Tom Lane wrote:
<snip>
> As a practicing atheist, I am not offended.
No worries.
I'm not Christian, and I'm also not *offended*.
> But if you do not realize
> that a fair part of the world will be offended, then you need to wake up
> and smell the flowers. Or at least read the daily news occasionally.
Heh. I'll call you on that one.
People often talk about the "risk of offending someone" but like...
who's the *someone*?
This kind of "fear of perhaps, at some point, maybe some day, we might
accidentally hurt someone's feelings" is so non-concrete and vague that
it can be extended practically infinitely. It's kind of like giving in
to Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt, just because you're "not sure".
> Yes, I'm painfully aware that several major members of our community
> attach in-your-face-Christian signatures to everything they send out.
Me too. Some of them give off a "my belief system is the only form of
right" type of attitude with it.
However, "Merry Christmas" is not of that ilk. It's not people saying
that *any* form of belief is better than some other form of belief.
The "someone" who gets *offended* by a Merry Christmas statement wishing
them well would have to already be in a very bad place (mentally) in
order to be offended.
> I've never wanted to challenge them on this, but if it were my druthers
> that would not be done around here. I think it is more likely to drive
> away potential community members than attract new ones.
Totally agreed. The various "full on" signatures that espouse people's
personal religious fantasies as being the only truth(s) are the kind of
thing that gives a bad impression.
Not being able to express a simple "Merry Christmas" is a different kind
of thing, where people are encouraged to be afraid of others around them
in case "something bad happens".
That's a very, very bad road to start going down if we want our
Community to have a good & healthy culture.
Would people on this mailing list have an issue with us conversely
marking other important celebrations as well (religious or not)? Hindi
and Buddhist ones for example?
;)
Regards and best wishes,
Justin Clift
> regards, tom lane
--
"One who sees the invisible can do the impossible."
+ Frank Gaines
