Posts by Swan

Well at work today it was reported that the entire family now has their gifts and their Christmas dinner. I'm feeling much better about that, but I still don't get the attitude of some.

Tammy

16

Things I Don't Get About Christmas

by Swan in

jw
friends

it's been a while since i've started a post.

some of you may remember me.

i'm writing tonight because i feel like such an outsider at christmas sometimes.

I think you misunderstand. I have one co-worker who is Muslim. Of course I don't expect him to participate, because he gives to charity at a different time of the year (Ramadan). But I had hoped this family would think well of our office as a whole. Their hopes for a nice Christmas rest with us. We adopted them and if we don't come through... well that would be such a shame. It is hard to think we are so dysfunctional that a family is better off being adopted by someone else.

It is just that after listening to all the fundamentalist religious rhetoric of some of these people at work, it is difficult to understand why they don't put their money where their mouth is when it comes to Christmas charity. In fact, they come up with reasons why they shouldn't give. I'm over there in my cube and just shaking my head, thinking if they had never had Christmas growing up, then maybe they would appreciate it more.

I just don't get it.

Tammy

16

Things I Don't Get About Christmas

by Swan in

jw
friends

it's been a while since i've started a post.

some of you may remember me.

i'm writing tonight because i feel like such an outsider at christmas sometimes.

Swan

Yes Steve, I agree.

I personally still can't get over the fact that Christmas was stolen from the Romans and then Christians go on about the "real" meaning of Christmas.

And why isn't the Christmas tree a palm tree, like most of the trees where Jesus was born? Because that tradition was "stolen" from Northern Europe as I'm sure has been discussed countless times on this board. Christmas is such an amalgam of ancient traditions from so many places, it makes sense that it is a secular holiday for U.S. with it's melting pot of diverse cultures.

I don't get these slogans like "Jesus is the reason for the season!" and complaining about a minorah next to the Christmas tree in some public building. Some people in this area are very anti-immigrant (esp. Hispanic) and are complaining that the posada that Mexican Americans do at Christmas is eroding the traditional Christmas. Wha? I just don't get that either.

Tammy

16

Things I Don't Get About Christmas

by Swan in

jw
friends

it's been a while since i've started a post.

some of you may remember me.

i'm writing tonight because i feel like such an outsider at christmas sometimes.

Swan

Thanks D.E.

16

Things I Don't Get About Christmas

by Swan in

jw
friends

it's been a while since i've started a post.

some of you may remember me.

i'm writing tonight because i feel like such an outsider at christmas sometimes.

Swan

Hello All,

It's been a while since I've started a post. Some of you may remember me. I'm writing tonight because I feel like such an outsider at Christmas sometimes. I find that at big Christmas parties I feel like I don't fit in. I'm always afraid I will blow it if there is a sing-a-long. I don't always understand the rules of Secret Santa or Gift Exchange, so I hesitate to participate, and then usually don't. There are so many things I never grew up with that people take for granted. Some things I don't think I will ever understand.

I'm an atheist who celebrates the secular holiday of Christmas. In our office we adopted a family. I was one of the first to take a tag from the tree and return with a well thought out gift. Maybe it's because it was a chance to give a young child the Christmas gift I never had as a child. The deadline for our adoption is now upon us, and there are still 5 tags remaining on the tree. Some people in our office, who make the highest salaries in the whole organization, and who are very vocal about their fundamental religious beliefs, didn't participate. But they decorate their office, eat the Christmas goodies others bring in, etc. Knowing that they wouldn't volunteer, some of us donated some extra money to our Admin. Assistant, who was going to go out shopping tonight to get these remaining items that nobody else would take responsibility for. I just don't get this.

Today we had a luncheon where all of our managers cooked homemade pasta and served it to the employees. These are the same managers that treat us like crap the rest of the year. Like Bob Cratchet, who was taken a back at Scrooge appearing at his door, I too was leery. What good is it to treat us nicely one day and then go back to being mean and miserly the rest of the year? In good conscience, I just couldn't eat their food. I skipped the luncheon and only showed up for the mandatory meeting. But I just don't get this.

I don't participate in the gift exchange not only because the rules about drawing numbers, picking, and swapping make no sense, but also because I thought the purpose was to give the person something meaningful. I just don't get this either.

Sometimes during Christmas I feel like the odd swan.

Tammy

33

Well, now THAT was exciting! :o)

by onacruse in

jw
friends

we're in the middle of a little windstorm here (portland, or).

not much of one, really, compared to some of the others i've experienced here.. about 11 p.m. bikerchic and i heard something hit the house, and there was a pretty good thud on the ground.

i thought that it was probably just a big branch, but bikerchic came running in and said: "did you hear that?

Swan

Yikes! Sorry to hear about this. Hopefully it didn't wreck your Xmas decorations.

Tammy

5

((Swan))

by onacruse in

jw
friends

it was great talking with you tonight!.

first and foremost, it's very gratifying to know that your hubby is on the heal from his recently diagnosed cancer.

i could hear him in the background, and he certainly sounded like he was in good spirits (even if he is a bit of a raspy old fellow lol).

Swan

Onacruse, it was great talking to you too! It was interesting swapping stories about the local JW community. It fills in a lot of gaps for me and explains some things I wasn't privy to. It is funny how these various incidents in the congregations lead to policies and restrictions that affect your life, but they don't want the rank and file to know any of the details. If you are not in the grapevine, you are out of the loop and left wondering. Of course, wondering is a good thing, because it eventually leads some people to wonder why they even put up with such tight-cheeked control freaks that those "taking the lead" frequently are.

BikerChic, I'm glad you got my card. Maybe we can connect sometime soon when you have the phone all to yourself. Are you at the same number?

Mulan, I have been missing you and your family too. You folks are such neat people. I suppose the grandkids are really growing.

BTW, Onacruse, did you notice that the Donald Amy letter from the CD appeared in the background of that NBC News segment?

Tammy

23

Kudos to the Christians/Believers on JWD. (seriously)

by Open mind in

first off i'd like to say that the title of this thread is not tongue-in-cheek.

i remember a thread from ak-jeff a couple months ago where he observed how some posters develop a condescending attitude towards christians and how that made him feel like he didn't really fit in here.

i'm sure that may have come across (unintentionally) in some of my recent threads where i've related my arrival at agnosticism/atheism.

Swan

Faith in the existence God is something I just can't find inside myself anymore after my horrible ordeal, therefore I treasure it in those who can still find it within themselves.

Tammy

8

" Is this CONDONING ORAL SEX ? ( Nov.9,1939 Consolation ) B.J. limeric ?

by AWAKE&WATCHING in

have i gone completely mad?

i can't believe i am reading this.

i can't seem to paste it.. eau seau ?.

Swan

Don't ask me how I know.
But, oral sex is a very good thing.

Yes, I heard this too.

Tammy