Happy Thanksgiving! with some thoughts on another holiday…

happy Thanksgiving everyone! i hope you all have enjoyed your holiday, and rested up for tomorrow’s big day of shopping (if you’re into that sort of thing), working (if you’re unlucky enough to have to work Black Friday – i empathise), or just recovering from your overindulgence today (many of you, i bet).

that said, i’d like to consider an upcoming holiday: Christmas.

or at least one of the popular icons of that holiday.

some of you may have noticed news reports lately stating that the Charleston NAACP is calling for more black Santa Clauses. again, i wonder what the proper plural of “Santa Claus” is.

Dot Scott, the president of the Charleston branch of the NAACP, has stated, “I believe that kids need to understand that good things come in Black too.” i have to agree. but i can think of a lot of “good things” that come in Black. Martin Luther King Jr. Muhammad Ali. Rosa Parks. Booker T. Washington. W.E.B. Du Bois. Hank Aaron. George Washington Carver. Maya Angelou. Malcolm X. i could keep going, but i think the point i’m trying to make is obvious: there are a many better Black role models than Santa Claus for children – of any colour.

Santa’s not a role model; it’s not like a child can aspire to move to the North Pole and head a pro bono toy production and distribution system run by elves. that job’s kind of taken. and if you want to say he is a role model, one that espouses good works and charity, who cares what colour his skin is?

historical accuracy comes into it as well. Santa is Dutch, folks. well, sort of. he’s actually a New Yorker – at least that’s who named him. now that may be a valid arguement for some diversity in his portrayal – but i need to see some Hispanic, Asian and Mediterranean Santas, too.

speaking of Mediterranean – Saint Nicholas, whom most agree was the primary inspiration for Sinterklaas, was Greek. or at least a Hellene from Lycean Asia Minor. so maybe Santa should only be portrayed by those of Greek descent.

which brings me to why i think there should be a racially diverse portrayal of Santa Claus; because it’s illegal (and morally wrong) to deny someone a job because of race, creed, colour or national origin.

those who portray Santa Claus during the holidays are, for the most part, paid to do so. had the NAACP called for more diversity on these grounds, i’d have been 100% behind them and cheering them on. as it is, i think the arguement advanced by the local president is badly flawed – and more offensive to me than legions of jolly fat white men in red suits.

quote of the (upcoming) season:

“Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!” – Francis P. Church, September, 1897