fandom's oldest profession.
If you have ever been curious about how to come across as an ignorant, insensitive asshole in five easy steps, you need look no further than [ this post]. There you will see many familiar things from past racism discussions, this time applied to religion. My favorite is the classic technique of ignoring the actual point in order to focus on how offensive a minority's tone is to members of the majority. This time the victims are none other than the horribly underrepresented and oppressed Christians of fandom. Yes, it's about time someone stood up for them, don't you think?
This is from the beginning of a comment about why Yuletide does not consider Jews when planning signups and such, and it made me laugh out loud:
In 2000-2001, the Jewish population of America was roughly between and five and a half and six million. That's roughly 2% of the entire population.
It sounds like a joke, right? Because of course what all minorities need to hear from the majority is how profoundly outnumbered we are. Thanks for the reminder! Maybe we should understand why we're ignored and not complain about it so much. But that same poster also helpfully explains why Yuletide has only a minor connection to Christianity, how the organizers are too busy to consider any non-Christian religions, how Christmas is actually a secular holiday (I must have missed that memo), and how it's the responsibility of the minority to coddle the majority. I can't be sure, but I think she's serious.
So that comment made me laugh, but this comment made my jaw drop:
I get that you're frustrated, and I'm sorry that the timing has been bad for you, but I find this post incredibly offensive. There's enough legitimate, hurtful prejudice in the world without pointing fingers in the complete absence of evidence. [snip]
I've defriended you as a direct result of this post. I will lend my wholehearted support to anyone who has actually been insulted or disenfranchised due to their race, religion, or sexual orientation. But this? Is not that. This is an unfounded, hurtful and potentially reputation-damaging accusation against people who have never wronged you.
You owe them an apology.
Wow. Just, wow. I don't even have commentary for this, because I feel it is so deeply wrong and, um, crazy from every conceivable angle that I can only marvel. Wow.
It does highlight one thing, though: ignorance is not the worst part of these discussions. It's the knee-jerk self-righteous anger that is truly maddening. In this case especially, things seem pretty clear-cut. Yes, most holiday challenges are centered on Christmas. Yes, Christmas is a Christian holiday. No, the organizers don't consider other religions or people who are not religious when they choose the names and dates for these things. Put away the vitriol, the insanity, the denial, and the self-righteousness, and just admit it. That's all people really want. If you're feeling extra wacky you could even apologize and say you'll try harder to be sensitive and aware in the future. Any other route is just guided by willful ignorance, blindness, or idiocy.
There is a collection of quotes from the majority, inspired by this discussion, [ over here]. Most of the comments are pretty disgusting, as can be expected, but to see them all in a row reveals the issue clearly. It's worth a look.
This is from the beginning of a comment about why Yuletide does not consider Jews when planning signups and such, and it made me laugh out loud:
In 2000-2001, the Jewish population of America was roughly between and five and a half and six million. That's roughly 2% of the entire population.
It sounds like a joke, right? Because of course what all minorities need to hear from the majority is how profoundly outnumbered we are. Thanks for the reminder! Maybe we should understand why we're ignored and not complain about it so much. But that same poster also helpfully explains why Yuletide has only a minor connection to Christianity, how the organizers are too busy to consider any non-Christian religions, how Christmas is actually a secular holiday (I must have missed that memo), and how it's the responsibility of the minority to coddle the majority. I can't be sure, but I think she's serious.
So that comment made me laugh, but this comment made my jaw drop:
I get that you're frustrated, and I'm sorry that the timing has been bad for you, but I find this post incredibly offensive. There's enough legitimate, hurtful prejudice in the world without pointing fingers in the complete absence of evidence. [snip]
I've defriended you as a direct result of this post. I will lend my wholehearted support to anyone who has actually been insulted or disenfranchised due to their race, religion, or sexual orientation. But this? Is not that. This is an unfounded, hurtful and potentially reputation-damaging accusation against people who have never wronged you.
You owe them an apology.
Wow. Just, wow. I don't even have commentary for this, because I feel it is so deeply wrong and, um, crazy from every conceivable angle that I can only marvel. Wow.
It does highlight one thing, though: ignorance is not the worst part of these discussions. It's the knee-jerk self-righteous anger that is truly maddening. In this case especially, things seem pretty clear-cut. Yes, most holiday challenges are centered on Christmas. Yes, Christmas is a Christian holiday. No, the organizers don't consider other religions or people who are not religious when they choose the names and dates for these things. Put away the vitriol, the insanity, the denial, and the self-righteousness, and just admit it. That's all people really want. If you're feeling extra wacky you could even apologize and say you'll try harder to be sensitive and aware in the future. Any other route is just guided by willful ignorance, blindness, or idiocy.
There is a collection of quotes from the majority, inspired by this discussion, [ over here]. Most of the comments are pretty disgusting, as can be expected, but to see them all in a row reveals the issue clearly. It's worth a look.