Is Someone That Takes Offense To A Greeting Of Merry Christmas A Religious Bigot Or Just Intolerant?

my my, between those two insults, I don’t know which one I like more
I think I’ll just go with being an intolerant bigot
hey there, neighbor…Happy Atheist Day!

Most people that express offense at minor occurrences are simply maneuvering for power and advantage over you and others. They have found that by being constantly offended our foolish society will pay homage to them.

I think that it shows intolerance but not outright bigotry. I’m not a fan of Christmas, but I don’t show offense. I just give a neutral noncommital reply.

wait, what exactly changed when this qustion got modded? sounds like the same crap to me

Wait, what? If you wish your religious celebration on someone who doesn’t participate in your religion, that makes them a religious bigot? Not quite understanding the logic there….

@MrItty logic? dude, you ask too much

@Simone_De_Beauvoir My bad.

@MrItty that’s all right. move along now. nothing to see here.

I think they’re just silly. I think anyone who takes offense at any cheerful, well intended greeting is silly.

intolerant

For example…if someone wished me a Happy Chanukah or a Joyous Kwanzaa, I wouldn’t take offense! If someone wishes me Happy Spring Festival in February (instead of Valentine’s day) I will also not take offense. Furthermore, I do not take offense when people wish me a happy Cinco de Mayo, even though I am not Hispanic. The emphasis should be on the Happy and Merry. You can substitute the reason of your choice. It’s the thought that counts.

Even if you don’t subscribe to the religion celebrating the holiday, you can still be pleasant and show some cultural sensitivity, Like “Happy Hanukah” or “Happy Id ul Fitr”.

Intolerant Bigots. I live in a multi-cultural, lingual, race, religion country. We celebrate each other’s festivals either as a celebrant or as a spectator.

Maybe I’m not understanding what is meant by “takes offense”. When I was a teenager working at McDonalds on Easter Sunday morning, I wished my customers “Happy Easter!” as they walked away. One or two of them responded “Thanks but I’m not Christian”, or something to that effect. Is that considered “taking offense” in the style of this question? Because I have no problem with that reaction whatsoever.

If you’re talking about a vehement reaction like “HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME?!?!”, then I don’t think they’re either bigotted or intollerant. Just idiots.

@MrItty I see you’re back! (from outer space…sorry tangent to the ‘I will survive’ song) ;)~

I agree with @justmesuzanne but I have already had this discussion in a thread from earlier in the week.

Define “takes offense.”

Can’t really answer unless you give us specific examples as to what “taking offense” means to you.

@MrItty I guess that I should have included the definition of bigotry. My bad. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bigotry

I guess intolerance is not too strong a term. There are people who feel compelled to “set everyone straight”, as if it’s their mission to correct erroneous views whenever they appear. That kind of mentality exists in all parts of the ideological spectrum.

These people act kind of like an ideological immune system; they’re like white blood cells seeking out what they see as pathological ideas and then trying to purge them from the body. I can see the need for some of that, sure. But an immune system run amuck is a bad thing both for bodies and societies. Hearing an expression of goodwill and identifying as a “pathogen” is an overactive immune response.

@Harp that is an interesting way of putting it

@Payton_Evil_is_as_evil_does no. We all know what bigotry is. What you should have included is an exmple of someone “taking offense”. That is different to each person.

Who are these mythical creatures who take offense at “Merry Christmas”? I’ve never seen nor heard of one.

I’m only familiar with people who take offense to “Happy Holidays.” Which is hilarious because in principle it’s not even potentially offensive, unlike Merry Christmas.

I see it as something I do not loose sleep over or let it distract me from how I wish to celebrate.

At the most I see humor in it.

@Qingu 100% concurred

@Qingu I’ve met people that take offense to Merry Christmas and people who take offense to Happy Holidays. I’ve learnt not to wish anyone a happy or merry anything now. It’s far too much like hard work!!!

being a witch ... i myself , resent the fact the traditional PAGAN holidays are celebrated as something else .. and the lie that they are telling everyone that it is theirs . the missinformation and attempt to overshadow and abolish the pagan holiday . some may be fooled into thinking the christians included our rituals .. to make it easier to convert… but even if that were true .. it is a war tactic.
pagans were killed off ,,murdered ,, hung , burned , & had their holidays and rituals etc.. stolen .. then a reason was invented to place a holiday on the same day and call it theirs to overshadow any celebrations they did not kill off .. then they cover it up and sell the lie to you . i cant think of one christan holiday that is not pagan in origin !!
to me the greeting “merry christmas ” is a slap in the face , and accepting it would be slapping myself . it also shows that you just assume that i share your faith which is ignorant . or that you are placeing and imposing your faith on me , which is rude . ...... you may say ” i dont mind i think it’s a nice greeting ..” ...well how yould you feel if someone came up to you and said “satan praise you ”? . you would probably take offence . you must understand that many are victims of christianity such as wiccans , witches , and pagans . murder and theft of our customs may not be acceptable to some of us . and to me… hanging a “christian” christmas wreath on your door is like a hunter hanging a deer head on the wall to brag to his murdering buddies . christianity has bashed many faiths ..and continue to spread lies to discredit them ..like ” they worship the devil ” etc .. eventhough he is a “christian deity.etc…. just remember there are many victims out there… including you…for being lied to . we all may not feel the same way .

@Payton_Evil_is_as_evil_does . you say ” I find it funny how people are so intolerant to Christians lately ”””” well maybe this will refresh your memory http://www.evilbible.com/Murder.htm

@The_Anonymous_Witch is “Satan praise you” the typical pagan holiday greeting? If not, what is? I would probably be taken aback and quite possibly offended if someone said, “Bless our Lord, for he has risen” on Easter, but that is considerably less generic. I would probably look at them like they were crazy, even though I technically live in the Bible Belt.

Personally, I don’t think they are bigots or necessarily intolerant. I think they are overreacting. The intent of “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” or “Happy Hanukkah” is to wish you a warm greeting. If it isn’t your cup of tea, respond with “have a nice evening” or just say nothing. Why make a big case of it and ruin the day of someone who was just trying to be nice?

It’s not “Christmas” that gives offense, but “merry.” Almost 72% of people are seriously depressed during the holiday season, and we don’t appreciate it when someone rubs our noses in it.

@Supacase well answering it that way implies that you accept your implict participation in what’s normative – it is akin to not correcting someone when they tell you to invite your husband over to the holiday party and you’re actually a lesbian…people say, hey they were just being nice, you don’t have to tell them about how it’s NOT okay every female has a husband, etc. but in fact, what you don’t get, is that it is important to some people to state that they are NOT a part of something so that their identity and beliefs become known…you can say merry christmas and wish warm wishes to me but I will let you know I do not celebrate it and I will say it loud and clear so that others know not everyone celebrates it and it’s okay to say so

@Supacase . SATAN has NOTHING to do with us ... he is a christian deiety from a christian storybook .

a ” good greeting” would be “happy holidays as it is likely you are not sure of the persons belief. or a good greeting for any “christian ” holiday… would be “happy stolen pagan customs . ” that seems to fit.

Maybe they’re just having a bad day… or Christmas just isn’t a good time for them for whatever reason. Christmas can be a very sad time for some folks. My Mom died a few days before Christmas when I was in my teens. For a long time, Christmas just represented sadness and loss to me.
So, this could have nothing to do with religion…

@Qingu People who take offense at “Happy Holidays” are (in my experience) very self-righteous “Christians” who insist that everyone should celebrate the same holiday they do. I am a Christian; however, I think it is just fine for other people not to be if they don’t want to be. I am very interested in all of the celebrations and traditions that occur around the world and in the US. I respect people’s right to peaceful and joyous celebration and observance of their beliefs. If someone greets me in a way that is meaningful to them, that is just fine. My own faith and beliefs are secure. I am happy for others whose beliefs are also secure.

Additionally, @The_Anonymous_Witch I know that Christ’s birth was not on “Christmas” and that pagan holidays were usurped by the “Christian” celebrations that use many of the trappings, celebrations, songs, etc. that were traditional to these ceremonies. I think that’s a real shame. I believe Jesus is nice, kind, and considerate of others and would be unlikely to be in agreement with having people killed, persecuted and their traditions and celebrations destroyed in his name.

Here are a few articles I have written on this subject:

Light and Love This Holiday Season
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2169683/light_and_love_this_holiday_season.html?cat=74

Season of Warmth
http://hubpages.com/hub/Season-of-Warmth

Season of Light
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1237659/the_season_of_light.html?cat=10

I hope you enjoy them and that they are helpful to you!

Best of the season!
:)

@Supacase By the way…Most of the pagans I know greet each other with, “Merry Meet!” and part with, “Blessed Be!” which I think is quite charming! :)

@justmesuzanne very nice work , i can almost sence your smile as you write ;-)

i do not take offense at Merry Christmas, and if someone wished me Happy Chanukah or Happy Kwanzaa i would not be offended either. i would be happy they were welcoming me to their religion. I was at a Jewish friend’s house once during Chanukah, and i was excited and flattered she and her family included me in their celebration and taught me about it. This is not offensive, this is inclusive. If someone wished me a Happy Chanukah or Happy Kwanzaa i would not feel a burning desire to tell them loudly that I don’t celebrate those things, as @ Simone de Beauvoir said she would, as it’s not all about me. I would thank them and wish the same to them, and move on. I would be grateful they’re wishing me “Happy anything.”

@jca GA. Agreed 100%

@The_Anonymous_Witch Thanks!

Best of the season to all!

Here is a card for you!
http://www.ogphoto.com/cgi-bin/ogcardfiles.cgi?Do=pickup&Review=Yes&CardID=4b2d0ce257004b91

@The_Anonymous_Witch I didn’t think he was, based on the Pagan friends I have had, which is why I asked. Why would you greet someone like that? If you said “Merry Meet” I would probably thank you. The only real issue I might have is that your bitterness seems rather sad for a season of celebration.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir I am perfectly happy to participate in what’s normative. That doesn’t mean I am rude or unkind or that I do not accept people different from me. You are correct, I probably would say to bring their husband. If they said they are a lesbian, I would say bring your partner without missing a beat.

No one has to celebrate anything. I just don’t feel the need to go around denouncing someone’s beliefs or announcing mine. Everyone should be happy to celebrate whatever they celebrate and allow others to do the same. I am not Jewish, but if someone wished me a Happy Hanukkah I would say “I hope you have a happy one” because I do hope it is happy for them even if I don’t celebrate the same holiday. I hope they have a happy whatever. On the other hand, if I said “Merry Christmas” and they politely (because why would they not be?) said, “I’m Jewish” I would say, “Oh! Happy Hanukkah to you!” with a smile.

@jca Exactly! :)

@Supacase If I tell you I don’t celebrate Christmas to your “Merry Christmas”, I don’t believe that’s ‘denouncing your beliefs’

OP, it works both ways. I’ve seen Christians get offended by the “happy holidays” greeting, which I never understood, because the word “holiday” means “holy day”. I think that people in general need to relax and not take offense to holiday greetings, because most greeters mean well.

if someone said “Merry Christmas” and i did not celebrate Christmas, i wouldn’t feel it necessary to announce that. i would just thank them with a smile and say you too, and be grateful for the well wishes. If someone said Happy Ramadan or whatever, i would say “thank you” not “I don’t celebrate that.”

Just a jerk in general. It makes as much sense as punching the Happy Face Guy (Have a Nice Day) in the eye.

I understand bigotry to be intolerance to contrary opinions, views, etc.

I wouldn’t assume the person is either. They may not be intolerant to you holding your beliefs, or whatever, but take offense at your offering of them.

An equivalent might be an atheist who takes offense at the expression ‘god bless you’ when you sneeze. They aren’t necessarily opposed to you believing in your god, but your conviction places them in an uncomfortable situation.

They don’t like the casual statements that imply that your god objectively is true and all that you believe about it is true, because it comes across as arrogant. You treat your chosen truth as if it is objectively discovered to some degree, and others are supposed to respond with kind sentiment, but at the same time by doing so, they further support that idea they hold to be in error. In fact, many simply react to being put in the predicament in the first place, and blame the merry wisher for doing so (i.e. they treat their chosen reality as if it discovered fact, and they expect you to act in kind).

This person perceives a world of sentiments based on false precepts, and is usually offended by any notions expressed to its support.

I think back to your question now and wonder where you draw the line between bigotry and intolerance. Is taking offense to every utterance of contrary opinion (flbw) bigotry? If so, then they are likely a bigot by this definition. Is taking offense the same as intolerance?

Sorry to dive into the word game; it’s not for the purpose of arguing semantics. It’s just considering that however you define your two labels obviously dictates which would or would not apply.

To the spirit of your question (at least that which seems to me): You seem to be unsettled yourself at their taking offense. If not, then I assume you are in fact asking about the two terms themselves and if their respective definitions apply.

I personally treat all merry wishes the same, because I understand the person’s intention is to wish me well in a sincere and earnest fashion. I appreciate that regardless of what verbal form it takes. I even appreciate that I meant enough to them to even acknowledge me.

I think it’s an emotional response either way, and people can add whatever they want to their list of things that offend them. I try to keep my own list pretty short; after all, why would I want to compile a larger list of things to upset me.