The Observation Deck

Grace O'Malley wrote:Goodness Kate, weren't you the one who started the thread begging for a "kinder, gentler" forum and asking posters to stop being, in your words,

condescending, pompous, browbeating, nasty, my-opionions-are-better-than-yours, psychiatrist office, uncivil discourse or rude?

Was that a "do as I say, not as I do" moment?

grace, i wasn't begging in that thread. and in this thread, i was responding to a post that the first word in it was "yawn". a little blunt my reply was, yes, but rude? i said 'merry christmas', what more do you want?

and btw, i've posted a few more times today, maybe you could go police those as well.

etak

I truly don't know why you have such a chip on your shoulder.

But, hey, Happy Holidays.

So (returning to the original question posed)...

If you wish someone "Happy Holidaze"... precisely what Happy Holiday is being wished? I suppose it could be viewed as inclusive of not only Christmas, but also the Jewish holiday that occurs between Thanksgiving and New Year's (Hanukkah), maybe Boxing Day for our Canadian Friends, and Kwanza. Not to mention New Years based on our current (as opposed to the Jewish or Chinese) calendar. So, I suppose, you stand the chance of being more offensive using "Happy Holidaze", as it includes more potential holidays which, presumably, also give you the opportunity to step on more sensibilities. "Holidays my butt...I believe in the Chinese New Year"....."If you're including Boxing Day...screw you, those Canadians don't appreciate us!" " Yeah, right, like Kwansa is any more a holiday than sweetest day!" I'd much prefer a specific offensive holiday reference than one that's generalized for over all offensiveness!



Jeff

Grace O'Malley wrote:I truly don't know why you have such a chip on your shoulder.

But, hey, Happy Holidays.

right back at ya, grace, about the happy holiday thingy. about that growth on my shoulder, i hope that you aren't losing sleep over it. i know that sitting behind a computer and spewing the things i sometimes say online may lead you to believe that i do, indeed, have a chip on my shoulder and i'm not going to try to convince you otherwise. but i do wonder, if i were on the other side of the political fence, would you have such a problem with the things that i sometimes say? it seems that your replies to people of like mind tend to be more gentle whereas with me, you are more blunt. so i was just curious, if we shared the same opinions, would you consider me to have said chip?

and to mr. deneen, i apologize for the tone of my previous post. i have little patience for american media, including foxnews and really, my post was more directed at that. again, i did not mean to be so abrupt.

kate

Hey wow, what a non issue.

For years and years and years (revealing I am of a "certain age" I guess) I have said "Merry Christmas" to people I KNOW celebrate the holiday and "Happy Holidays" to those I KNOW who don't or to those who I am not sure about. I've never gotten a scowl or a rejection.
If a Christian wants to be offended at the "generic" greeting, I guess I would ask how they would feel if they said, "I hope you and your husband have a Merry Christmas", only to find out later that I'm a widow. It's simply bad manners to presume things about strangers.
Fortunately, those who seem offended are a small minority.

And Peace on Earth, goodwill toward all...

About Christmas: I'm ambivalent to the max about it. It's a long story. But, suffice it to say I don't think this is what the Lord had in mind when the angel declared, "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great JOY which will be to ALL People."

Kate: Our family also has not used the whole Santa thing as part of our celebration. You are right about how touchy people can get about traditions. We've even celebrated the incarnation without a Christmas tree! I've had church friends ask me, "How can you have Christmas without a Christmas tree?"

We can choose to "take offense" at another's words or actions, or choose to turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, be merciful or just let it be.

My favorite will always be (in the sweet-as-honey voice of Bing Crosby)

Mele Kalikimaka!

merry christmas and black sabbath to all....

WOW. First, Jim, I was only joking about the % and the t-shirts . Second, to ANYONE who read my post and had to comment on it, all it was, was MY OWN commentary on this holiday/Xmas thing. If you want to wish me a
" Happy 3 9 over the moon day" , that's fine with me too. Whatever floats one's boat is cool with ME.

IS EVERYONE TENSE TODAY???

Mark Crnolatas wrote:WOW. First, Jim, I was only joking about the % and the t-shirts . Second, to ANYONE who read my post and had to comment on it, all it was, was MY OWN commentary on this holiday/Xmas thing. If you want to wish me a
" Happy 3 9 over the moon day" , that's fine with me too. Whatever floats one's boat is cool with ME.

IS EVERYONE TENSE TODAY???

Mark

The entire country is tense, and about to explode. This is what happens to lab rats when you do not let them sleep. With Americans it is because of Terror Alerts every job worth having going overseas, the promise that America would lead the world in technology and service, yet when our time came India got the deal. We have a out of control administration that rules with lies and secrets, while the rest of the world has started to hate Americans instead of our system. Little Bobby no longer wants GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip now he wants a Video Ipod for $600, as does both his sisters and Mom, but they are cutting at GM as it files for bankruptcy protection and the alerts just went to Orange, what the hell does that mean? Meat is killing us, no fish is killing us, no corn is killing us no sugar is killing us no salt is killing us, have the region is killing us, no it's helping us no wait it's killing us, alert on Red but might go back to orange. and on and on and on.

The attitude is that of the last two members of the Donner Party, while our shopping is like that of the last member.

Tense, hard to remember how relaxed we were just 7 years ago. Try to remember, you can't.

Happy holidays and please remember, the Obist Day of Atonement, and the three week Holiday around it.

peace



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Jim O'Bryan wrote:
The entire country is tense, and about to explode. This is what happens to lab rats when you do not let them sleep. With Americans it is because of Terror Alerts every job worth having going overseas, the promise that America would lead the world in technology and service, yet when our time came India got the deal. We have a out of control administration that rules with lies and secrets, while the rest of the world has started to hate Americans instead of our system. Little Bobby no longer wants GI Joe with the Kung Fu grip now he wants a Video Ipod for $600, as does both his sisters and Mom, but they are cutting at GM as it files for bankruptcy protection and the alerts just went to Orange, what the hell does that mean? Meat is killing us, no fish is killing us, no corn is killing us no sugar is killing us no salt is killing us, have the region is killing us, no it's helping us no wait it's killing us, alert on Red but might go back to orange. and on and on and on.

good gravy, man, you are giving me an ulcer already!

kate (reaching for the rolaids) parker

Today is "World Aids Day". By what many of you are saying here, we should change it to "World Disease Day". There's also a cancer awareness month that we should change to disease awareness month so that it doesn't offend people without cancer. Gay Pride Day should be changed to Sex Pride day, since homosexuals strive in other areas to be treated as equals anyways.
This isn't my argument, it's the argument made by those of you saying they don't like to hear Merry Christmas.

Joe

Joseph Milan wrote:Today is "World Aids Day". By what many of you are saying here, we should change it to "World Disease Day". There's also a cancer awareness month that we should change to disease awareness month so that it doesn't offend people without cancer. Gay Pride Day should be changed to Sex Pride day, since homosexuals strive in other areas to be treated as equals anyways.
This isn't my argument, it's the argument made by those of you saying they don't like to hear Merry Christmas.

Joe

Joe


You made me remember one of my favorite shallow stories of all time. Back in the 80s when Cornelia Guest was "Debutante of the Year" she was asked by Life magazine what she wanted to do with her life. Well Corny at 16 already had a 31-year-old polo playing millionaire boyfriend from Argentina, and she thought that would certainly keep her happy till the end of the year So she turned her thoughts and energy to helping those in need with, "I want to do something for society, I want to help the sick and the poor. The problem is with disease, what to do, all the good ones have already been taken by other celebrities."

File under FWIW.



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Jim O'Bryan wrote:
The problem is with disease, what to do, all the good ones have already been taken by other celebrities."

What's wrong with two celebrities taking up the same cause? In awards shows, many celebs wear ribbons for this cause or that cause. This persons argument is like saying only one person should wear the ribbon.

Joe

Jim-- About that Day of Atonement with the three week celebration attached.

How do I sign up??

Didja ever notice atonement=at one me n t Assuming that t is God, which is no small leap of faith. That means that atonement means at me and God.

Just needing some sillyness....

Happy Christmas everyone!

Kate,

I agree with you about the Santa thing. It is one of the few things that my DH and I disagreed about.

So I never mentioned him, because I thought it would be lying to our children, which I refused to do and let my husbands family talk about it without correcting them. I remember being devastated that my parents had lied to me.

By the time my kids reached kindergarten, they had figured it out and it was a non-issue. They thought I was silly and the concept of Santa was fun and was the spirit of giving.

But I agree with both Kate and Ellen, this can be a bigger issue than Happy Holidays.