{"id":78282,"date":"2019-12-04T04:44:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-04T09:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=78282"},"modified":"2019-12-04T07:05:33","modified_gmt":"2019-12-04T12:05:33","slug":"she-speaks-merry-christmas-or-happy-homogeneity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/she-speaks-merry-christmas-or-happy-homogeneity\/","title":{"rendered":"She Speaks: Merry Christmas or Happy Homogeneity"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Happy holidays, from one of those annoying social justice warriors offended by everything and determined to put an end to free speech.<\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n

This never quite jibed with my perception of self \u2013 I have thick skin and happen to be anti-censorship, though I do love that sweet, sweet justice \u2013 but I get accused of it all the time. It\u2019s like when someone rages against \u2018political correctness\u2019, yet all that actually happened was someone was encouraged to be kinder. I live by the ethos of Maya Angelou \u2013 \u201cDo the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better\u201d \u2013 but there are always those who remain glued to tradition like a kid\u2019s tongue to a frozen fence post.<\/p>\n

I say Happy Holidays at the checkout. I celebrate the season and the solstice, and I object to more than ten per cent of every single year being immersed in consumerism and crappy music. I say Happy Holidays not because I don\u2019t celebrate Christmas, but because I can\u2019t be sure the person on the receiving end does. I have no need to presume the belief system of a complete stranger, nor do I need to prescribe my own by using a narrow and specific greeting.<\/p>\n

Having said that, I don\u2019t tell people what they can and cannot say, and with exceedingly few exceptions, I truly believe that most people have only the loveliest intentions when wishing me a Merry Christmas. I have friends who are Christian and I\u2019m grateful when they pray for me, because it means they are holding me in their heart and wishing me well, which is exactly what I do, by a different name, for my friends. I wouldn\u2019t tell them not to bother or that their words are wasted, just like I wouldn\u2019t ask them not to say Merry Christmas to me.<\/p>\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n

What I do ask, of everyone, is to consider the impact of a dominant religion with a history of violence and oppression being used as the default for each and every citizen. I think many people say and hear Christmas-related phrases without diving deeply into the implications, but I suppose that\u2019s why I\u2019m here: to ask people to delve into the depths of the things we say, do, and think, consciously or otherwise. I still get taken aback that we are approaching the year 2020 and haven\u2019t earnestly attempted to adopt inclusivity when it comes to language and celebrations.<\/p>\n

According to a 2011 survey, 24 per cent of Canadians declare no religious affiliation<\/a><\/span>. This number is pretty statistically significant and it means that a good chunk of the people we greet don\u2019t share the same religion associated with the greeting. Given this number, what I find affronting isn\u2019t merely being wished a Merry Christmas \u2013 it\u2019s when people object to my saying \u2018Happy Holidays\u2019. Even more confounding is when I start with my greeting and the responding \u2018Merry Christmas\u2019 feels like less of a wish and more of a correction. I\u2019m not trying to erase anything \u2013 I\u2019m making space.<\/p>\n

I would have even less issue with this if it were just about a greeting, or a prevailing attitude, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s our ever-present reality. Every other song on the radio mentions Christmas, it\u2019s hard to find a holiday card that doesn\u2019t allude to traditional Christmas trappings, and for more than a month people get swept up in shopping, party planning, and various seasonal panics and anxieties. If anything could be described as unavoidable, it\u2019s Christmas. It\u2019s what happens when you combine capitalism and religion \u2013 less about giving and more about buying.<\/p>\n

I appreciate the backlash I\u2019m seeing against this \u2013 families adopting a no-gift Christmas because of the pressure to get the perfect gift, the acknowledgement that our addiction to stuff is destroying the planet, and the awareness that the best part of any holiday is connection with our loved ones. But I wish we\u2019d never had to get to a place of backlash, that we\u2019d maintained a steadfast dedication to togetherness and generosity. That\u2019s a Christmas tradition I might have been able to get on board with.<\/p>\n

But in a lot of ways, that\u2019s not what we have. We have engineered outrage about the \u2018war against Christmas\u2019, rolled out on conservative or religious media year after year, with no space for real conversation. We have bad faith arguments that claim people are being \u2018forced\u2019 to give up their religious beliefs or that there\u2019s no longer any space for Christmas in this new, inclusive world. Ironic, when you consider the historical uses of force that Christians have used to suppress other religions. A little bit of a reversal, I\u2019d say \u2013 which is something that every dominant system uses, from patriarchy to white supremacy.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re used to being the default, it becomes the air you breathe. You don\u2019t notice it until someone comes along and starts to take away your oxygen. Except in this case, your oxygen levels remain perfectly safe, it\u2019s just that you\u2019re being asked to acknowledge that other people breathe this air too, so if we could just share\u2026 It was never okay that irreligion and non-Abrahamic religions were suppressed, stolen from, and practitioners punished. Therefore, asking for the cultural atmosphere to be more inclusive is just creating what should have always been. It is righting a wrong.<\/p>\n

If we\u2019re going to be gathering around the table and partaking of a feast this holiday, I only offer these words as food for thought. It doesn\u2019t bother me when people wish me a Merry Christmas, but it does get to me when it\u2019s a completely unexamined ritual. I strive to live very consciously, and I get challenged on language and appropriation from time to time, which I accept with the full knowledge that I am always learning and growing and seeing things from a perspective other than my own. The holiday season is hard enough \u2013 if I know that my attempts at inclusivity have made even one person\u2019s holiday season more bearable, I\u2019ll sleep soundly. Maybe even with visions of sugar plums. Or maybe not.<\/p>\n

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<\/broadstreet-zone>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Kathleen

Kathleen May (Photo: Kai Rannik)<\/p><\/div>\n

Kathleen May is a writer, speaker, and activist. Her work in our community includes co-founding the long-running Huntsville Women\u2019s Group, being a Survivor Mentor in the pilot survivor-to-survivor program through MPSSAS, co-facilitating instinct-unlocking workshops for women through I Got This, working as a host and community producer of Herstories<\/i> on YourTV, volunteering with Women\u2019s March Muskoka, and her role as a front-line counsellor at a women\u2019s shelter. Kathleen is a 2018 Woman of Distinction for Social Activism and Community Development and also received the Best Author award for her 2018 submission at the Muskoka Novel Marathon, a fundraiser for literacy services. Her dream is a sustainable women\u2019s land co-operative in Muskoka.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy holidays, from one of those annoying social justice warriors offended by everything and determined to put an end to free speech. 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