When does Politically Correct become Politically Incorrect?
- Thread starter Kaziarl
- Start date
We said it all the time back in the 50s and 60s as well. And it's even printed on some historic Greetings Cards my mom has collected, some of which date back to the Victorian era. There's nothing remotely new about the phrase. It's probably been around, in one form or another, since well before people started saying "Merry Christmas", because there have always been holidays at this time of the year due to the Solstice, whereas the celebration of Christmas is relatively recent.
When Billo condemns the use of "Happy Holidays", "Season's Greetings", and other not-exclusively-Christian holiday expressions, it actually all a part of his own war to socially disenfranchise Jews and all other non-Christians.
Unfortunately it's no joke. When I was in high school I worked at a McDonald's and a new gung-ho manager INSISTED we always asked customers if they wanted fries even when they would say something like "I want a Big Mac and nothing else."
For this reason I try not to take offense when someone in retail/fast food seems to be acting stupid because chances are they're just reading the script they need to read to keep the job.
Odd thing, but in Glasgow there are so many toxins in the air that smoking in the street doesn't make much difference.
If my landlord asked me to stop smoking I would. It's his property after all, I just live in it. As it stands, he doesn't give a rats ass and the company/family is really easy going. But still... their property, I respect it as theirs and give far more consideration to my neighbors than they do to me.
With the 'Happy Holidays' thing... I don't get the big deal. Especially if someones been told to say that and not Christmas. I got more annoyed by the fact that a school nearby which is almost half muslim insisted on a traditional Christian/birth of Christ nativity play last year. They usually have the kids do something more commercial so as not to leave any other culture out of the loop... but one teacher decided it was 'wrong' not to focus it all on her religion.
Oh, the angry customers who got even more angry when when I responded "...with cheese?" to their order for a Quarter Pounder.
Fixed.
We were. But, I could see the logic in that. You've no idea how many times I didn't ask, then had to go back and re-ring everything up because the moron couldn't be arsed to give his order correctly in the first place.
MeanJoePhaser
Admiral
Next year I'm gonna say "Happy Holidays...with cheese?" and if people say "What?" then I give them "Do you want fries with that?"
Political correctness has only inspired more anti-social and hostile speech than it's prevented.
Thanks to do-gooders gone overboard, smoking is COOL again. In fact, even the white yuppies are split over smoking. Their political correct programming says "bad", but their need to be "kewl" says "light it".
Political correctness has only inspired more anti-social and hostile speech than it's prevented.
Thanks to do-gooders gone overboard, smoking is COOL again. In fact, even the white yuppies are split over smoking. Their political correct programming says "bad", but their need to be "kewl" says "light it".
Wow... you completely misread.... EVERYTHING... I wasn't giving the employee a hard time. I simply asked him a couple questions, very politely I might add. I was more remarking on the fact that in many cases that its become a company policy to ban the christmas greeting.
I don't understand why people don't realize that "Happy Holidays" includes Christmas. Christmas is a holiday. When someone says "Happy Holidays," they are wishing you a Merry Christmas.
It seems like people who complain about this every year specifically want non-Christian holidays excluded from public discourse.
It seems like people who complain about this every year specifically want non-Christian holidays excluded from public discourse.
^Precisely. There are Christians who claim to be the victim when in reality (whether they realize it or not) they're the aggressors in a war against virtually every other belief system. The so-called attacks against them are, in fact, mere attempts by non-fanatics to counteract Hyper-Christian acts of intolerance against others.
No- "Happy Holidays" is a good catch-all for when you don't know what someone celebrates or if you can't be bothered to send out different sets of cards for Chirstmas, Hanneukah, etc. "Seasons Greetings" is another good option.
However, to be told you can't say "Merry Christmas" to someone who you know celebrates Christmas is going overboard, imo.
Agreed. And as I said earlier I have no problem with other holidays. You say happy Hanukkah, I'll say it back. You say blessed yule, I'll say it back. The point that I keep trying to refer to, and only a couple people have caught on, is that there is an increasing mindset that you aren't allowed to say these things. Christmas was just an example. The policy states that the employee's weren't allowed to use any religiously theemed greeting.
Oh, and Jimbo, if you re-read the op, you'll see that I said I'm not christian. The birth of christ isn't the only thing this holiday is about, so please do not imply that I am when it was clearly stated otherwise.
The business owner was probably trying to keep it simple. If he says, "Say 'Happy Holidays' except for (insert situation)." then all the customers will just start getting Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah or whatever the cashier's holiday of choice is, and someone will invariably get pissed.
On the subject of smoking, that's not political correctness, that's keeping the health hazards limited to the person who is smoking or chose to be around it. The bill about fining people who do it on their own property is silly, but it is just common courtesy to do the smoking outside and away from the doors, including in an apartment type of enviroment. If you do your smoking at a window or on the balconey, it can drift to other windows and balconies. For the 25 feet from the door, nothing pisses me off more at my dorms than having to walk through a thick fog of smoke just to get into the doors. Again, walking away from the building keeps it from the windows, and it keeps the people trying to get into the building from being subjected to it as well.
On the subject of smoking, that's not political correctness, that's keeping the health hazards limited to the person who is smoking or chose to be around it. The bill about fining people who do it on their own property is silly, but it is just common courtesy to do the smoking outside and away from the doors, including in an apartment type of enviroment. If you do your smoking at a window or on the balconey, it can drift to other windows and balconies. For the 25 feet from the door, nothing pisses me off more at my dorms than having to walk through a thick fog of smoke just to get into the doors. Again, walking away from the building keeps it from the windows, and it keeps the people trying to get into the building from being subjected to it as well.
As someone who's lived both above and below smokers, when it gets cold and the smokers move inside, the smell permeates my apartment. I'm very lucky I'm not allergic to cigraette smoke, but it's impossible to get the smell out of my own home, despite my efforts to the contrary.
I had one set of upstairs neighbors who smoked inside constantly. I'd come home from work, open my apartment door, and the smell coming through my ceiling would sicken me.
You know, I am about as Conservative and as Christian as you can get. But I think this is to a certain extent a non-issue. To me, if you want to greet someone by saying "Merry Christmas" I think that is perfectly fine. The person, to whom it is being said, should not be offended.
It is a greeting, one of warmth and fellowship, to all, Christians and non-Christians alike. If I traveled to a country where my religion was not the main one and they had a holiday and a greeting that accompanied it, and said it to me, I would not be offended. I would actually be quite happy that they gave me well wishes despite the fact, whether they knew or not, that I did not adhere to their religion.
On the other hand, for Christians, saying "Merry Christmas" is not doctrine, nor is it a sacrament. Nothing about "Merry Christmas" is sacred. So if someone prefers to say Happy Holidays, because they think that for some reason "Merry Christmas" discriminates and is bad, then, let them continue in error...
It is a greeting, one of warmth and fellowship, to all, Christians and non-Christians alike. If I traveled to a country where my religion was not the main one and they had a holiday and a greeting that accompanied it, and said it to me, I would not be offended. I would actually be quite happy that they gave me well wishes despite the fact, whether they knew or not, that I did not adhere to their religion.
On the other hand, for Christians, saying "Merry Christmas" is not doctrine, nor is it a sacrament. Nothing about "Merry Christmas" is sacred. So if someone prefers to say Happy Holidays, because they think that for some reason "Merry Christmas" discriminates and is bad, then, let them continue in error...
