Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Dec 23, 1996

Posted to HotWired 24 Dec 96

Well, I'm not Christian so the religion doesn't mean much to me. Nor am I consumerist, so the frenzied shopping and selling don't appeal.

Christmas to me is a time when people really try to impose their values on me. As though they have values worth defending.

Like Christmas charities. The same people who call me 'scrooge' when I don't add to the Christmas fund are nowhere to be found eleven months of the year when people really need help.

Getting into the "christmas spirit" generally means forking over a lot of money to buy people you don't like gifts they don't need. I see the holiday mainly as an attempt to encourage irresponsible consumption.



Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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