Fox News: Santa is white

[Creighton Duke]

As per usual, your responses are grounded in focusing on a VERY select minority who "justify" your sentiments as being the cannon law. A "number of readers via Facebook and Twitter" personal accounts do not supersede the universally widespread historic depiction of the legend.

 

 

I guess I don't see why the historically oppressive majority gets the right to decide what is inherently true about something that doesn't actually exist, especially when the white identity of Santa Claus started as a minor conglomeration of dozens of other major traditions and myths.

 

 

I don't either. Why don't you ask everyone in the world?

[Creighton Duke]

It is more than a little disturbing how strongly some people are clinging to this notion that Santa is and must be white.

Ohh, I am by no ways clinging. I couldn't care less. I'm just saying that the historical depictions of Santa are as a white man and people who point this sentiment out should not be branded as a racist by this observation.

 

Your posts in this thread would indicate otherwise.

They don;t at all, actually. You're reading into this as something more than it is because you REALLY want to. It's pretty tacky, actually.

[Junior]

It is more than a little disturbing how strongly some people are clinging to this notion that Santa is and must be white.

Ohh, I am by no ways clinging. I couldn't care less. I'm just saying that the historical depictions of Santa are as a white man and people who point this sentiment out should not be branded as a racist by this observation.

 

Your posts in this thread would indicate otherwise.

They don;t at all, actually. You're reading into this as something more than it is because you REALLY want to. It's pretty tacky, actually.

 

I don't know about REALLY wanting to, but it is possible I'm reading too much into your posts. But you must admit that you seem pretty invested in the notion that Santa is white. You've been spending a lot of time making the point that Santa is "universally" white, against all logic. As Landlord mentioned, you simply cannot ascribe facts to something that doesn't exist.

[Creighton Duke]

It is more than a little disturbing how strongly some people are clinging to this notion that Santa is and must be white.

Ohh, I am by no ways clinging. I couldn't care less. I'm just saying that the historical depictions of Santa are as a white man and people who point this sentiment out should not be branded as a racist by this observation.

 

Your posts in this thread would indicate otherwise.

They don;t at all, actually. You're reading into this as something more than it is because you REALLY want to. It's pretty tacky, actually.

 

I don't know about REALLY wanting to, but it is possible I'm reading too much into your posts. But you must admit that you seem pretty invested in the notion that Santa is white. You've been spending a lot of time making the point that Santa is "universally" white, against all logic. As Landlord mentioned, you simply cannot ascribe facts to something that doesn't exist.

I didn't say that Santa IS white. I have been saying that historical accounts universally portray the character as being white.

 

I've spent about 10 minutes researching proof that Santa has been historically viewed as being white. I would do the same for showing how Jesus has almost universally always been portrayed as being white (born and lived in the Middle East so most likely not) or that Christmas/Jesus' birthday is universally portrayed as being in the winter (more than likely positioned at this time to counter the pagan, winter solstice celebrations, most likely actually in early spring).

 

What I don't understand is the backlash against what the "historically oppressive majority" has adopted and clung to for years.

[Landlord]

I didn't say that Santa IS white. I have been saying that historical accounts universally portray the character as being white.

 

 

In the historical context, Santa IS white the same way that Clifford the Big Red Dog is red.

[Landlord]

What I don't understand is the backlash against what the "historically oppressive majority" has adopted and clung to for years.

 

 

The backlash is against the lack of recognition and acknowledgement that minorities have adopted and clung to different things.

 

No backlash against white Santa from me personally. I'm cool with him. What I take issue with is saying Santa, who is different than Clifford in that he is not an intellectual property portrayed the same way by one person or party, IS anything.

 

It's like comic book characters. It would be erroneous of me to say that Wolverine IS a man in a yellow and blue suit with metal claws. Because even if that is or was the most common depiction of him, other depictions exist.

[Creighton Duke]

I didn't say that Santa IS white. I have been saying that historical accounts universally portray the character as being white.

 

 

In the historical context, Santa IS white the same way that Clifford the Big Red Dog is red.

People throw this phrase around on the board A LOT, but I never have....until now. You have a problem with reading comprehension. By prefacing with "In the historical context" I am referencing something, not giving my opinion on the matter, but, if you want to pat yourself on the back for scoring on a technicality (which I know you have already done), be my guest.

[Landlord]

I didn't say that Santa IS white. I have been saying that historical accounts universally portray the character as being white.

 

 

In the historical context, Santa IS white the same way that Clifford the Big Red Dog is red.

People throw this phrase around on the board A LOT, but I never have....until now. You have a problem with reading comprehension. By prefacing with "In the historical context" I am referencing something, not giving my opinion on the matter, but, if you want to pat yourself on the back for scoring on a technicality (which I know you have already done), be my guest.

 

 

I actually just thought it was funny. I understand and comprehend the context fine and don't think I "gotcha" or anything, but your point is still flawed (see post above).

[Junior]

I didn't say that Santa IS white. I have been saying that historical accounts universally portray the character as being white.

 

 

In the historical context, Santa IS white the same way that Clifford the Big Red Dog is red.

 

Heh. Well played.

[StPaulHusker]

So I did a Wikipedia search into Santa. Here is what I found if you feel like reading it. I will give you a few cliffs notes that may have already been discussed earlier.

 

The historical background is of Dutch, Germanic Europe, and British. There are some parts of the actual St Nicholas from modern day Turkey added as well.

 

The most interesting part, in my opinion, was the part that said the depiction we all know as a fat, white, bearded man was from the imagination of the author Clement Clarke Moore. He got the idea from a Dutch handyman mixed with St Nicholas. Clement Clarke Moore is credited with writing "A Visit from St Nicholas". A lot of us know it as T'was the night before Christmas.

 

So I guess what I get from this is that this guy created a "Santa Claus" in 1823 and someone read the poem and made a drawing. And it stuck. It is literally the figment of an authors and artists imagination.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_From_St._Nicholas

 

What I take from this is that it is hard to argue the race of "Santa Claus" because the person who wrote about him made him what he is.

 

To me someone making the argument that he is black would be like trying to argue any other fictional character in a book or poem is anything other than what the author wanted them to be. Can't happen.

[Landlord]

What I take from this is that it is hard to argue the race of "Santa Claus" because the person who wrote about him made him what he is.

 

To me someone making the argument that he is black would be like trying to argue any other fictional character in a book or poem is anything other than what the author wanted them to be. Can't happen.

 

 

Except nobody is really arguing that Santa IS black or any other race. They're just arguing against the tight grip of "Santa IS white".

 

He is traditionally and as majority depicted as white, but once again, is also just a branch off of previously existing and varying legends and traditions. If Clarke Moore's creation of Santa was an original idea and was copyrighted it would be entirely different, but it's neither of those.

[StPaulHusker]

What I take from this is that it is hard to argue the race of "Santa Claus" because the person who wrote about him made him what he is.

 

To me someone making the argument that he is black would be like trying to argue any other fictional character in a book or poem is anything other than what the author wanted them to be. Can't happen.

 

 

Except nobody is really arguing that Santa IS black or any other race. They're just arguing against the tight grip of "Santa IS white".

 

He is traditionally and as majority depicted as white, but once again, is also just a branch off of previously existing and varying legends and traditions. If Clarke Moore's creation of Santa was an original idea and was copyrighted it would be entirely different, but it's neither of those.

The Santa that you and I and the rest of England and America have come to know was created esentially by Moore and is in deed white. He took pieces from other myths and historical figures to make him. So i would say it borders closer to original than not. As far as copywriting, I have no idea what that was like in the early 1800's. I imagine if he knew a bunch of people on a football chatboard were going apesh#t over the race, he would facepalm himself.

 

I am not going to fistfight anyone over it. Except maybe RedRedJarvisRedwhine. He is who you want him to be.

[JJ Husker]

Meh. The first-millennium Christian Saint, Nicholas, cannot truly be said to be the forerunner of Santa Claus. At best it's an echo of an echo of an echo of the person, if he even existed at all. Even the Catholic Church says "...the details that are known of his life are few in the extreme."

 

The legend of "Saint Nikolas," including the gift-giving and patron of sailors, are largely borrowed from non-Christian gods, including Poseidon and Befana.

 

Santa Claus as he's known today is no more related to the first-millennium Nicholas than I am.

 

As many have suspected (and only few have known), Yes Virginia, knapplc IS Santa Claus.

[BigRedBuster]

Dora the Explorer is a blond lesbian from Sweden.

[StPaulHusker]

Dora the Explorer is a blond lesbian from Sweden.

I need to start watching more Nick Jr with my kids.