Comments | kyobu: Let's Make a Deal

kyobu

Let's Make a Deal

Dec 19, 2006 14:23

How about this: I'm culturally Jewish, and I don't believe in God. My family celebrates Hannukah. I don't say peep when people wish me Merry Christmas. I smile and reciprocate. In return, why doesn't the wacky, angry end of the Christian team shut the hell up about the War on Christmas? It doesn't exist.

Comments 22

discojesus December 21 2006, 17:01:37 UTC

Or perhaps instead, we can wage war on Christmas music, which even Aimee Mann and Sufjan Stevens can't save from sucking extreme ass.

qnonsense December 21 2006, 18:30:09 UTC

"i have a little dreidel" shall hereby replace any christmas music in every context.

kyobu December 21 2006, 19:07:39 UTC

Yeah, how come every Christmas carol written since like 1870 totally sucks? I fucking hate all that 50s dreck. I'm probably the only person in America who still loves "God Rest You Merry Gentlemen" and all those ones this late in the year. Probably if I'd been hearing it for the last 2 months like everyone else, I wouldn't like it so much.

discojesus December 25 2006, 18:15:00 UTC

I do like the old ones. They have a very austere feel to them... but some of the new ones like "White Christmas," and "Sleigh Bells" are nice too. If I have to heer "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" one more time, though, I might go postal.

Thread 8

destron0 December 21 2006, 22:22:24 UTC

Although I am also not religious (raised Christian, though) I have to disagree with you about War on Christmas. Well, the nutjob far right Christians greatly exaggerate it, but come on -- when you have elementary schools banning Christmas carols in their holiday program it is ridiculous, IMO. As much as I hate it when far-right Christians go off, I hate it just as much when atheists go off because some form of religion was in their presence. You have the right attitude, though. We all need a little more tolerance.

On a lighter note, I was surprised to find that my orthodox Jewish friends' kids know the dreidel song. You know, "dreidel dreidel dreidel, I made you out of clay..."

kyobu December 22 2006, 05:34:36 UTC

Maybe, but I'm not convinced; plus, the number of vocal and powerful atheists in this country is maybe, what, .001% the number of vocal and powerful evangelical Christians. Christians just sound a little whiny and strident when they bitch about being oppressed, when in fact they're the overwhelmingly dominant majority, which almost incessantly dictates policy and cultural attitudes. So much so that even Jews get in on the intolerant, ahistorical action. I'm not saying that schools should never sing Christmas carols, just that there's not really an equivalence in the sway that these two groups hold.

destron0 December 25 2006, 18:13:24 UTC

Sorry, I still totally disagree with you. I'm not following the politics of the issue (nor will I begin to), nor do I disagree that the Christian right has way more political power, but from what trickles down I hear just as much atheist whining about merry christmas, christmas carols, talking about anything religious in school (even if it is historical), nativity scenes, in god we trust, one nation under god, &c. as I hear Christians whining. I was listening to a piece on NPR last week about how hurt people felt that many stores continue to display "Merry Christmas" signs and that they felt excluded. Since, as you pointed out, there are vastly more Christians than atheists, it is difficult to believe that the atheists are powerless when they get a similar amount of media exposure ( ... )