🎄 Almost Time For the Santa Monica Christmas Decorations 🎄 (cinema, live)

[Mr_Geek]

Originally Posted by Donald Trump

We're saying merry Christmas again

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Atheist's protest of holiday decorations forces Santa Monica to cancel Christmas | Daily Mail Online

Damn, that pisses me off. You know, there is more to Christmas for many than a religious holiday. I have Jewish friends and our son in law is or was Jewish growing up. They celebrated Christmas as a festive family time. Our one granddaughter is agnostic or at least does not believe in organized religion; she loves Christmas. Our oldest daughter loved the Hollywood Blvd Christmas parade when she was a little girl. It had nothing to do with religion, it all to do with decorations, presents, Santa Claus and seeing all the lights. No one is being hurt by the decorations, even it there is a manger on a city hall ground. What difference does all this make? You either believe in the birth of Christ or you don't .

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by nmnita

Damn, that pisses me off.

Really, a piece of half-decade-old news pisses you off? You might want to re-consider where you spend your negative energy, because this particular instance is really not worth it.

You know, there is more to Christmas for many than a religious holiday. <...> What difference does all this make? You either believe in the birth of Christ or you don't .

Uh...

[JohnKneedep]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

How do you figure, for both situations?

I don't know because the article doesn't provide enough information, therefore I'm just making the judgement based on whatever I see on there. And what I do see is one harmless setup with a bunch of mannequins standing around and a name of some church, and the other is literally mocking religion. Whether they have a right to put up that stuff, I don't know, care or address.

I don't support either herd, but of the two, the atheist looks like an a-hole loser to me personally.

[(901)]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

Really, a piece of half-decade-old news pisses you off? You might want to re-consider where you spend your negative energy, because this particular instance is really not worth it.Uh...

Your aethist buddy just shot up a church full of innocent ppl including babies.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by (901)

Your aethist buddy just shot up a church full of innocent ppl including babies.

I'm really not sure how I'm meant to respond to this?

- Dude's not my buddy nor do I support his actions? (a bit insane that I had to write these words just now, but here we are)
- Religious people shoot up places too? (most recently a dude in Tennessee who shot up the church at which he himself worshiped and it was only lucky happenstance that he only managed to kill one person)
- None of this is relevant to the thread at hand?

Oh, I know: Over the course of many centuries, atheists have killed exponentially fewer people than religious freaks, whether on a per capita or overall basis. And your feeble attempt at false equivalence was just that.

Yeah, that sounds good enough for me.

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by JohnKneedep

I don't know because the article doesn't provide enough information, therefore I'm just making the judgement based on whatever I see on there. And what I do see is one harmless setup with a bunch of mannequins standing around and a name of some church, and the other is literally mocking religion. Whether they have a right to put up that stuff, I don't know, care or address.

I don't support either herd, but of the two, the atheist looks like an a-hole loser to me personally.

I don't necessarily disagree with the fact that the dude is a troll. What I do disagree with is the assumption that religious displays are per se innocuous. A religious display is a definitive statement of a certain view being "correct" and all the others being wrong. It's not just pretty figurines.

[JohnKneedep]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

It's not just pretty figurines.

I think to most people who have better things to do than to delve into recreational outrage as a hobby, that's exactly what they are. Those cross-carrying screaming people on intersections? That's annoying. Some figurines? Nobody cares.

[Cinema Cat]

Originally Posted by highlanderfil

A religious display is a definitive statement of a certain view being "correct" and all the others being wrong.

All displays -- indeed, all communication -- are "a definitive statement of a certain view being 'correct' and all the others being wrong."

All these city and school sponsored posters, and student projects, and whatnot, about global warming implies that global warming is a "correct" belief, and if you disagree you are "incorrect." Yet I must live amid all this "climate change" propaganda. And the "drought" propaganda. And all the other "green" propaganda.

All political signs, all advertising, all communication, makes a "definitive statement" about the veracity of a topic. A Starbucks sign makes a statement that "drinking Starbucks coffee is good."

But when people see (Christian) religious displays, suddenly it's "Oh, not everyone agrees, therefore it's offensive to say that. Keep your (Christian) religious views to yourself!"

[highlanderfil]

Originally Posted by JohnKneedep

I think to most people who have better things to do than to delve into recreational outrage as a hobby, that's exactly what they are.

But it cuts both ways, then. Religious figurines for ones, a display mocking them for others. As long as nobody is committing acts of vandalism or violence, I don't see how one is any better or worse than the other.