Parents lie to their children, demand apology from truth-teller

[Metaphor]

A mum has turned to Reddit for advice after receiving a letter ordering her to rectify the damage her son has caused after he told classmates that Santa Claus isn't real.

The mother, from Southern California, said the parents were allegedly threatening to sue "due to emotional damage, flagrant disregard to parental rights, and facilitating the loss of innocence of child wonderment."

Her son, who is in first grade, told a group of kids believed to be between kindergarten and fourth grade that Santa isn't real.



According to the post on Reddit, the legal letter was delivered by a courier and claims the other children were "traumatised" by her son's "negligent actions", and that as a result her son must stay away from the other children.

To rectify the situation, the mum has been asked to pay for a fully interactive "Santa experience". This could involve hiring a Santa to hand out presents to the children and sing songs.

"The purpose of this is to 'reverse the damage my son caused and re-spark the child like wonderment that surrounds the holidays'," the single mother wrote on Reddit.

While some commentators have offered their legal services, others aren't buying the story.

One commenter said: "It's disappointing to get interested in a title only to find that the story is BS."

Regardless, breaking the news to children that Santa isn't real can be devastating - something Australian comedian Kitty Flanagan found out the hard way when she let slip on The Project last year that Santa wasn't real.

Parents were similarly outraged about the reveal, demanding an apology.

The Project tried to rectify the situation by crossing live to Santa in the North Pole the following night to explain the gaffe.

Parents: if you have built a fantasy that can be destroyed by truthful words from a first-grader, you are the one responsible for the harm that believing in your fantasy brought.

Here's a thought: instead of paying for a 'Santa experience' for your indulged, fragile, special-snowflake children, why don't you send that money to a developing nation so that some children can have potable water for Christmas.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

It's from Reddit, so one must be especially skeptical.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

It's from Reddit, so one must be especially skeptical.

Reddit is part of the internet and, as Abe Lincoln tells us, everything on the internet is true.

That means that the post you just made on the internet wasn't true and breaks the laws of reality. Why don't you just fucking divide by zero while you're at it and destroy the entire planet?

 

[Derec]

Reddit is part of the internet and, as Abe Lincoln tells us, everything on the internet is true.

Wrong! This is what he really said.

 

[Toni]

Everybody still gets presents from Santa at my house at Christmas.

Also, the dog has a pretty good knack for knowing just what little something or other people could really use.

So, I don't know about who's the truth teller in all of this.

 

[bilby]

Everybody still gets presents from Santa at my house at Christmas.

Also, the dog has a pretty good knack for knowing just what little something or other people could really use.

So, I don't know about who's the truth teller in all of this.

I suspect the dog; mine are quite capable of telling me that they haven't yet had their breakfast, even when I watched them eating it.

 

[Axulus]

Yeah, the story is almost certainly false.

First of all, the kid has first amendment rights. At worst, he could've violated some rule at the school and would be dealt with as a school rule violation. It is unlikely there is a "you can't tell kids Santa isn't real" rule, nor would a first grader be expected to know of such an obscure rule.

Second of all, the idea that there would be this kind of overreaction is highly implausible on the face of it.

In any event, any kind of truth telling like this, in general, is protected under the first amendment.

Finally, a demand for an apology from the parents who lie to their children also falls under the purview of their first amendment rights.

 

[Metaphor]

Yeah, the story is almost certainly false.

The part about a lawsuit is probably false; the part about parents over-reacting to preserve the lies they've told their children? I can believe it in a minute.

First of all, the kid has first amendment rights. At worst, he could've violated some rule at the school and would be dealt with as a school rule violation. It is unlikely there is a "you can't tell kids Santa isn't real" rule, nor would a first grader be expected to know of such an obscure rule.

Second of all, the idea that there would be this kind of overreaction is highly implausible on the face of it.

Yeah, and nobody would handcuff a kid for bringing a clock to school.

 

[untermensche]

The question of course is why do adults feel the need to pollute the minds of the young with absurd untruthful stories?

It is insanity.

Be it Santa Clause or Jesus.

 

[Playball40]

As a parent, I embraced the Santa fantasy with my kids. Not as a means to 'keep them in line' (that elf on the shelf thing is kinda creepy), but just for the momentary joy and innocence of it. They didn't believe for long (the logic just didn't add up) but they never seemed traumatized by the realization. It was kind of like, I believed in unicorns, but then I grew up. Oddly, they stopped believing in Santa at around the same time they questioned the existence of God (which they also heard from other children, the media, etc). They thought that was just as implausible. It seems the harm comes when parents (or society) try to convince children that their logic and reasoning is skewed or wrong, making them doubt their own reasoning skills. That is the crime, I think.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

It is really hard to tell what is true anymore in this World of Poe we live in. Seems completely unlikely that a 7 year old can be sued for talking.

 

[Bronzeage]

It is really hard to tell what is true anymore in this World of Poe we live in. Seems completely unlikely that a 7 year old can be sued for talking.

You can't sue a 7 year old for damages, since there is no instance where a 7 year old can be held legally responsible for their actions, and in any case, few 7 year olds have any assets which could be taken to pay the claim.

If such an case were to be brought to court, the plaintiffs would have to put a dollar value on wonder, amazement, and innocence. If this was possible, the defendant could counter that this loss was compensated by, and perhaps exceeded by the dollar value of any presents which the child would be expecting from the fictitious Santa Claus, but now could never receive, since Santa does not deliver to children who do not believe.

 

[Toni]

Everybody still gets presents from Santa at my house at Christmas.

Also, the dog has a pretty good knack for knowing just what little something or other people could really use.

So, I don't know about who's the truth teller in all of this.

I suspect the dog; mine are quite capable of telling me that they haven't yet had their breakfast, even when I watched them eating it.

I thought of that but I can't get over the difference in handwriting on the tags!

Also there's the cookies and the carrots. The dog doesn't care much for carrots, yet, they are all gone on Christmas morning. The dog loves cookies so that could be him but there's always still a little left on the plate. The dog always licks the plate clean..

 

[prideandfall]

The question of course is why do adults feel the need to pollute the minds of the young with absurd untruthful stories?

It is insanity.

Be it Santa Clause or Jesus.

honestly, the one begats the other.
you start them out believing in fairies who exchange money for teeth or fat guys who make presents appear by magic and show them tangible evidence of these things (via money and presents) and that makes it easier to buy into cosmic space jew zombies or a book justifying oppression of minorities or trickle down economics.
to repurpose a terry pratchett quote... the little lies are practice to work up to believing in the big lies.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

It is really hard to tell what is true anymore in this World of Poe we live in. Seems completely unlikely that a 7 year old can be sued for talking.

You can't sue a 7 year old for damages, since there is no instance where a 7 year old can be held legally responsible for their actions, and in any case, few 7 year olds have any assets which could be taken to pay the claim.

If such an case were to be brought to court, the plaintiffs would have to put a dollar value on wonder, amazement, and innocence. If this was possible, the defendant could counter that this loss was compensated by, and perhaps exceeded by the dollar value of any presents which the child would be expecting from the fictitious Santa Claus, but now could never receive, since Santa does not deliver to children who do not believe.

To play Devil's Advocate, "affluenza" exists as a defense in other cases, and it actually worked. So it wouldn't exactly be completely out of the question.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The question of course is why do adults feel the need to pollute the minds of the young with absurd untruthful stories?

It is insanity.

Be it Santa Clause or Jesus.

honestly, the one begats the other.
you start them out believing in fairies who exchange money for teeth or fat guys who make presents appear by magic and show them tangible evidence of these things (via money and presents) and that makes it easier to buy into cosmic space jew zombies or a book justifying oppression of minorities or trickle down economics.
to repurpose a terry pratchett quote... the little lies are practice to work up to believing in the big lies.

Wah? That's just silly. Santa, the Easter Bunny, Muslim Obama are jus figments of imagination and lots of people have fun with it. Personally, I don't like the idea of some fake guy getting credit for gifts. The Winter Holidays can be quite as fun without a myth. But to equate the Santa with God myth is silly. Especially because the two are typically used at the same time. It isn't as if they just introduce the God concept when a kid turns 7 after being primed by Santa.

 

[untermensche]

honestly, the one begats the other.
you start them out believing in fairies who exchange money for teeth or fat guys who make presents appear by magic and show them tangible evidence of these things (via money and presents) and that makes it easier to buy into cosmic space jew zombies or a book justifying oppression of minorities or trickle down economics.
to repurpose a terry pratchett quote... the little lies are practice to work up to believing in the big lies.

Wah? That's just silly. Santa, the Easter Bunny, Muslim Obama are jus figments of imagination and lots of people have fun with it. Personally, I don't like the idea of some fake guy getting credit for gifts. The Winter Holidays can be quite as fun without a myth. But to equate the Santa with God myth is silly. Especially because the two are typically used at the same time. It isn't as if they just introduce the God concept when a kid turns 7 after being primed by Santa.

Children are vulnerable and will believe the things they are told by people they trust.

The only difference between the myths is that most adults understand that Santa Claus is a myth.

But the problem begins in childhood where myths are portrayed as truth by figures in authority.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Wah? That's just silly. Santa, the Easter Bunny, Muslim Obama are jus figments of imagination and lots of people have fun with it. Personally, I don't like the idea of some fake guy getting credit for gifts. The Winter Holidays can be quite as fun without a myth. But to equate the Santa with God myth is silly. Especially because the two are typically used at the same time. It isn't as if they just introduce the God concept when a kid turns 7 after being primed by Santa.

Children are vulnerable and will believe the things they are told by people they trust.

The only difference between the myths is that most adults understand that Santa Claus is a myth.

But the problem begins in childhood where myths are portrayed as truth by figures in authority.

One minor problem here, the parents don't think god is a myth.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

Children are vulnerable and will believe the things they are told by people they trust.

The only difference between the myths is that most adults understand that Santa Claus is a myth.

But the problem begins in childhood where myths are portrayed as truth by figures in authority.

I hear what you're saying. I remember when my son was younger, my wife would put her hands over her eyes and pretend she couldn't see him. Fuck that bitch for making my son think his mother was blind. I can't believe I married such a whore.

 

[Keith&Co.]

One minor problem here, the parents don't think god is a myth.

But they think Allah is a myth. If their kid told Muslim kids that there's no Allah, would they pay damages for the trauma?

Many think evolution is a myth, and some of them think it's a religion. Do they caution their children not to ruin the dreams of the deluded schoolchildren? Would they pay damages and settle out of court of kids losing faith in science?