It's been a while since we made the Freak Show!
A man along Route 40 decorated his house with a Santa hung from noose to make a statement about the commercialization of Christmas, and to be honest, I get that and I respect the point he's trying to make. With Black Friday sales starting before Thanksgiving has even ended and Christmas events starting before Thanksgiving has even started, it's starting to look more and more like the meaning of Christmas is getting lost.
That said, I don't know that a dead Santa hung from a noose is the best or most appropriate way to comment on that, and I get why people are upset about it--especially if kids saw it. It's one thing to talk to your kid about the meaning of Christmas, but it's another to have to explain a dead, hanging Santa.
Of course, this made local news, and they got opinions on both sides. But Barb from West Virginia kicks things up a notch by saying she thought the decoration was great. Okay, fine--as someone who just said they appreciated the intent, I get that. But then she goes a little farther and says people need to stop "blowing smoke up their kids' ass."
Look, I obviously think the commercialization of Christmas is unfortunate and we need to remember the point of the holiday and traditions, but to suggest that parents are "blowing smoke up their kids' ass" is a bit extreme. In fact, I blame the commercialization of Christmas on businesses, not people--sure, people go along with it and don't help, but it's the retailers who push the sales and decorate in October. How we as people and families celebrate Christmas is up to us, and I think it would be hard to argue parents in general are part of the problem.
Barb goes on to say, "Life sucks, deal with it," and even laughs. And I get that sentiment, too. It's just...I don't know that making that point to kids during the Christmas season is appropriate, either. Life is full of opportunities for us all to learn and be reminded that life isn't perfect and we have to deal with that. Do we really need that lesson pushed over Christmas? Sure, not everyone has a great Christmas, and for some people, the holidays can be really difficult for various reasons, but it is supposed to be a joyful, positive time. Kids can learn life's hard lessons later. Let them enjoy the holidays while they're young and life is (usually) relatively easy.
It also strikes me as a callous statement in this context, with little thought for why this might be troublesome for a child to see. I don't think for a second the man responsible intended to upset anyone--shock, probably, yeah. I think he intended to make a statement and maybe didn't consider how kids would feel about seeing it, so at worst he's a little inconsiderate here. But let's say he did intend to offend. That doesn't validate Barb's "life sucks, deal with it" attitude. It's not okay to intentionally offend children and then say, "This is how life is, kid, better get used to it." You teach them to handle things as they come or prepare them best you can, not say, "Ah, screw it" to teach them a lesson. It's kind of rude, really, and it's the kind of rudeness people like to disguise as blunt honesty.
Of course, Kiss FM's Morning Freak Show got ahold of the clip and sees more humor in it. Enjoy.
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