Happy Holidays?

Ok, since when has "Christmas" become a bad word? It seems only in the last 2 or 3 years that everybody in this country has suddenly become paranoid, politically-correct self-loathing clods. When I was growing up the greeting "Merry Christmas" carried the joy of the season and was exchanged with warmth and a smile ... but just last year as I was leaving my dentist's office and said "Merry Christmas" to the receptionist, she looked at me like I may as well have said "Go F*** Yourself", and then corrected me with "Happy Holidays".

Now schools across the country are changing words of classic Christmas songs like Silver Bells: "Soon it will be a festive day", companies now have "Winter Celebrations" instead of Christmas parties, and some public buildings no longer display Christmas trees (which is actually a Pagan tradition by origin and has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus). What IS this?? Have we all gone completely insane? All this in the name of not offending any particular cultural group that make up the diverse fabric of Canadian society. So then why is it that the vast majority of people who are going around spouting their "Happy Holidays" and being offended on behalf of religious minorities at the mere mention of Christmas happen to be White Anglo-Saxon Protestants?? CHRISTIANS!

My Jewish friends always wish me a Merry Christmas, and they really mean it; even if they wished me a Happy Chanukah, I would say it right back with the same chutzpah! Why? Because regardless of creed, or even culture, there's a common understanding that holidays are about spending time with and appreciating our loved ones, sharing wonderful food, pondering who we are and why we're here, and being thankful for all the good things we have in life. Almost any other human being on earth understands the significance of this, so why are we hiding from it under the cloak of something generic that has absolutely no meaning at all? Instead of changing the words to a Christmas song and cheapening something that has substance and history, why not learn it as it is, and also learn an actual song from another culture and teach the kids that one too? That way we all share and learn about each other for real instead of just painting over everybody with the same big bland "happy holidays" brush.

Wallowing in our inferiority complex and putting on the "happy holidays" mask only plunges us further into ignorance and denial. "Hee hee, you're human, I'm human, we're all the same." NO, we're not all the same. We are all equal in the sense that we all have a right to security of person, comfort, love, and as I mentioned above, all peoples of the world share many common threads when it comes to rites, traditions, food, etc. but we're not all the same. That's what makes the world, and this country whose inhabitants represent the world, an interesting place. Why deny ourselves that? It's a wonderful thing to have such a wealth of cultural diversity around us. Go to a service at a Hindu temple; get invited to a Ramadan feast. BECAUSE YOU CAN! I spent Tet in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with the family of a good friend of mine, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. If anyone ever wishes me a Happy Tet, I will rejoice in that. I'm not saying give up your culture to accommodate everybody else (though that's exactly what seems to be going on here), I'm saying learn about and enjoy the other people around you in addition to expressing your own culture and beliefs. We're all living here together, so why not make the best of it and celebrate our differences instead of constantly hiding and apologizing to one another.

So let's pull our heads out of our collective arse and have a Merry Freakin' Christmas, shall we?

CopyWRONG

It is believed that the Canadian Industry Minister Jim Prentice will be tabling a new proposed legislation any minute now in the House of Commons; this law is being dubbed the Canadian version of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, yet it will be even more restrictive than its US counterpart. (Of course, the only reason I know about this is because of internet blogs and NOT the national news, where it should be, but that's another rant for another day). Under this new proposal, which caters to foreign industry/lobby groups and ignores the needs of Canadian citizens to whom these clowns are responsible, the following activities will be punishable by law:

-ripping a CD you bought with your own money to your computer so you can play it on your MP3 player or your cell phone. What? It works on one but not the other? Looks like you'll have to buy another version of it for every device you want to play it on.

-trying to get around the copy protection encoded into your legally-purchased sound or video file so that you can use it with new applications/devices because the original ones are no longer supported by the companies who manufactured them when you bought it (if they still exist). You'll just have to buy it again ...

(feeling violated yet?)

-In addition to messing with the files themselves, tinkering with consumer goods (that you bought with your own money) with Digital Rights Management locks on them is also an offence. That's right electronics geeks & computer science students -- better not let your curiosity get the better of you; you don't really need to know how that thingy works anyway, do you?

-recording a TV show so you can watch it later (geez!! Look out TiVo users, next thing you know you'll be shacked up in the slammer with axe murderers and pot-smoking hippies)

-removing bloated, convoluted and fundamentally broken Windows Vista from your PC in favour of running a sane operating system that will actually work for more than 3 seconds without crashing.

The big record industry giants have been whining and bitching for years now that their profits are declining because of illegal downloading, and tout their aggressive anti-user lobbying under the guise of "oh the artists, the artists, they're suffering, we have to protect the artist". Most signed artists see a fraction of a dollar for every CD sold after and only after the label has paid off its overhead, including the secretary's salary. Looks like if they get what they want, a select few of us might stand to make TENS of DOLLARS if we get signed to a big label. Woo hoo!!!!

To quote the great Janis Ian: "In 37 years as a recording artist, I've created 25+ albums for major labels, and I've never once received a royalty check that didn't show I owed them money". She has a whole slew of insightful commentary on this subject. Check her out here:

http://www.janisian.com/article-internet_debacle.html

Sooooo, if this legislation is supposed to protect artists, as the big players in the recording industry so insist, why are hugely successful artists like the Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan so vehemently against it, and why is Radiohead selling their new album directly to their fans with no DRM, for whatever the public feels like paying for it? These are commercially successful recording artists who make a lot of money, not struggling penniless beatniks (though their concerns are just as valid). Something doesn't quite add up here ...

This doesn't just affect recording artists and music fans - it also affects software programmers, radio and TV producers, photographers, educators, students, archivists, writers, composers, publishers, web designers, independent filmmakers, DJs, and every Canadian consumer who owns an iPod, cell phone or DVD player.

The lead-up and content of this proposed law is so incredibly complex and there is so much more to be discussed ... what I've presented here is just the tip of the iceberg.

If you're Canadian and you care about your rights as a consumer or identify yourself with any of the above professions, (or any others I haven't listed here that are affected by laws aimed at the use of digital technology for the dissemination of work), check out Michael Geist's blog:

http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/2431/125/

He's a lot smarter than me and knows way more about this than I do, being a copyright law professor and all. If you're on Facebook, join his group, "Fair Copyright for Canada".

On the other hand, if you don't care, well ok, just go about your life in the new digital age (pretty hard to avoid unless you're Amish), and don't complain to me about your lawsuit-and-fine-induced bankruptcy.