https://files.catbox.moe/lyfc33.mp4The News: ‘Competition for Santa’: Mom says she, son were asked to leave mall over costumehttps://www.mytwintiers.com/news-cat/competition-for-santa-mom-says-she-son-were-asked-to-leave-mall-over-costume/Kirk Wissink’s family describes him as “Mr. Christmas.” He has Down syndrome, and for his family, his love for the holidays is part of what makes him so special.“Christmas is Kirk’s favorite holiday,” Kirk’s mother, Marcie Wissink, told Nexstar’s WOOD. “He plays Christmas music and stuff during summertime and we’re always like, ‘Not yet, Kirk.'”While Kirk is 30, he sees the world through childlike eyes.“Even though Kirk is an adult, he’s still mentally a child,” Marcie said. “I mean, everything he does is, is kid-like.”This time of year excites Kirk more than anything, and getting a picture with Santa is like the star on top of the tree. But when Marcie tried to take Kirk to see Santa at RiverTown Crossings in Grandville, Michigan, this year, they didn’t exactly get their Hallmark ending.“We were not even to the center of the mall, and I heard somebody going, ‘sir, sir, sir,'” she explained. That person was mall security. “He said, ‘Um, he’s got to leave. He can’t be here dressed like that.'”When the family asked why, they were told Kirk’s costume – he had dressed up as Buddy Hobbs, the main character of the Christmas movie “Elf” – was “competition for Santa.”“So I said, ‘Well, Kirk has Down syndrome,'” Marcie recalled. “He’s, you know, special needs. He likes to dress up for the holidays.”
Marcie told WOOD the security then said they may be able to make an exception, but would need to check with management. By that point, she said she was already frustrated with the situation.“I think I said ‘whatever’ and I walked away because I thought ‘I’m just going to take him to go see Santa and then we’ll leave,'” she said.Unfortunately, Santa was on a break at the time, so Kirk never got his picture.>so Kirk never got his picture.>so Kirk never got his picture.>Kirk never got his picture.“I felt bad because Kirk really loves Santa,” Marcie explained. “His demeanor did change a little bit. He kind of got really quiet, and you could just tell that he just wasn’t in it anymore.”WOOD reached out to RiverTown to ask about the situation and received a statement saying in part:“RiverTown Crossings sincerely apologizes for the experience a guest and their family had during a recent visit. This incident does not reflect the welcoming and inclusive environment we are committed to providing.”WOOD followed up with mall management, asking if there was a policy against wearing costumes. They responded with a similar statement, saying they apologize and are conducting an internal review.
>>524326719After Marcie posted about the experience on TikTok, someone from the mall also reached out to the family. The family hasn’t responded yet, but they do want something done so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.“I think that maybe proper training, if they see that there is a special needs person that was dressed up coming there, that they would be a little bit more sympathetic or allow him to go dressed up to see Santa or to participate in whatever’s going on in the mall,” Marcie said.
>>524326701Sad. We should do something nice for him.
Iceland was right to abort these people
>>524326910looks like we've got ourselves a Grinch
>>524326910If they treated their people better they could change their name to Niceland.
>>524327057>If they treated their people better they could change their name to Niceland.
>>524327315Better than Meanland
