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Old 11-13-2015, 07:44 AM
 
Location: Type 0.73 Kardashev
11,110 posts, read 9,739,763 times
Reputation: 40160

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ditchoc View Post
There is a 'stupid' virus growing in this country and it is spreading.

Whats next?

Do we take the word Christmas off the calendar on December 25th and put Winter Holiday instead?

If I put decorations on my house in December, do I have to worry about being sued because it offends someone?

Do we ban all images of Santa Claus?

Don't even think about broadcasting A Charlie Brown Christmas or the Macy Thanksgiving parade.

Do not ever, under any circumstances, even insinuate that the 'Winter Holiday" has anything at all to do with religion.

We are turning into a nation of people that whine like children that are offended about any and everything.

Grow the hell up. Live your life and let others live theirs.
That's a lot of strawmen you're flailing at there.

A business choosing not to display religious symbols in their marketing is not even remotely analogous to bans, except in the fevered imaginations of those who possess both a persecution complex and a complete inability to understand the concept of analogies.

The irony - which, I'm sure, is completely lost on you - is that you rave about those who are offended at everything and demand that people need to grow up and leave others alone... and yet you're the one who is outraged and offended by Starbucks. I guess that whole "Grow up and leave others alone!" demand of yours doesn't apply to you, and certainly doesn't apply to leaving Starbucks alone.

Anyway, thanks for the unintended chuckle...
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Old 11-13-2015, 08:05 AM
 
4,586 posts, read 5,582,306 times
Reputation: 4369
This showed up in my Facebook feed yesterday:
Alexandra's Corner | One Cup, Two Cups, Red Cup, Blue Cup...."WHO"? Cares!?


Your post is awesome!!!

Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzcat22 View Post
Starbucks already has a lot of its holiday stuff going. One wall is devoted to coffee cups/mugs in boxes. There is an Advent calendar. The cups are red. There is Christmas blend coffee. There are holiday drinks (which to me are 100% Christmasy because I don't associate gingerbread lattes with Hannukah or Kwanzaa). So who's to say that the cups have to be decorated with snowflakes? Aren't snowflakes really more of a winter motif? What do they really have to do with where and when Jesus was born and what he meant? And snowflakes don't play much of a role in the lives of Floridians or Californians, yet they still celebrate Christmas. (Speaking of warmer states, maybe the snowflakes disappeared off the SB cups because they want to warn us about global warming---that there won't be any snowflakes in the future, especially the way our consumerism is heating up the planet! Just saying....)

Know when I will feel like it's truly the Christmas/holiday season at Starbucks? When people start acknowledging me with a smile, holding the door for me, or even a two-minute conversation, recognizing our mutual humanity, instead of just being immersed in their cell phone as they are the other non-Christmas/holiday season days of the year. Don't have the time or energy for that? Then maybe you don't really have the time or energy to "celebrate Christmas."

We humans are funny creatures. We see a world in turmoil and many things changing, so we try to cling things that have given us comfort in the past. And the things we may try to cling to may not be the most satisfying or long-lasting ultimately (no matter how many reindeer sweaters people wear, there is a whole lot of seasonal depression before and after the holidays!), but we desperately try to cling to them because they are familiar or easy. Funny how the people who protest the most about the lost seasonal celebrations will be the ones to allow their families to just play with their electronics all day or go shopping on Christmas instead of interacting with each other or helping someone else. How is that not interfering with the Christmas spirit? But we give that a pass since it's family and because so many of us are complicit in it as well.

I will stand beside and fight the good fight with anyone who isn't allowed to go to church for Christmas or decorate their homes as they see fit. But if your red cup (and let's acknowledge that the color of the cup DID change as a nod to the season) does not include a snow flake or store displays aren't as lavish as they used to be, let's just be thankful for what we do have and grateful for our ability to celebrate holidays as we see fit...that which is under our control. We can't control what merchants do. Love Christmas? Then visit your church regularly. Have a tree in every room! Go to with the most lavish lighting display ever! Spend quality time with loved ones. Help someone else. Maybe this Starbucks issue is a wake-up call to take Christmas out of the hands of merchants and reduce the consumerism and get back to the reason for the season.
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Old 11-13-2015, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Middle of nowhere
24,261 posts, read 14,119,666 times
Reputation: 9895
Quote:
Originally Posted by whocares811 View Post
Sorry, but when downtown business are discouraged from having "Christmas-y" type decorations in favor of neutral decorations, and a family tradition has always been to "go downtown" and see the "Christmas windows" -- I mean, have you never seen the movies "Santa Clause" or "A Christmas Carol" or "Miracle on 34th Street" or "A Christmas Story'? (never mind, silly question, probably) -- and the store windows now are just full of just merchandise with embedded in fake snow -- and if the merchant is REALLY into the holiday spirit, maybe some white lights -- then, yes, my traditions ARE being interfered with. (And of course I realize that in most cases, the only way that merchants are "forced" into neutral displays is because they might feel pressured into being "PC", but still it is certainly different than it was even 25 years ago, and what has changed? Think about it.)

Sorry, if you disagree, but as this conversation has now gone on for 23 pages with no one's mind being changed -- as I am sure this won't change your mind, either -- I am leaving this discussion now, too. Maybe you don't mind devoting a lot of energy to writing the same things over and over again, but I do.
OMG! Stores have windows full of things they are trying to sell? Why would they do something crazy like that? Maybe they want to sell stuff or something.
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Old 11-13-2015, 09:19 AM
 
17,273 posts, read 9,490,595 times
Reputation: 16468
Quote:
Originally Posted by JerseyGirl415 View Post
No. I'm not. I'm just baffled as to why they remove the name "Christmas" from things, as if it is sooo offensive. Fact: December 25 is Christmas. It is celebrated by a large majority, and the religious majority in this country. Yet publicly, the word has been taken away more and more over the years. Soon, it will be too un-PC to even say Christmas. It will always be "holiday" or "winter." Why is Christmas so offensive to people, that we have to change it even though it is celebrated by the majority? Why is the minority (those who don't celebrate or aren't Christian, because being religious and celebrating aren't mutually exclusive when it comes to Christmas) catered to?

Unlike many people out there, very few things actually offend me.
Actually, the fact that you're posting about it shows that you are offended. Otherwise, you wouldn't be taking the effort to talk about why is Christmas being removed from everything? These are your words, not mine. I personally don't care if Christmas is there or not. I don't get offended by Merry Christmas OR by Happy Holidays. Others do, & they talk about it. Such as above.
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Old 11-13-2015, 09:20 AM
 
3,038 posts, read 2,396,715 times
Reputation: 3765
Anyone upset about this is a loon, I do however think the media is blowing this out of proportion.
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Old 11-13-2015, 10:27 AM
 
4,029 posts, read 2,094,307 times
Reputation: 10957
Another thing has occurred to me, as a non-Christian who has never celebrated Christmas so can look at this rationally and objectively: NO ONE CAN TAKE CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM YOU! We've become so passive, just mindlessly staring at screens. Take Christmas into your own hands. Wear a Christmas sweater daily. Decorate your home and office space. Cook wonderful things and bring them to an elderly/handicapped/time-challenged neighbor. Listen to Christmas music in your car.

But don't passively sit back and wait for your city government or a store or restaurant to bring it to you. Expend the time and energy into celebrating Christmas the way you enjoy and is meaningful to you...without expecting/demanding that someone will deliver it to you, even if that someone did it in years past. I promise it would mean more if you actively made it Christmas in your own life and your own space.

Those of us who care about good nutrition have taken food back into our hands. We can't all grow our own stuff, but we sure can cook more at home, from scratch. We can't trust big corporations and government to bring it to us, so we do it ourselves. Why not do the same for Christmas? As with cooking at home, it takes time and energy to be responsible for celebrating Christmas, but the rewards will be there...and ultimately be much more rewarding than just looking at snowflakes on a paper coffee cup or a store display.
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Old 11-13-2015, 11:08 AM
 
Location: The analog world
17,077 posts, read 13,270,588 times
Reputation: 22904
Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzcat22 View Post
Another thing has occurred to me, as a non-Christian who has never celebrated Christmas so can look at this rationally and objectively: NO ONE CAN TAKE CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM YOU! We've become so passive, just mindlessly staring at screens. Take Christmas into your own hands. Wear a Christmas sweater daily. Decorate your home and office space. Cook wonderful things and bring them to an elderly/handicapped/time-challenged neighbor. Listen to Christmas music in your car.

But don't passively sit back and wait for your city government or a store or restaurant to bring it to you. Expend the time and energy into celebrating Christmas the way you enjoy and is meaningful to you...without expecting/demanding that someone will deliver it to you, even if that someone did it in years past. I promise it would mean more if you actively made it Christmas in your own life and your own space.

Those of us who care about good nutrition have taken food back into our hands. We can't all grow our own stuff, but we sure can cook more at home, from scratch. We can't trust big corporations and government to bring it to us, so we do it ourselves. Why not do the same for Christmas? As with cooking at home, it takes time and energy to be responsible for celebrating Christmas, but the rewards will be there...and ultimately be much more rewarding than just looking at snowflakes on a paper coffee cup or a store display.
Amen! Although coming from an Agnostic, that might not mean much.
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Old 11-13-2015, 11:20 AM
 
4,586 posts, read 5,582,306 times
Reputation: 4369
Quote:
We've become so passive, just mindlessly staring at screens.
Here's a visual of that:
Disturbing Photos of People Getting Sucked Into Their Phone Screens

Again, I completely agree with you! Great post!

Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzcat22 View Post
Another thing has occurred to me, as a non-Christian who has never celebrated Christmas so can look at this rationally and objectively: NO ONE CAN TAKE CHRISTMAS AWAY FROM YOU! We've become so passive, just mindlessly staring at screens. Take Christmas into your own hands. Wear a Christmas sweater daily. Decorate your home and office space. Cook wonderful things and bring them to an elderly/handicapped/time-challenged neighbor. Listen to Christmas music in your car.

But don't passively sit back and wait for your city government or a store or restaurant to bring it to you. Expend the time and energy into celebrating Christmas the way you enjoy and is meaningful to you...without expecting/demanding that someone will deliver it to you, even if that someone did it in years past. I promise it would mean more if you actively made it Christmas in your own life and your own space.

Those of us who care about good nutrition have taken food back into our hands. We can't all grow our own stuff, but we sure can cook more at home, from scratch. We can't trust big corporations and government to bring it to us, so we do it ourselves. Why not do the same for Christmas? As with cooking at home, it takes time and energy to be responsible for celebrating Christmas, but the rewards will be there...and ultimately be much more rewarding than just looking at snowflakes on a paper coffee cup or a store display.
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Old 11-13-2015, 11:21 AM
 
8,322 posts, read 4,296,747 times
Reputation: 11762
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unsettomati View Post
That's a lot of strawmen you're flailing at there.

A business choosing not to display religious symbols in their marketing is not even remotely analogous to bans, except in the fevered imaginations of those who possess both a persecution complex and a complete inability to understand the concept of analogies.

The irony - which, I'm sure, is completely lost on you - is that you rave about those who are offended at everything and demand that people need to grow up and leave others alone... and yet you're the one who is outraged and offended by Starbucks. I guess that whole "Grow up and leave others alone!" demand of yours doesn't apply to you, and certainly doesn't apply to leaving Starbucks alone.

Anyway, thanks for the unintended chuckle...
Actually I don't even care that much. My comments were satire about the American condition. The comments were so outrageous most would have got that. Sorry you didn't. Well, maybe not.
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Old 11-13-2015, 01:41 PM
 
Location: TX
4,054 posts, read 5,615,866 times
Reputation: 4746
I think that Starbucks will come out ahead on this! Free publicity! I know that soon after I heard about the brouhaha, we stopped by a Starbucks because of it!
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