7 ms·

>> WRT the "don't say god bless you" thing, I'm not really sure how that fits into what I'm saying, and that feels kind of like a straw man -- likewise with the

>> WRT the "don't say god bless you" thing, I'm not really sure how that fits into what I'm saying, and that feels kind of like a straw man -- likewise with the "one guy" and their pronoun -- most queer and trans folks don't have pronouns like that. They are usually either people who were gendered as men or women most of their lives, who decided that they want to go by "she" or "he" respectively later in life, or people who aren't comfortable with either, and prefer "they". I thought I covered that in 2 ways... 1) Random thoughts from an old guy 2) I was giving an example of the differences between people. I have been chastised in the past for saying bless you to some people. I've kind of trained myself now to say "Maay the diety of your choice bless you" in some cirumstances but I also get chastised for that. I've also been chastised for remaining silent. So, what choice do I make here to not be "creepy". For whatever it's worth.

magduf 7y ago
>I've kind of trained myself now to say "Maay the diety of your choice bless you" in some cirumstances but I also get chastised for that. I always say "gesundheit", which is normal in German (it translates to "health"). As a non-religious person, I don't understand why religious people always want to push religion on everyone around them. The other thing you can do is just not say anything at all when someone sneezes. Asian cultures don't have this practice at all.
- nyberg 7y ago
  It's not really pushing religion as it is an act of kindness. I don't really understand why someone would find it offensive for wishing them better health as it's the intention that counts rather than what faith you hold. I'm not religious at all and I still say "bless you" since it's from the culture I grew up with of wishing others well. If anyone finds that offensive then they certainly have more issues than I do.
  - magduf 7y ago
    >I don't really understand why someone would find it offensive for wishing them better health You're not just wishing them better health; you're wishing that your preferred deity magically give them better health. So you're pushing your faith in that deity on that person. >I'm not religious at all and I still say "bless you" since it's from the culture I grew up The culture I grew up in (America, specifically the South) does the same thing. It also has other great things in its "culture", like murdering black people with nooses during the Jim Crow days, and generally being intolerant of people who are different. "The culture I grew up in" is not a good excuse for bad behavior, and that includes pushing religion on people.
    - nyberg 7y ago
      It's hardly bad behaviour to wish someone well and it's never been. One shouldn't have to add "and if you do not follow the same then interpret your deity (if any)" to a conversation as the recipent may interpret under their prefered deity as they wish. It's rather sad that even an act of kindness is now seen as bad behaviour simply from refusal to accept that we have different ways of showing it. As for culture, sure, every single one is at some point guilty of crimes against humanity such as in my country [1], [2], etc and we must be able to look past those things as otherwise it's impossible to change for the better. We will be different, have different beliefs, different sexuality, different colours of skin, and different languages to convey our thoughts. If we continue to see even an act of kindness as hostile then I don't have much hope people will ever get over differences. It shouldn't be different if they're Christian, Sunni, or any else and extend their greeting in their way to you along with their own way of wishing you well. What matters most is the intention rather than if they're from the same faith as you. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilisation_in_Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilisation_in_Sw... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer_crisis
      - magduf 7y ago
        >the recipent may interpret under their prefered deity as they wish This may come as a shock to you, but there's a lot of people in the world who don't have any "preferred deity", and really don't appreciate religious people trying to push their myths on them. >It's rather sad that even an act of kindness is now seen as bad behaviour simply from refusal to accept that we have different ways of showing it. This reminds me of Christians who want to give food to starving people, but only if they sit and listen to some stupid sermon trying to get them to convert. If you want to be kind, then don't tie your "act of kindness" to your belief system in an attempt to convert others to it. This is generally an American problem too. Other cultures, even when they do have a religion, don't really care about pushing it on others. Even in Europe, most modern-day Christians there seem to keep their religion very private (hence why Germans say "gesundheit" when someone sneezes, even though Germany is traditionally a Christian country).

magduf 7y ago

>I've kind of trained myself now to say "Maay the diety of your choice bless you" in some cirumstances but I also get chastised for that. I always say "gesundheit", which is normal in German (it translates to "health"). As a non-religious person, I don't understand why religious people always want to push religion on everyone around them. The other thing you can do is just not say anything at all when someone sneezes. Asian cultures don't have this practice at all.

nyberg 7y ago
It's not really pushing religion as it is an act of kindness. I don't really understand why someone would find it offensive for wishing them better health as it's the intention that counts rather than what faith you hold. I'm not religious at all and I still say "bless you" since it's from the culture I grew up with of wishing others well. If anyone finds that offensive then they certainly have more issues than I do.
- magduf 7y ago
  >I don't really understand why someone would find it offensive for wishing them better health You're not just wishing them better health; you're wishing that your preferred deity magically give them better health. So you're pushing your faith in that deity on that person. >I'm not religious at all and I still say "bless you" since it's from the culture I grew up The culture I grew up in (America, specifically the South) does the same thing. It also has other great things in its "culture", like murdering black people with nooses during the Jim Crow days, and generally being intolerant of people who are different. "The culture I grew up in" is not a good excuse for bad behavior, and that includes pushing religion on people.
  - nyberg 7y ago
    It's hardly bad behaviour to wish someone well and it's never been. One shouldn't have to add "and if you do not follow the same then interpret your deity (if any)" to a conversation as the recipent may interpret under their prefered deity as they wish. It's rather sad that even an act of kindness is now seen as bad behaviour simply from refusal to accept that we have different ways of showing it. As for culture, sure, every single one is at some point guilty of crimes against humanity such as in my country [1], [2], etc and we must be able to look past those things as otherwise it's impossible to change for the better. We will be different, have different beliefs, different sexuality, different colours of skin, and different languages to convey our thoughts. If we continue to see even an act of kindness as hostile then I don't have much hope people will ever get over differences. It shouldn't be different if they're Christian, Sunni, or any else and extend their greeting in their way to you along with their own way of wishing you well. What matters most is the intention rather than if they're from the same faith as you. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilisation_in_Sweden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compulsory_sterilisation_in_Sw... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer_crisis
    - magduf 7y ago
      >the recipent may interpret under their prefered deity as they wish This may come as a shock to you, but there's a lot of people in the world who don't have any "preferred deity", and really don't appreciate religious people trying to push their myths on them. >It's rather sad that even an act of kindness is now seen as bad behaviour simply from refusal to accept that we have different ways of showing it. This reminds me of Christians who want to give food to starving people, but only if they sit and listen to some stupid sermon trying to get them to convert. If you want to be kind, then don't tie your "act of kindness" to your belief system in an attempt to convert others to it. This is generally an American problem too. Other cultures, even when they do have a religion, don't really care about pushing it on others. Even in Europe, most modern-day Christians there seem to keep their religion very private (hence why Germans say "gesundheit" when someone sneezes, even though Germany is traditionally a Christian country).