooo enlightened" to be "passed words". Is this your mantra for being rude to people around you and then telling them it's their fault for getting offended?

Words don't break bones but they can break hearts. Breaking one's heart is a metaphor for emotional and mental stability, which are just as valid to maintain as physical stability, which sticks and stones may threaten. The effect is an equation between the strength of the assaulter vs. the armor of the defender. You taking pity on someone with a different armor is your right, but you're also kind of an ass for being smug about how you'd handle the situation someone else deals with when you only know a very minor subset of their experience. Taking pity on them because you'd act differently if you were them is pretty small minded, because if you were them, how much of them are you? If it's the exact same set of molecules and biology under the exact same stimulae, then you're wrong; you'd react JUST like them. But you don't know them. You won't even consider them. That's why taking pity on them is pretty self centred.
12/19/2011
Contributor: MR Chickhabit MR Chickhabit
Quote:
Originally posted by astrohoney
I don't know what it is that you agree with because you seemed to have missed the point. Your pity is condescending, as if you think you're better than others because they react to things you don't, like you're "sooo ... more
But you are assuming I have not been in similar situations. Im not better because I am peaceful, I'm simply different. The thread was started to get my opinion, I did just that.

Smugness and truth look the same online through this emotionless, bland text. Im just telling you how I operate and giving my opinion with 100% honesty. You started debating my opinions. Why expend so much energy to tell me how im wrong? Why is this so important to you?
12/19/2011
Contributor: SiNn SiNn
Quote:
Originally posted by bayosgirl
I have noticed lately that often, when the word Christmas is used, the speaker will be corrected by someone to use the word "holiday." I don't understand why this is a big deal. Even people who are not Christians celebrate the holiday, ... more
its christmas people dont get all offended because i may not be a christian i do believe something bigger then i am braught me here and this time of year i celebrate that fact
12/19/2011
Contributor: Errant Venture Errant Venture
Quote:
Originally posted by Kat Shanahan
...You don't see anything offensive about a Jewish person being asked if Jews hate Christ? Seriously? It might not be *intentionally* offensive, but I can certainly see how someone of the Jewish faith would find it offensive. Holy shit.
I said not out and out offensive. Thanks for taking the time to read my post properly.

People are idiots. Uninformed. That's to be expected.
12/19/2011
Contributor: Kat Shanahan Kat Shanahan
Quote:
Originally posted by MR Chickhabit
words are just words though.

your mentality has allowed lawyers to sue successfully with bullshit charges like "mental anguish"

catering to people's "offense" is wrong and frankly weak.

real legal ... more
....I don't even know how to respond to you at this point. Holy hell.

So I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
12/19/2011
Contributor: Kat Shanahan Kat Shanahan
Quote:
Originally posted by Errant Venture
I said not out and out offensive. Thanks for taking the time to read my post properly.

People are idiots. Uninformed. That's to be expected.
I read your post fine, thanks. I still think that you're the one who missed the point. Asking a Jewish person if they hate Christ is offensive, full stop, without any qualifiers. That's not difficult to understand.

Thanks for assuming that because I completely disagree with you, I must not have read your post.

Also, yes, people might be misinformed, or be "idiots", and that might be "expected", but I'll be damned if it's acceptable to me.
12/19/2011
Contributor: Errant Venture Errant Venture
Quote:
Originally posted by Kat Shanahan
I read your post fine, thanks. I still think that you're the one who missed the point. Asking a Jewish person if they hate Christ is offensive, full stop, without any qualifiers. That's not difficult to understand.

Thanks for ... more
I find that difficult to believe. My query wasn't with the fact that it's offensive, but rather the amount of offence taken.

And I didn't assume that, simply because you disagree. It's because you said 'You don't see anything offensive about ...(?) ' whereas I clearly state 'I don't really see those as out and out offensive'. That one sentence says that, while I find them offensive, I don't think they're offensive enough for the amount of ire that was conveyed in the original post. Therefore, I don't think you read my post, nor understood it, properly. Not because you disagree.

I don't really care if you find it unacceptable or not.
12/19/2011
Contributor: Kat Shanahan Kat Shanahan
Quote:
Originally posted by Errant Venture
I find that difficult to believe. My query wasn't with the fact that it's offensive, but rather the amount of offence taken.

And I didn't assume that, simply because you disagree. It's because you said 'You don't see ... more
Then I guess we'll agree to disagree.
12/19/2011
Contributor: Red Vinyl Kitty Red Vinyl Kitty
I am an atheist, and my husband and me celebrate Xmas, not "christ"mas. We don't celebrate it from a religious stand point, but more of "the coming of Santa", AKA: a consumer holiday. We put up a tree, and we give each other presents. I am not offended by the word "christmas", but, as the holiday is not a religious one for us, I always just refer to it as Xmas.
12/19/2011
Contributor: astrohoney astrohoney
Quote:
Originally posted by MR Chickhabit
But you are assuming I have not been in similar situations. Im not better because I am peaceful, I'm simply different. The thread was started to get my opinion, I did just that.

Smugness and truth look the same online through this ... more
> Im not better because I am peaceful, I'm simply different.

What does that even mean? I'm beginning to think you're trolling. I don't even think you know it. You calling that feeling of yours pity puts you on a higher and condescending level. You can't say "I pity them" and then say "I don't think I'm better than them". It's like saying 2+2=5; that's not how those numbers work, just like that not what the word pity means.

>You started debating my opinions.

Uhhh yeah? What else is there to debate? You can't really debate facts.

>But you are assuming I have not been in similar situations.

Then you're betraying your former self when you take pity on those who are in similar situations as you were. In that case, you need to forgive your former self for not having the coping mechanisms you have today, but you also need to realize not everyone has the same defenses as you, and therefore you're no better than them, and so what you feel is empathy, not pity. Otherwise, you're de-legitimizing a part of peoples' experience when you say you pity they're unhappiness which was instilled by words.

>Smugness and truth look the same online through this emotionless, bland text. Im just telling you how I operate and giving my opinion with 100% honesty. Why expend so much energy to tell me how im wrong? Why is this so important to you?

I could ask you that very same question. Why put so much energy in defending your opinion? I'm just telling you my reaction to you being self-centred with 100% honesty. Why is this so important to you?
12/19/2011
Contributor: SexyStuff SexyStuff
Not an option for me! I am a Christian and I say Happy Christmas, or happy holidays, or whatever I feel like saying. I don't think people should get shook up about wordings.
12/19/2011
Contributor: yeoshua yeoshua
Quote:
Originally posted by Kat Shanahan
You know, this has come up a bunch of different times on my FB in the past little while. So much so, in fact, that I finally had to make a filter blocking out any mention of the word "Christmas" because I was sick and tired of finding out ... more
Thank you, Ms. KinkyKat for a very intelligent response. Have you read Ms. Tessa Taboo's link? It is also a very wise response.
12/19/2011
Contributor: yeoshua yeoshua
Quote:
Originally posted by CreamySweet
I'm not offended by it and I really don't care if someone else is. I say what I say and they won't change my mind or what I say just because they don't like it. We kiss way to many peoples asses over silly shit. Merry Christmas All!
I am in awe of you Ms. CreamySweet for admitting that you do not care about people in this world who have different thoughts than you. I would not have the courage.

PS

In case you don't get it, this is a very sarcastic response to your post. I have not heard one comment asking you to change your mind on anything. It would be nice if you were more sensitive to others by not usinjg the word evangelically , but bravo zulu for having the courage to tell us all to go to you know where. You are indeed a brave, all be it uncaring, person and I applaude you.
12/19/2011
Contributor: yeoshua yeoshua
Quote:
Originally posted by SexyStuff
Not an option for me! I am a Christian and I say Happy Christmas, or happy holidays, or whatever I feel like saying. I don't think people should get shook up about wordings.
Ms. SexyStuff--

I am not offended by the word "Christmas" when used in an appropriate manner. It is not appropriate, nor respectful to others, to use the greeting, "Merry Christmas" indiscriminately to people that you do not know and/or have no idea if Christmas is part of their little corner of the world. I am not "...shook up..." by the word, it is the useage which offends me. The word itself, has no meaning for me.
12/19/2011
Contributor: yeoshua yeoshua
Quote:
Originally posted by Misfit Momma
I celebrate the Holiday as Yule, but I was raised calling it Christmas and the kids understand it as Christmas and it's just easier to say Christmas than anything else. If I offend someone that I say it to? Well, then that's not my problem
Really? Not your problem if you offend another person? How "G-dly" is that? Is that the message you are teaching your children? "Sweetie, I am sorry that fat old woman raised her voice at you because you said something offensive. Let's go to the toy store to reward your good behavior. I just don't know what these fat old ladies are thinking these days. I'll speak to her about how she treated you unkindly."
12/19/2011
Contributor: yeoshua yeoshua
Quote:
Originally posted by Tessa Taboo
For me, the answer to that question can be summed up here. ... more
I love you Ms. Tessa Taboo (but you already know that!!).
12/19/2011