This is just unbelievable. Political Correctness at its finest.....Geesh!

Censoring Santa: Sydney says no, no, no to Ho, Ho, Ho
Posted Nov 15th 2007 2:52PM by Sarah Gilbert
Filed under: Scandals

Christmas (or should I say "Xmas" -- "the holiday season" maybe?) continues to be criminalized and the companies that make a business of tinsel, gaily wrapped packages and "ho, ho, ho" don't know whether to embrace or hide from the specter of political incorrectness.

I'm sorry. Did I offend you?

In the latest blow to the no-longer-holy holidays, Santas in Sydney, Australia are being urged to say "ha, ha, ha," instead of "ho, ho, ho."

Recruitment firm Westaff (NASDAQ: WSTF), which contracts with hundreds of Santas, sending them to stores and social appearances throughout Australia, has re-vamped its training. It's telling would-be Santas that the "ho ho ho" phrase "could frighten children and could even be derogatory to women," according to an Australian newspaper.

As Zac Bissonnette says, "ho, ho, ho" is offensive? I could understand if Santas were walking around calling people nappy-headed 'hos," but Santa's jolly greeting is more kid lit than gangsta rap.
After all, what does "ho, ho, ho" remind you of, more, than "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"? Can't you just see a belly bouncing like a bowl full of jelly?


Oh, dear. Now I've just offended those with larger-than-normal body types.


While Christmas is certainly much ballyhoed by businesses worldwide -- from Starbucks' frenzy over its holiday drinks to the American high holy Black Friday -- it turns out that Christmas may not even be good for the economy. (Experts posit that buying so many unwanted things ends up making us unhappy, and is wasting our resources. I'd buy that for a dollar.) Christmas is just a minefield. Emphasize Christianity and you're alienating your Jewish and Muslim customers; pull a Lowe's and call your fake spruces "Family Trees" [pdf link] and you'll have the Christians boycotting you. This year, thanks to the China lead paint scare, many families don't even want to buy toys unless they're made in the U.S.A., handily excluding the majority of toy companies' products.


If you are a business, can you win this year? Probably not. Unless you remember that this whole thing is supposed to be about the spirit behind "ho, ho, ho." Be jolly no matter what the size of your belly and how jelly-like its jiggles. Offer products that are good, safe and useful no matter how they're marketed in your circulars. Give a little.
And, if there's no one watching and you're really careful, maybe you can wish some of your customers a "merry Christmas!" and laugh. Ho, ho, ho.

This has been a very big topic for me in the last few years myself. Retailors have been so scared of losing the AMERICIAN dollar, that because of the immigrants into this country, we have to change christmas! BULLSHI* Retailors are going to end up messing up their year end sales because of this, and their tooooo ignorant to see it. If these people don't really care for christmas, then Retailors are not going to get their dollar anyway. Sooo they need to focus on the christmas people for the funds. (Sounds logical. You just can't go into any ones house, or place of business and change their rules to suit you.)*** I was born in this country and lived here all of my life. Christmas existed when I was born, All of these years I should still be able to celebrate it. WTF*** Just like PLUTO. I was taught all of my life in school that pluto was a planet. Now it is not. Soooo, who can I sue over that????? They lied to me, and made it a part of my history. Sounds like mental anguish to me. LOL.

Actually, this is taking place in Australia, but I wonder if we will see it here.......

I have a friend, who just so happens to be a local fire captain.

He and his wife were called to school for a parent teacher conference! It concerned their daughters behavior!

When he went to the conference they said his daughter had continued, even after the teacher told her, kept referring to the spring break as Easter break! They said it was unacceptable, would they please tell their daughter to stop!

He was livid, but what were they to do?

He and his wife decided to tell her that the school didnt recoqnize Easter!

A few weeks later he was called to the school again! Seems his daughter had told another child (who had said easter) that the school didnt recoqnize Easter!! That they didnt believe in GOD!!

He was smiling when he went to that conference!

I dont know what he said, but never again have I heard him say he had a parent teacher conference!

Yep,
We are already there Texas!!

I'm in Florida and there are several county buildings that are not allowed to put up there Christmas displays because someone got offended. BS! I am offended that it's not there! Shouldn't that count?

Fanta, I would love to know what your friend would have said!

my thoughts exactly!.what about us that get offended by the people that get offended by us?i want to start counter-suing people that complain or sue because of a company putting up a Christmas tree or for singing Christmas songs.

if people don't agree with celebrating Christmas,Thanksgiving,Easter...etc,fine but don't stop others from celebrating them!

Hey, wouldn't it be funny if the Santas were saying, "Ha - HA - HA' and then some customer got offended because they thought Santa was laughing at them?

Political Correctness is a hypothesis started by a small minority and spread by the mainstream media that professes that it is possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.

those that are not religious do not need to participate


those that are religious should not participate

christmas was made when it was to help

convert nonbelievers that had a celebration

at that time of year and the church was afriad they

they would not give up the merriment to be converted

so in reality christmas is a hoax and astronomically

speaking christmas should be in july (i think)

as to the position of the star that lead the wise men
to the christ child

so all those that have said for years it is a marketing ploy

really were correct and it has been on since the beginning

Why is it unbelievable?

You are looking through your culture's eyes at another country...

try looking through this country's eyes, with an educated understanding and it may make sense.

Australia is not ruled by a Christian God...we don't find the dude in a red suit with reindeer and snow and baked lunches suitable...Christmas day falls in the hottest part of summer here...

He looks ridiculous...it's a hangover from European settlers and has nothing to do with this country now.

And I know many people are suspicious of the people who elect to have kids sit on their knee all day... I certainly wouldn't allow my kids to sit on a stranger's knee, and especially dressed in a red suit in the middle of summer...

Doesn't matter what you dress them up in, truth is it is hypocritical of me to teach stranger danger then force my children to be that close and personal with a stranger.

And ho ho ho, means what exactly.????

here in down under our santa drives a HOLDEN ute in the out back
but in the city his sled is pulled by kangaroos not by bloody reindeerslol ho ho ho

I always thought it strange that if the word "Santa" were put to an anagram, and the letters mixed, you could also spell "Satan" with the same 5 letters.....

Who said we have to follow anyone anyway???

Says who???

Religious holiday, my arse... it's Commercialism to the max...

It is all about dollars, and the tinsel dealers and the plum pudding pushers should hang their heads in shame..

Oooops..


I sounded like an Aussie then, funny about that, I am one, so is Reptilekeeper...

The retail stores NEED a Santa... that's about it...

This holiday has been commercialized beyond death... its like beating a pumpkin with a baseball bat, then putting the tiny pieces in a blender... at least with the pumpkin, you could make pumpkin pie... something useful... they have nuked this holiday with a bomb of mass destruction of senselessness

I do not exchange gifts with anyone anymore. Someone in my family (not me) decided that we aren't going to do the "gift" thing anymore.

If it was intended as a celebration of Christ's birth on Earth, then it has long since been polluted by a dude in a red suit and a pine tree...

Much like Easter has been polluted with a bunny rabbit and chicken eggs...

So, when will they start to pollute Hanukkah and Ramadan, etc... is the African "Kwanzaa" festival pollutable? If capitalism will make it buck, it will push for the buck until it kills all in its path.

Or maybe they already have polluted these other holidays...

A week or so after Christmas, we'll see Valentine's Day stuff in the store, after Valentines day by a day we'll see Easter junk, Easter won't even be over and we'll see stuff (in the states) concerning 4th of July crap, then there is the Labor Day binge, soon after followed by Halloween Hell, and Halloween isn't even over before the retail outlets start their Thanksgiving pump... and then (actually about in September) the retailers start their Christmas Blitzkreig...

Karl Marx is rolling in his grave... LOL

They had christmas cards and some gifts in the stores by me in JULY!!! It is hard to get into the holiday spirit when it is 95 degrees out and the humidity is so thick you can cut it with a KNIFE!!!!

In the lowes store they are now selling family trees.

Jess, my intent with this post was in reference to Santa saying, "HO Ho HO" or not......We all agree on how commercialized Christmas has become. No argument there. The term "ho" in the states is a derogatory, low brow slang term for wh*re. Most folks wouldn't acquaint that term in said fashion at Christmas time, coming from Santa...unless their dirty minds will take them there.... but it has become a common, offensive, slang term in youth culture in recent years.
What I find amusing, and sometimes annoying.... is how businesses, local governments, etc... are all scrambling to please everyone and not offend everyone at the same time. Can't be done...... Someone will always find something to b*tch about.
Most people would understand that Santa saying "ho-ho-ho" does not mean he's standing on the corner, ringing his bell and shouting, "Wh*re - Wh*re - Wh*re"...... although there's SOME places in this country one might wonder!
Wow...Christmas in summer there...yes, I suppose a fat man in a red suit WOULD look pretty ridiculous!