Okay, think about this.
You've got a kid that's a complete and total social reject because of physical deformity with which he was born - nothing he can help (Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose; and if you ever saw it, you would even say it glows). The other kids exclude him, make fun of him, and mock him (All of the other reindeer, used to laugh and call him names; they never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games)... that is, until the "poor" reject kid gets thrown into a situation in which, due to the nature of his disability, he's the only person able to perform a certain task (Then one foggy Christmas eve, Santa came to say; Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?). All of the sudden, the disabled kid's the 'man of the hour' - and due to his new-found fame, finds himself with all the other kids clinging to his coat-tails (Then all the reindeer loved him, and they shouted out with glee; Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, you'll go down in history).
WHAT? Seriously? This is socially acceptable folklore? We've banned Tom Sawyer and closer to the topic at hand taken ALL of the "references to religion" out of a CHRISTIAN HOLIDAY but as a society have the balls to encourage our children to buy into the notion that unless they're inherently USEFUL, it's perfectly acceptable to make a mockery of the disabled members of society? I don't see anything in there about the other reindeer APOLOGIZING to Rudolph, do you?
Then again, I'm the same person that's wildly uncomfortable with the idea of teaching children that there's a fat guy in a red suit that comes down the chimney (have you ever tried to shimmy down a modern chimney, by the by?) and leaves various rewards for good behavior. Bribery at its most disgusting. What of the children who get nothing, through no fault of their own? For years, Tim made up on the spot lists of things that he "got for Christmas" when he returned to elementary school after the holidays to be socially accepted, when the fact was, he got nothing because his parents couldn't afford to provide gifts. HE knew - he knew he wasn't "bad", he knew "Santa Claus" didn't "forget" about him... he simply recognized that it took money to buy gifts, and that money was better used for things like food and fuel to heat the house and their water, and that those kids whose parents had extra money for gifts had the luxury of believing in "Santa Claus". Instead, he had the increasingly unique privilege of focusing at an early age on the miracle that the church says we should be celebrating this time of year instead of worshipping at the altar of "ho-ho-ho" capitalism.
I know, I know. I'm cranky.

If you [Log In] as a member you can discuss this work with others