in which our heroine says "happy holidays, f*ckers".

this morning on Facebook, one of my friends (a guy I know from high school days, who was a friend of a friend) had the following status message:

<friend> says CHRISTMAS not holiday.

I felt a rant coming, and I posted this comment in reply:

I find it extremely arrogant when people think their way is the only, true way. whether "merry Christmas" or "happy holidays" or simply "have a nice day", why not just say "you too" and appreciate the spirit in which it was intended, rather than getting bent out of shape over something that's, let's face it, a non-issue?

and I really got pissed off about it. this is one more example of some believers (unfortunately the ugly-bile-spewing loud ones) making their entire religion look bad.

you guys know that I am very much an advocate of "believe what you want, but don't push those beliefs on others". insisting that Christmas is the only holiday being celebrated during this time of the year is not only arrogant, it's, of course, factually incorrect. and to insist that your holiday is the only one that should be recognized, when people of faiths OLDER THAN YOURS are not acting similarly assholish, is despicable and embarrassing to the less moronic followers of said religion. you sticking your fingers in your ears and shouting "lalalalala" and refusing to accept these things as facts does not actually make them untrue.

I am not a Christian. I say that I do not celebrate Christmas, I go along with Christmas because it's just less of a hassle in my family to do that. but if someone tells me "merry Christmas", I am polite enough to wish them the same and go on with life. it's similar to being told "have a nice day" by a cashier at the end of a transaction. if you're actually having a crappy day, does it detract from the intended sentiment? no. it's just what you say. one could even argue that saying "happy holidays" or "have a nice day" is completely meaningless (like asking someone "how are you?" when really you're just being polite by asking or filling time on a customer service call or something). I don't see why it's so damn difficult to just say "you too" without getting tangled up in semantics and taking it as a personal attack on your practiced faith.

I see statements like "happy holidays", or the more religious versions, simply as kindness. and really, in the world we're currently living in, shouldn't we accept kindness when and where it is given? shouldn't we just...be more accepting?