So I learned that tomorrow my youngest child will have a holiday party at school. This is great. Let’s celebrate holidays. Just one problem: there can be absolutely no mention of Christmas. Not on clothes, not on gifts to classmates, no Christmas. Now the reason indicated to me, secondhand through Ms Wo’ah, is that some parents are adamently opposed to celebrating Christmas.
I want to take a step back and say I have no problem with anyone not celebrating Christmas. That’s not what you believe, don’t celebrate it. Great. I am completely unbothered by those who do not share my faith in Christ, who do not celebrate his birth, who do not want to say Merry Christmas. Nobody should feel obligated to pay heed to my faith.
I also want to say that if you want to have an agnostic holiday party where no holidays can be named, that is probably ok with me too. If we’re just banning religion from the state, outright and totally, then sure, we can do that. (We have some representatives who would need to change pretty dramatically if such is the case, but I digress). But that is not the impression I got from this.
The impression I got is that the problem is just Christmas. If it was a collection of books with “Happy Channukah” on them as gifts, no big deal. But “Merry Christmas” is a bridge too far.
I call fucking bullshit.
This is not what I want to be teaching my kids, not what I want to be teaching anyone’s kids, not what I want to be teaching those kids parents. One of the things that makes America such a great nation is our right to freedom of religion. That means all of them have equal right to exist in all contexts. No special carve outs for any religion, all of them have the same right to be present in any context (that might be not at all but it’s fucking equal).
If you’re so sensitive about a particular religion that you won’t send your kids to a school if they allow mention of another religion’s holidays, FUCK YOU. You don’t belong in America if you can’t get along with people of all faiths and creeds. You don’t get to come here and then expect to be treated special. ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL. That means your faith is no better than mine.
Now, before you get uppity about diversity on me, let me reiterate: I want your celebrations of Channakuh and Kwanza and Diwali. Please. Enrich my life with your faith. Thank you for sharing it with me.
But you don’t get to say “Ok I’ll share but you can’t.” You know who says that? Fucking Bigots.
I am not an evangelical person. I won’t force my faith on you, except by that which comes off from my example. But I’m not going to pretend my faith doesn’t exist just to make you more comfortable. That is the root of intollerance. When everyone freaked out about “WAR ON CHRISTMAS” years ago, I found it laughable that corporations defaulting to “Happy Holidays” was considered erasure. That’s not. It’s just not.
However, this is erasure. And it’s not ok.
So Fuck You my little one’s school. And any parents who don’t want their kids to hear or see Merry Christmas? Fuck you too. They’re going to have christians around them for most of their lives, might as well get used to it young.
Compassionately
-Wo’ah the Wise
Education's War on Christmas
You see the same logic that leads to this way to much these days. I don't see this as the problem but the symptom of activist education.
I can't agree with your points enough.