they have these fireworks that my relatives call "nigger chasers". they dont say that on the label though, there are called "whistling chaser" on the label. but i know better. it doesnt offend me that they dont call em nigger chasers even though i know damn well thats what they are.
:hihi: They always were called whistling chasers, "nigger chasers" is a slang nickname these things mananged to pick-up along the way. But that is completely different. The intent of the word nigger is to insult. The word Christmas has no negative meaning what so ever. So I can understand not calling them nigger chasers.
some people might argue that christmas is more offensive than the word nigger. in fact i would make that argument. but its not for me to decide or care what things are called, if they are not my things. next time i will get a permanant marker and write the correct name on my fireworks. "whistling chaser" my ass!
Please elaborate on this one. I'm not sure how the word christmas could be considered more offensive than a word that is meant entirely as an insult.
There is nothing Christian about a Christmas tree. Nowhere are there decorated trees mentioned in the new testament. It was not a part of a Roman Christmas celebration. Decorated trees came from a pre-Christian European pagan winter festivals, mostly in Germany. Martin Luther is thought to have been among the first to use the tree to celebrate Christmas. Like many Christmas traditions, it is a secular practice that has been added to the religious holiday. Hessian troops first brought the Christmas tree to America, as it had been forbidden by the Puritans. But it has been clearly associated with Christmas for centuries. The "Holiday Tree" denigrates the traditions of non-Christians by assuming they will embrace it. A spruce tree covered in decorative lights and ornaments is a Christmas tree -- not a Chanukah tree, not a Ramadan tree, not a Kwanzaa tree. Spruce trees have no religious meaning, no theological symbolism and certainly no characteristics that predispose them to be adopted by any particular religion. A Christmas tree is such only through association. That is, a decorated spruce tree is called a Christmas tree because it is what many Christians, and not members of any other religion, use to celebrate their holiday. Jews do not put up "holiday trees," and neither do Muslims or Buddhists, so calling it a "holiday tree" is an outright lie. A dreidel is not a "holiday top"; neither is a kinara a "holiday lamp" -- to call them such would not in any way neutralize their meanings and would certainly insult and infuriate Jews and African Americans.
its all interpretation. you may not like the word nigger or niggers but i love them. and i dont really care about christmas. what is considered offensive is specific to each person, which leads us back to my original point, that it doesnt matter what anyone does or calls anything, as long as you are free to do whatever and call things whatever.
Even if you don't beleive in Christmas, or Jesus or any other christian beleifs, I don't see how it can be considered offensive. I'm catholic, but I'm not offended by the beliefs or cultures of other religions. Everyone is entitled to his or her own beliefs. I just don't understand changing the names of one culture's symbols so that other cultures aren't offended. Changing the name of a christmas tree will not make Jews begin to buy them. The reason christians seem to be bothered by the name change is because no one like to have their traditions or customs changed to benefit someone who doesn't share in the same customs or traditions.
I admire your honesty. You think Christianity is a crazy thing and I do not. We will probably never see eye to eye on that and that is okay. Religion does not murder, people murder. Most religions teach hope, compassion, and love. More people have been murdered because of their religion, rather than using their religion to justify murder. Was Stalin a religious man, was Hitler a religious man? No, they hated religion. It’s not what I want to call it, It’s what it is. A Christmas tree is a Christmas tree; if it’s a Hanukkah tree call it a Hanukkah tree. If someone has a problem with a store saying Christmas then that someone has the problem.
Raised, educated, and confirmed Catholic. Devout or practicing? By no means. I don't agree with a lot of the fundamentals of organized religion. But an atheist I'm certainly not.
