So today, our paper put out a call for pictures of children frightened of Santa Claus.

This is where I’m about to come across as humorless: I don’t find photos of a terrified kid–or adult for that matter–funny, even if Santa Claus is involved. And asking people to laugh at such photos strikes me as mean-spirited at best, cruel at worse–not to mention disrespectful and humiliating to the child involved, who is no less human for being just a few years old.

Letter to the paper has been written, asking them to reconsider this feature.