Any chance of non-religious stamps ffs

brianthebard

This must be what happens when white people find out no one is oppressing them...

Zillah

jhegarty wrote: »

So you have a choice of Christmas stamps or normal stamps but you want non-religious Christmas stamps ?

This comment really clinched it for me. I'm going to be untypically tolerant here and say that its just some bloody stamps get over it. Yes, technically I don't like seeing the State show preference for any religion but it's just some stamps in the middle of their holiday.

And PDN is absolutely correct about the constitution. It is indeed filled with Theistic nonesense. I'm embarassed by our constitution to be quite honest.

Micky Dolenz

brianthebard wrote: »

This must be what happens when white people find out no one is oppressing them...

, that made me laugh. Do you mind if I use that one?:D

brianthebard

Micky Dolenz wrote: »

, that made me laugh. Do you mind if I use that one?:D

Just remember to reference my post correctly.

robindch

Zillah wrote: »

And PDN is absolutely correct about the constitution. It is indeed filled with Theistic nonesense. I'm embarassed by our constitution to be quite honest.

Likewise.

The 1922 Constitution was a liberal document, and seems to my eyes, a much better document than the than the unashamedly conservative and pro-catholic one of 1937, influenced as it was by the baleful hand of John Charles McQuaid.

The text of the 1922 Constitution is here, and it's worth comparing it against the American one, and our current one:

http://acts.oireachtas.ie/zza1y1922.1.html

Hivemind187

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

An Post is a Limited Liability Company that answers to the Minister for Finance. It has been tasked with providing a service to the State and and is expected to be run as an efficient, profitable business. The increased quantities of mail attributed to the Christmas rush is part and parcel (boom, boom!) of running a profitable business. Therefore, on a purely business level, I see no reason why An Post should forgo potential profit by not catering to public association of Christmas with Christ. Why maybe they should consider moving into other secular events and religious holidays. I won't be stopping them.

Apparently you feel quite strongly that the state is abusing it's power by protecting Christianity (we are talking about stamps, right?). I suggest you take your bitter protests to the streets.

An Post receives monetary support from the treasury. It is (for all intents and purposes) a monopoly (UPS, parcelforce etc are couriers and by no means the same thing). An post is only a limited company so that it can provide an income for itself - it is still a government operation in the same way that Telecom Eireann was and ESB still is.

Since the constitution was changed to remove the special position of the Catholic church in Ireland and that same constitution prevents the establishment of a state religion it is a secular state (i.e. the vested interests of religions should have no bearing on public policy). The state should not be stamping (ha!) it's stationary with any religious gobbledegook for any reason including, but not limited to; Mohammad, dradels, stars of david, swastikas, trees of life, green cresents, yellow stars, or blokes nailed to sticks.

Do I have a strong opinion of this? Yes, I certainly do and no ammount of dismissive hand waving from the god-squad is likely to change that. If it's being done in my name I want an actual say in the process.

Hivemind187

PDN wrote: »

Which secular state are you referring to? Surely not the Republic of Ireland whose Constitution begins with the following preamble:

You are ignoring the fact that the same constitution prevents the establishment of a state religion and that the speicial position of the dominant form of christianity was removed from that constitution.

But I'll grant you that it seems to have made no difference and that those in authority act as though they did live in theistic state.

PDN wrote: »

I agree that Ireland should be a secular state, but it is not. Maybe you should start by challenging the Constitution rather than complaining about stamps?

I have challenged this problem in the constitution a number of times, stamps are only a symptom of a greater disease infecting the state.

Galvasean

Saw a poster advertising the stamps. Guess whose holding the stamps in it?

A snowman!

:pac:

lostexpectation

this post has an official reply from an post about its crib display
http://www.atheist.ie/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1798&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=
in relation to this and the angelus and schools
they claim that they don't endow any particular relgion but all of them, we know this to be a lie as the overwhelmingly endow catholicsm.

have you ever seen a display for yom kipper and yule, saturnalia and soltisce in the gpo? no?

jhegarty

lostexpectation wrote: »

.
have you ever seen a dispaly for yom kipper and yule, saturnalia and soltisce in the gpo? no?

Try again when people start to post millions of cards for any of the above

Nevyn

Every year I try and get yule cards or just season's greeting cards, if I could get them I would send them.

condra

Down with images of baby zombie prophet! Down I say!

What we need are sexy solstice cards



I'm feeling very festive and giddy. I just put up our Christmas tree. When I put the angel up on top, I saw up her frock.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

lostexpectation

jhegarty wrote: »

Try again when people start to post millions of cards for any of the above

well i was talking about the display rather then the stamps or postcards.

Galvasean

The want to endow all religions eh?

*waits patiently for Star Wars stamps*

PDN

So where does it stop?

An Post issues 35 sets of special stamps each year. These include sets for Christmas and Valentine's Day (maybe single people should start protesting about that one!). Are we saying that it is OK to mark every popular event except those that have a religious connection?

What about music. Is it OK for RTE to play music from Handel's Messiah? Should a State-sponsored broadcaster be allowed to screen The Vicar of Dibley?

Rev Hellfire

PDN wrote: »

So where does it stop?

An Post issues 35 sets of special stamps each year. These include sets for Christmas and Valentine's Day (maybe single people should start protesting about that one!). Are we saying that it is OK to mark every popular event except those that have a religious connection?

What about music. Is it OK for RTE to play music from Handel's Messiah? Should a State-sponsored broadcaster be allowed to screen The Vicar of Dibley?

Since atheists and fringe 'religions' remain a significant minority compared to the main stream theist population (and I'm including those who simply don't care in that camp for convenience) subject of a religious nature seem unlikely to go away any time soon.

Your vicar of Dibley is quite safe for the time been, though I would still like to see it banned for crimes against humour.

Goduznt Xzst

OP when does a religious symbol become a cultural symbol? There is plenty of pagan religious imagery in our society that I'm sure you'd never consider protesting against, so why have a problem with Christian imagery?

How far back do you imagine we should go to uproot religion from our cultural past?

Zamboni

Goduznt Xzst wrote: »

OP when does a religious symbol become a cultural symbol? There is plenty of pagan religious imagery in our society that I'm sure you'd never consider protesting against, so why have a problem with Christian imagery?

How far back do you imagine we should go to uproot religion from our cultural past?

Don't over confuse the issue. The point is that the Post Office does not need to produce religious pictures to issue a stamp.

I like snowmen :pac:

Goduznt Xzst

Zamboni wrote: »

Don't over confuse the issue. The point is that the Post Office does not need to produce religious pictures to issue a stamp.

I like snowmen :pac:

I'm curious would you have started this thread if they'd released a stamp with Celtic Knots on it?

ChocolateSauce

Look on the bright side, since they're paid for by the person who buys them it means the state isn't directing our tax money to religious icons.

The Mad Hatter

womoma wrote: »

Down with images of baby zombie prophet! Down I say!

What we need are sexy solstice cards



I'm feeling very festive and giddy. I just put up our Christmas tree. When I put the angel up on top, I saw up her frock.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS!

Gorgeous pic - is that available as a card?

midlandsmissus

Zamboni wrote: »

Don't over confuse the issue. The point is that the Post Office does not need to produce religious pictures to issue a stamp.

I like snowmen :pac:

Christmas is a christian celebration. So seeing as you don't want Christmas stamps, I take it you refuse to celebrate Christmas altogether, on the base of your atheist beliefs.

Or is it just the stamps you have an issue with?

achtungbarry

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

Really, you can only but laugh away the intolerance. Very amusing

Although I do find that the OP has over reacted here I would like to know purely out of interest how would you or any other Christian feel if the only stamps available to buy promoted atheism ?

Would you feel annoyed and would you buy them ?

midlandsmissus

achtungbarry wrote: »

Although I do find that the OP has over reacted here I would like to know purely out of interest how would you or any other Christian feel if the only stamps available to buy promoted atheism ?

Would you feel annoyed and would you buy them ?

Hi achtungbarry,

Good question. I mean if i saw a stamp saying 'God doesn't exist' I'd hardly buy them. So I concede that OP has a point, but I don't think it is as offensive the othre way round. It certainly wouldnt have bothered me what stamps I got, back when I didnt believe in God

jhegarty

PDN wrote: »

Should a State-sponsored broadcaster be allowed to screen The Vicar of Dibley?

Well no, but thats for a whole different reason

Zamboni wrote: »

Don't over confuse the issue. The point is that the Post Office does not need to produce religious pictures to issue a stamp.

The post office doesn't need to put pictures on any stamp. But they do.

midlandsmissus wrote: »

Hi achtungbarry,

Good question. I mean if i saw a stamp saying 'God doesn't exist' I'd hardly buy them. So I concede that OP has a point, but I don't think it is as offensive the othre way round. It certainly wouldnt have bothered me what stamps I got, back when I didnt believe in God

Would you be offended by a stamp for Buddha, Mohamed (with all the fun that would bring) or womoma's solstice card. I would be happy to see any of them for sale , as I think would most Christians.

I would be very surprised if there was a thread in the Christian forum because the post office issued one of them.

condra

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

Gorgeous pic - is that available as a card?

I don't know. I just found the pic on google. I agree it would make a lovely card.

Christmas is a christian celebration. So seeing as you don't want Christmas stamps, I take it you refuse to celebrate Christmas altogether, on the base of your atheist beliefs.

I see this is being dealth with elsewhere:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055431315

Galvasean

Zamboni wrote: »

Don't over confuse the issue. The point is that the Post Office does not need to produce religious pictures to issue a stamp.

I like snowmen :pac:

*Searches desperately for a connection between religion and snowmen to spite you*

The Mad Hatter

Galvasean wrote: »

*Searches desperately for a connection between religion and snowmen to spite you*

Off-topic, sorry.

A friend of mine who grew up in Tokyo told me about a Japanese Christmas decoration she saw when she was a kid - it was Santa Claus on a crucifix.

condra

http://www.bad-news-day.com/santa-claus-crucified-in-christmas-protest

“Santa has been perverted from who he started out to be,” Mr Conrad told AP. “Now he’s the person being used by corporations to get us to buy more stuff.”

... idiot. :pac:

Red Hand

This reminds me of Jonathon Philman Bowman, and an interview on the Late Late Show when he was around 18. He was offended at people using terms like, "Oh my God!" or "For God's sake!":D