AWKWARD ZOMBIE

I think every full-time job should pay enough for a livable wage. Not even the managers at Wal-Mart can get by without food stamps. On that note, I also think there needs to be regulations to stop this bullshit standard of hiring people part-time to deny them benefits while giving them full-time hours.

Problem with that is that countries without corporate regulations are so in the pocket of big business that theyd rather saw off their own arms than rule in laws like that. Theres no incentive at all for places like Wal-mart to improve either, since so many people buy from them. Why change if no one is forcing you to?

Only in america and even then some systems in the states are totally socialized. Like public education. Try naming a 1st world country that doesn't have any sort of public health care system other than america. It's probably communism you're thinking about, which is different.

Can someone please explain to me why some people think it's not okay to mock any religion/belief, EXCEPT Christianity? Like, I don't care if Christianity is a 'majority' in America. That doesn't give someone permission to mock it while sticking up for every single other type of belief and opinion. This seriously happened last night with someone. It's almost like some people think Christians aren't allowed to have their feelings hurt. We're people, too.

It comes down to the fact that no one should mock or degrade anyone for no reason. Especially if that person is causing no harm. People need to learn to live and let, regardless of what you agree or disagree with.

I think it's because of the way modern Christianity in America tends to approach other religions, the nonreligious, and even those of different sects; for example, in my area, it's not uncommon to hear grandmas nattering away about how "them moslums over in the east just aren't as human as us, they just never stopped being animals, they don't understand how to be human through christ" (which is, verbatim, something I have actually heard a pair of cheerful old ladies chatter about at the hair salon). Then you've got your many, many Christian Identity Movement terrorist groups in America, which are claimed by the majority to be "incidental" while the radicals of every other religion are claimed to be representative of some hidden sentiment in the religions they unfortunately attach themselves to. I think the reason a lot of people who aren't Christian or who have distanced themselves from the majority of Christianity like to take jabs at it is like a multipurpose form of revenge, plus a resentment of the hypocrisy often present in the everyday practices of your average small-town American church. Even I have to admit that I have an internal knee-jerk nervousness or distrust of people who introduce themselves to be as being very Christian, because rarely (in the course of my life) have I met someone like that that didn't shortly prove themselves to have some pretty nasty opinions about their fellow man, or try to bully me into converting with threats and insults all while believing they were being the kindest person imaginable. Many also, because they are a majority, tend to view anything that doesn't bolster or reinforce their superiority as an attack on them; see the "War on Christmas" that dictates maybe you should try to be more open at work by saying "pop flyin' holidays" instead of singling out one holiday for praise and celebration. Asking people not to teach their religion's unique origin story in school as fact, not to force prayer or try to say "you don't HAVE to pray, if you don't want to you can just be singled out for ridicule and exclusion by being forced to stand outside in the hall while everyone else enjoys having their religion officially supported and rewarded" is often viewed as an attempt to ruin and destroy Christianity, to make other religions more important-- when it's really about making everything equal. It's also, unfortunately, a case of a collective minority that's endured minor-to-major bruising and neglect or even abuse from a majority coming to resent everyone like them. It's not fair, I completely agree- it's a lot like the people on tumblr deciding "fuck all white people, they're intrinsically evil!" and as I get older I've gotten the chance to meet actively religious Christians that have proven me wrong about my misconceptions about them. It's still hard for me to get over my initial anxiety about meeting outspoken Christians entirely, because of how and where I grew up (which is to say, as one of maybe three Jewish kids in a town that proudly displayed a christian-oriented neo-nazi Swastika on the "Welcome to Town!" sign). And some of the very bad things done to me as a kid were done in the name of being "good Christians". But like I said, it's not like people like that are representative of ALL Christians and I know better now about that than I did when I was younger.

I think your anxiety is totally justified based on your past experiences. But that doesn't mean that it's okay for some person to prance around and preach about 'acceptance' and 'tolerance' for all these various minorities and then make stupid, overused jokes about christian traditions and beliefs. Isn't that a little hypocritic?

It may not be right to do so, but considering the heaps of abuse a lot of christians still put on other groups, while somehow having the gall to think that THEY are being persecuted makes it very, VERY hard for me to care.

I think it's deeply ingrained into people's mind that racism (or other prejudices) is not racism unless it's against a minority or a historically abused community. You can make fun of the rich, straight people, white people, males, Christians, Americans, e.g. "privileged" groups and almost nobody will care, but making fun of the underprivileged will make you a dirty hater. Mocking Christianity is not any more okay than mocking any other religion, but people just don't perceive it as hate so they don't react the same way.

Being Christian doesn't lump you in with "those" Christians automatically. That is like saying "Black people in Africa have slaves in some tribes, so I can hate all black people for slavery."
Judge the person, not the group.

I dont HATE them, I just find it difficult to take their whining about their feelings being hurt seriously. They have no idea what persecution means, NONE. Its kinda like those people who complain about "white guilt".

I don't think that is fair at all. Being Christian does not mean you will not experience discrimination in your life, as you can be discriminated against for this and other unrelated things.

True, but you are much less likely to, especially in areas where christianity is at its strongest, like the American South, and it will also give you favoritism from the goverment. Also, I was talking about persecution for their christianity, not other unrelated causes, like skin color or ethnicity. Christian persecution borders on nonexistant in the US, and mostly involves people saying mean things about you online. Its not that it doesnt happen, at all, but all things considered, I dont rank it particularly high. When you are The Man, you cant exactly complain that the minority doesnt like you.

I agree with TheStranger, because discrimination for being Christian doesn't hold the same personal and societal impact that it does for other religions. It simply is a case of "you don't have it as bad", and I don't think that's such a bad thing to acknowledge. It's important to realize that criticism of, say, Muslims has different causes and results than criticism of Christians.

That doesn't make it okay to make stupid jokes at the expense of an important Christian belief and tradition.