# Mall of American hires a black Santa; racist come out of the woodwork **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 4, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864 "2016-12-04T20:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/1 "2016-12-04T20:29:25Z")
> **['Santa is WHITE. BOYCOTT Mall of America': Online racists are having a...](https://www.rawstory.com/2016/12/santa-is-white-boycott-mall-of-america-online-racists-are-having-a-meltdown-over-malls-black-santa/)** > > The announcement that Mall of America was welcoming its first black Santa Claus was greeted in many quarters as a good thing but, as might be expected in a country that has become increasingly more comfortable saying any racist thing that comes to... I can’t believe this is happening in 2016 - or maybe I should. :smack: To me, Santa is Santa, whether he’s white, black, green, purple, young, old, or even possibly female. Someone on another board copied-and-pasted some comments. They were sickening. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/2 "2016-12-04T20:47:59Z")
“Basket of deplorables”, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/3 "2016-12-04T20:48:53Z")
One of the comments posted there complained that it was racist to have Santa be Black. _ **That** _ was the racist part. :smack: I guess it is historically accurate that all of the people native to the North Pole have been White. Good gravy. ETA: Yes, most deplorable. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/4 "2016-12-04T21:24:24Z")
Other places have had black Santas for _years_ before this. When I was in Rochester, N.Y. in the 1980s they called them “Soul Santas”. Other places certainly have them: [http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2016/dec/02/soul-santa-returns-black-history-museum/](http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2016/dec/02/soul-santa-returns-black-history-museum/)’ ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/5 "2016-12-04T21:36:24Z")
Well, Morgan Freeman played a better God than God. So black is cool for Santa IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Lydia\_Phalfav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a6a055/32.png) [@Lydia\_Phalfav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lydia_Phalfav)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/6 "2016-12-04T21:38:51Z")
Yeah? Some people are asshats as we all know… Stop letting trolls offend you. Tell them to fuck off & go on with your life. Who gives 2 shits about black Santas except the culture of permanent offense. Grow a pair (ovaries, testicles, who cares?) ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/7 "2016-12-04T21:39:25Z")
Well, he’s sufficiently jovial; he makes for a better saint nick than i ever could. These people can eat a humbug ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2016, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/8 "2016-12-04T23:55:12Z")
> [@Lydia\_Phalfav](#): > > … > Who gives 2 shits about black Santas except the culture of permanent offense. Grow a pair (ovaries, testicles, who cares?) Brains? Nah, now that I think about it, even a pair of brains wouldn’t help some racist fucknob bothered by a Black Santa. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/9 "2016-12-05T00:03:23Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I can’t believe this is happening in 2016 - or maybe I should. :smack: Why would you be surprised? Hell, people were angered (triggered, if you will) that a Cheerios commercial showed an interracial couple. Or when they showed a black stormtrooper. Or a black Hermione. Or a black Rue. Or a black Spiderman. Or a black… ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/10 "2016-12-05T00:17:10Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > I guess it is historically accurate that all of the people native to the North Pole have been White. Good gravy. But what color is snow? What color are polar bears? QED. Case closed. Not to worry, though, now that Trump’s been elected, all this black-Santa and Hispanic-Santa type nonsense will cease, by Executive Order. The Bible, the sacred Word of God, specifically describes Santa as a jolly old fat white guy. I think it’s in Two Corinthians. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/11 "2016-12-05T00:39:44Z")
Black Santas have existed for a long-ass time. This is crazy. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/12 "2016-12-05T00:43:08Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But what color is snow? … Yellow? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/13 "2016-12-05T00:56:54Z")
Or a black Hiemdal, or a black Jimmy Olsen. Or a white, female “Ancient One”. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/14 "2016-12-05T01:46:10Z")
Anyways the real santa is a robot anways. Dunno where y’all getting your facts fro ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/15 "2016-12-05T01:51:18Z")
Or Blacula. Or Dorothy in _The Wiz_. Or C. Thomas Howell in _Soul Man_. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/16 "2016-12-05T01:54:47Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Or Dorothy in _The Wiz_. I legit saw someone complain about that, saying something like, “how would you like it if they did the Wizard of Oz but had everyone white?!!” ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/17 "2016-12-05T02:00:39Z")
The real question, of course, is: does he say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/18 "2016-12-05T02:23:54Z")
Damn, I am getting hungry for some reindeer BBQ with a side helpin’ of North Pole Blues right about now. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/19 "2016-12-05T02:33:38Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > The real question, of course, is: does he say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”? It’s Minnesota. They say _god Jul_. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2016, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864/20 "2016-12-05T02:39:20Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But what color is snow? What color are polar bears? QED. Case closed. Polar bears are black. (if this was your point all along, sorry, I was confused by the ‘snow’ thing…) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mall-of-american-hires-a-black-santa-racist-come-out-of-the-woodwork/773864.md?page=2)