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wingedbeastDifferent people attribute different levels of importance to the difference between "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays" and I'm not going to debate that level. I will use this as an example.
Note: There are many religions, most of which have adherents in the US, that have holy days around this time of year. They have their own rituals and holy remembrances. Legally speaking, the adherents of all are all equal members of the society.
That a greeting specifying the holiday of only one religion has become the standard says something more than just the wish for happiness and/or merriness. It says that the adherents of the specified religion have not just numerical superiority, but social power. It also means that the others have so little social power as to be easily rendered socially invisible.
In this context, that simple greeting can convey more information than intended. Instead of just "I wish for you to have an enjoyable time," the message "members of this faith own this culture and other people don't count" gets tacked on regardless of anybody's intent. The context just does that.
A completely generalized greeting doesn't display the opposite message. It simply refrains from giving that message of social dominance and ownership at just that moment.
You may argue that I'm making too much out of what amount to two words, that non-Christians that hear "Merry Christmas" will take the intended well-wishes without reading more into it. That may or may not be true on a case-by-case basis. The tip, though, is about your response to "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings".
Do you, like Kirk Cameron in his "Saving Christmas" sneeringly say "whatever those mean"? Do you get offended? Angry? Do you make very clear that it's not either of those and that it is, in fact, "Merry Christmas" that everybody should be saying?
Do you take offense or concern when an elected official takes the oath of office on the Koran or the Constitution instead of the bible? Does it confirm your fears to hear that an elected official gave a seasonal address without mentioning God?
Check your privilege. You're not being oppressed. You're not being kicked out of the public sphere. You're not being denied your rights. You're simply not being as socially dominating as you once were.
Privilege is largely made up of the things you don't have to deal with that other people do. This makes privilege invisible in its presence and conspicuous in its absence. That makes this an exercise in continued vigilance of self-examination and empathy.
You may think that you shouldn't have to do any of this. It's a Christian country and it's Merry Christmas and it's those values that do should, in fact, own this country.
Well, you have choice before you. You can go down that road, but you can't go down another as well. You can choose to believe in a faith with a primary value of cultural and social dominance or you can choose to believe in a faith with a primary value of love. You cannot do both. You cannot serve two masters.
Note: There are many religions, most of which have adherents in the US, that have holy days around this time of year. They have their own rituals and holy remembrances. Legally speaking, the adherents of all are all equal members of the society.
That a greeting specifying the holiday of only one religion has become the standard says something more than just the wish for happiness and/or merriness. It says that the adherents of the specified religion have not just numerical superiority, but social power. It also means that the others have so little social power as to be easily rendered socially invisible.
In this context, that simple greeting can convey more information than intended. Instead of just "I wish for you to have an enjoyable time," the message "members of this faith own this culture and other people don't count" gets tacked on regardless of anybody's intent. The context just does that.
A completely generalized greeting doesn't display the opposite message. It simply refrains from giving that message of social dominance and ownership at just that moment.
You may argue that I'm making too much out of what amount to two words, that non-Christians that hear "Merry Christmas" will take the intended well-wishes without reading more into it. That may or may not be true on a case-by-case basis. The tip, though, is about your response to "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings".
Do you, like Kirk Cameron in his "Saving Christmas" sneeringly say "whatever those mean"? Do you get offended? Angry? Do you make very clear that it's not either of those and that it is, in fact, "Merry Christmas" that everybody should be saying?
Do you take offense or concern when an elected official takes the oath of office on the Koran or the Constitution instead of the bible? Does it confirm your fears to hear that an elected official gave a seasonal address without mentioning God?
Check your privilege. You're not being oppressed. You're not being kicked out of the public sphere. You're not being denied your rights. You're simply not being as socially dominating as you once were.
Privilege is largely made up of the things you don't have to deal with that other people do. This makes privilege invisible in its presence and conspicuous in its absence. That makes this an exercise in continued vigilance of self-examination and empathy.
You may think that you shouldn't have to do any of this. It's a Christian country and it's Merry Christmas and it's those values that do should, in fact, own this country.
Well, you have choice before you. You can go down that road, but you can't go down another as well. You can choose to believe in a faith with a primary value of cultural and social dominance or you can choose to believe in a faith with a primary value of love. You cannot do both. You cannot serve two masters.
