doubleohfive
Fleet Admiral
I just think that you could make your point (and perhaps even more gracefully) without being so verbose. 
Approaching holidays...are we thinking the same thing?
- Thread starter Warped9
- Start date
The content of your complaint is part of the reason for the antagonistic responses, but also your manner of writing, your history on this board, and the allusions you have made towards others (not just corporate) being responsible for the lack of Christmas decorations. As someone who enjoys Christmas decorations, your posts have inspired surprisingly strong negative feelings in me to the point that it actually has made me look forward to the season less.
Unless he's talking about the Jewish nationality. But that's not really relevant to the subject at hand.
I simply mean that I’m philosophically atheist — been that way since third grade. But I identify to some degree with my Jewish heritage and American Jewish culture. The majority of American Jews are fairly non-religious.
Bah. The MTV generation. Attention span of a housefly.
Yeah, well that tends to happen when you send letters to the editor talking about how the good immigrants are the ones who get with the program and incorporate the values and traditions of their Western and Christian benefactors.
Or when you denigrate those who try and be more inclusive of others by acknowledging that Christmas is not the only Winter holiday by saying "Happy Holidays."
Or when you interpret a business decision not to decorate for Christmas as some sort of societal assault on traditional Christian values and the celebration of the holiday itself.
I don't know where some people got the idea in their heads that you get a free pass just because you're stating an opinion. People can say some pretty awful things while simply stating their opinion, and others have every right to call them on it.
America doesn’t deny immigrants the right to express and celebrate their ancestral culture. In fact, we make a point of acknowledging our diverse origins when we have St. Patrick’s Day parades, Chinese New Year celebrations, and Cinco de Mayo festivals. But what you sarcastically dismiss as expecting immigrants to “get with the program” is called assimilation, and it’s a good thing. It’s how immigrant groups from the early 19th century on have become part of America, and it’s what makes this country more than just a fragmented collection of separate national and ethnic identities.
He's Canadian, not American. Same principle applies to both countries, but it's important to differentiate.
I didn't "sarcastically dismiss" anything. I paraphrased what I believe the content of the first half of his article suggests. He talks about sacrificing "our heritage, tradition, and very identity" of "Christian and Western values" to those who might be offended by them, and then implies that the good immigrants are the ones who want to be like us and don't complain. That's not voluntary and gradual assimilation over the course of generations, that's essentially "This is the way things have always been done here, so join in or shut up."
That may or may not have been the intention of his rant, but that's the way it comes off to me (and some others), and nothing I've seen him say in the past or present has so far convinced me otherwise.
Assimilation goes both ways, you know. Don't proceed from the false assumption that this is a christian nation. It is not. (Speaking as an American, but I believe that applies to Canada as well.)
It's illuminating to see arguments about how "others" should assimilate into christian ways of life, while in the same breath complaining about how christians have to adjust to the terrible imposition of saying "happy holidays" to strangers instead of "merry christmas".
It's illuminating to see arguments about how "others" should assimilate into christian ways of life, while in the same breath complaining about how christians have to adjust to the terrible imposition of saying "happy holidays" to strangers instead of "merry christmas".
Yeah, that's one of the things that irks me.
When you're in the majority, you have the choice to indulge in other cultures, if you feel so inclined. Say you have a Muslim friend or an Indian friend--you can ask about their culture, and they'll probably be happy to tell you about it.
But they, on the other hand, have little choice but to be exposed to the dominant culture at every turn, namely the white, Christian culture. And if they ever feel overwhelmed or offended by it, or ask anyone to tone it down, or even ask to include part of their cultural traditions to make it more inclusive, well, you're just oppressing people. Sit down, shut up, and assimilate!
Oh, puh-LEEZE. I’ve never once felt “overwhelmed or offended” by the dominant Christian religion (is there even such a thing as “Christian culture”?) in the U.S. The most overbearing and oppressive instances I’ve encountered of having Christianity shoved down my throat are when Jehovah‘s Witnesses try to hand me their silly pamphlets.
And I’m an atheist. And a Jew, genealogically if not religiously.
Grow the hell up.
Very well said.
Well, since you (from the relative comfort of a long-standing, virtually assimilated, visually indistinguishable minority) never felt it, then nobody could or will, right?
It's a shame that you're apparently incapable of seeing things from the perspective of anyone else. Such a deficiency is usually a sign that one is lacking in emotional maturity. I would therefore suggest that I am not the one who needs to "grow the hell up."
Sooo... you're saying you're in favor of preventing the majority religion to impose itself on others? And that christians should stop crying "oppression" when asked not to impose in such a manner?
Because if it's bad for the muslims to throw their weight around in countries where they are in the majority, why would it be acceptable for christians to do so here?
Because if it's bad for the muslims to throw their weight around in countries where they are in the majority, why would it be acceptable for christians to do so here?
This is laughably naive.
Are you for real? We actually had a president, Bush Sr., say that atheists shouldn't be considered American citizens. Research shows that atheists are the most distrusted minority in America. I don't know what you've been paying attention to but it's clearly not reality.
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