National
Stop Saying Santa is White
In case you thought Megyn Kelly was an isolated example of the ferocious, ridiculous lengths to which some people will go to maintain an imaginary figure’s whiteness — a New Mexico teacher was disciplined last week for challenging an African-American’s student’s Santa costume.
Christopher Rougier, a ninth grader at Cleveland High School, was participating in a dress-up event in which students came as Santa, elves or reindeer. But when Rougier’s teacher saw the boy in a Kris Kringle hat and beard, he reportedly told him, “Christopher, don’t you know Santa Claus is white? Why are you wearing that?” Thanks to his teacher’s condescending, ignorant remarks, his family says the boy now feels too ashamed to wear the costume again.
In an interview with KOB-4 local news, Rougier’s father Michael said, “There’s no room for that in the classroom. Whether this teacher felt Christopher may have been wearing this out of context, there’s no room for it.” Michael, who is white, added, “If it’s not for parents like me that’s part of interracial families to say, it’s time to stop this… it’s time to stop. I have to fight for my boys.”
