Enjoying the Silence Before the Christmas Music Begins

I went to the grocery store on Sunday morning, as I do almost every week. It is the least busy time by far, and I can usually manage not to go more than once a week if I give some thought to what I need ahead of time. Since this is likely to be the last time I'll be in a grocery store before Thanksgiving, it hit me that this was likely the last time I won't be aurally assaulted by Christmas music while shopping for some time.

I understand why virtually all stores play Christmas music as much as they can prior to Christmas. They want to remind their customers to buy garbage for people who neither need or want much of it because...consumerism and...Jesus! It wouldn't surprise me in the least to discover that there is some scientific evidence out there showing that people spend more in stores playing Christmas music this time of year than in stores that do not (if there are any that do not). It has a different sort of effect on me - it leads me to get out of the store as quickly as I can.

Not All Trump Supporters Are Racist

By Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Since the 2016 U.S. presidential election, anyone using social media has almost certainly been bombarded with the tribalistic message that everyone who voted for Donald Trump is a racist, misogynistic, xenophobe. This claim is irrational, inaccurate, and unhelpful. The somewhat softer version of this claim, that Trump supporters might not all be racists but all of them were insufficiently bothered by racism (and thus still deeply flawed human beings) is not much better.

As we come to terms with the results of the election, it is important that we do not abandon reason and nuance in our political discourse. What is it that we are so fond of telling religious believers? One's preferred narrative is not an adequate substitute for reality. We should be cautious about embracing destructive political narratives.

Here's what Saeed A. Kahn (Religion News Service), a Muslim physician living in Detroit, had to say about Trump's election and the commonly heard claim from many on the left that anyone who voted for Trump is a racist or xenophobe:

Clearly, racism and bigotry are on display because they were unleashed, perhaps normalized, by a political strategy to mobilize voters. But to infer that all of Trump’s supporters are rabid racists, or even motivated by such base impulses, would be as ironically absurd as those who contend that all Muslims are terrorists. An accurate assessment of the election and the reality of this nation requires nuance, not the replacement of one binary narrative with another.

Why I Don't Donate to the Salvation Army

An earlier version of this post appeared on the Mississippi Atheists blog in 2009. It has been revised to better fit an audience not limited to Mississippi and updated to improve clarity and provide links to more recent information.

There are many worthwhile charities that do good work in every community. Of course, nobody has enough money to support all of them. In selecting which organizations to support, it seems like there are some fairly obvious decision points. For example, I do not support organizations that engage in bigotry, religious proselytizing, or efforts aimed at undermining the separation of church and state. And while I would probably not claim that I would never support an organization that mentions Jesus or other mythological figures in its mission statement, I can say that I would be quite reluctant to do so.

Here is the current mission statement of the Salvation Army, quoted from their website:

The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Are Safety Pins Poised to Make Comeback?

I, for one, think it is fantastic that some liberals have apparently decided that they are going to wear safety pins when out in public to communicate something to somebody who will probably have no idea what is being communicated. I miss the punk look, and I'd like to see it come back, safety pins and all.

It sounds like the safety pin thing is intended to be some sort of post-election protest. Much like punk itself, the recent safety pin craze appears to have started in the UK after Brexit. Some see it as a public sign that one will stand up against the sort of violence they expect to encounter from emboldened Trump supporters, albeit an extremely subtle and easy to conceal one.

But since we are living in an era of outrage, it should surprise no one that safety pins are also being described as, "...the most divisive object in post-election United States right now..." More divisive than a Starbucks holiday cup? Damn! That is really saying something.