Opinion of the Elf on a Shelf

[traininthedistance]

Creepy as f**k, of course:

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Apparently the Elf's success means that they've branched out into something called the "Mensch on a Bench" now, too, which needs no explanation and is of course all sorts of ugh.

[memphis]

It's just more tacky Christmas clutter that will get thrown out and forgotten in a few weeks.There's no need to overthink it.

[traininthedistance]

It's just more tacky Christmas clutter that will get thrown out and forgotten in a few weeks.There's no need to overthink it.

You know, you're right.  Why bother digging deeper?   Why bother trying to understand the world?  It's not like psychology and culture have real-world consequences or anything.

When Socrates said that the unexamined life wasn't worth living, he was being a sucker.

Thanks for showing me the light, memphis!

[Antonio the Sixth]

Yeah, it sounds pretty creepy.

I'm surprised that the article doesn't mention Foucault even once, though. I thought it was the obligatory reference after Bentham when discussing this sort of stuff.

[DemPGH]

You could do the expected analysis on how consumerism has run amok, but yeah, it is another piece of gimmicky plastic junk to be thrown into the closet on January 2 and then swept out to a yard sale in a couple of summers. There are people who would find that sort of thing droll, though, and I have a relative who is one such person. It's consumerism rearing its ugly head again.

Now, if it's actually used to tell children, "This fellow will tell Stanta if you're bad!" - well, that's horrible. That's a whole other matter.

[traininthedistance]

Now, if it's actually used to tell children, "This fellow will tell Stanta if you're bad!" - well, that's horrible. That's a whole other matter.

Well, yes, that's exactly what the whole point of this thing is.  (And, while I was dimly aware of this thing before, the linked article informed that apparently it's a toy that the kids are not allowed to touch, which is a whole 'nother level of effed up.)

If it was just a typical disposable consumerist fad, then whatever, I wouldn't care.  It's not.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Yeah I'm pretty comfortable thinking this is fairly disturbing.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

Creepy and unconstitutional.