theroguefeminist:

ohmygil:

thewhitefoxdevil: sizvideos: Watch the full video Holy shit, this experiment is so exploitative of low-income children.

But ultimately this is hardly a positive lesson, tearjerker though it may be, nor is it some grand insight into children’s decision making processes. It’s an advertisement with a very pointed, clear message. As Becca Day-Preston wrote at The Debrief, where she called the video “Christmas poverty clickbait,” it’s cruel to impart such a choice on children in the name of exploiting their supposed kindheartedness. As Day-Preston put it, “…it doesn’t matter that the kids got to keep both gifts in the end. In the second that they thought they wouldn’t, when they were made to make a Santa’s Choice, they would have felt a combination of emotions I wouldn’t wish on anyone. All for the sake of going viral with a heartwarming tale of Christmas spirit. @salon‘s story, which you can read here. what the actual fuck I’m so angry about this

It becomes clear how fucked up this is when you realize it would never work with rich kids. A wealthier kid would know that, whichever choice they made, either they or their family members would probably get what they wanted at some point. This only works by exploiting the anxiety poorer people feel when they are forced to make choices with limited means. Also just think about how much power the people giving the kids gifts have compared to how much power the kids have. The people doing these ads have the resources to give these kids meals and gifts year round in all probability. So now they are just using these kids for a few minutes like guinea pigs for a social experiment. It’s just nasty. Why not ask rich kids to give up gifts they got for Christmas to poorer kids they meet? And try to teach THEM a lesson in gratitude and Christmas giving?