Dad 'absolutely fuming' after real-life 'Bad Santa' humiliates his disabled son
A father in Carluke, Scotland, was so “utterly disgusted” by a mall Santa’s treatment of his 6-year-old son, who is in a wheelchair, that he posted an angry rant about the incident on Facebook.
Marc Ollerenshaw had taken the boy, Harley, and his brother, Harrison, to Gouldings Garden Centre’s Winter Wonderland event on Sunday, where the family waited 90 minutes to meet Santa Claus. But as soon as they entered the grotto, Santa took one look at Harley and asked the child what had happened to him and whether he was in an accident, Ollerenshaw wrote in his post.
When Harley replied that he was born that way, Santa asked, “Will you ever be able to walk?” Ollerenshaw said he was horrified to witness the insensitive exchange.
“What the actual f***!” Ollerenshaw said bluntly, adding that Santa was so distracted by the boy’s disability that he forgot to ask what the two children wanted for Christmas. The dad, who was “absolutely fuming” at this point, said if his kids weren’t present, “I would be taken away in the back of a police car for assault on Santa!!!”
Instead, the family decided they didn’t want to stay at the holiday fair a minute longer. But on the way out, Ollerenshaw asked to speak with a manager. He said that although the manager was annoyed with Santa, all he offered in the way of an apology were free passes to come back to the Winter Wonderland later in the week. “What? Like we will be back after that!!” Ollerenshaw wrote, noting that even a full refund of $40 admission fee would have been a better resolution.
On the way home, Harley started asking questions about what happened, Ollerenshaw said, and expressed that he didn’t like the experience and doesn’t want to go back. “So yeah, thanks Gouldings Garden Centre you’ve really made our 6 year old boy happy about seeing santa!!!,” the dad wrote in the post.
A spokesperson for Gouldings Garden Centre told Yahoo Lifestyle that George Goulding, the owner of the mall, has spoken with the family, which Ollerenshaw confirmed in an update on his Facebook. Goulding assured the dad he would “handle the complaint in a proper fashion,” and apologized publicly by saying, “After a conversation with Mark this morning I would like to make clear that all complaints are taken seriously and we have addressed all concerns with the Ollerenshaw family resulting in both parties being happy with the handling of the situation.”
Ollerenshaw also updated his post to confirm that he was not trying to incite a witch hunt against the mall Santa, saying, “This was not meant to be a boycott of the place or a manhunt for the Santa but just views of our personal experience.” Nevertheless, he told the Sun that he remains disturbed by Santa’s behavior. “It’s disgraceful, it should never have happened,” he said. “Santa shouldn’t be asking a wee boy these questions in his grotto when Santa is meant to know everything.”
Ollerenshaw told the Sun he suggests the mall offer diversity training to its staff, as “anyone with a diverse mind would think they’d messed up” by interrogating a disabled child. “[Santa] shouldn’t be asking these questions to a six-year-old boy who just wants to be like his friends,” he said. Ollerenshaw said that Goulding was “disgraced” by the incident and will be taking the complaints to the man who played Santa. A spokesperson for Goulding’s declined to comment on whether or not the man is still employed by the mall.
Meanwhile, Ollerenshaw’s Facebook post has gone viral, with people largely chiming in to support his son and express their disgust over Santa’s “ignorant” and “rude” behavior. “It’s disgusting the amount of thoughtless people there are in the world and the prejudice you often see,” wrote one parent whose son is also in a wheelchair. “It’s a pity, we went there with my autistic son 3 and 4 years ago and the … Santa was very patient. This guy sounds diabolical,” wrote another.
Although the experience was so negative, Ollerenshaw seems to have cooled off after speaking with Goulding, and he told the Sun he’s “more than happy with what Gouldings have done to sort the situation.” When contacted by Yahoo Lifestyle, Ollerenshaw declined to comment.
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