ABC57 News in South Bend, Ind. covers all of Michiana including St. Joseph, Elkhart, Kosciusko, LaPorte and Marshall counties in Indiana and Berrien, Cass, Van Buren and St. Joseph counties in Mich.
SOUTH BEND â A stock photograph of Santa Claus, posted to social media, has raised a testy debate in South Bend: is the image innocent, or is it offensive?
It also throws into the local spotlight a symbol that has traditionally meant one thing but has recently been co-opted by internet trolls and white supremacists. How or when should a symbol with a benign past but a more sinister present be used?
The photograph was attached to a Dec. 28 post on Facebook by the South Bend Fraternal Order of Police. The post highlighted the police unionâs âSantaâs Elficersâ charity program.