Pretty much my view on Christmas...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Dec 13 2006, 01:30 PM) [snapback]361737[/snapback]</div>

Yeah... I don't mind being called sensitive if that's what it means to be sensitive.

Would you eat at a resteraunt that had a sign on the door that said "No Native American Indians Allowed"?

I wouldn't... I'm not a Native American Indian, but I also think this sign tells me all I need to know about the people who hope to prosper as a result of my business. I choose not to support that choice they made when they posted the sign.

I eat at the next resteraunt... that may not have a sign at all...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Dec 13 2006, 03:25 PM) [snapback]361729[/snapback]</div>

There's also no apparent gripe from the Salvation Army about Target's policy:
"Salvation Army spokeswoman Melissa Temme said other changes could make up much of the $9 million the charity used to raise each year in front of Target stores. Besides the cash donation, Target will donate the profits from a $9.99 Salvation Army ornament that is hitting store shelves this week, Temme said. It will also put a link on its Web site to accept Salvation Army donations."

I'm just so glad the holidays are here so we can all once again be filled with the spirit of righteous anger. If only my relatives were around...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Dec, 11:37 AM) [snapback]361744[/snapback]</div>

What are you talking about? This is not a valid analogy. Being religiously neutral is an act of inclusivity, not exclusivity.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Dec 13 2006, 01:39 PM) [snapback]361749[/snapback]</div>

What are you talking about? The major holiday on December 25 in the United States of America is Christmas. Jane Smith is just trying to feed her kids and get off work in time to take them to her choice of Christmas religious services with those kids of hers. In the mean time, for the next 4 hours of her shift, her employer has told her she can not say Merry Christmas to me when I come through her line.

I think that's a stupid thing to do to her. People do stupid things all the time, and that's ok too. Sometimes they put a stupid sign on the front door to exclude the natives from the resteraunt, and sometimes they send a memo telling Jane to keep her Merry Christmas boxed up and only use "Happy Holidays".

This bothers Jane.... And, I agree with her...

If her manager wants my $$ spent in his store, he can rethink the memo to jane.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Dec 13 2006, 03:46 PM) [snapback]361757[/snapback]</div>

Once again, the cure for myth is snopes:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/christmas/target.asp

Target denies that it has asked employees to avoid saying "Merry Christmas" and lets that decision rest with the employee.

Why don't you just trying saying Merry Christmas to Jane? She will likely answer you back the same way.

Still so glad the holidays are here so we can all once again be filled with the spirit of righteous anger. If only my relatives were around...

December 9, 2005:
American Family Association (AFA) has announced that it is ending its boycott of Target because the company has announced that it will include Christmas in their advertising and in-store promotions.

 

First, my post (from another thread) on Dobb's article there:

It's not worth the electrons spent to display in on my screen.

As for the difference between having a sign saying "no native americans allowed" and asking clerks not use happy holidays: One is racism and a cultural bigotry, something we outlawed a low time ago (or did you not learn about that little spat between the north and the south in history class?) while the other is attempting to be all inclusive of all religions and cultures. I hope you can see the difference between the two - one all inclusive, while one exclusive.

You say "The major holiday on December 25 in the United States of America is Christmas." what about the major Holiday in the US which happens to fall on Dec 16th this year? should stores ignore that just because their employees happen to not celebrate that holiday?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MegansPrius @ Dec 13 2006, 01:54 PM) [snapback]361769[/snapback]</div>

You could be the third member on that Myth Busters show.....

Or, read my earlier post with the lists on them...

Target is doing the wrong thing as per the bell ringers...

They are on the list of stores who believe the bigger buck is in "Merry Christmas" rather than "Generous Solstice to you and yours"

They are just a few bell ringgers away from me going in the store...

On a interesting side note, I was going by a Target just last night. It was a nice enough night out I had the window down, enough people crossing that I was creeping through and heard some boys selling M&M's trying to raise money for their basketball team.... right in front of the doors to target. They had no uniforms or apparent sponsorship... I'm sure Target would have run them off if they were aware...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Dec 13 2006, 02:46 PM) [snapback]361757[/snapback]</div>

I don't think the manager gives 2 s***ts about your $$. He's getting enough $$ from the people who don't have a problem with it.

Have you considered that her boss isn't trying to infringe on Jane's religion as much as he's trying to make his business more open to people of all faiths? During the same time that you're doing your Christmas shopping, people of the Jewish faith are shopping for Chanukah. People who don't celebrate any holiday are also shopping. Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus are shopping.

I ask, what's wrong with a company making a corporate decision to ensure all their customers feel welcome? They're not asking Jane Smith not to be a Christian. Just to follow the policies. When I worked in a corporate environment, we had a holiday party every December (unfortunately, there were no beer volcanoes - it was before the Gospel of the FSM was known). Why not a Christmas party? Because we had Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and others working there. To call it a Christmas party inherently excludes everyone but Christians.

If Jane has a problem with the policy, she can always look for a job that is more in tune with her desire to say Merry Christmas.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Dec 13 2006, 04:02 PM) [snapback]361779[/snapback]</div>

Well, the salvation army obviously hates Target, as can be seen from their press release
Target Launches Multi-Faceted Christmas Partnership With The Salvation Army:
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_us...53?opendocument

Wishing you righteous indignation at this festive time . Peace.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Proco @ Dec 13 2006, 02:03 PM) [snapback]361781[/snapback]</div>

I'm ok if they don't care about my $$... I'm not having any withdrawls about spending them at their place of business... We are in harmony...

If you live and work in Saudi and they hold some sort of Muslim party in October to celebrate the foundations of Islam, are you going to feel excluded, or are you going to head off for a bowl of rice with your coworkers?

For me, bring on the rice..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daronspicher @ Dec 13 2006, 03:30 PM) [snapback]361807[/snapback]</div>

Considering Islam is the state religion of Saudi Arabia, of course I would. I'd do the same thing any other country that has an official religion. And even if it wasn't, I'd join in. It's a celebration of their faith and a chance for me to learn about them.

But, the good ol' US of A does not have an official religion. So large businesses shouldn't be actively supporting one. It doesn't matter that Christians are a majority any more than it does that our founding fathers were Christian. It's expressly stated in the Constitution

I could be way off base here, but your stance gives the impression that policies that are made to include other religions explicitly exclude yours. I don't understand that. Your faith is your faith, and with that I have no issue. What I have issue with is anyone who tries to force their faith on others.

Unless I know for certain what holiday (if any) someone celebrated, I wish people Happy Holidays. People I know are Christian get a Merry Christmas. My Jewish friends and colleagues get Happy Chanukah. And so on.

Merry Christmas, Daron.

 

Pastafarian holidays (excerpted from pages 123-125 of the Gospel of the FSM by Bobby Henderson:

Pastover. Celebrates the time when the FSM first began touching people with His Noodly Appendage. No specific date given. Presumably around the time of Passover.

Ramendan. Same time of year as Ramadan, but without the fasting or praying.

Halloween. One more opportunity to dress up as a pirate.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Septemner 19. [This happens to be just 3 days after Mexico's Independence Day, though Bobby does not mention this in the Book.]

Friday. The holiest of Pastafarian holidays. Every week, obviously. We are encouraged to take it easy and dedicate ourselves to the ideals of the beer volcano and the stripper factory.

Holiday. This is our version of the big commercial holidays of December and January. Any time anyone says "Happy Holidays" they are not being "politcally correct" or watering down the Christmas season, they are very specifically observing and celebrating Pastafarianism. This is not an attempt to get away from religion. It is a sign of their own religion, which is ours, and will soon be yours as well, because you, too, will be touched by His Noodly Appendage.

[As a Unitarian Universalist Pastafarian, I am also a universalist Pastafarian: I believe that everyone will be saved in the FSM and that in the afterlife we will all be brothers and sisters in His Pasta and we will all share in the pleasures of the stripper factory and the beer volcano. This includes Carl and Daron and PG04 and Suffrin' and the Squid, and yes, even Dr. B. Nobody will be left out, and we'll all have many great laughs about these arguments over a big plate of spaghetti and endless mugs of beer.]

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Dec 13 2006, 02:21 PM) [snapback]361726[/snapback]</div>

How do you know that Jesus is not the son of the FSM???

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(huskers @ Dec, 12:55 PM) [snapback]361835[/snapback]</div>

He's too tall. If the FSM has/had a son, he'd obviously be a midget.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Dragonfly @ Dec 13 2006, 03:08 PM) [snapback]361846[/snapback]</div>

that doesn't make any sense... the FSM's noodly appendages reach far, and would seem to give any homo sapien form child long legs and limbs, thus indicating normal (or even above normal) height.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Dec, 01:09 PM) [snapback]361847[/snapback]</div>

Yes, but He pushes down on us with His noodly appendages so that we don't go floating off into space (you know this as "gravity"), and because the population is exploding, He spends less time touching each one of us, which is why our ancestors were shorter than we are today. And He likes midgets the most. (Obviously.)

 

Let's see if I have this straight...I say "Merry Christmas" only to the Christians, "Happy Hanukkah" to those who are Jewish, and "Happy Noodledays" to the Pastafarians?
And everyone else has to wish me "Super Solstice?"
What should I say to the Rastafarians, other than "High?"

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hyo silver @ Dec, 02:06 PM) [snapback]361871[/snapback]</div>

No, "Happy Holidays" to the Pastafarians. You're not making fun of us, are you?

 

I too hear Happy Holidays and think of Christmas X-mass also = Christ-mas

I thought this was good info to pass on to those who may have cared:

Theres more at the supplied links.

The first mention of December 25 as the birth date of Jesus occurred in A.D. 336 in an early Roman calendar. The celebration of this day as Jesus's birth date was probably influenced by pagan (unchristian) festivals held at that time. The ancient Romans held year-end celebrations to honor Saturn, their harvest god; and Mithras, the god of light. Various people in northern Europe held festivals in mid-December to celebrate the end of the harvest season. As part of all these celebrations, the people prepared special foods, decorated their homes with greenery, and joined in singing and gift giving. These customs gradually became part of the Christmas celebration.
http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Students?conte...idays/christmas

Heres how other countries celebrate the Holidays, check out the different links :mellow:
http://www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/fest...tmas/africa.htm :blink:

I thought this was fake but here it is........
A religion started in 2005. :mellow: :blink: :huh: :lol: :lol:


The flying spaghetti monster:
Though he is called Monster, he really is not one, he is the love of all lives, hence "Flying Spaghetti Lover" (yes with BIG BIG Noodly Appendages, so non-gays BEWARE)?. As previously noted, the Flying Spaghetti Monster is composed of two separate, and distinct parts (three if it happens to be covered in Parmesan cheese):

The Flying Spaghetti Monster is the deity of a parody religion founded in 2005 by Oregon State University physics graduate Bobby Henderson to protest the decision by the Kansas State Board of Education to require the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to biological evolution. In an open letter on his website, Henderson professes belief in a supernatural Creator that resembles spaghetti and meatballs called the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and calls for Pastafarianism to be taught in science classrooms, essentially invoking a reductio ad absurdum argument against the teaching of intelligent design.[1][2] Followers of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (FSM) call themselves Pastafarians, a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarian.




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster