SantaCon stumbled across the East Village and into Brooklyn this past Saturday. The get-dressed-as-santa-barcrawl-thats-it-cum-frat-party started just a couple blocks away from me at Tompkins Square Park.
Unlike San Francisco, it’s nice to see the media here is nearly unanimous in its revulsion. This paragraph from the New York Times pretty much sums up my feelings toward SantaCon:
“For a New York City event of its size, however, SantaCon is distinctive, and arguably impressive, in that it contributes absolutely zero value — cultural, artistic, aesthetic, diversionary, culinary or political — to its host neighborhood. Quite simply, SantaCon is a parasite…”
What started out in San Francisco in the 1990s as a counter-culture statement against the commercialism of Christmas has been completely taken over by a bunch of meatheads, boozehounds, and wannabes who just want to drink and act up for a reason. Add a dash of mob mentality to the mix and you’ve got yourself a full-on North Pole riot on your hands.
Sigh. Just as Christmas lost its intended message decades ago, the idea that originally spawned SantaCon has long been forgotten.
SantaCon contributes zero value – cultural, artistic, aesthetic, diversionary, culinary, or political http://t.co/nMKcIhzOae
— Stuart (@steuwart) December 17, 2013