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| Main cast of the latter half of 'Star Trek: Voyager' |
I really hope you're laughing, and not wondering why I have a picture of a Star Trek crew. If you are wondering, allow me to elucidate. Back in the '90s, when I was in high school, there were a lot of 'white shows' and 'black shows.' They weren't called as such, but if you watch a show and everybody is the same race (not just in the family, but all the extras), sorry, but that's just not real life. That's pandering to a specific demographic. I could never get into a lot of shows that seemed fake. Everyone being the same race was one reason I thought they were fake. Another was that they were always rich. Roseanne was a great exception. Working class people with mostly real problems. That wasn't so bad. But mainly what I watched growing up was Star Trek.
Star Trek has never been about making xenophobes comfortable. In the '60s, Star Trek (the original) featured the first interracial kiss seen on television. And I'd catch reruns of it (and The Next Generation), but the one I was watching was Voyager. It was the first Trek series to put a woman in the captain's chair, as well as the first Native American as a bridge officer. Also, a black Vulcan, a half-white Klingon, a converted Borg, a brand-new alien... and a holographic doctor. And some other people of little consequence to diversity. So who did I identify with? The young white guy towards the right, because he looks the most like me? Nope, I actually identified the most with the chef/morale officer. That's the funny-looking alien, top right.
Trekkers think differently. We don't see skin color the way others do. Of course you have to see skin color to judge the quality of diversity, but we don't judge individuals based on what they are. I personally prefer to judge people by what they do.
As for Santa Claus, despite being a fictional character (sorry kiddos), it isn't what Santa looks like that makes him special to children. The iconic red outfit and long white beard are a part of the character, but the most important factor is that he delivers toys to all the good girls and boys. Yes, traditionally he is depicted as being a white man, but does he have to be? There's no real easy answer.
There has been a bit of (in my opinion, misplaced) controversy over ethnic toys, and how Mattel has resisted diversifying their Barbie line. I signed the Change.org petition referenced in the article, because I believe families of non-white color should be able to buy party supplies that reference their child's race—as in, that should be their prerogative—but if a little girl likes Barbie, she's already accepted that Barbie is a white woman. More importantly, the little girl—black, white, Hispanic, Asian, or whatever—doesn't care about race. Racism is always taught, it never comes naturally. So this is largely a push on behalf of parents. But there are ethnic choices and there are neutral choices.
Getting back to Santa Claus, I think the traditional 'white Santa' is loved by girls and boys of all ethnicities, because his skin color doesn't mean a thing to them. They only see a person bringing them toys and filling their stockings with toys and candy. Race never enters into the equation for the kids. So should Santa be black for black kids? I don't see a point. If black parents want to make Santa black, I don't see the harm. You don't see me saying Morgan Freeman should be white, and I've never heard of a black man saying Tom Hanks should be black (although, he's portrayed men of color in Cloud Atlas, one of my favorite films). Again, a man's race doesn't determine who he is. It's what he does, and people on both sides of this issue have lost sight of that. More importantly, they're both imposing prejudices on children who do not share those views. And that's sad.
Merry Christmas to all. Be excellent to each other and stuff.
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