I have searched, unsuccessfully, for the video clip shown shortly before 8am this morning on "Your Business" on MSNBC. The weekend program is broadcast during the early morning hours, here on the east coast. The exact time when small children rise early and parents, still trying to grab a few extra minutes of sleep, wave vaguely in the direction of the TV.
The routine well established, the kids park them selves in front of the monster and turn it on.
This morning they had an extra special treat.
There before them, on "Your Business" was a beautiful Santa Clause.
He was lecturing on the supply chain, specialty marketing, and the value of knowing your customers well. Most of this gibberish went well over the heads of the young'uns, of course. But, one statement he made was like a knife through the heart.
Here, in this time of massive unemployment, denial for so many, hunger and homelessness, the beautiful Santa, without a trace of kindness or hope in his voice, recounted the "naughty and nice" myth.
We have all heard it from out earliest memories. The entreaty to be nice, behave, and do as your parents tell you. If you follow this simple precept, you will be rewarded. If you fail, you will not.
So, here we are, a week before Christmas, and this jolly man in a red suit is looking straight into the camera and telling the children, "If you get nothing for Christmas it is because you have been a bad boy, or girl."
I thought my heart would break, for every child of poverty, and every unemployed parent, who saw that message and is doomed to guilt and shame when Christmas morning provides nothing for them, because there is nothing to give.
Is there no one in programming at MSNBC who vets these spots during the holidays?
What twisted "business mind set" would allow Santa Clause to set the stage for misery in small children, when the economy may not provide sufficient food, or shelter, or warm clothing?
The whole thing was designed to be "cute". A riff on the elves and the merchandising of products during the major consumer season. But did no one recognize the total absence of sensitivity to parents who can not spare a dime for gifts, or the children who still believe in a Man in the Red Velvet Suit?
It was an absolute horror. May I urge you to join me in contacting MSNBC and expressing your revulsion at this holiday outrage?
Do so for the millions of children, and their parents, who do not need further abuse from this Market Economy.
UPDATE: With thanks, and a Hat Tip to those more clever than I, here is the link to the Santa segment.