Reaperman Wompa said:
Jaythulhu said:
How about the gift of freedom from hallmark and retailer holidays? Let's face it, christmas has no meaning other than buying crap to give to people you don't really want to give gifts to, since it's not their birthday or any event of actual significance.
A) You just made fun of religious holidays, and no matter what they have become they are still important to some people so please don't diss other people's beliefs.
B) Giving people stuff is a (bad but still) way of acknowledging other people, and it is nice to feel appreciated and to receive stuff, and to give other people gifts, as it is a way of showing that you care about others/are cared about.
And hell, it makes some people happy to have a time when stress is less so again, leave it at the door.
A) Yeah, you're right, I did just make fun of religious holidays. How many people celebrate christmas who've never been baptised or been to church in their life? Doesn't that make them hypocrites for celebrating on the christian-assimilation of the summer solstice (winter if you're in the northern hemisphere) birth of jesus day?
B) Try telling people how you feel about them. It's a damn sight better than "here's some cheap junk I found at k-mart (or wal-mart for the yanks)".
C) Religion has to be the 2nd most retarded invention of man. I throw the "all children are special" idea out as the number 1. If you're too stupid to work out how to be a decent human being without following some book written by a bunch of people with a populace-control agenda (and admittedly modified to suit circumstances), then you're more than fair game for my cynicism and sarcasm.
Yes, I'm an atheist. So freaking what? If there was even the slightest evidence that there was some kind of omnipotent being who actually gave a crap about us parasites, there'd be some kind of proof. If nothing else, the last 8 years should be proof enough that there is nothing supernatural or paranormal watching over us, no matter how much we wish it was so.
If you can show a difference to me between prayer and hoping that something is so, then by all means, show me up. I'll happily admit that I'm wrong. Until that time, don't presume to tell me what I can and cannot say in an internet forum post.
The best and only gift you can give at this time of year is unconditional love, and you f@#$ing christians don't hold the rights to that. That's a human being thing.