Just when you think you've heard everything...
Today I read about a body shaming Santa in North Carolina. After taking a picture with a nine-year-old boy who asked for a drone and an iTouch, the mall-employed Santa gave some unsolicited (and in my opinion unkind) advice, telling the overweight boy to lay off the hamburgers and fries.
Now folks from the left and right are using popular divisive phrases like snowflake, safe space and body shaming.
And as always, two camps form.
You have the camp who blames the mom for her son's weight, deciding in their limited knowledge that her son couldn't possibly be overweight if she had ensured he exercised properly and received a healthy diet. (I'm sure every member of this camp is as fit as a fiddle.) There are even those callling for a CPS investigation on mom.
Many in this same camp belittle the boy not only for his size, but for his openness about his disappointed reaction.
The other camp is calling for the firing of Santa. An apology given by the Santa to the boy apparently isn't enough. Only knowing that 1,000's of people hate this man would calm many in this camp. They want this unfortunate event to be the ruin of his reputation.
Especially at Christmas can't we just form a larger third camp where grace informs our words? Cant we speak a little more wisely concerning the experiences we observe personally and through social media? (I know. Sometimes we can't.) In that case, couldn't we just be a quiet camp?
As intelligent as we are, none of us know how much to blame this mother (or her son) is for his weight.
As strong as some of us are, we can't say that those careless words spoken by Santa shouldn't have stung.
As protective of children (and the insulted) as some of us are, we have to realize when the consequences we call for are a little dramatic.
- What would be best would be if this boy could walk away from this situation a little more sure that his mom loves and (without vengeance) supports him .
- Wouldn't it be something if he could be reminded that sometimes people say things they shouldn't and that he should always remember to use his own words carefully as to avoid embarassing or insulting some unsuspecting person?
- Wouldn't it be dandy if the mom taught her son how to properly accept an apology?
- Wouldn't it be admirable if the mom didn't invite the media mob in on this story. What if she quietly (with the help of a close support group) spent more energy encouraging him, modeling to her son that you don't need a jeering squad to prove you've been ill-treated.
- What if adults decided not to perpetuate the false idea that there's always a score to settle?
- Wouldn't it be something if the boy came out of this experience a little stronger and Santa a little wiser!
- What if Santa had a chance to go back to his job the next day giving a little more thought to his small talk and advice instead of being forced into resigning from his job?
But why ask all these questions when it's so much easier to think we have all the answers.
A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4