Big Kid

So many times there is no justice in the world when people are just jerks. There are typically no laws against rude, selfish behavior, and so the assholes of the world go about ruining things for the rest of us with no repercussions. Once in awhile, however, they get just what they deserve, like this 24-year-old man recently did when he started trying to dash the Christmas dreams of some kids at a parade.

According to the Toronto Star, the man, who hasn't been identified (but should be so he can be publicly taunted as well), was drunk and belligerent at an annual Santa Claus parade in Kingston, Ontario. Then he started yelling his Grinch-like declaration, "Santa isn't real!"

It makes me seethe just reading about it. The fact that the paper reports that his hair was gelled to looked like two devil horns is not so surprising. 

But this time good triumphed over evil, and police arrested him. Not for crushing Christmas dreams officially, but rather for creating a disturbance by being drunk and breach of probation. Still the message was clear. A rep from the police there, Const. Steve Koopman, said: “It was pretty despicable that someone, during this time of the year, would tell kids Santa isn’t real — which of course we would argue."

Despicable indeed. I have no delusions that we can keep our children in bubbles forever, but there are just some places strangers should never go.

A friend once told me that she will never waiver from her message to her children, "If you don't believe, you don't receive," even when they're grown. I've adopted that philosophy as well and see no reason to ever tell them any differently if they're 4 or 40. Other parents approach it differently, and that's fine, but as far as I'm concerned there's too little magic in the world as it is.

While you can't stop kids from telling each other what they think they know (and yes, I am still pissed at a certain boy from second grade who tried to dash my son's dreams, but failed), it's different when it comes from adults who should know better. It's just mean, plain and simple.

So I love that this guy got arrested. And I hope he knows that he's going to have to work really hard if he has any chances of getting off the naughty list. There's going to be coal in his stocking for a long time to come!

Do you think he got what he deserved?

Image via Bart Fields/Flickr