No Fat White Man Is Going To Take Credit For My Hard Work
A few weeks ago, as I was walking through Hell Walmart, I saw the saddest looking Santa Claus ever. His costume was dirty, his fake beard was hanging on by a thread, and he was black. Now, I’m not saying he was sad because he was black, hell in this supposed post racial America, Santa can be any damn race he wants to be. There could be “Hola, Amigo Santa”, or “Konichiwa Santa”, it really doesn’t matter to me. But this Santa at Walmart looked like “I just took a hit from a crack pipe” Santa. This Santa didn’t have anyone requesting to have their photo taken with him. But, now that I think about it, the white people were looking at him oddly and didn’t know how to explain to Little Tommy why Santa was black.
I’ve never believed in Santa. No one gave me a chance to and I thank them. Growing up my mother and father made sure we knew they were the ones buying the gifts. There were even times when we were allowed to go shopping and pick our gifts out. Even after they divorced, there was never any mention of the word Santa in our house. Do I feel deprived? Not at all. I’m pretty sure if someone told me to go and sit on some fat white man’s knee when I was a kid, I would have gave them my best, “Whatchu talking ’bout, Willis?” look.
When my son was 4, I figured I’d test out his sensibilities and see if he had good reasoning skills and gave him the “Santa Claus” test. I asked him if he knew who Santa Claus was, and he said “the fat white man with beard”. I then asked if he knew what Santa Claus’ job was. He looked at me as if I was crazy for a few seconds. I could see the wheels turning in his head. “Why does a fake man need a job?” he asked.
Score one for me! Although my son was only 4, he knew better than to believe that a fat man, came down a chimney, with gifts. First of all, we didn’t have a chimney. Second of all, at the time we were living in Prince Georges County, you’d be hard pressed to find a fat white man feeling safe in Forestville. Ok, so these may not have been his exact thoughts, but close enough.
Do I see anything wrong with telling kids about Santa? Yes and no.
Fairy tales are cute. We’ve all read them as kids. But we knew they weren’t real.
Santa Claus, somewhat of a fairy tale or myth (however you choose to look at it), isn’t something I’d want my child to believe in. No fat white man is going to take credit for my hard work and gifts.
As my son is sitting in the living room playing on his new WiiU, and his cousin is upstairs playing on his as well. I’m feeling a little bit like “Oprah Claus”. You get a WiiU and you get a Wiiu! Santa Claus definitely isn’t coming to town in my household, but a mother who likes to see their child and nephew happy has.
Did your parents tell you about Santa Claus when you were a kid? If you’re a parent, does/did your child{ren} believe in Jolly Old Saint Nick?
