Tuesday, December 22, 2009



NH: Saying 'Merry Christmas' shouldn't be forbidden

We read:
"Last Saturday, I ventured into downtown Portsmouth, knowing the bustle of a small town, replete with Christmas lights and decorations, would supply an invigorating holiday tonic needed to complete my errands.

As I shopped from store to store, I began to experience a sudden, unexpected heaviness of heart. My joy waned as I began to take note of sales people who were literally discomfited by my joyful greeting of "Merry Christmas!"

While making purchases in more than 10 shops in downtown Portsmouth, I continued to offer a Merry Christmas to those who happily took my money and not once did I receive a return on that greeting. It was clearly awkward for many of the sales people who may have wanted to return the greeting, but the gag order of political correctness overruled any attempt to do so.

By the time I had completed my rounds, I was saddened by the veil of correctness that had dictated the joy of this amazing holiday not be pronounced or displayed anywhere, anytime. We, as a people, have allowed the minority of outspoken Scrooges to impress upon the nation the "offensiveness" of saying Merry Christmas. Perhaps employers prefer that their employees not be the first to offer the "forbidden greeting," but it is only common courtesy (and good business) to respond to a greeting when it is offered. I would joyfully return a Hanukkah greeting or any other greeting of the season, sharing in the joy of that individual's celebration. Wouldn't you?

Source

12 comments:

Ollie said...

That's ridiculous. You can say Merry Christmas all you want, but don't expect everyone to be appreciative of it. If someone screamed "Happy Diwali!" at me, I wouldn't share that individual's celebration, that would be fundamentally dishonest of me, as I don't have joy for Diwali. Doesn't it also violates the commandment about celebrating false idols?

There is no correctness. It's in your head. What you mistake for censorship is merely the reality that not everyone believes and celebrates the same things as you. They didn't arrest you for expressing YOUR joy, did they? No! So no censorship. Expecting anyone and everyone to reciprocate your greeting demonstrates a distinct lack of respect for them, their beliefs and their traditions. You roundly assume people were stifled from wishing you a Merry Christmas, when in fact, you have no way of knowing such a thing.

Good dictum to live by: "Treat religion like your genitals... Don't shove it down childrens' throats"

Dr. Yes said...

Ollie, your detachment from reality is truly stunning, albeit not at all surprising.

Anonymous said...

"I would joyfully return a Hanukkah greeting or any other greeting of the season, sharing in the joy of that individual's celebration. Wouldn't you?"

As a matter of fact yes I would. Oh and Ollie, people like you are what's wrong with this world.

Ollie said...

By the way, I didn't equate saying 'Merry Christmas' to shoving genitals down childrens' throats. Read what I wrote very carefully if you have any interest in accuracy. If you just want to denigrate someone who disagrees with your position, by all means ignore what that someone wrote and reconfigure it to make your invective look reasonable.

You won't have to worry about me ruining the world much longer, suicide beckons. I regret to inform that I don't have much sway with people like me, but if they're exactly like me, they'll follow suit.

Anonymous said...

It has been confirmed by Ollie himself ... he is a nutcase

Anonymous said...

It has been confirmed by Ollie himself ... he is a nutcase

Anonymous said...

Smart choice Ollie. And please remember to be considerate of others by not making it messy.

Anonymous said...

"Oh and Ollie, people like you are what's wrong with this world."

I don't think so. What is wrong with this world is right wing warmongers, right wing anti-health care morons, birthers, anti-earth climate change imbeciles. What is wrong with the world is people like you. If a god exists, he has an un-airconditioned condo for you in the pit of hell.

Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

When will you learn that for retailers, Christmas has nothing to do with Jesus? It's all about making as much money as they can by riding the coattails of traditional gift-giving.

Anonymous said...

Christmas is a misnomer as it has little to do with Christ or Jesus. The celebration of his birth by Christians just piggy-backed the existing pagan winter festivals, most of whose elements remain in the traditional "Christmas". Yuletide would be a better name to use and keep "Christmas" for a purely religious ceremony.

Anonymous said...

Think of this: As a clerk, you're told not to say merry christmas to AVOID MAKING OTHER RELIGIONS UNCOMFORTABLE. So when ur told Merry Christmas, you're like a deer in headlights. You were there, just going through the drudgery of the process of charging people, and you're caught in the lights like that. Don't be dissapointed in the person, be dissapointed in stores policies. Oh, and you could be some aclu jackoff who's trying to see if your store violating peoples religion by saying merry christmas. And btw, what's a birther?

Robert said...

Interesting that Anonymous4:30 would call those who would fight back against Islamic predatory war "right-wing warmongers". Interesting he chooses to call those who recognize bills in Congress purportedly for health care reform, but whose design makes no sense for lowering the costs of providing health care, while making perfect sense if their real goal is rape, pillage and plunder of doctors, the overthrow of the current government-citizen relationship, and replacement of that relationship with one of master-slave as "right-wing anti-health care morons". Interesting that he chooses to denigrate as "anti-earth climate change imbeciles" those who are bright enough to recognize the environmentalist movement's propaganda claiming human activity is responsible for climate change as the fraudulent justification for an evil, worldwide, liberty-destroying fascist dictatorship that it is, while recognizing that changes in the sun are what really causes climate change on Earth, as well as all the other solar system planets. Reality is we are now too smart to be fooled by such lies told by you and Marxists like you. We have discovered the truth.