Can ‘Rudolph’ convince Connemara inspectors that discrimination is wrong?

CBS generously ran the classic Christmas special “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” twice in 2012, allowing me to do some much-needed fact-checking. I’ve been wanting to compare Rudolph’s plight as an outcast to Connemaras that fail inspections in America, but my memory needed a little refreshing on what happened when.

I looked up the history of the Rankin/Bass TV special, made with stop-motion animation, and was surprised by how much the plot changed from the original book and song. The original stories only found value in Rudolph once his glowing nose served a purpose.

The movie fixed the problem by conveying the message that all discrimination based on appearance is wrong. The North Pole community apologized to Rudolph and promised help for the Island of Misfit Toys BEFORE the value of Rudolph’s nose as a red headlight became apparent.

The TV special debuted on NBC in 1964. Some 50 years later, the movie’s message hasn’t apparently gotten through to adults in breed societies who not only discriminate against horses with inspections, but they celebrate their ability to discriminate by advertising their inspections, covering them as news items and running the names of the horses that have passed their inspections over and over in print.

Imagine if you put THAT in an animated Rudolph special and showed it on TV.

What message do these inspections give to children, who learn from the “Rudolph” special that appearance discrimination is wrong only to have their horse fail a Connemara inspection because it doesn’t fit some cookie cutter template? How many of these now confused children will want to continue in such an uninviting breed society?

The only crime of the horses that are failed at these inspections is that they do not fit a certain “look” that the inspectors have decided is the “correct” one, even though this is all made-up mumbo jumbo, since there is no correct look. All appearance is valid in this world.

The Island of Misfit Toys got my attention this year because it reminded me that those who are outcasts will just form their own community. Is this what breed societies want? Competition from alternate societies within the same breed?

Since the Connemaras being failed are the ones that are more refined and perhaps more likely to do well in open shows, is it smart to encourage an alternate society of horses made up of performers? If you’re a buyer looking for an A-circuit show pony, do you buy it from the pool of horses that have passed inspection because their cannon bone was large enough or do you buy it from the pool of horses that are likely to win?

It’s counterproductive to throw out beautiful horses, just as it was counterproductive at the North Pole for Santa and the others to throw out a reindeer who turned out to have a necessary skill.

However, that’s not the message of the story. As we mark Christmas in 2012, let’s remember the message: that all discrimination, particularly discrimination based on appearance, is mean, harmful and just plain wrong.

Perhaps I should be sending a copy of “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” to all Connemara inspectors.