[boona]

>Walk a mile in their shoes and maybe you'll understand why some people get offended at things you don't get offended at.

In the western world we're incredibly tolerant to other people's religion, lifestyles, etc. If someone is intolerant to the point that they get offended from hearing "Merry Christmas", then it's clearly time to re-examine their own lives.

[yequalsx]

I suspect that practically no one has been offended in the U.S. from being told "merry christmas". I suspect that the vast majority of the offense on this issue stems from a certain group of Christians not liking being told "Happy Holidays". There has, to my knowledge, never been a significant number of people who complained about "Merry Christmas". There has been a significant number of people who don't like being told "Happy Holidays".

So while, I'm not offended at being told "Happy Holidays" I don't say to the Christians who don't like it, "Why are you such a wimp"? I understand where they are coming from even though I disagree with the reasons why they are offended. It's OK to recognize that someone is in a tizzy over something that I consider meaningless.

[daveFNbuck]

> In the western world we're incredibly tolerant to other people's religion, lifestyles, etc.

You might need to update that opinion now that the US has elected a man who pledged to roll back LGBT rights and stop Muslims from entering the country.

[boona]

> who pledged to roll back LGBT rights

You mean the man who will likely have a homosexual man (Peter Thiel) lead his transition team.

> stop Muslims from entering the country

I don't agree with this, but I also don't agree with what's going on in countries like France. There has to be a middle ground somewhere. The unfortunate fact is that if you even mention immigration in a less than positive light, you're labeled a racist or a xenophobe. And now the other side has fought back. They've elected someone who gives them at least somewhat of a voice. Had the left not been so aggressive at trying to pin those with a dissenting voice (both on the left and the right really), I suspect we would be in a very different position today.

Trump has flaws, and I take issue with many of his positions, but this anti-gay and racist argument just doesn't hold up. I look forward to the day we can start debating policy again.

[daveFNbuck]

I didn't say that Trump was anti-gay or racist. I'm saying that electing a man who pledged to roll back LGBT rights and stop people of a particular religion from entering the country is evidence that we might not be as incredibly tolerant of other peoples' lifestyles and religions as we previously thought.

Including a gay person on Trump's transition team does not negate campaigning against gay marriage and transgender bathroom use. There being a good explanation for why people are intolerant of Islam does not negate the fact that they're intolerant of that religion.