To think nobody is offended and people are stupid

[sooperdooper]

Sorry, FB one but I've just seen two different people share a nativity scene on FB with a message saying 'apparently FB doesn't like this picture because some people are offended - TOUGH, Pls share'

Aggghhhhh nobody is offended you morons it's utter nonsense, might just delete them I never speak to them anyway but this crap wheedles out the idiots

YANBU. Every election the BNP trot out this crap and people fall for it. Well meaning people repeat it without thinking it through.

No one tried to ban the flag.
No one tried to ban Xmas.
No one is trying to ban photos of a nativity scene.

YANBU mostly. But there are people who try to do away with xmas in favour of a more generic term. But I dont think its muslims or other minority religions, its overly political correct interfering busybodies (usually middle class and white) people. Our council tried this a few years ago, they wanted to rename the Xmas season as something else think it was winter season or something like that. There was a big kick up in local paper and the council backed down.

claig I did miss the controversy about Sunset Park. I think that principal did go a bit overboard. But it is tricky for schools in the US because of the separation of church and state. Santa is ok, but a nativity play would not be.
Her objection to Thanksgiving is really bizarre though; you can be thankful with any religion or no religion at all.

In addition to Christmas and Hanukkah, we have some Kwanzaa decorations at work, too. It may be a recently created holiday as someone upthread mentioned, but I love its symbolism.

Anyone remember Mr. Castanza's holiday in Seinfeld - Festivus and the Annual Airing of Grievances?

I always say happy Eid, or Diwali to my Muslim or Hindu patients they always say happy Christmas to me.

The whole winterval thing gets trotted out as an example of political correctness gone mad, but a few seconds Googling gets this en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterval

winterval was just a council attempt at branding, to get people out to the shops right through the winter. I think the article says Christmas was mentioned several times on the flyer and there was a picture of a Christmas tree on the cover. So no attempt whatsoever to pretend Christmas didn't exist.

Been teaching in canada for my last two decades and the schools here do NOT celebrate christian holidays unless they cover ALL of the religious hols

Thing is, I would say that actually Christmas is no longer a religious festival, it's returning to it's pagen roots. Everybody I know, apart from JWs, celebrate Christmas and almost all of them, it's not the birth of Jesus they're celebrating, it's shopping, eating, father Christmas, Christmas trees and parties.

It's the militant aethistis , innit

Nope. It's a bunch of weirdo sadbastards.
I'm an atheist, and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. To ignore more than a thousand years of accumulated cultural references is stupid.
Then again, I live in that godless place that has a strict separation of church and state - Loi de 1905, woo, yay!

Been teaching in canada for my last two decades and the schools here do NOT celebrate christian holidays unless they cover ALL of the religious hols Or in my DD's Canadian school, a massive Christmas concert with Dreidel in the middle. Sung beautifully by DD. Hanukkah Lite.

YANBU.

I'm Muslim and my child was Mary in her school nativity. It's a great school that does special assemblies for Christmas, Eid, Diwali and Black History Month so every gets a turn and everyone mucks in.

Tbh, I feel like I get all the good bits of Xmas (nice food, seeing everywhere nicely decorated, bit of time off) without any of the hassle.

Indeed Pontypines

More reasons to celebrate has to be a good thing

Tbh, I feel like I get all the good bits of Xmas (nice food, seeing everywhere nicely decorated, bit of time off) without any of the hassle. Exactly how I feel about Eid. Great food, no prep!

I don't think it's just shit stirrers that come up with this guff.

It's also misinformed do gooders.

At the schools summer fair it was baking hot. Dh nipped out and got some boxes of ice lollies. All the families have picnics on the school field.

Dh was offering them round and one of the mums said we shouldn't offer to father of the Muslim child my ds is best friends with , because he was probably fasting and would be offended.

Dh laughed, we chat to this man fairly regularly and know him fairly well. Dh offered and he said 'that's very kind but I am fasting' that was the end of it.

Why someone would think leaving someone out is less offensive is beyond me. But she didn't do it in a shit stirring way. She genuinely thought he would be upset.

Been teaching in canada for my last two decades and the schools here do NOT celebrate christian holidays unless they cover ALL of the religious hols.

Interesting, are you in Toronto? Or some place really multi-cultural? I was born and raised in Canada (and left high school less then 2 decades ago) and we always did a Christmas Concert, and my friends who are still in Canada (of which I have many) are all sharing their kids X-mas concert photos, yet I've never heard of them celebrating Eid. . Although I do get asked for postcards every year for international days.

It's the militant atheists innit

I'm an atheist, my kids are atheists and so is their mother. We celebrate the fuck out of Christmas 'cos we love a party.

What don't you like about what she says? Isnt she free to think what she likes?

It's the militant atheists innit. I'm an atheist, my kids are atheists and so is their mother. We celebrate the fuck out of Christmas 'cos we love a party

Yeah, doctor, but you are like the majority of normal people, or all faiths or none . Who just say

" well I believe this and it's how I live my life but I accept its not what everyone believes / thinks, we are all entitled to our opinions . I won't go around insulting your beliefs , please respect mine too "

Now where the party ?

"confused Isnt she free to think what she likes?"

Yes she is. Your point?

As for KH.. Let's not give the despicable, ignoramus, prat another word (or thought) on MN or anywhere else, please??? She revels in being talked about . As do all the other hateful bigots that seem to have been given a platform to mouth off their idiotic bile!

I thought of this thread today.

There were two parents at the school gate in full on bitch-a-thon mode because a vicar had come in to speak to assembly and "told the children it was all true". Apparently one is considering removing her child from all assemblies.

I kept my head down and stayed out of it but had to do a little sigh. These are parents who happily had their kid take a starring role in the nativity and used to go to a weekly toddler group run by the church (with no religious content, but the women volunteer because of their faith). So we aren't talking parents who want no involvement in this stuff.

But apparently I wasn't ok to have an assembly where a vicar talked factually about what he believed. And he should have made it very clear , such that it would come home clearly explained by a four year old ffs, (I have no idea what he said, I doubt it was that the "story is real", but if you hear my 6 year old's account of some stuff you know the details of...) that although he believed it was true, other people thought it was just a pretty story. Yup, the vicar was meant to have told the kids it was just a pretty story.

They learn about other religions and I have never heard any complaints about them speaking factually.

Some people are just bloody determined to be offended and there is no helping them.

This one popped up on my Facebook timeline. The person sharing it didn't realise it was a pisstake

"There were two parents at the school gate in full on bitch-a-thon mode because a vicar had come in to speak to assembly and "told the children it was all true". Apparently one is considering removing her child from all assemblies"

I presume by "bitch-a-thon" you mean expressing concern that somebody in authority told the children that one particular religious faith was the one true faith, rather than telling them what he believed and that many other people believe different things?

Yep- I wouldn't be happy with that either.