Santa Claus Transvestite Has No Right to Scare Kids

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Nov 20, 2000 | by Stephen Goode

It's pleasant to learn that in these rabidly multicultural times some folks still have common sense. In this instance, it's the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, which ruled recently that a Wal-Mart in the town of Morganfield in the western part of the commonwealth had not discriminated against a woman named Marta Brown when the store said she couldn't play Santa Claus during the 1995 Christmas season.

Brown, a Wal-Mart customer-service employee, volunteered to play Santa for the store but then was dismissed from the Santa role and sent back to her regular job, which she soon quit. Brown filed a complaint with the commission early in 1996, according to a story by Chris Poynter in the Louisville Courier-Journal, saying that it was ridicule by fellow employees because of her failure as Santa that drove her from her job. She demanded $67,000 for lost wages and for pain and suffering.

But the Commission on Human Rights didn't buy her story. "Unfortunately, Ms. Brown's debut as Santa Claus was less than successful," said the commission's decision. One child who sat on her lap suddenly punched her in the chest, whispering to mom: "This is a woman!"

A parent later complained to the manager that her youngster was having a hard time believing in Santa Claus, since he'd discovered that afternoon that Wal-Mart's Santa wasn't even a man.

"The impact of the matter on sales, especially in a small town during the Christmas holiday, was significant and a legitimate business concern," the commission rightly concluded. Moreover, it said, Brown had been given the chance to play the part -- and had failed. Can Brown be charged with undermining a kid's belief in Santa Claus? Probably not, but for the people thinks she should be.