# I'm offended by the Christmas offended **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 21, 2008, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212 "2008-12-21T19:51:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/21 "2008-12-21T20:50:39Z")
What culture? Since when is Christianity a culture? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/22 "2008-12-21T20:51:58Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > No one has a problem that you celebrate Christmas. Everyone appreciates that you are trying to share that spirit with others. All I (and others) are asking is that you listen when people tell you that the terms you use makes them feel uneasy or uncomfortable. Why be uneasy or uncomfortable? “Merry Christmas” is just social lubricant. Doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than “Hi, how are you?”, or “Goodbye”. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/23 "2008-12-21T20:55:16Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Why be uneasy or uncomfortable? “Merry Christmas” is just social lubricant. Doesn’t necessarily mean anything more than “Hi, how are you?”, or “Goodbye”. He’s not talking about the first time. He’s talking about a situation where somebody says, “Thanks, but I’m Jewish,” but then the other person coninues to press with the Christmas language anyway. ---
**Author:** ![nameless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/779978/32.png) [@nameless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nameless)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/24 "2008-12-21T20:56:16Z")
I think this is pretty open-and-shut. I sometimes make offhand comments about illness (i.e. “Get herpes and die”). Would I say these things knowing that someone actually had herpes? Or was otherwise offended by allusions to it? No, I would not. That would be insensitive. Just be sensitive. If you know someone doesn’t want to be wished a Merry Christmas then make an effort not to, you know? Conversely, if you’re so uptight about it that you flip out on the first mention of Christmas (not saying that the poster in question was behaving this way) then get a grip–people are just trying to be nice most of the time. Still don’t know why this is such a big deal to so many people. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/25 "2008-12-21T20:56:51Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Yeah, if you know somebody’s Jewish, it’s kind of dickish to keep sending them Christmas cards. It’s no longer a gesture of good will at that point. Why ? You’ve just finished telling us almost nobody is offended by Christmas cards. The Christmas card/greeting is an expression coming from my cultural heritage. Any abridgement of that expression would be indicative of me believing something is wrong with my culture. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/26 "2008-12-21T20:58:28Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > He’s not talking about the first time. He’s talking about a situation where somebody says, “Thanks, but I’m Jewish,” but then the other person coninues to press with the Christmas language anyway. That’s a different scenario than a “bah humbug” type or a “professional victim being offended” type. Once or twice, OK, write it up to a well meaning gesture. Do it repeatedly, when you know the person is getting annoyed, it starts to look like you’re deliberately trying to “push buttons”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/27 "2008-12-21T21:01:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What culture? Since when is Christianity a culture? Do we need to get into a debate about Christmas ? Your country may be predominantly Christian, but last I heard the rest of us who celebrate Christmas are nowhere so inclined. ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/28 "2008-12-21T21:01:46Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > If I go to Saudi Arabia, I’m not going to be offended by well meaning cultural gestures, religious or otherwise. In fact I would welcome it. Well that’s real white of you. ---
**Author:** ![nameless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/779978/32.png) [@nameless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nameless)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/29 "2008-12-21T21:01:59Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Why ? You’ve just finished telling us almost nobody is offended by Christmas cards. The Christmas card/greeting is an expression coming from my cultural heritage. Any abridgement of that expression would be indicative of me believing something is wrong with my culture. Oh please. Some of my friends were hippies. If I refrain offering you cannabis all the time, does that mean I believe something is severely wrong with that culture? I’ve played in a few bands. If I turn my amp off at 10 pm out of deference to the neighborhood, does that mean I believe something is wrong with making music? I’m a stem cell researcher. If I tell you prenatal human embryos are balls of cells and that I can harvest them as I damn well please every opportunity that I get does that mean I think my line of work is unethical and bad? There’s participating in your culture and then there’s being an ass. It’s not hard to do the former without doing the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Obsidian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@Obsidian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obsidian)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/30 "2008-12-21T21:02:28Z")
Funny thing, related to that. I work for a translation company. I client wanted advertisements saying “Happy Holidays” translated into a number of languages. . . And they were upset when we sent them things back like “Feliz Navidad” and “Joyeux Noël”. I had a lot of trouble explaining that this is an American thing-- you just don’t say “Happy Holidays”. The Holiday is Christmas-- we’re talking about Catholic countries. And yes, it really is OK to say Merry Christmas in the UK and Ireland. I have this conversation with some client every December, without fail. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/31 "2008-12-21T21:04:18Z")
Well have a happy new tax year then. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/32 "2008-12-21T21:11:38Z")
> [@1010011010](#): > > Well that’s real white of you. Did I say something wrong in that quote ? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/33 "2008-12-21T21:15:11Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > Any abridgement of that expression would be indicative of me believing something is wrong with my culture. This is utter nonsense. Apparently respect for others isn’t part of your culture. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/34 "2008-12-21T21:22:43Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > This is utter nonsense. Apparently respect for others isn’t part of your culture. I have less respect for those who don’t respect my culture and are offended by it. Go ahead, give me a greeting in your culture, what ever it is, that you believe is not offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/35 "2008-12-21T21:27:41Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > I have less respect for those who don’t respect my culture and are offended by it. What the hell culture are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/36 "2008-12-21T21:29:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > What the hell culture are you talking about? Canadian culture. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/37 "2008-12-21T21:35:17Z")
So you believe that by ignoring someone who has respectfully stated that they are not of your culture, and repeatedly pushing your customs on them when they do not wish to participate in them, that \*you \*are the wronged party? The Southern US, where I am from, has a culinairy tradition that is very pig-centric. Should Jews and Muslims then eat everything they are presented with, lest they offend the delicate sensibilities of the people offering them pork chops, cracklin bread, and greens flavored with lard? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/38 "2008-12-21T21:36:26Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > The people who matter to me treat my feelings with respect, that’s what’s important. That’s what you think. Oh, in your presence they seem to, I’m sure. But, believe me when I tell you that behind your back–they mock you. Oh, yes, eyes are rolled; I’d bet money on it. And I say this as a hard-core atheist who doesn’t celebrate Christmas. ---
**Author:** ![Orbifold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orbifold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orbifold)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/39 "2008-12-21T21:40:16Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > And all I’m saying is get the fuck over yourself. When you tell me that offering you a “Merry Christmas” offends you, then you are offending me and my culture. Serious question: Why are you telling someone “Merry Christmas”? Stop for a moment please, and ask yourself that. When you wish someone “Merry Christmas”, why do you do so? Is it to wish good will towards _them_? Or is it to make _you_ feel happy? Which do you think is more in line with the spirit of Christmas? Orbifold, still stunned that people are missing Telemark’s perfectly sensible point. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212/40 "2008-12-21T21:40:26Z")
> [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](#): > > I have less respect for those who don’t respect my culture and are offended by it. I’m not offended by your culture, I’m just not part of it. If you wish me Merry Christmas that’s fine. But once I tell you that I’m not Christian and I don’t celebrate Christmas and it makes me feel a bit uneasy, why would you want to continue doing that? Does it really matter to you why it makes me feel uneasy? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-offended-by-the-christmas-offended/478212.md?page=3)