Patrick Shyu sparks debate after calling out 'Merry Christmas' as 'highly offensive'

Iris Jung
Updated ·3 min read
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[Source]

Twitter users mocked former Google and Meta tech lead Patrick Shyu after he tweeted that he finds the phrase “Merry Christmas” to be “highly offensive.”

YouTuber Patrick Shyu, also known by his online moniker TechLead, tweeted his controversial opinion on Christmas day.

“I find ‘Merry Christmas’ highly offensive,” the YouTuber wrote. “The holidays cause stress, depression, and mental health issues for 25-40% of people. It’s like a ‘merriness contest’ on social media to force happiness, and a Western subversion of every other culture.”

He concluded his tweet by asking, “What’s a non-offensive greeting?”

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However, Shyu made sure to clarify his “supremely happy Christmas” in a follow-up tweet.

“To be clear, I'm having a supremely happy Christmas,” the influencer wrote. “Probably 100x better than yours and would cause mass-depression & carnage if I were to share such unimaginable joy on social media and then say, ‘oh, happy holidays to u too, lol.’ I'm trying to save your life by refraining.”

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Shyu’s tweets quickly sparked outrage and criticism among users.

“I find ‘Merry Christmas highly offensive as a millionaire. I fixed it for you,” a Twitter user commented.

“You know what else most people find highly offensive? People who run around looking for ridiculous things to be offended by,” another user tweeted.

One Twitter user critiqued Shyu’s attitude toward the common phrase:

“‘Merry Christmas’ is not offensive in and of itself,” the user wrote. “You choose to find it offensive and no one can control what you find offensive.”

Others responded to the tweet with a simple: “Merry Christmas.”