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Viral Story Of Boy Who Died In Santa’s Arms Begins To Unravel

Renae said:
Viral Story Of Boy Who Died In Santa’s Arms Begins To Unravel « CBS Philly

Okay, I posted the original story, because it was a "hit you in the feels". But now to read this, I'm officially tilted. What a scumbag if he made the whole damned thing up.
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I haven't watched the video and have no vested interest in it being true or not, but the guy refusing to reveal who the family was isn't really a mark against his credibility. Were I in the same situation I wouldn't throw a grieving family into the spotlight in order to clear myself either. This could just as easily be the media piranhas getting pissy because their feeding frenzy might be over.
 
Scrabaholic said:
The "Santa" is standing by his story. I hope this is true and not a story some jackass made up.

Santa Claus Defends Story About Terminally Ill Boy's Death
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I hope it's true, too. I really hope he didn't make it up.

I remember that story that came out, last year maybe, about a grandmother who took her granddaughter into a fast food joint and she claimed she was asked to leave by other patrons because her granddaughter bore terrible scars of a dog attack. People were up in arms, employees were being harassed, doctors from all over the world were volunteering free plastic surgery, and so on. Turns out the entire story was made up. I have faith in people, but then people do things that absolutely disgust me.
 
notquiteright said:
If one story kills your faith in humanity I suggest you didn't have much to begin with...

I used to marvel at people wailing over one lost child but shrug as millions die in war torn regions. Or one murdered mother while thousand die of disease elsewhere.

Perhaps life has given me a very jaundiced eye- but I don't lack faith in humanity- just most humans... ;)
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The human mind and emotions are not geared to cope with grasping the death of millions. The death of one is more personal and relate-able.


Also, millions suffering far away is a big problem, and most people don't feel they can do anything that will make a difference. A single person suffering close at hand is something more understandable, and something they might be able to help with.


Don't be too hard on people; we're only human.
 
tres borrachos said:
I remember that story that came out, last year maybe, about a grandmother who took her granddaughter into a fast food joint and she claimed she was asked to leave by other patrons because her granddaughter bore terrible scars of a dog attack. People were up in arms, employees were being harassed, doctors from all over the world were volunteering free plastic surgery, and so on. Turns out the entire story was made up. I have faith in people, but then people do things that absolutely disgust me.
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I never believed that story for a second. People in general are NOT that terrible.
 
notquiteright said:
If one story kills your faith in humanity I suggest you didn't have much to begin with...

I used to marvel at people wailing over one lost child but shrug as millions die in war torn regions. Or one murdered mother while thousand die of disease elsewhere.

Perhaps life has given me a very jaundiced eye- but I don't lack faith in humanity- just most humans... ;)
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Just because you cry over one dying kid highlighted in a story doesn't mean you don't shed tears or just shrug off the others dying daily. Of course, I can only speak for myself.
 
tres borrachos said:
I hope it's true, too. I really hope he didn't make it up.

I remember that story that came out, last year maybe, about a grandmother who took her granddaughter into a fast food joint and she claimed she was asked to leave by other patrons because her granddaughter bore terrible scars of a dog attack. People were up in arms, employees were being harassed, doctors from all over the world were volunteering free plastic surgery, and so on. Turns out the entire story was made up. I have faith in people, but then people do things that absolutely disgust me.
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I hope he did make it up, cause the alternatives is a kid died.
 
Renae said:
I hope he did make it up, cause the alternatives is a kid died.
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Kids die all the time. I guess, I'd rather hear that one died in Santa's arms than alone in a hospital bed, because the parents and nurses all came in a minute too late.
 
Goshin said:
The human mind and emotions are not geared to cope with grasping the death of millions. The death of one is more personal and relate-able. Also, millions suffering far away is a big problem, and most people don't feel they can do anything that will make a difference. A single person suffering close at hand is something more understandable, and something they might be able to help with. Don't be too hard on people; we're only human.
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Oh I dunno, we seem ready to fall all over ourselves depending on the people involved. We dive face first into The Balkans but seem confused on where Rwanda is...

New Orleans got anything from a shrug to disdain from many folks while the Jersey Shore had folks lined up to help as did the Midwest floods, Oakland earthquake.

I'd say a key indicator is the 'they don't look like us' factor... and using being human as an out is one of the things early in my military career that helped develop my jaundiced eye toward my fellow citizens... :peace
 
americanwoman said:
Just because you cry over one dying kid highlighted in a story doesn't mean you don't shed tears or just shrug off the others dying daily. Of course, I can only speak for myself.
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My point was if one story of this sort causes you to lose faith, it probably wasn't a very strong faith. The other point is how we rend garments over a single local kid while millions suffer and die around the world.

I don't claim to want a nation of hard or soft hearted people- just sometimes grow weary of the trite phrases at such times... losing faith indeed... :peace
 
notquiteright said:
Oh I dunno, we seem ready to fall all over ourselves depending on the people involved. We dive face first into The Balkans but seem confused on where Rwanda is...

New Orleans got anything from a shrug to disdain from many folks while the Jersey Shore had folks lined up to help as did the Midwest floods, Oakland earthquake.

I'd say a key indicator is the 'they don't look like us' factor... and using being human as an out is one of the things early in my military career that helped develop my jaundiced eye toward my fellow citizens... :peace
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Of course for you, it's about race.
 
Renae said:
Of course for you, it's about race.
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If it was I never would have served... :roll:

But we all tend to relate/associate with those who look like us...

Ask any Grunt or REMF wannabee trying to sound all salty, what they called the locals while touring with Uncle Sugar's Travelling Green (Brown) Machine...

Hint, The Germans didn't have as many ahhhh colorful names as the asians, later Arabs/Muslims...

It ain't 'for me', I just notice things during my rather ahhh broad travels with a band of 'real' Americans... :peace
 
Goshin said:
The human mind and emotions are not geared to cope with grasping the death of millions. The death of one is more personal and relate-able.


Also, millions suffering far away is a big problem, and most people don't feel they can do anything that will make a difference. A single person suffering close at hand is something more understandable, and something they might be able to help with.


Don't be too hard on people; we're only human.
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"The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic."
 
jmotivator said:
"The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic."
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The death or disappearance of someone who looks like us or our wives or kids hits home. The death of a thousand black kids in an urban ghetto not so much.

Media knows this. That's why they play up the Natalie Holloway stories and blow off the street shooting of gang members, unless it was an honor student killed by a stray bullet. Then they can work with it and jerk a few tears.
 
Renae said:
I hope he did make it up, cause the alternatives is a kid died.
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Unfortunately kids die every day. It's very sad. When it happens, it actually helps to know that out of a tragic death came some amazing act of humanity.
 
Harshaw said:
I never believed that story for a second. People in general are NOT that terrible.
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Same here. There are vile ugly people all over the world, but the likelihood of dozens of them being in the same KFC at the same time was too unbelievable for a normal person.
 
Crosscheck said:
Good grief.

It was a very emotional story to read but it almost seemed that only Santa was there and parents weren't which I thought odd.
Now it has been 2 days and the parents have not came forth to validate his story this is beginning to be another fake news story just as the young Muslim girl who claimed Trump supporters threaten her.

You really can't believe anything you read in the news anymore. Am starting to wonder if what the politicians tell is truthful too.
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Starting to wonder????? Politicians make up more fake news than trolls on the internet do.

Remember this one?
"I remember Christmas of 1968 sitting on a gunboat in Cambodia. I remember what it was like to be shot at by Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge and Cambodians, and have the president of the United States telling the American people that I was not there; the troops were not in Cambodia. I have that memory which is seared -- seared -- in me."--John Kerry during the 2004 presidential campaign.​

Those who served with him at that time say it never happened--that he was never in Cambodia. Even the Washington Post had to acknowledge the account as a made up story.

Remember in 2008 when Hillary said that she and Chelsea had to run from gunfire in Bosnia when she was first lady? The press who were with her at the time said nothing even close to that ever happened. She explained later that she made a mistake in how she recalled the event. A mistake about running from gunfire? How many of us would have a faulty memory about something like that?

And of course there was the totally false story about an insulting video triggering the attack at Benghazi that was repeated again and again until it was so thoroughly discredited that the most blatant liars were too embarrassed to keep it up. And despite the overwhelming evidence that they knew the truth from the beginning, not one has admitted to deliberately perpetuating a lie. The number of times fake news has been grabbed onto and repeated again and again and again is appalling. Some of us may have been innocent victims of that once or twice but those who do it deliberately are legion.

And if you have spent any time at all listening to hearings involving bureaucrats or politicians on Capital Hill, the incredulity of the testimony is sometimes so glaring and blatant that you just want to throw something at the screen.

As for our elected leaders themselves, some get at least an A minus for honesty, but those are darn rare.

It's bad enough when the fake news is just intended to tug at the heartstrings and go viral to see if it will. It is tragic when it is fake news that fools the people government is supposed to serve or is conducted by those given the public trust.
 
And people say I have no sentimentality when I steer clear from such stories or fail to have any reaction. Well, maybe I'm unsentimental, but at least I'm not a sucker :lol:
 
Gaztopian said:
And people say I have no sentimentality when I steer clear from such stories or fail to have any reaction. Well, maybe I'm unsentimental, but at least I'm not a sucker :lol:
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I'm too cynical to buy into these stories. So, I never take them at face value, but rather tend to always look deeper in search of the hook.
 
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