Megyn Kelly of Fox News told viewers last night that Santa Claus is white, as was Jesus. This was in response to a Slate piece recommending that we replace our traditional Santa Claus with a Santa that transcends race -- a penguin, actually -- as a more appropriate mythical figure for a multi-ethnic world.
I just want to point out that while the author of the Slate essay, Aisha Harris, is African-American, non-whites don't have a monopoly on the wish to see a Santa that looks more like themselves. This rather pricey item, for instance, is sold out as I type:
Precious Moments sells Italian and Polish and German and Norwegian and Russian Santas. And I'm sure I've just scratched the surface.
My people like to express ethnic pride at this time of year in song -- here's a timeless classic forom one of my paesans:
And here's a newer one:
And, of course, Real Americans do this as well:
One more:
So let's be a little more understanding, OK, Megyn?
Clearly she is a lawyer not a historian, anthropologist, ethnologist nor objective she's there to win a point with a jury of well ignorant scared whiteys....I would have loved to have been there to offer her some facts for context.
ReplyDeleteHistorically she is sort of correct.
But by her reasoning and in the same way so was the Mohamed! i.e. the earliest incarnation of the character was from what is now Lebanon and unlikely to be even Christian.
As a local potentate he was more probably from Arabic or Persian
(Iran) decent. He may have even been Brown.
"Santa Claus" today is an amalgam of several Kris Kringle, St Nicholas, Winceslas etc (mostly fictional or exaggerated) characters from folk law. There are as many versions as there are countries that claim the concept. Clear historical fact shows that Jesus wasn't born on on the 25th December. The time was chosen so that the peasants could still have their pagan winter Solstice celebrations a time of scarcity of fresh food. Culturally the traditionally gift giving was generally food because of the season al scarcity of fresh food. At a time of sharing/bonding to ensure communal bonding... survival. Most European peasant diet of the time was vegetarian based meat was a luxury.
There are even similar cultural practices and conceptual characters in Some non Christian African legend, but at a different time.(southern hemisphere) in the seasonal time of little.
The Yuletide log, plumb pudding, turkeys, presents etc was in reality elitist, rich people's imagery
even today.
In the west Santa Claus is a marketing icon for excess spending and over indulgence.
So Christian Whitey lawyer, what exactly do you want to claim? And WTF is your point?
I've read a couple of the Megyn Kelly stories, and I find it really disturbing how invested some commenters are in the idea that Jesus was white. Their arguments fall along two lines:
ReplyDelete1) I know someone from the Middle East who is blonde/fair-skinned/blue-eyed; therefore, there's a good chance Jesus was too.
2) Even if Jesus was a swarthy, hairy Palestinian Jew, he was still Caucasian, and that makes him white.
As to 2), I wanted to suggest that they speak to a few dark-skinned, dark-haired Palestinians and ask them how white they feel when they go through airport security.
And Saint Nicholas was of Greek heritage and born in what is now Turkey. I'm not sure he'd pass the paper bag test either.
Hey, you forgot the Hawaiian version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" (YouTube link).
ReplyDeleteMegyn is on FOX.
ReplyDeleteSo what else was she supposed to say, except that Santa's an old white guy and Jesus was a young white guy?
FOX, whose audience is already in the process of dying off, would have something like a ratings Cretaceous "mass extinction" if she said otherwise.
How is any of that relevant to the original point?
ReplyDeleteBah, he spat, humbug! Fairy tales.
ReplyDeleteParis Hilton's panties.
Did anyone notice that yesterday the Obama Administration, the Democrat led Senate and the House of "Representatives" agreed to leave me starve in a snowbank somewhere?
No fear.
Wait'll Megyn finds out reindeer can't really fly.
ReplyDelete