Atheists trusted less than rapists

[xrodolfox]

You can still make gifts without going to a store; that's besides donating time and attention. Kinda like the "new year". It isn't really a new year, but it is really good to celebrate and think about the next year and making a special week/month to focus on giving things to others.

My kids are making 90% of their gifts, and we've made about 40% of our gifts. Everyone likes vegan cookies. And the ones that don't, well, I still get to eat the vegan cookies.

[DB]

That's pretty much what we do too. Doing Festivus is just a long running joke in our family. I guess you'd have to have been a Seinfeld fan to get it.

Here in Austria Christmas is a bit more religious than it was in the States and the traditions are somewhat different, but we do it more or less American style and leave out all the religious references. Tree, lights, presents, family time, big feast, etc. Loads of vegan cookies. Mmmmm, cookies.

I don't really care what "believers" say about the ruination of Xmas since the whole thing was built on top of a pagan holiday anyway.

[beforewisdom]

I pretty much enjoyed the U.S. pagan/secular version of Christmas until people started freaking out with the late night store openings.

Bill Maher slammed Oprah's audience last year for getting undignified over material things on a religious holiday emphasizing non-material things. As usual, Maher was mean about, a bit myopic to all of the issues and completely spot on.

People let themselves to be reduced to undignified behavior over material things that don't warrant it.

This year, I find it even more humiliating with the upper classes, already enjoying historically low taxes, enjoying super low regulations and duping many Americans into giving them more while they have less and less. People are now pepper spraying each other to get their piece of cheap plastic crap from China and put more of their money into the profits of the upper class.

[xrodolfox]

I think that a holiday of family and giving doesn't have to be a materialistic capitalist holiday.

The fact that most people make this season a season of mirthlessness and materialism designed to profit the owning class doesn't mean that we have to do the same thing. The first step in *not* doing the same thing is to name it. Been there. Did that. The second step is to celebrate differently... and that's what I am sure most of us are trying to do.

[beforewisdom]

I think that a holiday of family and giving doesn't have to be a materialistic capitalist holiday.

The fact that most people make this season a season of mirthlessness and materialism designed to profit the owning class

The people like the ones in Oprah's audience, the midnight shoppers and the pepper spraying lady didn't make conscious decisions to make the holiday into that. They were manipulated into being like that. The way to stop that, as you implied, is to talk about it, make people aware of what they are doing.

[Goob]

I don't trust anyone that needs someone watching them to ensure they do the right thing. That means they want to lie, cheat, steal and apparently molest children, but they are afraid. Someday, they could very well work up the courage and touch all the kids then steal their lunches.

I'd much rather have someone that doesn't want to molest kids to watch the kids than someone that is afraid of what god would do if they went ahead with it.