NEWS: British Teachers Systematically Kill Off Santa

So... If I understand some of the pro-Santa folk, Santa is the personification of generosity and children need a relationship with this personification in order to understand, I see... Hey... Who's seen a relationship that's founded on lies? Did it end well?

I consider a lie to be an intentional deception that is either malicious in nature or motivated by some other, less than good ulterior motive. Telling children a make believe story about Santa is hardly lying. It's telling them a good story and theres no harm what-so-ever in letting them believe in it. On the contrary I believe it is probably a positive.

And to say that Santa encourages greed and entitlment is I think the sad corruption by someone of an extremely pessimistic and bitter point of view. He is giving away toys for free and asking only that you be good in return, and if you suck you get coal. Which back in the day was still a gift in that you could burn it to keep you warm. Any greed or entitlement comes from the parents themselves in how they keep, and portray Christmas.

As for your disdain for the word "magic" you go right a head and vomit. It sounds like you have some other issues you need to purge anyway. Maybe that will help.

The very idea that Santa is somehow bad, evil, or offensive, is itself offensive and disgusting. How pathetic are you that you are so easily bothered over something so obviously benign and clearly intended for good purposes.

~S

No, the deal is that he only gives toys to good kids, but the kids that were bad still get toys anyway. I've never heard of a kid I knew not getting presents on christmas because they were bad. It's an empty threat.

Adults are supposed to keep secrets from children, that feeling that there's always something bigger and vaguely sinister being kept behind the curtain is an essential part of child society. If you think that the child-society is a bad thing, then you didnt have a proper one.

You're the type of person who roles their eyes when someone says something about God, arent you?

What does god have to do with christmas?

Why it commemorates a day that my German ancestors beat the fuck out of my Prussian ancestors and replaces that ratty midwinter's feast with a nice shiny Jesus Day, silly.

And by the way, my relationship with Santa ended triumphantly.

I can sort of see where the "It's all lies!" people are coming from, but that's more to do with being force fed religion, without any hint that it wasn't solid fact. Santa and the tooth fairy felt more like games parents could play with their children. Perhaps how you look at that depends on what else you had when grown up.

Yes, I suppose one's judgement on this matter is entirely subject to personal experience. I dont know anyone whose had anything worse then "Oh he's not real? Oh well, I suspected as much." but I could see one or two serial killers being born from the revelation.

Many good responses to this, but I have to say, it's the parents responsibility. Teachers aren't paid to do this job. There are 1000 things they could, and should, have said - all of them relating to a parent or gaurdian handling this. And it my mind that's more what it comes down to than anything else. Parents (most) don't raise their children anymore. They let TV and the world at large handle it and then get pissed off when it's not done in a way they approve of. That, to me, makes this kind of thing even more important. The teachers should have directed the children to ask their parents.

Peekaboo is all lies! Parents don't really go anywhere when they hide behind their hands! And the "got your nose" trick? It's just a heinous lie! Next time I see a dad pretending to detach his thumb from the rest of his hand, I'm going to set the kid straight, lest she grow up to be a naive, gullible moron.

Teachers tell kids facts about the world. Maybe there should be a list of the facts teachers are allowed to tell and those they aren't.

I've walked past a "santa's grotto" about eight times this week. Apart from santa (no elves even!) it's been empty. The "Santa's Grotto from {shop name}, ENTRY £2.50" sign probably doesn't help.

There are some great things about xmas, but rampant consumerism and cynical exploitation of common folk-myth aren't some of them.

Santa = OK
Telling kids to behave or santa won't buy them their PS3 = not good
Every 3rd shop using santa to sell whatever shit they're selling = really fucking annoying.

Plus: UK teachers are on shitty wages, so tormenting the kids should be one of the few perks of the job.

Yes, Santa is supposed to reinforce good behaviour with presents, but....honestly, why does one need Santa to accomplish this? And wouldn't it be more productive to promote good behaviour year-round with small gifts or other bonuses, rather than creating an expectation that only needs to be fulfilled for a few weeks pre-Christmas (at least by kid logic)?

I don't myself have any issues with Santa, but I consider him much like any other mythical childhood critter...amusing, kid-friendly, basically harmless....but also completely unnecessary.

On a side note, I have fond memories of some little essay about what exactly would happen to Santa if he really did all the things he was supposed to do. Things like him being burned alive by air friction at the speeds he would be travelling, etc. Anyone else see that?

Whoever wrote it should go read the latest issue of Fables, dude doesn't have to travel fast.

Oh horseshit.

Kids are VERY COMMERCIAL. They want shit. They want it NOW!

MOM I WANT SOME CANDY! CAN I HAVE SOME CANDY? I WANT SOME CANDY, YOU SAID BEFORE I COULD HAVE SOME CANDY! *Looks around to watch the dirty looks Mom's getting, knows she can't spank him here*

I WANT SOME CANDY!!!!

Most kids who believe by the age of nine or ten are either completely stupid (and they tend to be easy believers in other things that simple logic doesn't lend credence to, like religion) or they have serious doubts but WANT TO believe, or at least put on an appearance of believing.

When I was a kid, I found a bag of stuff in the cubbyhole/unfinished stairs) that led up to our attic. Once I got a bunch of that stuff for Christmas, Santa was dead to me. Nothing he did made sense from a logical standpoint anyways.

A year or so later I applied the same logic to the existence of God. Mom probably blamed Mike Stivik on All in the Family for that one, but luckily I got to continue watching the show with her.

We caught some flack when I told Georgie across the street that there wasn't really a Santa Claus.

Of course not. But I think the difference between teaching a child about a science, history, political, math, etc. fact, and the kind that dispells childhood beliefs is clear. What ever happened to encouraging children to imagine and dream?