My heart was overjoyed to receive a seasonal greeting from the President to all federal employees. He chose to conclude:
May God bless you and your families, and may God continue to bless America.
Just couldn’t pitch your big tent wide enough to avoid using the word God twice in a single frigging sentence?
I didn’t vote for you, and dislike much of your politics. But that is how the electoral system works round here. But could you lay off using your bloody pulpit to spread your particular chosen hypocritical intolerance? Yep, God bless all us 'mercans, but look out if you happen to be some heathen Eye-rakki, cause we’re gonna teach you a thing or two about fire and brimstone.
If you intended this message to convey goodwill, you missed in at least this instance.
I don’t think God would want to fuck the President. I mean, he knocked up some Jewish girl 2000 years ago, and we’re still dealing with the consequences.
Look, I’m no fan of Bush, but I believe that this was intented to be a “personal” message from him. Not from the President, but from Mr. Bush as President. The message includes references to God because it is a personal message, written as he would write it. I don’t find it offensive when religious people express kind-hearted wishes for me, nor do I expect them to suppress their leanings if they feel it’s an appropriate time to express them. It’s Christmas time, and Dubya has always proclaimed his Christianity, and he got elected. So now we’re stuck with it.
I think sometimes…certain christians think all other non-christians should just suck up everything offensive that gets thrown at them because otherwise they’re being intolerant.
No. I just know that when I receive a mass produced pre-printed Christmas card that went to billions of people, I don’t presume that the sender really put a ton of thought into it.
Tanaqui, would you be offended if your boss sent you a Christmas card? I can’t speak for you, or guess your response, but I sure wouldn’t.
What I don’t understand is this:
You expect a seasonal greeting, but you want it free from any religious reference, especially knowing that it comes from someone who speaks openly and freely about his religion? Care to share some of that cake of yours, or are you just going to eat it all?
Well, I’m an atheist, and even a Democrat, but I don’t think that letter was particularly offensive. He didn’t say, “and all you atheists and heathens will burn in hell forever” or anything like that. He included a personal wish that the G-d he believes exists would bless you and your family for this year. While he might be wrong, and no such G-d exists, he believes one does, and requesting that He bless you, which is a good thing.
If someone posts in MPSIMS something like “My sister is sick” or “My father died”, they’re likely to get posts expressing sympathy, and some of those posts will say something like “I’ll pray for you and your family”. While you might not believe a G-d exists that answers prayers, and indeed, that prayers are useless, the person, by offering those prayers, is offering their sympathy. It would be inappropriate for you, in that situation, to condemn them for their post. Likewise, I feel, it is inappropriate for you to condemn the President for his card.
Ooh! It’s project time for the Teeming Millions! Let’s come up with a list of things that are offensive and things that are not offensive.
OFFENSIVE
Hate speech
Gaybashing
Mother raping
Father stabbing
Full House
Discriminatory hiring practices
Gerry Falwell
The Ku Klux Klan
the N word
a mass produced Christmas card that uses the phrase “and all non-Christians can fucking leave the country for all I fucking care you fucking heathen bastards”
broad sweeping generalizations that stereotype a group of people
**NOT OFFENSIVE but possibly annoying **
the word “turdburglar”
a mass produced Christmas card that uses the word “God”
bashing the latest episode of the Simpsons
the First Amendment
Charlton Heston
I’m sure we can add to this list without having to completely remove our heads from our asses, since that’s apparently the most convenient and comfortable place to put it nowadays.
Munch - believe me, the greeting strikes me a snothing other than a silly worthless gesture.
I believe W’s expression of his religious beliefs are as sincere as his representation that he did not have a drinking problem. Certainly no politician would say anything like this for political gain, personal advantage.
jarbabyj - yeah, I’m sure not too much thought went into that. W probably just whipped it up at the breakfast table.
Maybe if a president wanted to pretend that he was interested in representing all of the people, he wouldn’t look for ways to flaunt his narrow-minded prejudices. Last I checked, there was no requirement to believe in any particular God - or any god at all - to work for the fed gov’t - or to be an American citizen.
A simple “I wish you a joyous season’s greeting” would have included everyone. And who would it have offended.
Yet he does not only have to mention god once - but twice in one sentence? Sure. It just slipped out. Not intentional in any way.
And believe me, jarbabyj - as a nonbeliever, you don’t have to do all that much looking. The offensive shit is all around.
I just think (and I know this is the pit and the place for rants over little things) that with all the crazy shit going on in the government…a mass produced bulk mailer christmas card is just not worth the lost sleep.
And thank you munch for generously providing us less competent beings with an objective, comprehensive, and universal list of what any human may or may not deem offensive.
Perhaps you modestly requested that W not refer to you by name?
Well, I said I understood that this was a forum for ranting because I’ve ranted about everything from lipstick to jingle bells…but Tanaqui’s equation of a receiving a christmas card with me suggesting that non-theists ‘suck up everything offensive’ is a bit extreme, no?
