Whiskey Tango Friday: Stand for Christmas!

Here's a post-Christmas WTF link: Stand for Christmas. It's a collection of people who are butthurt by stores not using enough Christmas decorations, using non-Christmas decorations, saying "happy holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas", do not have a manger scene on display, etc. ad nauseum. They call out the worst perpetrators of such heinous actions, rank the stores, and vow to boycott the top (or is it bottom?) of their anti-Christmas list. It's kind of like reverse Santa.

In a way, this is fine. Everyone has the right to be butthurt, and to try to take action either to relieve the butthurt or to prevent future butthurt. But it seems to me that these people have some things backwards, as evidenced by the testimonials. I focus on the Walmart section, because... do I need to explain that?

[...I] proceeded to ask her why was there no Christmas music playing. She stated that 'some' folks were offended by it & I said 'what if I am offended by it not being played?"

The answer is simple: don't shop there if the absence of "White Christmas" is so unbearable that you are compelled to protest.

The answer is also not so simple.
I like to think that it begins with the irony that is clearly lost on this person. If Christmas isn't about buying crap for everyone while hearing the same four songs sang by 200 different "artists" 24/7, then why would this bother our modest, God-fearing Christian? Apparently, defending Christmas involves the proliferation of the most shallow aspects of the holiday at large retailers (as opposed to, y'know, church.) If I wanted to do the most damage I could to this holiday in terms of its perceived meaning and the number of people who celebrate it in a religious manner, I would not employ a campaign of mass censorship. Rather, I would do that which has already happened and is strongly endorsed by "Stand for Christmas": ensure constant over-stimulation by means of watered-down imagery, sound, and commercialization. Jesus is now secondary (or tertiary or worse) in this nearly-secularized charade*.

Given this person's insistence that their particular beliefs and rituals must be respected by the establishment (under penalty of offending someone?), it is an easy extrapolation to guess their response if anyone else were to receive the same treatment. They would become greatly offended if any sort of Islamic, Jewish, Mormon, etc. etc. holiday were to be paid the same respect. How is it someone could expect such special treatment with blatant disregard for others?

We are turning into a secular European country which is exactly what our founders fought to escape. Wake up America before you lose everything you hold dear.

Oh, that's right... these people are batshit insane**.



*Not that I don't enjoy it immensely. It's a great time to see family, eat too much, and binge on buying and receiving presents.

**To be fair, there are a number of very reasonable posters on the site. For example, this person seems to have reasonable expectations given both the number of people who do celebrate, yet keeping in mind the diversity of the populous:

I have no problem with employees saying "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings" since they don't have any idea which a customer celebrates. I do have problems if a store PROHIBITS the use of "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hannukah" since we're spending money on gifts for THOSE specific holidays. Hello, if a customer is buying Christmas cards, Christmas tree, Christmas decorations, it's a safe bet they celebrate Christmas. Thanks to Wal-Mart for being inclusive to their customers rather than excluding customers who celebrate Christmas.