| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| dan p. |
Posted - 12/11/2005 : 11:11:04 PM
i think i'll say something now. it has to do with hearing this whole "discriminating agaisnt christmas and christians" thing.
christmas usually is a great time for saying and doing stupid things, so let me set you straight on a couple of things.
first of all, i've been hearing things, largely from bill o'reilly and his ilk, that saying "happy holidays" is discriminatory against christians. i hestitate to even bring this up, because i don't even know where to begin. i guess i'll preface this whole thing by saying that the following is an attack on the claim itself, and not the staggering and overwhelming fact that it doesn't fucking matter. the sheer unimportance is another issue entirely, and if i have the energy when i get to it, i'll address it. that being said, saying happy holidays is not discriminatory against christians. in fact, it's the total opposite. let's take a look at what the fucking word means a minute. discriminatory:
1. Marked by or showing prejudice; biased.
2. Making distinctions.
boy do i love dictionaries. they're really great for finding the correct words to fit your idea, but really shitty for finding the worst possible word choice for your idea. "happy holidays" makes no distinctions and has no bias whatsoever. that's what it was designed for. a holiday plus new years. i don't get it. you want to be singled out for your christmas holiday? that would be discriminatory, according to the second definition. i don't hear jews wailing that no one wishes them a happy hannuka, or the blacks complaining that no one wishes them a happy kwaanza. why the fuck do you get special treatment? i also bet the jews and blacks find it hilarious that white christians, you know, the people who have most of the money and power, complain about being discriminated against. i guess you could say "well it's discriminatory against people who don't celebrate holidays." and i suppose i could then say "show me someone who doesn't celebrate any holiday and i'll show you a corpse." and if you say you don't, you're a liar trying and failing to make a point. all this aside, i'm still mystified that someone could take words of well wishing and turn it into an insult. here's an idea: shut the fuck up. if you're really upset that someone wishes you well on a holiday you don't celebrate, or wishes you well on holidays in december in general, then maybe you should just suck a tailpipe and be done with it. and maybe if you never existed at all, that would be better. you're a nightmare, and you should be thankful that anyone is talking to you at all.
secondly is that people every year complain about the written word "xmas" because it "takes the christ out of christmas." well, no it doesn't, and if you had any knowledge about your religion's history you'd be able to figure it out. "x" as an abbreviation for christ appeared around 800 AD in "book of kells." see, the letter "x" stands in place of the greek character "chi." x=chi. the greek name for christ is Xristos, rendered into english. the letter was chosen as a stand in for the whole word, and also bears resemblence to the cross, you know, the thing your god was nailed to. these two reasons are why X appears throughout religious texts. in the 16th century, the use of it spread across europe in words like "xren" and "xtian" and "xmas." figure out what they all mean? no, it's not an affront to your beliefs. it's a fucking part of them.
if you don't believe me about the xmas stuff, then why not do some research and then tell me you're wrong. i suggest looking "xmas" up either on dictionary.com or a honest to god book dictionary like the fourth addition of "the american heritage dictionary of the english language." check out the etymology part of that entry. it should read something like "dan was right." |
| 2 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Hopeful Rolling Waves |
Posted - 12/13/2005 : 7:34:22 PM
We are all going to die. |
| guitarisPIMP |
Posted - 12/12/2005 : 7:34:53 PM
that put me such a better mood... |
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