For those who have tired of all the negativity in social media and tuned out for the past week or two, you may have missed this story appearing in some headlines.
There was a black Santa Claus at Mall of America, and it caused some controversy (of course it did). While many people came out to defend the black Santa Clause, Larry Jefferson Gamble, there were still trolls attacking him and the idea of an African American Santa Claus because he did not fit their version of Santa Claus.
For those that have read my articles before, I try to stay as in the middle as possible, vouching for people to understand different opinions and where they are coming from; however, this is not one of those times. I know many people try deny the existence of racism in America because they aren’t racist and because nobody they know is extremely racist. Well, if 2016 has done one thing, it has opened a lot of people’s eyes because getting angry over Santa Claus being black is straight up racist.
I grew up knowing the mall Santa’s weren’t actually Santa, more so in the mindset that they were Santa’s workers. I also grew up thinking that Santa was for everyone, my family never associated it with my religion as much as others did, so I assumed that Santa could be however you wanted to see him. However, I understand that while I may have thought that way a lot of people grew up thinking Santa was white, however, Santa is suppose to represent love and giving. Don’t start imposing your racial beliefs on Santa.
I’m not shocked anymore that people are upset over this (after this past year), I think I’m just disappointed. I was really hoping that the holidays would come around and bring people together. That maybe the “holiday cheer” could bring people back to the feelings of love for each other, and we could put down the angry tweets and demeaning hashtags for just a couple of weeks. It seems like fighting against intolerance doesn’t get a holiday, even for Christmas.
So please, do the right thing and try to bring others cheer this month and hopefully all year. No matter a person’s culture, religion, gender, or preferred partner, spread love and warmth this holiday season. Don’t let all this hatred that has gotten so rampant in our media the past consume you.
Don’t be rude to any color Santa. They are just here to bring Christmas cheer to everyone.