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Humor
The Problematic Lessons of Rudolph the Differently-Nosed Reindeer
He may have gone down in history, but at what cost?
History would have us believe that the lessons to be learned from Rudolph the Differently-Nosed Reindeer are that we should accept and celebrate our differences; that everyone has value; and that passive resistance is the best way to counteract bullying.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Rudolph, as you may recall, was the youngest and smallest of Santa’s enslaved Rangifer tarandus who, as a result of extensive inbreeding, could fly.
Born out of wedlock and never knowing his real father (although scholars have long suspected that facial similarities, i.e., the red, bulbous nose, point toward Santa himself), Rudolph had no protectors at the all-boys school he attended, although he would eventually befriend an outcast elf who fancied himself an orthodontist and who was subsequently arrested for practicing dentistry without a license in Florida.
Underweight and smaller than his cohort, Rudolph was bullied on a daily basis, sometimes being hung by Christmas lights from the rafters of the gym while the reindeer below laughed and called him names.
