HARASSMENT & RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER

I just went to the Santa Claus parade, so I thought as we get into the season, I would re-publish this blog from last year, as it is still very relevant! 

I would think that most of you have watched at sometime over the years the television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. I watch it every year, as it reminds me of my childhood and to a certain extent innocence. But if you look closer at the whole story, as an adult you come to realize that this story is fraught with harassment, judgement and treating females as less than equal. In this story Santa should be hoisted on his own petard for allowing and, in fact, participating in the humiliation and harassment of those that were a little different.

Rudolph was born with a red, shiny nose, which had never been seen in the North Pole before. His father, Donner, tried to cover up this anomaly by plastering a fake, black nose on poor Rudolph, which I'm sure resulted in years of therapy for issues with self-esteem. This ruse worked for a while until Rudolph went to his first "reindeer games", where he was the absolute best flying reindeer. But alas, as he was showing off, the black, rubber nose fell off and his bright proboscis was discovered. Comet, the coach of the reindeer games, immediately tells Rudolph to more or less get lost. His superior talent is not enough to mute the issue of the red nose. And what does Santa do? He scolds Donner for trying to hide this atrocity and then indicates that Rudolph will never be considered for the team of reindeer to lead the sleigh. So much for the kind, gentle Santa! Here is a CEO, who is not only endorsing the exclusion and harassment (remember "all the other reindeers used to laugh and call him names") but he is leading by being a poor example.

Harassment seems to be endemic to the inhabitants of the North Pole. Remember Hermey, the elf who wanted to be a dentist? He was ostracized by the head elf who made life hell for him in the workshop. And if Hermey had even thought of complaining to Santa? Well, given his reaction to Rudolph you know where that conversation would have gone. You either make toys or you are out. I am supporting your supervisor and if he needs to berate you to get any work out of you so be it. Shut up and get back to work! Yes, those joyful, happy words would have spewed from Santa's mouth.

Eventually both Rudolph and Hermey run away and meet up and develop a friendship because of their inability to fit in. 

As a side-note here, Rudolph's mother and his girlfriend-to-be Clarice, want to go and look for Rudolph. This is when Donner steps in and tries to stop them by telling them to stay at home because looking for Rudolph is "man's work!" (good for the ladies though as they ignored Donner's entreaty). Doesn't seem like Donner or the crew (let's face it Santa and his interaction with Mrs. Claus doesn't smack of equality either) have taken any sensitivity training!

Fast forward to when Hermey and Rudolph discover the Land of the Misfit Toys, a place where toys, that weren't perfect (like the Charlie-in-the-Box (vs. the standard Jack), the spotted Elephant (obviously he should have been grey), the Bird-Fish (a bird that swims instead of flies) etc.) have been exiled because some Star-chamber group in the North Pole had decided that because these toys were "misfits" they could never bring joy as gifts to boys and girls. When Hermey and Rudolph inevitably get back to the North Pole, they tell Santa of the misfit toys and Santa does rescue them from their exile and delivers them to boys and girls. Santa seems surprised that this island exists but let's face it, Santa needed deniability for this very un-Santa like behaviour. It was probably his PR group that said Terminate one of the elves and lay all the blame on them, because you exiling less than perfect toys could truly tarnish your image!

Rudolph is only welcomed back as the reindeer messiah when his anomalous red nose proves to be an asset for that foggy night. What would have happened if there never had been any fog? Rudolph could probably be found trolling the edges of the North Pole, asking for hand-outs and sleeping out in the cold under some tree, waiting for a polar bear to take him out of his misery. Santa only used Rudolph that night because of his own selfish need, not because he had any sort of epiphany (even though Christmas is the time of epiphanies!)

So next time you watch the Rudolph story do so with a bit of a critical eye. Think about how this is often reflected in corporations, the school yard and other areas of life. And also think about what message this story sends to your children. Although it ends happily-ever-after, in real-life it would have ended badly!

Hmmm, I wonder if this blog will now put me on Santa's naughty list!