Posted on 12/04/2007 7:01:00 PM PST by Rb ver. 2.0
Research Study: Santa Claus story is detrimental to child development
BERKELEY, Ca—The story of jolly Santa with his “Ho-Ho-Ho”, Elf workers, North Pole toy factory, and admonition that “you’d better be good”, is no longer an innocent children’s tale. Instead, it is a sinister story of sexual innuendo, labor exploitation and a blatant ignorance of global warming, so says a team of sociologists at the University of California at Berkeley.
The Berkeley team recently submitted it’s findings in a report at the National Children’s Sociology Symposium after two years of painstaking research evaluating hundreds of Santa and Winter Holiday related storybooks, movies and videos.
“There are multiple issues of the Santa story tradition that we believe are detrimental to correct and normal child development” said Ms. Hillary Huma-Humpur, Phd. a professor of sociology.
“The Don Imus-Rutgers incident exposed the slang term ‘Ho’ to the general public as a slur for ‘whore’. Santa’s dialogue in any conversation begins or ends in ‘Ho, Ho Ho!’ and the probability of a child having been exposed to the Imus story is greater than not. Santa’s favorite euphemism could be construed to have an alternate meaning which could confuse a child”, Dr. Huma-Humpur said. “There might be a question in a child’s mind that Santa is spending time with a bunch of prostitutes”, she added.
And what about the Elves working all year in Santa’s workshop building toys and harvesting candy canes?
“It’s worker exploitation pure and simple. Many of the children’s Winter Holiday books we read or videos we watched showed the Elves working around the clock without the benefit of a break time or meal time”, said Dr. Huma-Humpur.
One of the favorite children’s classics, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, “shows unsafe working conditions with dangerous tools left carelessly laying around the shop, workers standing on each other’s shoulders and using unstable ladders to hang stars on trees. Generally, there is a complete lack of worker safety being exhibited. Were it real, OSHA would shut it down in a heartbeat. Children need to understand that workers have the right to a safe work environment and to join a union”, She said.
Dr. Huma-Humpur continued, “Children mimic what they read and what they see. A little Elf with a 5lb hammer banging on wooden pegs might seem innocent in the context of the North Pole Toy Factory but if a child found a real hammer and began beating on things it could result in injury to themself or other children”.
The report cites two more issues which is says “are critical to correct and normal child development”.
Cynthia Hollingsworth Smelford-Britlington, a graduate researcher on the project studied the self-esteem issue. “ Most Santa stories tell that only good children get toys the morning of December 25th while bad children get a lump of coal. “What happens to the child when it knows that it’s been bad? The angst and worry about not being rewarded like all the other children on Winter Holiday morning is detrimental to a positive and healthy self- esteem”, she said.
And the lump of coal? “That is by far the most insidious facet of the Santa story given our present Global Warming climate crisis”, Ms. Hollingsworth Smelford-Britlington said.
“Coal is the number one contributor to global warming pollution and is constantly reported in the news in a negative way. To tell a child that they may be given something that is killing polar bears and penguins is grossly irresponsible. And, furthermore, children are being taught in school that the polar ice is melting. How does a child reconcile the hope and dreams of presents from the North Pole toy factory with the reality that the North Pole is melting?”, she added.
Frosty the Snow Man, another other holiday book that was evaluated was actually given praise in the report as it contains a message about the seriousness of Global Warming.
“Frosty melts towards the end of the movie and the climate is shown as the cause. This is reinforcement of the climate change science that is taught in today’s schools, which is commendable.”, said Ms. Hollingsworth Smelford-Britlington.
The report runs 610 pages and was funded by a Federal university grant for child development issues.
And the whole “He knows when you’ve been sleeping, he knows when you’re awake...” theme is just preparing children to be subservient to domestic spying by the CIA and NSA. Santa contracts the sleigh to the National Reconnaissance Office for the other 364 days a year.
Thank you for your kindness!
“Santa contracts the sleigh to the National Reconnaissance Office for the other 364 days a year.”
So that’s how George Bush 41 got over to Paris to meet with the Iranians!
Particularly like the names.
What they ought to do is move those departments to whatever passes for the Oakland Community College.
Let them prove their theories and methods by turning Oakland in to a world class civilized city, and then consider letting the departments back on campus.
Dude, give up on the satirically challenged conservatives!
Never!
More total bullsh*t from our useless universities.
Read the post right after yours and cry!
LOL! That’s the fun of it, though.
Oh good Lord, it did not.
Anything to go after ANY aspect of Christmas. They won't be satisfied until every last vestige of it is destroyed.
What a bunch of nonsense!
The sad thing is, it’s too close to reality. The world is in pretty bad shape when you can’t tell reality from satire anymore.
Very funny ... thank you. Sad thing is that this is not far from the real stuff we read in the ‘news’ everyday. You may very well have given the idiots some ideas they hadn’t thought of yet. Sigh.
A-; too close to truth for good satire, my teeth never got caught on your tongue.
To tell a child that they may be given something that is killing polar bears and penguins is grossly irresponsible.
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unless they are polar bears named after Mohammad. then you can torture and kill them.
When I was 6, my sister came home from school and announced, “There’s no such thing as Santa Claus!” It was a horrifying moment for me. Santa at that point in my life was the only “higher power” I had ever heard of, and I truly loved him and trusted him. It was a terrible heartbreaking loss.
Ten years later, at 16, I departed from my agnostic family’s non-faith and prayed to accept Jesus into my heart. I continue to trust and love Him to this day.
If my kids don’t “believe” they don’t get a Santa present.
I’m down to only the 4 year old. I thought the 9 year old would at least pretend. :(
I usually fall for these things, but I caught on at the ho, ho, ho part. I guess I still have SOME hope for sanity in this country. :)
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