Santa Claus is a symbol of mindless consumerism and I don’t expect him to be an arbiter of social norms. But I was pleasantly surprised when a child asked Santa for a gun, and he replied, “No, no guns.” When the kid, who looked too old to believe in Santa, clarified that he wanted a Nerf gun, St. Nick replied:

“Nope. If your dad wants to get it for you, that’s fine, But I can’t bring it to you.”

Santa went the extra mile by trying to convince the petulant brat to consider other options – including Legos, toy cars and trucks and even a bike – but the boy wasn’t pleased with his response and cried like a little brat.

Toy guns are anathema, even Nerf guns, because they represent the very real guns that kill thousands of innocent citizens every year, including many children who die in mass shootings in schools.

In a couple of years when this kid gets a BB gun for Christmas, I wouldn’t be surprised if he shoots his indulgent mom if she doesn’t let him play video games.

The mall Santa was pilloried on social media, but it’s worth nothing that he was diplomatic and suggested that his father could get the odious toy for him.

Santas usually promise to give a child whatever he asks for whether it’s a pony, a video game console or an iPhone, thank God this Santa taught this child a valuable lesson: You can’t always get what you want.