[OSM-newbies] Fwd: OSM

[James Ewen]

On Thu, Mar 11, 2010 at 8:31 PM, Steve Bennett <stevagewp at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 11:45 AM, James Ewen <ve6srv at gmail.com> wrote:
>> No matter what we end up doing, someone will find a reason to object.
>> It's a never ending battle to try and make something that is
>> everything to everyone.
>
> Maybe. But that's not a reason to continue using a blatantly Christian
> symbol and pissing off *every* other religion.

I'm going |o |ry and refrain from using |he le||er  |ha|  comes af|er
"s" so I don'| offend anyone...

You don't get it do you? No matter what you do, someone won't like
it... Yes, I understand that the cross is a Christian symbol. So you
remove the symbol, and just fill with green... then someone complains
because green symbolizes something special to them, and it's an
affront to their sensibilities, or it clashes with their eyes or
whatever.

So, let's say we choose a "generic" tombstone as the symbol... look
what I found with a quick search.

http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/284,1972149/What-is-the-origin-of-erecting-a-tombstone-over-a-grave.html
<quote>
The custom of placing a monument over the grave of a departed person
is an ancient Jewish tradition. The Book of Genesis records that Jacob
erected a tombstone over the grave of his wife Rachel.
<unquote>

So, now the tombstone symbol can be attributed as a Jewish symbol, an
affront to every other religion besides Judaism.

I am in no way trying to promote one religion over another, and I have
no affiliation with any religion myself. Nor do I intend to disrespect
anyone's religion, although just discussing the matter has surely
offended some. For that I apologize. All of these symbols are just
that to me, just ideograms or pictographs... that's probably my
problem, as I don't ascribe any special religious meaning to these
symbols. I know that some symbols are affiliated with specific
religions, but that's about it.

People in general tend to associate specific ideas and concepts to
symbols, and no matter how hard we try, someone somewhere will find a
way to object to whatever is done.

While we are making symbols generic, let's make sure that a bank
doesn't use a dollar sign in the icon... that doesn't represent all
the world currencies... it would be an affront to Pounds Sterling,
Yen, Dinars, the Euro, etc.

I doubt that the monetary symbol would elicit as passionate a
debate... religion is a very personal thing, and is probably one of
the most common reasons behind wars. (I would think money being a
close second)

Everyone has the right to believe in whatever they like, but everyone
also needs to remember to be tolerant of the fact that not everyone
believes what you believe.

I agree that the Christian cross is inappropriate to represent grave
sites of every religion. But it's going to be extremely difficult to
try and come up with a non-denominational non-confrontational way of
depicting the area on a map.

Would having just a plain fill colour be acceptable, and if a religion
is specified, and a symbol is available, fill with that? Would there
then be a problem because some religions get symbols of their faith
while other religions just get a generic fill?

This is a very complex issue, not easily solved. That's all I'm trying
to point out.

James
VE6SRV