`Tis the season for...aggressive behavior?

So if I'm understanding this correctly. We have somehow managed to build a society where we not only judge books by their covers but disposable coffee cups too?

I'm just going to let this sink in for a moment while I contemplate my next words carefully. People are genuinely upset, genuinely in a rage, because Starbucks decided to release a coffee cup for the holiday season that slowly transitions from a lighter red to a darker one...

Wow...

Okay. Let's talk about this. Are you insane?! Do you even understand the hilarity of getting upset over anything when you're waiting in line at a powerhouse super-company to get a beverage that literally, in no way, is necessary for meeting the basic needs and decency people this world over are struggling to come up with on a daily basis? Can you not pause for one moment and take a look at the news feed on your smart phone and learn that the color of your cup you're going to throw away when you're done with it anyway means exactly jack squat against the actual issues this world faces constantly?! If you can't then I suppose it only makes sense that you don't understand how stupid the things you're complaining about sound so it only makes sense I'm going to hear about your incoherent tweets of rage waging war on Starbucks like anyone actually cares.

Shifting gears ever so slightly. Why are you so upset anyway? Did Starbucks unveil their master plan to deface the story of the birth of Christ and open a smear campaign against Santa Claus before they steal all your money so you can't afford that giant inflatable snowman you really want to bring all those Christmas decorations on your lawn together? If they did then point me to their documented 12 step plan to do impossible, nonsensical things and I'm with you all the way. But a war on Christmas?! What does that even mean? Who in their right minds would waste the time and resources to make Christmas go away? Has anyone ever tried to make department stores screen their customers for potential Christmas shoppers so they can deny them business? Has anyone ever burned down a Christmas tree farm and laughed at the heartbroken families while they rallied their troops against the Christmas regime? War on Christmas has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard in my life. What could you be so upset or scared by to react that way to someone preferring to speak to you based on their personal beliefs rather than catering to yours?

Tolerance has really become a nasty, disgusting thing to be avoided hasn't it? It used to sound pretty good when I was a kid. We'd talk at length about the importance of tolerance in the world. About loving everyone equally and carrying ourselves with a polite dignity while we held hands and sang songs. But as I grew up it became clear those stories were a depressing farce. The world doesn't preach tolerance anymore. We preach conformity.

"Get in line and do as I do. Otherwise you're not tolerating me and you're declaring war on what I believe."

I'm sorry but that's not how tolerance works. You don't get to define the beliefs and faiths people live by. Tolerance is literally defined as, "the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with." You don't force people to tolerate you. That's called something else (I prefer calling it being a selfish jerk. Others might go with ignorant. You can decide for yourself).

I want to make this clear. I love Christmas. I celebrate it every year and as much as I love my Irish heritage/the color green, dressing up every October or stuffing myself stupid while I try not to think too hard on the reality that led to and followed the first Thanksgiving, Christmas has always been and probably always be my favorite holiday to celebrate.

But not once while I ever be upset if someone doesn't share that with me. You don't celebrate Christmas? You aren't comfortable wishing me a Merry Christmas? That's cool. I've got more important things to do with myself than invent a reason to be upset about that. What a waste that would be right? I've got presents to buy and wrap in fancy paper to store under a tree I killed and buried in blinking lights and fake snow for a month before I wake everyone up stupidly early to make a huge mess and eat all day dammit! So you have yourself a happy Hanukkah. An awesome Kwanzaa. A beautiful winter solstice. Or nothing at all. You do you. I'll do me. We'll meet up after and grab a drink. Sounds freaking awesome.

The point is, calm down. For everyone's sake. When other people choose to celebrate or observe a custom other than Christmas, it shouldn't have any affect on your celebrations whatsoever. If it does, you're doing it wrong. If you're upset that you wish someone a Merry Christmas and they don't say it back you might want to try and figure out why something so petty means so much to you. If you're worried someone is waging war on your holiday, you probably need to ask yourself what's actually bothering you. Because if it's a red cup, a dradle, a kinara or just a tree with something other than an angel at the top? That's a whole lot of anger and aggression aimed at all the wrong places and I'd prefer to have a merry Christmas. Not a hostile one.