Santa Claws - was RE: virus: Re: inconsistent worldviews
carlw (carlw@lisco.com)
Fri, 19 Feb 1999 19:53:20 -0600
I have and then some.
Mainly in Africa and in the near and far east, where Santa Claus
is an alien
to most children. Also in the ex Soviet Union and Republics, where this kind
of nonsense has died out. In both places, presents are given and received by
real people instead of by an arbitrary monster who gives some "bad" children
of "rich" parents wonderful gifts, while "good" children of "poor" parents
get little or nothing. Do you really think that the modern Western concept
(dating only from the late victorian era) where things are "given" and
subsequently "expected" rather than seeing the effort which the giver makes,
is preferable to a more human and real model. One which has the advantage of
not teaching children that the world works one way, and letting them
discover much later in life that Santa does not really exist and they can't
expect things to come from nowhere? For some reason the children in the
places I mentioned seem to be so much "nicer", so much more responsible than
most Western children I have met. I wonder if Santa "Claws" has anything to
do with this?
TheHermit
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-virus@lucifer.com
> [mailto:owner-virus@lucifer.com]On Behalf
> Of Tim Rhodes
> Sent: Friday, February 19, 1999 12:31 PM
> To: virus@lucifer.com
> Subject: Re: virus: Re: inconsistent worldviews
>
>
> DasHermit wrote:
>
> >Bill wrote:
> >> [...] after all, we all like to think of Santa as real when we are
> >> little, and I don't see kids going crazy over it (except for the
> >>next morning).
> >
> >I'd say that kids who are not loaded down with illusions, not to say
> >delusions, about fat, elderly men, who invite them to sit on
> their laps and
> >who offer them sweeties, are not only happier but also much safer.
>
>
> You haven't spent much time around children, have you?
>
> -Prof. Tim
>
>