Race and equality debates have once again picked up speed in recent years. The Race of prominent figures in society has led to many disputes regarding historical facts and psychological tolls experienced by different types of people. Jesus and Santa Claus are prominent figures that play a crucial role in past and in our current society. Throughout time their true values and portrayals (appearances) have changed and debate has surfaced regarding their true ethnicity and race. Most of these heated debates associated the color of their skin to white supremacy. However, Jesus Christ and Santa Claus are not figures that represent inequality in the world today. They are not meant to represent hatred, spite, and an all powerful white race. However, they are meant to be Role Models and help unify people in certain times or worship. They are symbols of faith not hate. The true answers to this testy topic lie in the past.
Jesus and Santa Claus consciously and subconsciously play an enormous role in society. They are seen nearly everywhere, in movies, on billboards, and in ads nearly all year round at any given time. But where did they all come from, and why do they continue to have such a massive impact on people worldwide.
Jesus Christ was born a little over 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem, Israel. Which in essence would be the modern day Middle East. Just by this fact we know he is not of Caucasian decent. So where did his continued portrayal of “whiteness” comes from? Once again, this answer lies in the past. The Renaissance was a time of, as the name means, “rebirth” in parts of Europe. Throughout this time of prosperity artists came together and “put faces” to those cherished by so many for centuries. In Renaissance Italy, Jesus Chris...
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...hiteness,” and there begins the “blame” game. People no longer see Santa as a role model, they see him as a “white man” and white supremacist and believe that his existence is racist and makes them feel unwelcome.
A solution is not far away. To overcome a problem one must recognize the problems existence, which we have, for many decades. So that is why it seems the progress we have made over the years is screeching to a halt. We no longer need to blame the past to look to the future, we have substantially moved past the denial and recognition stage of this reoccurring problem world wide and for centuries. So it does no more good to continue to reinstate blame on many who no longer see the problem. The way to end the race debate is not necessarily to ignore it, but not to light up a debate that has proven to be extremely flammable and a powerful divider of people.
It’s already Christmas time, and Christmas is due in less than a week, and everyone is excited. Hallmark started playing all of those Christmas movies that usually include a “hero”, sometimes being a range of things; A fireman, cop, and etc. But not everyone enjoys this time of year, although a lot of people do. There are two popular individual who come to mind, both of which are from famous stories. The main protagonists in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol and Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch are those two people. These characters hate Christmas with a passion, and are both horrible people, but there is a catch, which one of this Christmas Meanies are the worst of their bunch? Everyone has taken their sides by now, but The Grinch is one of the meanest of them all.
Evidently, myths have become the culprit of traditions. That being said, the contemporary and ancient myths of Santa Claus and Krampus can only be understood by determining the elements that devise their entireties. Both narratives involve elements of opposition, trickery, mythemes, repetition, symbols, and ritualistic processes all of which support the structure of each holiday myth and tradition. Overall, the individual elements facilitate a valid, detailed compare and contrast analysis when examining the myths of Santa Claus and Krampus in a North American culture.
Jay Mocks article “Is Santa Clause a Conspiracy?” first appeared on The River Journal website on December 11th, 2009. Mock, an online blogger who has the mindset that there are conspiracies behind many things that go on in the world, seeks to encourage readers to discover whether there is a conspiracy behind Santa Claus. If so, whether or not it is maintained by the lies of parents, and whether or not their intentions are good because they support good, and even so would that still qualify as a bad thing? “We sometimes knowingly lie or overlook a lie if the reason is to support ‘good’” (Mock p4). The legend of Santa Claus can be the lure to which mankind falls into a ploy of conspiracy that may fortify a manipulative mindset and devious conduct in people. This article is a good example of how conspiracy theorist can appeal to readers through persuasion by the use of three kinds of proofs, reasoning (logos), credibility (ethos), and emotion (pathos). Although this article is a great attention grabber, it lacks the ability to impose the authors’ thoughts and feelings upon its readers.
James McBride focuses his essay on his parents. His mother was white and his father black. He felt confusion; which color was he? McBride remembers when he was ten, he approached his mother with the question while she was working on the kitchen table. Her thoughtful response was only one word: “[p]liers” (391). He was not the only one in the family to have this question. His older brother took it an extra step and during Sunday school asked the reverend about the skin color of Jesus.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a story we are all familiar with, it captures a moment in time of blatant prejudices and inequality that spanned years from when it was written in 1939 to when it was released as a movie in 1964. However endearing the story may be, it is a testament to what conditions were socially accepted as normal during that time period. Originally written by Montgomery Ward to sell appliances, this story has an explicit lens of bigotry, inequality, and the importance of conforming to society.
...cist to realize it. there are no real ways to fix this dilemma. The only possible solution is to let time take its toll. During the last thirty years, there have been countless changes to improve our relationship with other cultures. Maybe in the next thirty, we could all live together with no racism in the world.
The Color of Christ describes an interesting, yet complicated, relationship between religion and race. The image of Christ plays an important role in the formation of different religions. The color of Christ has not always been predominately portrayed as white. The Puritans did not believe in religious imagery, thus destroying any images of Christ. Jesus was not solely depicted as white until the mid-nineteenth century. Before then, Jesus came from Jewish roots and had brown eyes. The formation of this blond hair, blue eyed, white Jesus came about as the nation itself began to change as Catholics and Jewish immigrants came into the United States and whites began to grow in power. Before white Jesus emerged, people in different cultures depicted Jesus as their own. During the civil rights movement, some black people portrayed Jesus as a black African with an afro comparing the struggles of Jesus with the struggle of their people in the south during the civil rights movement in order to make their Jesus more relatable to suit their own religious obligations and constitutional objective...
Christmas has consumed itself. At its conception, it was a fine idea, and I imagine that at one point its execution worked very much as it was intended to. These days, however, its meaning has been perverted; its true purpose ignored and replaced with a purpose imagined by those who merely go through the motions, without actually knowing why they do so.
It appears that we have been investigating the cause and effects of race and racism for quick some time, as a middle age adult in the year 2015, I feel that we have run into a brick wall which seems too hard to break though, too wide to get around and runs to deep to get under.
Things can be done to advocate the issue, but it will continue to be ignored, unless everyone is on the same accord for change. Everyone being on accord, would be everyone accepting that there is race inequality and there needs to be a change in our communities, workplace, and especially our nation as a whole. If no one advocates the cause, things will remain the same, and people will constantly treat other races with no fairness.
“Why,” you ask, “position yourself only to be disappointed upon realizing that all you hold as true is in fact false?” I will tell you that I grew up believing in Santa Claus—the jolly, old, fat man who annually descended the chimney with his endless sack of treasures. I will tell you that I still believe that Santa Claus exists, despite being told otherwise by both parent and peer. I will tell you not only that Santa Claus exists, but that he exists in you and your family and your friends and every person who gives a little extra in any way thinkable.
It appear that we have been investigating the cause and effects of race and racism for quick some time, as middle age adult in the year 2015, I feel that we have run into a brick wall which seems too hard to break though, to wide to get around and runs to deep to get under.
Even more so, in the years to come we will have to accommodate those that are either offended by the Christmas celebration or those that feel excluded. In public schools, it used to be acceptable to celebrate the Christmas season with a Nativity theatrical play. The Nativity depicts the story about the birth of Jesus, born in a manger, and the three wise men coming to visit the new king. A plentiful number of school districts have decided against having this genre of theatrical play in their schools. They came to the conclusion that it imposes upon an individual’s religious freedom. It seems, accommodation is better than causing any possible discrimination lawsuits.
Racism is a worldwide problem that will never be eradicated and there are no simple solutions to it.
It is obvious that over time Whites have created a particular image that most people see when they think about what Jesus looks like. The most common idea of a picture of Jesus is Him having fair skin, blue eyes and long flowing dirty blond hair. Many people do not picture Jesus as a Black person might picture Him. In this alone, there is an implication of a specific stereotype on Jesus, which implies that His message does not apply to everyone. This is the reason why blacks are on a ‘quest’ for a Black messiah. White theology makes it seem as though God’s word is oriented toward white people and not black people. White theology is limited in its interpretation of the Christian faith as far as other races are concerned because Whites never conceived the “Black Jesus walking in the ghettos”. The tragedy of the interpretations of Jesus Christ is that in His name, the most ...