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The Problem with Rudolph
Dec. 18th, 2014 08:42 pmOkay, this one is, perhaps, less of Rudolph's problem and more of a societal problem. But, I think it illustrates a big problem with how we've been dealing with a multitude of issues.
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows"
Quick, to the point, here's the Reindeer. He has a physical non-conformity. It's a noticeable one.
"All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games"
And we start the problem. In childish terms, "laugh and call him names" and "never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games". In adult terms, those are harassing and ostracizing poor Rudolph, ostensibly because of that physical non-conformity.
It should be noted that the Rankin Bass movie has Santa Clause get in on the action of shaming Rudolph and his family for the sake of that red nose.
"Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight"
Okay, going just by the song, we'll say that Santa was never a part of the abuse of Rudolph. But, here's the sequence thus far. Physical abnormality is identified, Rudolph is ostracized and harassed. Then, the physical abnormality becomes useful to the ostensible values of the community.
"Then how all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer
You'll go down in history"
And, that sequence ends with the other reindeer finally loving Rudolph. But... no.
Firstly, their love of Rudolph is a love of his being useful. That's a shallow love and we all know that Rudolph will be curb-side and heart-broken if the sleigh ever gets fog-lights installed.
Let's pretend that isn't the case. Let's pretend that this was just the break the local reindeer population needed in order to let Rudolph into their society without harassment and that he becomes accepted on his own. There's still something missing.
Why isn't there even one line in which the other reindeer said something along the lines of "I'm sorry".
This seems to be the basic narrative we, at least in America, seem to expect of a lot of cases. The ostracized, the harassed suddenly become accepted and there's no longer any reference to their previous harassment, ostracization, etc.
That's a basic mistake. That which has happened stays happened.
I'm not saying that Rudolph should get some form of revenge. I'm not saying that being rejected for bad reason then allowed into the community isn't a good basic premise of a story. I'm saying that expecting the impact of previous wrongs done to disappear is a wrong in itself. And, that's something we should keep in mind for a multitude of reasons.
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Had a very shiny nose
And if you ever saw it
You would even say it glows"
Quick, to the point, here's the Reindeer. He has a physical non-conformity. It's a noticeable one.
"All of the other reindeer
Used to laugh and call him names
They never let poor Rudolph
Join in any reindeer games"
And we start the problem. In childish terms, "laugh and call him names" and "never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games". In adult terms, those are harassing and ostracizing poor Rudolph, ostensibly because of that physical non-conformity.
It should be noted that the Rankin Bass movie has Santa Clause get in on the action of shaming Rudolph and his family for the sake of that red nose.
"Then one foggy Christmas Eve,
Santa came to say,
Rudolph with your nose so bright,
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight"
Okay, going just by the song, we'll say that Santa was never a part of the abuse of Rudolph. But, here's the sequence thus far. Physical abnormality is identified, Rudolph is ostracized and harassed. Then, the physical abnormality becomes useful to the ostensible values of the community.
"Then how all the reindeer loved him,
As they shouted out with glee,
Rudolph the red-nose Reindeer
You'll go down in history"
And, that sequence ends with the other reindeer finally loving Rudolph. But... no.
Firstly, their love of Rudolph is a love of his being useful. That's a shallow love and we all know that Rudolph will be curb-side and heart-broken if the sleigh ever gets fog-lights installed.
Let's pretend that isn't the case. Let's pretend that this was just the break the local reindeer population needed in order to let Rudolph into their society without harassment and that he becomes accepted on his own. There's still something missing.
Why isn't there even one line in which the other reindeer said something along the lines of "I'm sorry".
This seems to be the basic narrative we, at least in America, seem to expect of a lot of cases. The ostracized, the harassed suddenly become accepted and there's no longer any reference to their previous harassment, ostracization, etc.
That's a basic mistake. That which has happened stays happened.
I'm not saying that Rudolph should get some form of revenge. I'm not saying that being rejected for bad reason then allowed into the community isn't a good basic premise of a story. I'm saying that expecting the impact of previous wrongs done to disappear is a wrong in itself. And, that's something we should keep in mind for a multitude of reasons.
