Reply #174: Not that I'm defending the teacher's actions but....why lie?

[Poll_Blind]

Jesus Christ, does anyone here remember how they felt when they heard there was no Santa Claus? It felt like shit. I never understood why my parents had to deceive me. The worst part was, we grew up very very poor and I used to think that Santa didn't like me because the presents he would deliver to me were meager compared to some of the more affluent children. I grew up just south of New Orleans and even there the racism wasn't as bad as the classism. Those who were wealthy ruled those who were poor and you got a face full of it every day, even as a child. One Christmas, the toys that my parents were saving for my brothers and sisters and I were stolen about a week or two before. I, the youngest, learned that Santa wasn't going to be able to bring me the Hot Wheels Racer set that my parents had assured me Santa had for me because, frankly, there was no Santa- it had been my parents scrimping and saving all along to buy me what I wanted. They had no money to replace it. There was no deus ex machina to save the day.

Well, I'm kind of glad that happened. I assumed the toys came from Heaven or something so why the hell think small when it comes to Christmas toys, eh? That's where the bullshit comes in. The American version of Santa Claus has very little to do with good will- it's not his fault. Father Christmas has been raped like every other positive icon that exists in our culture so as to promote consumerism.

Think about this- a child asks for a toy for Christmas that the parents cannot afford. If the parents do NOT get they toy for their child the child feels that they have been bad because as everyone knows, Santa gives gifts based on the goodness of your heart. What a way to fuck up a poor child's inner worth. As I said, I am now quite grateful for that theft- it made me understand just how much my parents had to put on the line to support a family of five children.

I will love the look in my son's eyes when he sees the gifts that Santa has brought him for being a good boy. However, every Christmas I think of the poor kids who are growing up in this country who are going to have to wonder what the hell they did wrong to get such a meager gift from Santa.

I also believe that Santa is a great way to indoctrinate children into the mechanics of a faith-based religion, but that's a whole 'nother message.

PB