(Melinda Shore) wrote in news:fkosgh$3em$1
@panix3.panix.com:

she said "Oh!" and started talking about her own preparations.
Which is, it seems to me, as it should be. Acknowledge the
differences, enjoy your own holiday, and don't make your enjoyment
of your holiday contingent on everybody believing the same as you
do

It seems so simple, doesn't it?

I'm not sure where all this "Anybody who's not Christian can
kiss my ass" stuff comes from.

A ginormous sense of entitlement and plain, old-fashioned bullying
are major ingredients.

because of all the crappy, nasty, hegemonic expectations that get
laid on those of who don't buy the New Testament.

There's something to be said for making an effort not to be an
asshole in the name of one's religious convictions. Can it really be
that difficult?

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Mark Shaw wrote:

This is not a good Christmas - my SO's and my last surviving
parent just died - but it's good to remember things like this.

*****HUGS***** **tears** I am so sorry. My uncle and godfather
passed away just a few days before Christmas many years ago, and I
remember what it was like.

--
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your
work with excellence.

Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply
wrote in :

The one I thought was funniest was posted somewhere on AOL over a
decade ago:

Just to be clear, my post was not meant to be funny. I apologize if
you were confused about that.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Mark Shaw wrote in
:

I got a political one. A "best wishes for an environmentally
conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive,
gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice etc etc etc"
for one set of readers, and a "Merry Christmas" for the other
set. You can probably guess which set was which.

You mean, like that cute little "funny" that was posted elsewhere in
this thread? I'm not sure which is more obnoxious, the hyper-PC form
of passive aggression, or the "y'all suck with emoticons" type.

You'd think people could put this kind of thing aside once in
a while, though.

You'd think. And if they can't let it go during Christmas, then it
doesn't bode well for the other 364 days of the year.

(Although I do like the modern practices in some areas of mulching
them for community use, or providing fish habitats in local
lakes.)

My mom decorates a twig. She just goes out and finds a fallen
branch. It's a little Charlie Brown meets Dr. Seuss, but it beats
killing a tree (also, it's pretty cute). I don't think anyone in my
immediate family is at all religious (or, at least, not Christian),
but it's as good a time as any to get together, play cards, and
drink.

This year, though, I'm pet sitting.

This is not a good Christmas - my SO's and my last surviving
parent just died - but it's good to remember things like this.

I'm so sorry.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

Shelly wrote:
Mark Shaw wrote in
:

I got a political one. A "best wishes for an environmentally
conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive,
gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice etc etc etc"
for one set of readers, and a "Merry Christmas" for the other
set. You can probably guess which set was which.

You mean, like that cute little "funny" that was posted elsewhere in
this thread? I'm not sure which is more obnoxious, the hyper-PC form
of passive aggression, or the "y'all suck with emoticons" type.

I didn't so much mind the faux-PC "holiday wishes" thing the
first dozen times I saw it - it's trite and just a little
sneery, but it doesn't seem to be ill-intentioned. But adding
the overt political message (as though the reader is too dim
to Get It) of "this is intended for THEM, and the Merry Christ-
mas is for US" was faintly nauseating.

(Although I do like the modern practices in some areas of mulching
them for community use, or providing fish habitats in local
lakes.)

My mom decorates a twig. She just goes out and finds a fallen
branch. It's a little Charlie Brown meets Dr. Seuss, but it beats
killing a tree (also, it's pretty cute). I don't think anyone in my
immediate family is at all religious (or, at least, not Christian),
but it's as good a time as any to get together, play cards, and
drink.

Heh.

Oh, that reminds me - I've got to make eggnog!

This year, though, I'm pet sitting.

Wish I was. We could use a few more heads to scratch around
here....

--
Mark Shaw (And Baron) moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm
================================================== =======================
"Ever consider what they must think of us? I mean, here we come back
from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a
cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth!" -Anne Tyler

Mark Shaw wrote:

snip
This is not a good Christmas - my SO's and my last surviving
parent just died - but it's good to remember things like this.


Aw hell. I'm so sorry.

"Shelly" wrote

"A bah humbug to all!
To all who don’t celebrate this season in any way ;-)"

Oh, Hah Bum Hug!
http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Bumhug

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

--
Bob
http://www.kanyak.com

snip of wonderful celebrations

This is not a good Christmas - my SO's and my last surviving
parent just died - but it's good to remember things like this.

Mark Shaw (And Baron)


My condolences, Mark and to your SO, also.

Last year was the first holiday season without my Mother, passed in July of
'06. Then losing Rudy last April was really hard to deal with.
But as you may have read, my darlin husband, David fixed that right up.
I'm not saying Sam takes Rudy's place, never could, but he does remind me of
the good parts of Rudy, before he was older and had such bad pain.

David and I are celebrating Christmas by ourselves this year.

Sis, who is 5 years younger, at 48, is still jealous and nasty and has just
dropped the last straw, on Friday afternoon. To not make my Dad's
celebration a bad memory we decided to back out of his dinner. Well, when I
called and explained that my sis had called starting a very *nasty* hit and
run phone call, her MO, call, say 'I don't want to argue, but if I don't
say, whatever I'll carry it around." She then spews out her effrontery of
my noting she had red, (actual red), in her hair, which she told me she
wanted, I joked about it a little, saying she needed some 'green' in there
too to match the season. She made a huge deal, a huge fight,and there have
been so many more, over the past year and 1/2, since I had promised my
mother I would try to let her nasty stuff go, and not fight, it was just too
much.
Her vituperous railing went way beyond the scope of what I would ever think
to print here. And she's the one in the Evagelical Church. I called Dad to
tell him I'd not want to blow his day, and bow out quietly.
His response? "Well I just knew you were going to back out!!" (David and I
had to search down recipes ingredients for the bread he's baking for the
'dinner', and I had planned on surpising Dad with Yorkshire pudding, for the
prine rib dinner he spent a fortune on from Omaha Steaks! He also said,
"Well you could have bloody well told me before I spent all that money on
the prine rib for you and David, nasty bitch!"
(I had also tracked down all the ingredients for a Scottish "Dumpling" a
long cooked spice cake, similar to Plum Pudding but way more work. Yeah, we
hadn't planned on going at all! NOT!!!
We had absolutely no idea he'd ordered this weeks ago, until last Wed.!

Anyway, I presume I'm back to being the 'black sheep' of that family, and
proud of it. The lot of them, Dad, Sis, BiL, two sons,... only ever get in
touch with us when they need to borrow money. Their idea of borrowing is,
'gimme, gimme, gimme', then argue that they didn't think it was a loan!.
Heh, let 'em all enjoy each other, and David and I will enjoy our new family
member!

Best wishes to you and yours..

MaryBeth

On 24 Dec 2007 13:08:11 -0500, (Melinda Shore) wrote:

In article ,
tiny dancer wrote:
Hey Santa, what happened to that collection we took? 'member? The one to
*remove* all those big sticks up asses?

I really, really like how you enjoy celebrating the birth of
Jesus. Moving, that's what it is.

Yes, please, let's not confuse the celebration of Christmas with
whatever tiny is doing.

Mustang Sally

montana wildhack wrote:
On 2007-12-24 14:45:52 -0500, Melinda Meahan - take out TRASH to reply
said:

it is a specific portion of *evangelical* Christians

Let's not lump all evangelicals together in our rants because not all
evangelicals are the same.

I didn't -- I very carefully said it was a "specific portion" -- and
please forgive me if you read it otherwise.

I just know that true Christian fundamentalism would not espouse
Christian reconstruction.

--
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your
work with excellence.