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The point is that there is ALWAYS one idiot out there, whose actions affect somewhere between zero actual people and the population of that school, business or whatever. It's amusing. It's meaningless. But it always sparks this furious, involved debate as if it's a national referendum on erasing the word "Christmas" from the dictionary (just to choose an example ).
My favorite is when some extreme-even-for-California legislator, usually a representative from Berkeley or San Francisco, puts up a bill to ban cars or make everyone ride bicycles or outlaw mobile phones. These loons aren't even taken seriously by their peers, but the news channels and internet explode as if the jackbooted stormtroopers are knocking on people's doors for their iPhones.
Amusing. Not worth a moment's outrage or argument.
Sometimes it is hard to know what is real and what is not, though!
What about the fuss over the transgendered prisoner who had a sex reassignment operation courtesy of taxpapers? I would have bet serious money that was a completely phony story, but it was true, according to at least two major mainstream newspapers.
Sometimes it is hard to know what is real and what is not, though!
It's not a matter of what's real or not - many times these absurd little stories are. But emphasis on little, as in of little real impact or little concern to anyone not directly connected. One isolated person's actions are just that, not a national threat.
Quote:
I don't have much respect for the New York Times these days, but I think that most people would agree that this is a mostly reputable news source.
Nowhere to go with that. Gullibility rules, truly.
It's not a matter of what's real or not - many times these absurd little stories are. But emphasis on little, as in of little real impact or little concern to anyone not directly connected. One isolated person's actions are just that, not a national threat.
Nowhere to go with that. Gullibility rules, truly.
The issue is that some "little" issues actually ARE important to some people I am not going to say that some issues are, in fact, important and some aren't. I am sure that 20 or so years ago, many smokers would say that people were make much ado about nothing over the issue of non-smoking sections or banning smoking in some places altogether. But to many non-smokers, that was a VERY big issue.
Some people can say that the fuss over banning secular Christmas items (i.e., candy canes) is no big deal, but to some people, this is serious because they see it as something that could lead to banning of ANY public Christmas displays, and to such people, that is a threat to their culture and freedom of expression.
Sometimes such "little things" DO lead to national prohibitions or laws -- although very often for the good, I willingly admit, but occasionally not, in my opinion.
I do think, however, that it is important for EVERYONE to let their feelings be known, or else I think that lawmakers will think that people are even more apathetic than they actually are, and who knows where that could lead?
(Btw, I seriously like your posts and discussing these things with you.)
Last edited by katharsis; 12-13-2018 at 01:04 PM..
It's a matter of scale. One idiot does not represent a movement.
True. But the problem is the MEDIA, I think, as I have said before -- if they take one little incident and blow it up and then take another little incident and blow it up and so on, in the minds of some 'gullible' people, it become a wave or movement or "war".
Again to emphasize, I blame the media more than any other faction. (I agree that there will always be idiots. Another example is the fuss over a student being suspended because she brought a knife to school because she had taken her mom's lunchbox by mistake, and this was AFTER she turned it in on her own accord. Just because a person is in charge does not mean they have any common sense. Of course, the excuse that principal gave was she was just enforcing the ZERO tolerance rule. But, again, this was just one little incident.)
One thing I've noticed in this thread is that everybody is acting like this is something "new" when in reality it's bring happening for the last twenty years.
Halloween has morphed into Autumn Festival. In some schools even the latter has been gotten rid of. Harry Potter books have been removed from general circulation. Loaned out with a parent permission slip.
Thanksgiving has changed to Giving Day.
Christmas break is now Winter Holiday, Easter is Spring Break.
Holiday (formerly Christmas) concerts have removed any traditional carols that smacked of religion (no more Hallelujah Chorus or Silent Night).
A prayer at Commencement has been deleted (which was a whole lot of fun in a school where about 100% of the kids and parents go to church at least once a week).
One thing I've noticed in this thread is that everybody is acting like this is something "new" when in reality it's bring happening for the last twenty years.
Halloween has morphed into Autumn Festival. In some schools even the latter has been gotten rid of. Harry Potter books have been removed from general circulation. Loaned out with a parent permission slip. Thanksgiving has changed to Giving Day.
Christmas break is now Winter Holiday, Easter is Spring Break.
Holiday (formerly Christmas) concerts have removed any traditional carols that smacked of religion (no more Hallelujah Chorus or Silent Night).
A prayer at Commencement has been deleted (which was a whole lot of fun in a school where about 100% of the kids and parents go to church at least once a week).
So sorry that this how it is in your community. The first things on the list (bolded) have not happened in our community -- SW metro Denver -- yet, anyway. (Not sure about the Christmas carols as it has been about a dozen years since I attended a public school concert.)
So sorry that this how it is in your community. The first things on the list (bolded) have not happened in our community -- SW metro Denver -- yet, anyway. (Not sure about the Christmas carols as it has been about a dozen years since I attended a public school concert.)
All of those have taken place in our community and if a teacher even mentioned Santa or Christmas in the classroom - for any reason - he/she is likely to lose their job. The front office of my child's school is decorated with blue and white snowflakes - no red or green anywhere to be seen.
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