EDITORIAL: Red in the nose or red in the face?

This Nov. 15, 2011 photo, shows at the Microsoft office in San Francisco, from left, The Abominable Snowman, aka Bumble, with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius, all figures from the animated show Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

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This Nov. 15, 2011 photo, shows at the Microsoft office in San Francisco, from left, The Abominable Snowman, aka Bumble, with Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer, Hermey, and Yukon Cornelius, all figures from the animated show Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

People are the worst.

Not the most popular or pleasant sentiment, but something I say at least 10 times a day. I don’t say this just for the sake of negativity, but because every day, there is some crazy story about people getting outrageously offended about the dumbest things

Let’s look at the latest example. This week, as they do every single year, CBS aired the holiday classic “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. But this year, since we are living in an era where everything offends someone, people are ticked off because of the messages conveyed in the timeless holiday special.

Before I even get into why this is so absurd, I want to admit something that I was clearly wrong about. In my November 15, 2018 editorial entitled “Think it’s too early for Christmas? Bah humbug.” I said: “I mean, no one can possibly get upset or offended by Charlie Brown or Rudolph!”. How silly of me to forget about the ever present and vocal snowflakes.

Now I typically hate to use the term ‘snowflake’ to describe those who are constantly up in arms, because it is often used as a somewhat derogatory term as ‘liberal snowflakes’, but it seems like the only fitting description for this group of naysayers.

As one Twitter user said, “Oh no. It’s #RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer. I don’t have strength to watch this again. Those poor elves. That bully with the whip. Abusive deer. Dentist shaming. Unloved toys. It’s too much.”

Another posted a meme that said: “Roses are red. Elf practice is unavoidable. Deviation from the norm will be punished unless it is exploitable.”

I know these sound almost too absurd to be real, but no fake news here, they are 100% legitimate.

These people are totally missing the point of Rudolph’s story! It is about how he overcomes adversity and learns to find his niche at the North Pole. I totally get that the story and its themes aren’t 100 percent perfect, but nothing is! I refuse to believe that any child has watched ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ and thought after how bad it is for supposedly highlighting bullying.

I understand that these people may honestly believe Rudolph’s story is hateful, but I think for the most part, people just tee off on Twitter or other platforms for the sake of being offended.

You could go back through many old movies, shows, and TV specials to find questionable themes or messages, but when it comes to Christmas, can the ‘snowflakes’ melt and just let the rest of us enjoy the season without the PC police sounding the alarm? Some things have to just be enjoyed and not excessively analyzed.

This special was released in 1964, and has been aired annually on CBS for the past 54 years. There has been criticism of the classic before, but never to the degree of public backlash it has faced this year. This makes no sense, because if the main argument is that the special promotes bullying, why would it be acceptable for the past 50 years, but all of a sudden it’s as if all hell is breaking loose.

This is because many people, to me, are like glasses of water than are 99.9% full. All they need is one little iota of something to bother them, and they just flip their lid and unleash on Twitter.

So as we begin this most merriest month, save your whining! We don’t need to hear how Buddy the Elf’s diet encourages diabetes or how The Grinch will skyrocket the rates of breaking and entering.

As Richelle E. Goodrich says in her book of quotes, Smile Anyway, “Christmas is like candy; it slowly melts in your mouth sweetening every taste bud, making you wish it could last forever.”

So don’t make it bitter.