Althouse: "If Santa knows when kids are naughty or nice then he knew Rudolph was being bullied."

December 12, 2020

"If Santa knows when kids are naughty or nice then he knew Rudolph was being bullied."

Santa knew!

80 comments:

Lash LaRue said...: Maybe Santa’s magical power doesn’t work on animals.; 12/12/20, 8:15 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: LOL!!! I just now read that from Instapundit to my husband.

Santa was allowing it to happen. What a monster.; 12/12/20, 8:16 AM
Fernandinande said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/12/20, 8:22 AM
Dave said...: We just watched the 1964 documentary and it is pretty clear that Santa was fully onboard with the bullying until he needed the boy's help.

Plus the elves' treatment of the queer dentist was problematic.; 12/12/20, 8:22 AM
Fernandinande said...: And they never laughed and called him names again.; 12/12/20, 8:23 AM
Readering said...: The Santa problem.; 12/12/20, 8:25 AM
Dave Begley said...: Need to appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate Santa.; 12/12/20, 8:39 AM
Big Mike said...: @Althouse, you still believe in Santa Claus? Explains why you favor the Dems,.; 12/12/20, 8:39 AM
Whiskeybum said...: If you want to go all meta-ethical about it, let’s face it:
If Santa knows when kids are naughty or nice, then he knows what the KIDS are doing when they are naughty, bullying or otherwise. Screw what the reindeer are up to.; 12/12/20, 8:42 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Santa may be an asshole at times, but he gets the job done.; 12/12/20, 8:54 AM
Whiskeybum said...: And what about the culpability of that damn “elf on the shelf”?; 12/12/20, 8:55 AM
RMc said...: The media was also culpable: "Foul Weather May Postpone Christmas", my ass!; 12/12/20, 9:05 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Rudolf took some shit as a fawn, no question. And it hurt. Sure it did. But he didn't make it all about himself and his feelings. He didn't start thinking of himself as a victim. He knew he could either sit home and cry or he could strap on the traces and contribute.
When that big storm came in and they came to Rudolf and said, "We need you. We need your red nose", Rudolf could have said, "Fuuuuck you." But he didn't. He said, "Let's go."
It's not about any one reindeer. It's about the team and the mission.; 12/12/20, 9:11 AM
Wince said...: A bigot, a raging boss, a complicit wife: Every ‘Rudolph’ character, ranked; 12/12/20, 9:11 AM
Gojuplyr831@gmail.com said...: The whole purpose of the naughty/nice list is to see which kids qualify for gifts. Thus the overarching surveillance is required. For the kid's own good, of course. Santa doesn't give gifts to reindeer so why should he carte about how they treat each other. Their job is to show up for work once a year and drag his ass all over the world.; 12/12/20, 9:12 AM
tcrosse said...: Let us celebrate Rudolph as the first nose of color to guide Santa's sleigh. Reindeer of other nosedness are thereby empowered.; 12/12/20, 9:15 AM
Mike of Snoqualmie said...: Does Santa have a network of cameras and microphones? Isn't that like Big Brother? How does he find the time to monitor all of those cameras and microphones and manage all the elves building his toys, all at the same time? He must know which houses have cookies and milk for him before he arrives; does he leave an extra toys at those houses. Is leaving said cookies and milk a bribe to Santa?

Just asking for a friend.; 12/12/20, 9:16 AM
robother said...: Santa can't stop badness, he can only observe and withhold rewards. No one is saying those bullying reindeer got presents. Omniscience is not omnipotence.; 12/12/20, 9:16 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Let us celebrate Rudolph as the first nose of color to guide Santa's sleigh.

BNM!; 12/12/20, 9:23 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "@Althouse, you still believe in Santa Claus? Explains why you favor the Dems"

Oh, Lord, the knee-jerk rightwingisms in the comments lately... please deliver me!; 12/12/20, 9:35 AM
Gahrie said...: That's nothing. When God put Adam and even into the Garden of Eden, he already knew they would eat the forbidden fruit.; 12/12/20, 9:40 AM
Gahrie said...: Oh, Lord, the knee-jerk rightwingisms in the comments lately... please deliver me!

I bet those rightwingers had the courage and responsibility to vote.; 12/12/20, 9:41 AM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/12/20, 9:47 AM
Lurker21 said...: Is Santa God or something?

Santa's sleigh = Krishna's chariot?

I will have to ask my guru next time I am in the Himalayas.; 12/12/20, 9:49 AM
Marcus Bressler said...: Gahrie said...
Oh, Lord, the knee-jerk rightwingisms in the comments lately... please deliver me!

I bet those rightwingers had the courage and responsibility to vote.

Me: Best comment of the day so far. Cowards. Dems are dead to me.; 12/12/20, 9:50 AM
Bob Boyd said...: So if there's a big storm on Christmas Eve this year will Rudolf have to wear a mask?; 12/12/20, 9:51 AM
Eleanor said...: Except for Rudolph, all of Santa's reindeer, as pictured in popular culture, are female. While female reindeer keep their antlers all winter, male reindeer drop theirs, usually by early December. What you see is not bullying. The female reindeer are just responding to Rudolph's male privilege. Why should he be the only one in Santa's reindeer shed to be freed from carrying around heavy antlers all winter when Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen have to pull the sled wearing antlers, and why is a boy reindeer the only one with his own flashlight? Rudolph deserves the ostracism and ridicule. It's not bullying. It's the female reindeer's truth to power.; 12/12/20, 9:56 AM
Wince said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 12/12/20, 9:57 AM
gilbar said...: Dust Bunny Queen said...
LOL!!! I just now read that from Instapundit to my husband.
Santa was allowing it to happen. What a monster.

DBQ? have you ever done any steel work? To make a piece Stronger, you HAVE TO place it in the fire.
Santa (in the fictional story), like GOD (in Real Life); KNOWS that pampering and protecting is NOT what is needed. IF Rudolf had been treated the way namby pamby parents treat their kids These Days.... Would he have been brave enough to lead the Sleigh?
I think NOT

Sure, Santa knew about the bullying, and SURE it made him sad... But he Knew it was necessary; 12/12/20, 9:59 AM
gilbar said...: Gahrie said...
That's nothing. When God put Adam and even into the Garden of Eden, he already knew they would eat the forbidden fruit.

EXACTLY! did it make him Sad? SURE it made him sad... But he Knew it was necessary

Did GOD know what he was doing to his Son? YES!
did it make him Sad? SURE it made him sad... But he Knew it was necessary; 12/12/20, 10:03 AM
Wince said...: All of this reminds me of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.

Remember, the Grinch stole Christmas not because he could make more festive use of all the seasonal accoutrements he stole.

No, he just wanted to hear the Whos suffering. But to their credit, the Whos would not oblige, leaving the Grinches still miserable with all they had stolen.

Yet, wasn't there something ridiculously naive about the Whos? Not first investigating the crime and whether the perpetrator had molested little Cindy Lou Who on his way to stealing their Christmas.

The Whos went to bed Christmas Eve and woke to find that in the dead of night -- when all the decorating was supposed to be suspended -- their Christmas had been stolen.

You'd think at least the state Republican Santa Clauses might know who was naughty or nice. Does that mean was Santa in on it too?

"Nothing to see here, move along," the establishment told the Whos as any contrary evidence or opinions were quashed.

"No standing!", they said.

Meanwhile, the Grinch called on all the Whos to come together: "Let's put the anger and demonization behind us."

Well, let's see how the Whos respond now that the Grinch sees no need to self-atone.; 12/12/20, 10:11 AM
Spiros said...: This is definitely a nice twist on the annual Santa debate. (He's not Black, deal with it.) I wonder if Santa is popular in China? Santa is an Orwellian panopticon. Check! And China's Social Credit System is a sophisticated, data-driven "naughty or nice list." Check! Lot of parallels.; 12/12/20, 10:22 AM
Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...: now what?

Do we doxx santa?; 12/12/20, 10:28 AM
Wince said...: "There's a light on this Dominion voting machine that won't light on one side," the fake Santa Clause lied, "So, I'm taking it back to my workshop, my dear. I'll fix the 'glitch' up there and bring it back here."

"And his fib fooled the child. And he patted her head, got her a drink and he sent her to bed."

Now, you tell me what happened in the edit between the time the Grinch had his hands all over Cindy Lou Who's bum and he closes the bedroom door. I mean look at his eyes!; 12/12/20, 10:40 AM
tcrosse said...: I wonder if Santa is popular in China?; 12/12/20, 10:40 AM
gilbar said...: under this post's theme, of naughty or nice:
Hunter Biden requested in 2017 that keys be made for his new "office mates," listing his father, President-elect Joe Biden, Jill Biden and his uncle, Jim Biden, for space he planned to share with an "emissary" for a chairman of a Chinese energy company, according to an email

so, what would we think, if Santa Knew that someone was NAUGHTY... but Held that info,
until AFTER Xmas.... At which point he started releasing his lists;
saying...
"Jo was a BAD and NAUGHTY little boy; His gifts will have to go to little Cindy Lou Who...
Since SHE'S the Cocksucking WHORE that i wanted the entire time "; 12/12/20, 10:40 AM
Bob Boyd said...: Santa Craws; 12/12/20, 10:56 AM
Big Mike said...: Oh, Lord, the knee-jerk rightwingisms in the comments lately... please deliver me!

Oh, come off it. You know you believe in money trees and that big, rock candy mountain.; 12/12/20, 10:57 AM
tim maguire said...: Blogger Gahrie said...That's nothing. When God put Adam and even into the Garden of Eden, he already knew they would eat the forbidden fruit.

And why put it there at all except so that they would eat it?

It was a set up.; 12/12/20, 11:00 AM
pious agnostic said...: Reindeer have their own methods of establishing dominance in the herd. Yearlings are very low status, and the older, stronger males challenge them physically and emotionally. That may seem to be bullying to us, but we have to accept that this is a reindeer's lived experience. Rudolph started out as an Omega and ended up the Alpha. Deal with it.; 12/12/20, 11:02 AM
Bob Boyd said...: "Don't trust Santa Craws. Santa Craws is asshoe!"; 12/12/20, 11:02 AM
Browndog said...: Bob Boyd said...

Rudolf took some shit as a fawn, no question. And it hurt. Sure it did. But he didn't make it all about himself and his feelings. He didn't start thinking of himself as a victim. He knew he could either sit home and cry or he could strap on the traces and contribute.
When that big storm came in and they came to Rudolf and said, "We need you. We need your red nose", Rudolf could have said, "Fuuuuck you." But he didn't. He said, "Let's go."
It's not about any one reindeer. It's about the team and the mission.

Winning the hearts and minds of the other reindeer was critical to his status as a historical figure.; 12/12/20, 11:08 AM
Narr said...: Do you imagine that in thousands of years of delivering the goods, Santa had never run into FOG?

Narr
Rudy was a diversity hire, so he has to be special; 12/12/20, 11:14 AM
Bunkypotatohead said...: It's referred to as the winter holiday now, not Christmas.
#cancelsanta.; 12/12/20, 11:22 AM
stevew said...: Good one. Surprised it took so long for someone to figure that out. Was it a cypher?; 12/12/20, 11:34 AM
exhelodrvr1 said...: I just saw Rudolph taking a nap on the side of the highway - he'll be well-rested by Christmas Eve!; 12/12/20, 11:36 AM
stevew said...: Rather like an omniscient god conferring free will and then sitting back to see what happens.; 12/12/20, 11:37 AM
Ambrose said...: Sure, Sanat could have spoken out against the bullying, but his act of including Rudolph was much more effective.; 12/12/20, 12:21 PM
Joe Smith said...: Santa sees a lot of things, dirty voyeur bastard.; 12/12/20, 12:44 PM
Mr Wibble said...: Santa knows which girls are bad girls, and which girls are naughty...; 12/12/20, 1:20 PM
Not Sure said...: I agree with Ambrose. Santa is no SJW, he's an effective manager. All he'd have accomplished by micromanaging would have been to have 8 sullen and resentful reindeer on his hands. What if they'd gone Galt on Christmas Eve?

Plus, Rudolph's apparent drinking problem (the red nose isn't exactly a subtle signifier) was best dealt with by helping him feel useful rather than protected by Woke Santa.; 12/12/20, 1:33 PM
Joe Smith said...: "Santa knows which girls are bad girls, and which girls are naughty..."

And in Bad Santa's world, they don't get coal, but a well-deserved spanking : ); 12/12/20, 1:51 PM
tcrosse said...: And in Bad Santa's world, they don't get coal, but a well-deserved spanking : )

You better not scream, you better not shout.
That dirty old bum is working it out.
Santa Claus is going to town.; 12/12/20, 2:08 PM
Mark said...: "But do you recall
the most famous reindeer of all?"

If Rudolph was the MOST FAMOUS, why are you even asking if we recall him???

Nothing about this whole story makes sense.; 12/12/20, 2:19 PM
Mark said...: "@Althouse, you still believe in Santa Claus? Explains why you favor the Dems"

Oh, Lord, the knee-jerk rightwingisms in the comments lately... please deliver me!

Deliver us, instead, from the knee-jerk reaction that the idiot comments from some misinformed boob is necessarily representative of an entire class of people.

All good and decent conservatives OF COURSE believe in Santa Claus. Not only the true and historic personage of Nicholas of Myra (who got into fistfights defending the faith at the Council of Nicea)(and whose feast day we celebrated last week), but the more modern "Santa Claus."

All good and decent people understand who and what "Santa Claus" really is and how, indeed, he does continue to live and be present in the world today. The fact that he might act by and through mom and dad, or through other loved ones or friends or even complete strangers, does not detract from the reality that the spirit of Santa Claus exists and is real.; 12/12/20, 2:28 PM
Sir Loin said...: The whole show stinks. From Santa's ambivalence to Rudolf's unsupportive father to his mother who didn't have the courage to stand up to her abusive husband. Only outsiders did the right thing. Not one character in the entire North Pole acted honorably.; 12/12/20, 2:51 PM
n.n said...: Children and baby goats, perhaps. Reindeer are neither.; 12/12/20, 3:25 PM
Narr said...: I bet I can annoy a lot of people with this one--

"When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters, and threw up."

Narr
The season of humbuggery is upon us; 12/12/20, 3:40 PM
Anonymous said...: As an extreme right winger I must comment on Ann's post:

"Oh, Lord, the knee-jerk rightwingisms in the comments lately... please deliver me!"

I get a kick out of this chick.; 12/12/20, 5:00 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: gilbar Sure, Santa knew about the bullying, and SURE it made him sad... But he Knew it was necessary

Hah! Yah Sure.....That's what Dexter's parents told him too 😉; 12/12/20, 5:04 PM
Narr said...: Everybody knows izza no sanity clause!

Narr
Humbug, bumhug; 12/12/20, 5:17 PM
The Godfather said...: Ever read the Bible? Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? Did God not know about the serpent? Isn't Santa (St. Nicholas) a God-figure for us? As our next President might say, Come on man!; 12/12/20, 5:29 PM
chuck said...: What happens at the North Pole stays at the North Pole.; 12/12/20, 5:36 PM
Titus said...: That show gave me nightmares as a young boy. I watched it once and it was awful. Poor Rudolph and the gay dentist. Rudolph’s father was the worst. And the elf manager went off on the gay dentist while speaking in a horrible gay lispy voice.; 12/12/20, 5:50 PM
Mark said...: I was never a big fan of Rudolph growing up. Or the other stop-motion specials. Grinch and Charlie Brown for me.; 12/12/20, 6:07 PM
pacwest said...: Does Santa have a network of cameras and microphones?

More likely listening in on Alexa.; 12/12/20, 6:12 PM
effinayright said...: Rudolf was jealous of Olive, the other reindeer.

And @ Narr: that's exactly the way my father used to recite that part of the poem. Thanks for reminding me.; 12/12/20, 6:57 PM
Narr said...: You're welcome, wholelottasplainin'.

My spinster aunt Louise (1926-1966) told it that way, too.

Narr
Classic corn; 12/12/20, 7:25 PM
Mikey said...: Everyone is so worried about Rudolph they have ignored the outright murder of the "swimming bird death plunge". In the closing credits of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer the Elf in the back of the sleigh is passing out umbrellas to the misfit toys and dropping them off. When the swimming bird (whom we have firmly established does not fly) comes out of the sack the Elf pulls back the umbrella and pushes him out of the sleigh to his certain death. Murder most fowl!

And what about the fact that they never said how the little girl doll was a misfit. Rumor has it CBS edited out "I'm here on the island of unwanted toys, cause under this spotted dress I am a boy!"

The whole Rudolph special was a horror show. I watch it every year.

Merry Christmas!

Swimming Bird Death Plunge:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_M2VWYSzxc; 12/12/20, 7:46 PM
n.n said...: What about grandma, who got run over by a reindeer, walking home from our house Christmas eve? Was Rudolph the red nosed reindeer guiding Santa's sleigh that night? Justice for grandma! #HateLovesAbortion; 12/12/20, 7:55 PM
n.n said...: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden? Did God not know about the serpent?

Earth is a proving ground for spirits of both sexes: male and female. Eve, woman, probable feminist founder, made the wrong Choice. There are religious/moral considerations: human rights. God is neither a philosopher nor follower of the Pro-Choice quasi-religious ("ethical") sects of dubious secular character. In fact, God stands against wicked solutions.; 12/12/20, 8:05 PM
Anonymous said...: God is Alpha/Omega. That covers a lot of territory. Like... all territory.

Bruce. Dust Bunny. Mock. Titus. Chuck. Achilles. Ann. John Henry. Drago. et.al.

Merry Christmas.; 12/12/20, 8:31 PM
wildswan said...: What did in Santa know and when did he know it? Santa is real; Rudolph isn't. So Rudolph has no standing in re: Rudolph v. Claus. Case dismissed.

A Tale of 2020. Santa is getting old and suffering from osteoporosis which has been accelerated by the steroids which he takes to be alert as he goes up and down chimneys. A bone cracks in his foot as he getting in the sleigh; a bone cracks in his hand as he takes up the reins; and Mrs. Santa has to take over. But she keeps turning the sleigh back to see if the Xmas cookies are done and what the elves are up to. She's got the laugh but she isn't up to the job. Then a masterful figure, a governor in full Empire state, her designated driver, slips into the sledge. "Don't worry, kids," he cries, "I've won prizes for granny-killing, I'll just push Granny Santa out of the sleigh - done - and, your toys are on the way!!!!" Then how the kids all loved him as they shouted out with glee. Yay!!! Toys!!! More toys!!! You'll go down in historeeee.; 12/12/20, 8:46 PM
gilbar said...: DBQ said...
Santa was allowing it to happen. What a monster.

Really? THAT'S the word you use, to describe Santa?
Cops: Santa Exposed Himself To Co-Worker, arrested following break room incident. . .
was on a break from his Santa duties Monday evening at the Connecticut Post Mall when he hugged and grabbed the female victim in a break room, where he also allegedly exposed himself to the juvenile.

Responding to a 911 call about a “possible sexual assault,” Milford Police Department officers subsequently arrested him on risk of injury to a minor and sexual assault charges.; 12/12/20, 9:05 PM
gilbar said...: On a Serious Note...
The Glory that is GOD, allows Each of us; to Fuck Up in our own way
So! GOD could have created a perfect world, with No Dangers, and No Heartbreaks..
GOD could have made each of us Good; with no need for list keeping
But, GOD; in His Glory, saw that That would be Boring
What a wonderfully wonderful world He made for us!
So Much Danger! So Much Risk!! The whole universe is a fantastically exciting amusement park

He COULD have made Yellowstone without Bears and Central Park without muggers
Thank You GOD, for NOT doing that!!; 12/12/20, 9:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Have you ever wondered what you did last time, to be sentenced to this perfect Hell.

The sunsets are magnificent. Toothaches, not so much. Sunrises. Cancer. Mountain tops.

When I lived in Tampa, I took a big breasted girl to the East Coast of Florida to watch the sunrise. Sex on the beach, yadayada, and then we raced back to the Gulf to see the Sunset.

It was glorious. Mom died. Got promoted at my job. Got fired.

Got old.

There's a theory that you have a choice between Heaven and Hell. Have you ever considered that you are in Hell, and the choice is... Do you want to get out? I don't know. Just asking.; 12/12/20, 9:53 PM
n.n said...: Santa is real; Rudolph isn't.

Santa is real, yes. So is Rudolph. His red nose, however, was a cognitive delusion, a tale told by an elf who drank one too many mugs of eggnog.; 12/13/20, 12:23 AM
Readering said...: Wondered about that.; 12/13/20, 9:45 AM
stevew said...: When told about this question of Santa's knowledge (the ability to glean naughty and nice behavior) that Rudolph was being bullied, mrs. stevew said, "of course he didn't know, reindeer aren't kids.".; 12/13/20, 11:23 AM
Unknown said...: This is just another manifestation of that horrible malady that causes people to call their pets "children". (I wonder if that happened before Disney.) A reindeer is not a child; it's not in the naughty/nice book.; 12/14/20, 5:47 PM