Comments on: Merry [Censored]

By: terry

terry — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 21:58:20 +0000

What happened to many retailers last year? WHat a stupid question — obviously, some lost money? But are there specific cases of boycotts or anything? I don’t remember reading about any backlash here in Canada.

By: nk

nk — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 21:54:32 +0000

Still too commercial (that’s when hardware stores score their biggest sales) and not solemn enough. Too many picnics, fireworks and airshows. We have to think of another. BTW, how was your Thanksgiving?

By: wavemaker

wavemaker — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:15:43 +0000

Isn’t that the 4th of July??

By: nk

nk — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 19:03:01 +0000

With all due respect to everyone’s religious beliefs, Christmas has too much baggage from too many sects and cultures for a proper national holiday.

What we need is a purely American holiday, with pure American antecedents. One which is only as old as America is. Where families get together and celebrate being together or being in America or just America herself. Where the religious component of its origin is only dimly remembered, if at all, and makes no difference. Without conflicts over religious symbols or any religious symbols at all for that matter. Without commercialism.

I wonder when we should have it and what we should call it. Well, whatever. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 14:10:53 +0000

OK, XRLQ, f you really think Best Buy is trying to avoid offending people, show me how Best Buy is facing less outrage and offense than any of the retailers who have flip-flopped back to pleasing the christians.

Heck, I’d like to see ANYONE who’s said they were “offended” this year by stores using the word “christmas” in their advertising. Then look at how many shrieking protests there are out there at anyone who still WON’T use the word Christmas.

It’s the wal-marts et al, who gave in to the screaming christians last year, that are trying not to offend. If anyone’s trying to control speech, it’s those who are trying to jam the word “christmas” into every retailer’s mouth using threats of economic retaliation.

By: Xrlq

Xrlq — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 12:05:04 +0000

I think you just explained it yourself – it’s motivated by PC, which requires a certain degree of discrimination against the predominating race/sex/religion/etc. It’s not motivated by hatred of that race/sex/religion/etc., but by a misplaced attempt to be sensitive to the downtrodden.

By: Doc Rampage

Doc Rampage — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:50:09 +0000

X, I don’t think that the management of Best Buy is motivated by hatred of Christians, but I claim that the only people who would be offended at “Merry Christmas” hate Christians or at least are prejudiced against Christians.

Why else would anyone be offended? I’m not offended when my Jewish or Muslim or Hindu friends offer me greetings related to their religion and they aren’t offended when I offer them a Merry Christmas. Even further, it would be considered very non-PC if I did get offended, but it would be very PC if they got offended. Why is that? The reason is that it is politically correct to be offended at Christianity but not politically correct to be offended at any other religion. Religious discrimination is built into PC.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 02:58:00 +0000

To simplify the above run-on sentence: My main disagreement with you is your implication that somehow Best Buy is suppressing free speech by refusing to say what christians are trying to force Best Buy to say. I think the opposite in fact is the truth — christians (and you) are trying to suppress free speech by making Best Buy say things to make the christians happy.

Instead of sucking up to the majority (christians) and pretending christians are the only people who exist, Best Buy is odding politely to the majority (christians) and minority (everyone else) alike, saying “happy holidays” to everyone. That does not strike me as censorship. Unless you consider best buy simply a mouthpiece of the christians.

If Christians want to try to force retailers to say “merry christmas — AND YAY JESUS!” and advocate boycotting retailers who won’t do it, fine. They’re jerks to do so, but fine — I’m glad that in America you have the freedom to act like a jerk. But retailers who won’t budge to this pressure don’t deserve to get kicked around with false accusations of censorship.

Going out on a limb to include other beliefs by saying “no, we’re not going to say ‘merry christmas’ to hindus, buddhists and jews etc.,” does not strike me as censorship. It’s just someone saying “no” to the demands of the spoiled majority.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 02:41:41 +0000

Well, if your point is that because Best Buy wants to profit of the commercialization of Christmas, it shouldn’t complain when the christians (who allowed/contributed to turning this into a commercial holiday instead of a religious one in the first place) insist that Best Buy pay homage to the religious element of the holiday or they won’t pay commercial attention to best buy . . . I guess I’ve lost the reason you consider Best Buy’s action is “censorship” but otherwise don’t really disagree.

By: Xrlq

Xrlq — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 02:10:03 +0000

Oh please. If you insist on your Steelers analogy, Christmas isn’t the Super Bowl, it’s a Steelers function that has gotten to be so big that the whole country pays attention to it. Over the years, a few smaller teams have copied it, most others simply ignored it, and now every major store wants to cash in on it. Best Buy does, too, but they refuse to mention the Steelers by name – and you’re mad at Steelers fans for taking their business elsewhere. I’m not a Steelers fan myself, but even I can see what’s wrong with that argument.