Those other reindeer sure are mean

Is the christmas carol classic (aren’t I awesome at alliterations?) Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer supposed to be a racism metaphor? I mean, he’s essentially the same as every other reindeer, just has a slight superficial difference (although a glowing nose is quite a startling leap in evolution without sugical procedures, has anybody looked into rudolph’s medical history?). Then when this trait proves useful, he becomes a valued member of the community? Are the other reindeer just bigots who found a reason to quell their hatred for the time being, until the time came that his nose stopped being useful? Or are they truly sorry for their actions against Rudolph, and just want him to join their reindeer games afterall?

I interpret it as a metaphor, but not for racism. Rather, Rudolph stands in for children born with physical/mental disability or some unusual characteristic. He’s one individual different from everyone else in his community; even his parents don’t have glowing red noses. He’s not a member of an oppressed minority.

And I’d say it’s rather judgemental to label to other reindeer as bigots. This is a children’s song, and seen in that light, the behavior of Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, etc… is forgiveable, though still wrong. All children, unfortunately, have a tendency to gang up on and mock those with physical deformities. Most children, fortunately, grow out of it. The entire Rudolph episode is a learning experience for the rest of the herd. We’ll note that it’s the authorty figure, Santa, who forces the others to recognize the usefulness of Rudolph’s nose, just as it’s the dutiful parents, teachers, and church leaders who insist that children treat disabled outsiders with respect.

Yeah, I’d not necessarily say it was a metaphor for racism, but rather, for prejudice generally, but even so, it may not be intentionally a morality-play; the underdog-cum-hero is just a rather strong plot to hang a story about; see also The Ugly Duckling.

In the wild, reindeer bands have strict social structures. A miscreant, or mutant, may be forced to do Lapps.

The OP reminds me of a similar monologue from Frasier Crane on Cheers. “And after Rudolph proves useful, do the other reindeer accept him into their games? No! They still ostracize him even while they’re exploiting his unique talents!” :wink:

Despite the fact that Lapps and reindeer are less-than-ideal sexual mates. Of course, those different reindeer shoulda thought of that before they went all mutant.

The other reindeer are meant to be bullies, not bigots.

Really, it’s surprising that Rudolf didn’t tell Jolly Fatso where he could park his sleigh…

Or crash land the whole team onto some godforsaken mountain.

"Here’s a new reindeer game for you all. It’s called “Surviving off the carcasses of the dead until the spring thaw! And no, you don’t have to let poor me join in this one either.”

You know who I felt sorry for in The Ugly Duckling? His dad. If I were Poppa Duck, and I just watched my son turn into a fucking Swan, I’d probably think about finding my wife–the fucking swan’s mother–and asking her some questions. Then I’d probably go to jail for a while, but hey, at least my son didn’t stay ugly forever, you know?

I don’t think adultery was implied anywhere. Wasn’t the swan chick lost from another set of parents? So he’s essentially adopted by the ducks, and not related to either duck parent.

Was Poppa duck even there at all, come to think of it?

No; as the classic puppetmation Christmas special makes clear, it’s about sexual orientation.

Yep, it can be a metaphor for any group of people who feel that they are in a privileged position and wish to exclude others from their holier-than-thouness. Religion, for example.

Everybody believes they’ve picked the right one and, with the exception of a few out there, think that everybody else is going to hell for picking the wrong one. What a tragedy that would be, if all the good people like Ghandi went to hell because the Christians were right.

Now here comes Rudolph, different from all the other reindeer, getting snow kicked in his face for being different and not being one of Santa’s chosen. But one Christmas eve they found that themselves surrounded by the fog, unable to do the right thing by getting all the presents to the children of the world. They were incomplete.

Rudolph was able to light the way, and get them to where they needed to go, and all the other reindeer realized why they should never judge a person by the color of their nose. We all have our purpose, so don’t ever think you’re better than anyone else.

It’s a message older as old as the cosmos itself, put into a new format for the people of our time. We need to understand it, and not view it as a novelty.

If you’re looking for a children’s story about racism, check out Dr. Seuss’ The Sneetches, though I just learned that some think of it as an allegory for antisemitism.

Go to your room.

I don’t think it’s a racism metaphor. That said, I got in trouble with my boss once (I was in retail) for singing the following song. (I have no idea whether it’s copyrighted or not; I’ve only heard it sung by other black people in person:

Leroy & Roosevelt Reindeer
The only reindeer that were black
You hardly ever saw them
They pushed the sleigh from the back
All of other reindeer
Used to laugh and put them down
Cause Leroy & Roosevelt Reindeer
Came from the black side of town…

etc.

My white store manager was irritated with me for singing the song in the mall. I pointed out that I was not on duty, I was not in our store, and I was wearing nothing that identified me as an employee of our chain. She was still vexed.

Hans Christian Andersen might have intended the story as a metaphor for his belief in the legend that he was actually the king’s bastard.

Come to think of it, what business have talking, flying reindeer in singling out any of their number as a mutant?!

Which, now I think of it, casts new light on the scene in the 1952 film where Danny Kaye gets arrested for sitting on the pedestal of the king’s statue.