Brexit= the Revenge of Ireland. Since the 12th Century the English have imposed their mostly unwelcome rule on some or all of Ireland. But now, the British want to “free” themselves from the rest of Europe—and the only way they can do that without a return to Troubles in Ireland is to ABANDON their last “plantation” in Northern Ireland and withdraw, after 9 centuries, to their own little island—end of Empire, full stop. Delicious irony. Northern Ireland, meanwhile, has to face the truth: these days, they would really be better off being Irish than British. (None of this is likely to happen tomorrow—but it will happen, IMO.) Sic semper tyrannis.
Ho hum. Same old debate: is it OK to say “Merry Christmas”? Of course it is—OR “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Yule,” or whatever. Basically, it’s the INTENDED message that matters. If your greeting is a benign expression of seasonal goodwill, it will almost certainly be accepted as such, even by non-celebrators (rather like “Have a nice day”). But if your tone and manner convey an intent to proselytize or scold—saying, in effect, “The Winter Solstice holiday belongs to ME and to MY religion and screw you if you don’t like it”—there’s a good chance that any non-celebrator you are “greeting” will consider you a belligerent asshole. So, what do you MEAN?
