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by mc32 3507 days ago
Christians might see if as part of their religious identity, as an atheist it's not part of any religious identity to me, but I find it peculiar that people find that it could be offensive since it does not mean to me Christ Mass [and other non religious or people of other religions presumably would not see it as Christ Mass], but rather a seasonal greeting with historical religious roots --like many things in our lives.

Do we rebrand Halloween because of its pagan _religious_ historical context? Do we say, no no no more quinceaneras, that just promotes more patriarchal hegemony in a community which is characterized by patriarchy?
1 comments
yequalsx 3507 days ago
It seems ironic to me that my comment was about recognizing that people do and can get offended by phrases without being a wimp. Now you seem to be saying that Christmas should have been rebranded because that offends some Christians. But that is my point. People can and do get offended by phrases. Let's recognize this. Sometimes the offense is something that warrants change and sometimes not.

I don't think Christians are wimps for not liking "Happy Holidays".

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mc32 3507 days ago
Do you think people in other countries who have other majority religions should say "Happy Holidays" so as not to offend people who might not share their religion?
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yequalsx 3507 days ago
I think American businesses say happy holidays because they want more than just Christians spending lots of money on gifts. I personsonally don't give a shit either way. I prefer the cashier to just ring me up and not engage in banal greetings. I think the change in this speech pattern came from retailers and not because people were offended with merry Christmas.
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mc32 3507 days ago
I don't care for banal greetings either. I'm with you there. I want to pay and get out.

However, in many workplaces I've worked at, there seems to have been a pall brought on by HR at least discouraging saying Merry Christmas and opting for Happy Holidays. I've had managers self-correct themselves and correct others as they spoke -probably out of fear of offending people who take the greeting too literally [i.e. celebrating Christ Mass].

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