Santa sponsorship is blatant private corporatization

To the editor:

Much to my dismay, I discovered that Usibelli Coal Co. was this year’s sponsor of the Usibelli Colony Christmas Santa Claus with his reindeer. To many, this might appear to be an innocuous gesture, one that makes a play on the age-old custom of putting coal in bad children’s stockings on Christmas Eve. But be forewarned, this carefully calculated instance of so-called social license is an instance of duplicity at its best.

Usibelli and other companies have, in the recent past, picked up the tab and provided funding to churches, schools, community centers and the like. These are, of course, examples of blatant corporatization. Sponsoring Santa is yet another.

I do wonder what became of the age-old custom of having a local resident play Santa, gratis?

In this particular instance, children will equate the benevolent, bearded fellow with a large belly with large-scale resource extraction, seeing it as a good thing. A presumed job for dad, more toy trucks under the tree for junior. Why would a child think any differently?

The first truckload of coal has yet to be hauled away, and already Usibelli Coal is employing underhanded rhetorical tactics. I would encourage those who are in favor of the proposed Wishbone Hill Coal Mine to be wary.

Alys Culhane

Palmer