Can't we all just get along? (Jesus, beliefs, preach, atheist)

[Kcnorwood]

We all hear of talks about religious intolerance these days, but does it exists?
In places like this forum, it does but what about in the real world?
Can you honestly say it is practiced? We see & hear reports of people being harassed by other who do not have the same beliefs. There is a place two Hours north of here where in a small town A women was harassed day & night for being a witch. The local law knew about this but did nothing to stop it. Some of the locals killed some of her animals & painted things like; devil worshiper on the side of her house.
FYI this is not about just what happened to her, its; everywhere these days.
Even Christians are complaining about people not saying Merry Christmas these days
& Others complaining about the same thing. They all want their religion to be noticed.
NO one group seems to be ok with Happy Holidays. Why can’t people just let others believe what they wish? Why can’t Pagans walk down the street wearing a pentagram without being looked down upon? Same the anyone else we do we get over trying to be right & just get along?

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Kcnorwood

NO one group seems to be ok with Happy Holidays. Why can’t people just let others believe what they wish? Why can’t Pagans walk down the street wearing a pentagram without being looked down upon? Same the anyone else we do we get over trying to be right & just get along?

What a time to run out of frubals!

[Gentoo]

Maybe it's just because I"m lucky, but I do walk down the street with my pentacle necklace showing (because it feels too awkward to wear it inside my shirt) and I do it at work. No one has had any problems with it. I did say to one person during the Christmas season that I wasn't Christian, all he did was smile and say that Jesus loves me anyway. That's it, no inquiry, no third degree. Again, I might be lucky.

But then, I don't go around saying: "I'm Pagan/Wiccan! Persecute me!" Definately not to say that those who are harrassed do that, I'm just quiet about my beliefs in the workplace.

[Kcnorwood]

My wife is the general manager of a book store & in the town we live in there are alot of jewish people. However 15 mins down the road there are Pagans & christians & anything else you care to name. I've gone to pick her up before & watched her tell a customer Happy Holidays & have watched the customer fly into a rage. I've also seen her tell a jewish women happy hankanna ( sorry for the mispell) & then another tell the women behind here (wearing a cross) Merry Christmas & she told my wife she was a racist! So these days she says happy holidays. I don't go around saying I'm a pagan either but no matter what your faith you should be able to walk down the street without being looked down upon. I don't wear mine to work why play the odds? We live in the biblebelt & I've learned not to provoke anything.

[logician]

The sad thing in the U.S. is that politicians cannot publicly say they are atheists w/o being persecuted. Atheist leaders have been murdered in the U.S. in the past. Tolerance towards one's beliefs rings hollow in the U.S., if those beliefs are not part of the mainstream.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by Kcnorwood

I've gone to pick her up before & watched her tell a customer Happy Holidays & have watched the customer fly into a rage. I've also seen her tell a jewish women happy hankanna ( sorry for the mispell) & then another tell the women behind here (wearing a cross) Merry Christmas & she told my wife she was a racist! So these days she says happy holidays.

You can't win, no matter what you say or don't say. Happy Holidays will get you in trouble too.

I really don't understand it. We got Christmas cards in the 50s that said "Happy Holidays" and "Seasons Greetings" and no one claimed there was a War on anything, and that was when non-Christians were pretty much invisible in society. Go figure.

I just stick with the basics like "Thanks for shopping with us" or "Thank you."

I don't go around saying I'm a pagan either but no matter what your faith you should be able to walk down the street without being looked down upon. I don't wear mine to work why play the odds? We live in the biblebelt & I've learned not to provoke anything.

It isn't even the Bible Belt you have to worry about. A Baha'i friend of mine was in airport security, and the security guy caught sight of her Baha'i ring done in the style with some Arabic looking script, and all of a sudden they had this nearly 60 year old lady with grey hair surrounded by 6 tough guys. Yeah, like she was such a danger to the flight and all.

[Kcnorwood]

Originally Posted by wanderer085

The sad thing in the U.S. is that politicians cannot publicly say they are atheists w/o being persecuted. Atheist leaders have been murdered in the U.S. in the past. Tolerance towards one's beliefs rings hollow in the U.S., if those beliefs are not part of the mainstream.

I totally agree with you here I think religous tolerance is an illusion, people preach it but of no real grasp of it's meaning. I do think people will confess whatever it takes to get into office.

[vandervalley]

The sad thing in the U.S. is that politicians cannot publicly say they are atheists w/o being persecuted. Atheist leaders have been murdered in the U.S. in the past. Tolerance towards one's beliefs rings hollow in the U.S., if those beliefs are not part of the mainstream.

Well; there are huge Buddhist temples in US and nothing seems to happen to the temples. So I think US is pretty tolerant to other non-mainstream religions; compared to some countries in the world.

[Booko]

Originally Posted by vandervalley

Well; there are huge Buddhist temples in US and nothing seems to happen to the temples. So I think US is pretty tolerant to other non-mainstream religions; compared to some countries in the world.

Oh we have room for improvement, still.

There are synagogues (and now mosques) that get vandalized every year. After 9/11 the Sikh temple near me decked itself with red/white/blue bunting, because people would assume they were Muslims (and therefore dangerous?) because the men wear turbans, Persian Baha'is had to lay low for fear of being accosted, and the list goes on.