Friday, December 10, 2010

Santa protests fathers rights (British Columbia, Canada)

This was forwarded to me with the following note:

Dear Silverside,

I thought you might find this news item interesting for your blog.

I'm really a pretty jolly fellow, and basically pretty easy going. I know I can't get my job done without a lot of "helpers." And not just the elves here at the North Pole, but all the moms and dads who do their part to support my work.

The fake Santa thing gets to me sometimes though. Most of these guys do a great job--being as busy as I am, there is no way I could honor all the invitations I get to visit malls, children's hospitals, nursing homes, and the like. So I really depend on my "stand ins." As I said, most of these guys do a great job. Some don't--the gropers and the ones who get drunk at Christmas parades. But hopefully your authorities outside the North Pole can deal with those idiots.

But this is really driving me crazy. Who are these jerks dragging me into fathers rights politics? Believe me, I'm the last one to favor dads over moms. And I would never shut out moms from attending a Santa breakfast appearance, like these fathers rights guys did in British Columbia, Canada. That's just wrong.

And though I know there are a lot of worthy dads out there, I've been around a few centuries and I know the score. The vast majority of the Christmas work is done by moms, and frankly anyone with any brains knows this. Who does all the cleaning, the baking, the preparation of holiday meals? Who buys the presents and wraps them? Who delivers cookies to neighbors and friends? Who sends out the Christmas cards?

Seriously, it really ticks me off that these fathers rights guys are trying to coopt my image to support their political agenda. Just thought I'd let you know that.

Sincerely,

S. Claus

http://www.bclocalnews.com/community/111600644.html

Dads, kids meet Santa

Published: December 09, 2010 8:00 AM
Updated: December 09, 2010 8:40 AM

Dads and kids can sit down for breakfast with Santa, pose for a photo and compose a Christmas letter, all in support of father parenting development.

The Dads and Kids Connect fundraiser takes place Saturday (Dec. 11) from 8:30-11 a.m. in the Nanaimo District Secondary School cafeteria.

Sponsored in partnership with NDSS Community School programs and the Nanaimo Men’s Resource Centre, the event includes breakfast and photos with Santa. Then children are encouraged to write a letter on special notepaper or send an e-mail to the North Pole.

NDSS student volunteers will help children choose a North Pole notepaper design to compose their letter or use a special Santa Network computer to send an e-mail.

“We’ll reveal the special e-mail arrangements Santa’s elves have made for the day so children can reach Santa by computer,” said Jim MacGregor, event organizer.

Breakfast is $6 for adults, $4 for children and photos are $5. Proceeds go to the Dads and Kids Connect program. For more on the program, please go to http://schools.sd68.bc.ca/hfcs.

Please enter NDSS by the gymnasium doors next to Nanaimo Aquatic Centre.

For more information, please call 250-740-2026.