Video: Merry Christmas, here’s your Xbox box
posted at 6:30 pm on March 1, 2008 by Allahpundit
It’s the derisive laughter in the background that really makes it, you know?
Per the YouTube sidebar info, our story ends happily. But … it can’t be real. Can it?
Blowback
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Poor kid. It’s probably hooked up in the rec room already and dad was playing Madden all night.
Hee Haw Damien on March 1, 2008 at 6:35 PM
That’s cold man, joke or not.
echosyst on March 1, 2008 at 6:36 PM
Later that night that kid gets revenge.. >:}
Chakra Hammer on March 1, 2008 at 6:36 PM
10 bucks says the kid starts smoking or something. You don’t mess with a child’s gaming consoles.
BadgerHawk on March 1, 2008 at 6:36 PM
Hope for the parent’s sake the kid has a sense of humor.
Spirit of 1776 on March 1, 2008 at 6:38 PM
復讐
Chakra Hammer on March 1, 2008 at 6:38 PM
There is a special place in hell for the people that did this to that little boy.
Mormon Doc on March 1, 2008 at 6:41 PM
so uncool on so many levels
Duane Ingalls Glasscock on March 1, 2008 at 6:41 PM
This is just cruel and extremely bad parenting. Kinda like the way democrats treat their constituents.
meci on March 1, 2008 at 6:41 PM
The sick laughter and the “we can’t afford an Xbox” made this cross the line from awesome prank to sick joke. I really hope that kid got to play w/ an Xbox on Christmas Morning or…that he got those sickos back on Christmas Morning :)
malan89 on March 1, 2008 at 6:43 PM
I laughed a little. Assuming they had a 360 hidden on him, it is funny. If not, then those are some horrible parents.
Blarg the Destroyer on March 1, 2008 at 6:44 PM
That is sad beyond belief. Classless just Classless. That kid doesn’t have a chance.
Mike Mose on March 1, 2008 at 6:44 PM
I wouldn’t go THAT far. Its not cruel, as long as the kid still got a XBox.
malan89 on March 1, 2008 at 6:44 PM
There is no humor doing this to anyone, child or not. There is a perverse psychology to drawing this out, and then taping it.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 6:50 PM
Don’t worry, the kid is getting a 360.
Blarg the Destroyer on March 1, 2008 at 6:50 PM
Wow, I was furious at first… but IF the description at YouTube is accurate, and they did get it for him but just played this trick to get him back for peeking at the present early, then I suppose it’s not that bad. And after thinking a little more about it, the fact that they have the box at all is a pretty good indication that they indeed bought it (unless this plan was so elaborate that they dug through peoples’ trash to find an empty box).
Still, they should have told him it was a joke sooner.
RightWinged on March 1, 2008 at 6:52 PM
Real? No kid acts that well.
That’ll leave a mark on the kid, even if he did get the Xbox.
Limerick on March 1, 2008 at 6:52 PM
It was cruel. Even if the kid got the XBox. It might have been funny if the kid were older, in his teens, but it’s quite obvious he’s not.
Allahpundit, thanks for posting this, I’m going to buy my kids an XBox now.
Vinnie on March 1, 2008 at 6:53 PM
According to this story at engadget the information claiming that he did get the 360 is false.
The good news it that Engadget is apparently going to give him one for having horrible parents.
TheNolan on March 1, 2008 at 6:55 PM
Nothing says Merry Christmas like an ego stomping. Thanks mom and dad for taping it too. Now JR can relive the memories and catch hell at school, because NOBODY watches youtube. Children are not playthings that you can use for your own entertainment.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 6:57 PM
Wow, I could have sworn I linked to that story TheNolan. Oh, wait, it is because I did.
Blarg the Destroyer on March 1, 2008 at 6:58 PM
You don’t do a child that way on Christmas, even if he did sneak a peek (as the info at YouTube says).
That’s child abuse, and it ought to be investigated.
paul006 on March 1, 2008 at 6:58 PM
Sorry Blarg, must have missed that. No need to get snippy about it.
TheNolan on March 1, 2008 at 6:59 PM
I read the sidebar before commenting. The kid might have learned an important lesson about trust if the parents had withheld the gift until after they talked with him. Why? Because by sneaking a peak, the child took something away from the parents as well. But the way they did this was outright mean. They enjoyed the moment for way too long.
Connie on March 1, 2008 at 7:02 PM
Blarg, you didn’t explain enough to get me to click on the link… TheNolan set it up better, and that’s when I clicked the link.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 7:02 PM
What Obama-aniacs will experience if the liberal Messiah gets elected.
Wildcatter1980 on March 1, 2008 at 7:11 PM
That is one of most emotionally cruel things I’ve seen in a long time.
Insomniac on March 1, 2008 at 7:12 PM
I don’t care if he got the xbox later or not, it doesn’t matter, why would anyone who loves their child want to hurt him like that…and then ha ha ha, put it on the internet where it will never go away. Hey, I made my kid cry….haaaaaaaaa, ain’t I clever?
JustTruth101 on March 1, 2008 at 7:25 PM
I thought this was an Obama ad until the very end…
JustTruth101 on March 1, 2008 at 7:26 PM
That was evil. Why post this now?
Zorro on March 1, 2008 at 7:27 PM
I second that Zorro! Allah you”re not posting from Jamaica are you?
RFA on March 1, 2008 at 7:32 PM
Well, I thought it was funny. My mom did the same thing to me when I was little, and it’s not the reason why I’m frakked up today.
Not like the kid needs an xbox at that age – give him a ball and a glove (in the xbox carton) and kick his butt outside.
the goddess anna on March 1, 2008 at 7:33 PM
punked.
but seriously, i’m sure the kid learned a lesson. maybe not a good one, though.
meandchi on March 1, 2008 at 7:36 PM
The parents did let it go on WAY WAY TOO LONG. It was funny up to a point – he takes out the clothes and begins feeling like he didn’t get the Xbox – but then you give him another present – say, a clothes box with the Xbox in it.
I hope the kid got his Xbox. I really do. Otherwise his family is just very sick and twisted.
kippras on March 1, 2008 at 7:36 PM
Is it me, or does that kid look like Don King’s long lost son? Mean SOB for parents thats for sure. As the father of an 8 year old girl, I like to tease her periodically, but that was way over the edge.
rayvet on March 1, 2008 at 7:37 PM
I guess I should add while I’m thinking about it that my mom did it as a lesson – I was being a seriously bratty kid, and she said I didn’t deserve to get everything I wanted for Christmas that year. I eventually got it for my half-birthday (6 months later), after I had shaped up and all.
It was the original Nintendo system, and I still own it! Lesson learned.
the goddess anna on March 1, 2008 at 7:38 PM
That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen.
frankj on March 1, 2008 at 7:41 PM
Most ridiculous post of the day…year?
SouthernGent on March 1, 2008 at 7:46 PM
If the kid peaked and the parents were upset about it they should have taken it back to the store and given him something else, or saved it for his birthday. Then he would have had to ask where it was, therefor admitting that he had peaked. That would have been a better lesson.
Rose on March 1, 2008 at 7:48 PM
That honor goes to the tool who posted this mess on youtube.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 7:50 PM
This poor kids parents ensured that he peaked at 11 or 12. They neutered him for the camera.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 7:54 PM
this is the nutroots after McCain wins in squeeker over Obama
windansea on March 1, 2008 at 7:55 PM
Cold Steel,
Oops, sorry. I should have checked my spelling.
Rose on March 1, 2008 at 7:59 PM
Those are the parents my wife and I have to deal with as a teachers. Lovely.
robblefarian on March 1, 2008 at 8:00 PM
I saw this early this morning…even sent it in to HA….and I’ve literally been trying all day and evening now to find out more about this poor kid. The vid seems to be going viral quickly…so, perhaps in a few days, more will come out of this.
Yeah, the YouTube sidebar says the kid got his game…and no video?
I mean, there’s a lot of important things in this world to get upset about…but none of it really matters if we digress into various forms of child abuse. Just makes me sick.
JetBoy on March 1, 2008 at 8:01 PM
And for the next joke the parents are doing to hold him down and shove toothpicks under his fingernails….
Hog Wild on March 1, 2008 at 8:03 PM
The sidebar says that he did get the game and his brother is going to post that video.
Rose on March 1, 2008 at 8:03 PM
bastard
Mazztek on March 1, 2008 at 8:05 PM
No worries. I was just playing. My attempt at redundant humor: using your misspelling to make the same points.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 8:06 PM
I saw this video weeks ago. What, are you going to call social workers on the family? The prank was pretty cruel but I don’t think we should get the gvt involved.
Rowsdower on March 1, 2008 at 8:09 PM
The parents didn’t have an XBox 360 waiting for him. Make of that what you will.
Christoph on March 1, 2008 at 8:17 PM
Jeez, way to celebrate your child’s Christmas. He’ll probably never forget that…
WisCon on March 1, 2008 at 8:18 PM
Touche’
SouthernGent on March 1, 2008 at 8:24 PM
“You raised my hopes then dashed them quite ex-pert-ly sir.” (English accent)
- Little orphan robot from Futurama: X-mas episode.
VolMagic on March 1, 2008 at 8:24 PM
“…an on local news, a whole family was found dead this morning when their young son turn the gas on the stove in the middle of the night and sat outside holding an empty x-box box. The neighbors say that Jonathan was always a happy quiet kid and cant understand why he would gas his family…
rarbolay on March 1, 2008 at 8:24 PM
What’s next? Why not tell him that he was adopted while you’re at it? OR was that going to be saved for Christmas dinner?
Wow. Truly tasteless.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on March 1, 2008 at 8:25 PM
Yes, something you would not expect to see at Hot Air… I hope this isn’t the beginning of a trend.
Zorro on March 1, 2008 at 8:28 PM
Sorry, gotta disagree. This is borderline child abuse.
You are essentially saying that so long as the kid ultimately got material possessions all is forgiven! It was cruel not because of the prank (putting clothes in a video game box) but the commentary of the “parents” as the prank went along.
highhopes on March 1, 2008 at 8:31 PM
Damn that was cruel.
voiceofreason on March 1, 2008 at 8:38 PM
highhopes on March 1, 2008 at 8:31 PM
Borderline child abuse?
VolMagic on March 1, 2008 at 8:42 PM
need to buy him a haircut
custer on March 1, 2008 at 8:47 PM
What, exactly, is ridiculous about it?
Is it your view that the behavior depicted in this video is not abusive? Or is it your view that the behavior is abusive, but the abuse of a child is permissible conduct?
paul006 on March 1, 2008 at 8:47 PM
Paul, if I’m reading SG right, he more than likely has a problem with the government intervention aspect of your post.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 8:53 PM
Yes. Hitting isn’t the only kind of abuse.
highhopes on March 1, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Call me a cold, heartless bastard if you must, but i laughed heartily. The kid’s face when he opens that box is priceless.
madne0 on March 1, 2008 at 8:58 PM
Sorry, this was just plain cruel! Nothing funny about it at all!
JellyToast on March 1, 2008 at 9:10 PM
madne0 on March 1, 2008 at 8:58 PM
Cold, heartless, laughing bastard. (Meant kindly of course).
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 9:14 PM
My thoughts exactly.
.
And the idiotic parents of this bs stunt? They will be wondering what could have possibly gone wrong when this kid hits 12 and joins a frickin gang, shoots up the hood then ends up in jail.
shooter on March 1, 2008 at 9:14 PM
highhopes on March 1, 2008 at 8:57 PM
Granted. I simply take you to mean it in the sense that child abuse must be conteracted by the state, rightfully so, and I woulnd’t want the state to intercede in this situation.
There is bad parenting and there is child abuse. Two seperate things, in my mind at least.
VolMagic on March 1, 2008 at 9:14 PM
Why do I get the feeling that the GOP is about to do the same thing to us this November?
.
GT on March 1, 2008 at 9:15 PM
Not abusive. SouthernGent is right, accusing the parents of child abuse and saying that there should be an investigation is idiotic, at the very least. It was a prank, good hell, people. Lighten up. If he got an X-box later in the day, he’ll hardly even remember this incident, and even if he does remember it clearly, it will be a funny story to tell his friends late in life.
Man, do any of you joke around with your kids?
Troy Rasmussen on March 1, 2008 at 9:17 PM
Wow … I feel awful.
WolkingsWorld.com on March 1, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Cause Mr. McCain and the Republican Establishment are great at jerking us around… what better way to combat global warming— give us winter clothes. What better way to combat campaign fraud—tell us to shut up. What better way to combat illegal immigration—-tell us to put the sheets away and quit being racist. Don’t be surprised when you see the big heavy package under the tree this November….
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 9:25 PM
Stupid? Yes. Abusive? No. This is no more “abusive” than someone wrapping a present in a small box, then putting that box in a bigger box, then putting that box in a bigger box making the kid believe he has a large present.
SouthernGent on March 1, 2008 at 9:26 PM
Yeah, I like to hang them out the window by the ankle…
sincerely,
M. Jackson.
Yeah, I like to have them ride on my lap while driving strung out to the club..
yours truly,
B. Spears
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 9:28 PM
Oh! Please! These two incidents are completely distinguishable from this clip. Both of your examples brazenly endanger the life of a child, and this clip makes some kid a little sad for awhile.
Come on. Try harder.
Troy Rasmussen on March 1, 2008 at 9:41 PM
The actions of that poor boy’s parents just piss me off. So what if he “peeked” at his Christmas presents. He’s a kid! Kids do that! His heartbreak makes my heart break. Don’t think he’ll forget this awful memory and wonder why the people he’s supposed to trust and look up to would do something so cruel to him. Some people don’t deserve to be blessed with children.
thedecider on March 1, 2008 at 9:42 PM
O
It’s hard for me to want to come up with a way to publicly humiliate my children. Teaching right from wrong is hard enough. As I’ve stated before, my children aren’t punchlines to my twisted humor. They deserve more from me as their parent. I do know that videotaping a Christmas joke and then seeing that child’s eyes dim is ghoulish. If that’s preparing children for life, then my children will be grossly under-prepared.
Cold Steel on March 1, 2008 at 9:47 PM
Well, as a general proposition, I share an aversion to government intervention. But that aversion is not blanket. I rather like it when the government intervenes on criminal behavior, for example. I think most of us do. Likewise, most of us are enthusiastic fans of government intervention on Islamic jihadists. (Indeed, we want them intervened on to death, yes?) And who among us objects when the local health department intervenes on the restaurant worker with hepatitis? (Can I get a show of hands for a plate of noodles with a side of jaundice? Nobody? Hmm.)
In every state of our Union, it is impermissible to abuse people who cannot fend for themselves, including the elderly, the mentally disabled and children. So far as I know, neither conservatism nor conservatives have ever thought it should be otherwise.
Here, the best that one can do is to declare summarily that the behavior shown in this video is not emotionally or psychologically abusive of the boy. (What would be, I wonder?) In that event, we have a difference in judgment.
paul006 on March 1, 2008 at 9:48 PM
Child abuse? An investigation? Awful memory? Puh-leeze. It was a joke. That kid is going to watch that video next year and laugh his ass off. Some of you folks sound like…libberalls — no sense of humor at all. One Christmas my husband put a beautiful Christmas gift bag next to our 5-year-old daughter’s stocking. Inside were 2 huge bunches of fresh broccoli. The look on her face was priceless. “Santa wants me to eat broccoli? Oh no!” We laughed till we cried. She’s 16 now, and apparently undamaged by the trauma. In fact, it’s one of her favorite stories to tell.
Rational Thought on March 1, 2008 at 9:50 PM
Well Doc, it was after that, that I became the pipe bomber.
Irenaeus on March 1, 2008 at 9:53 PM
Christmas the time of year for Joy and Hope. To celebrate the birth of Christ. This falls where in that description. A joke is one thing to violate the trust and innocence of a child is way beyond wrong. I hope the kid has a forgiving heart it looks like he is going to need it.
tengger on March 1, 2008 at 10:07 PM
Oh come on now.. he will thank his parents some day for his upbringing. They probably won’t feel a thing.
GoodBoy on March 1, 2008 at 10:12 PM
The look on that kid’s face was so sad. Heartless bastards.
This video is a big, fat metaphor for the entire GOP primary process. We get all excited for the election, and then we open our shiny, new present to find…Juan McStain.
Depressing.
Redhead Infidel on March 1, 2008 at 10:15 PM
Nice prank at Christmas!
canopfor on March 1, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Looking at the comments, it seems a majority agree this was a heartless prank to play on a child. Others don’t seem to understand that, while this type of prank would be fine for an older kid or adult, it is unacceptable for child this young. Children this age do not have the same coping abilities or maturity an older child or adult would have. You can look at his surroundings and realize this is not a kid who is showered with expensive gifts. He really wanted this one. Peeked at it early on and knew what he was getting. Then there was the awful dialogue of the “adults” around him furthering his disappointment. It’s just cruel. I don’t care how you measure it, you don’t treat a child that young in that way.
thedecider on March 1, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Rational Thought on March 1, 2008 at 9:50 PM
couldn’t agree more. from the comments it appears that our country no longer remembers what true child abuse is. You know getting beat with a bat, locked in a cage, having your mother use your arm as an ashtray, starvation etc. Yes, the child was sad. Yes he got his feeling hurt, yes he was disappointed, and yes it appears that his parents are classless. However that is very very very very far from child abuse. Getting ones feeling hurt, being disappointed, and being sad is NOT child abuse.
unseen on March 1, 2008 at 11:48 PM
Good grief! You people must raise some spoiled kids. Some families (including mine) have been doing this for generations.
It sometimes derives from being raised economically poor and having fun with Holidays/birthdays and such….box of rocks, potato in the stocking, big box with just a card/underwear/tie. We made the most out of what we had and learned to joke around and laugh at yourself and not expect too much.
“Emotionally traumatized”….give me a break!
nottakingsides on March 2, 2008 at 12:06 AM
Psyche!
Tzetzes on March 2, 2008 at 12:14 AM
My heart hurt watching that video, especially when everyone walked away. There needed to some payoff to show that he wasn’t left with that feeling, otherwise it’s just pointless anguish porn, perpetrated on a child no less.
(p.s. we have one child and a blissfully game-system free household – so far)
Captain Scarlet on March 2, 2008 at 1:17 AM
Hey, the kid had hope that he was getting a new Xbox, so what if he didn’t. It’s the hope that matters, not the contents. So what if that hope is in a box stuffed with shirts.
/sarc off
poor kid
Half the country is putting it’s hope in a stuffed shirt. If they get the chance to open it, imagine how disappointed they will be.
29Victor on March 2, 2008 at 1:23 AM
No matter how many crappy arguments I hear about how this is a prank and the kid will probably have a sense of humor about it someday, and further, how viewers both on site and the original site had worse childhood traumas and survived them, ONE ITEM should be considered over and above all others…
This kid had his personal life crapped on by his family in public. Not a little crapping in house…Not an in front of the neighbors crapping…This ia an international, first order, Tom-Bergeron-might-be-getting-this-for-the-end-of-season-100K-some-day-soon-so-back-up-the-truck-and-let-it-fly dump-o-rama. Did any of the people whose families played a form of the prank before have thatdone to them?
Play a prank? OK fine…
Fail to respect your child’s feelings out before the world?
I don’t think so.
52Ranger on March 2, 2008 at 1:28 AM
That hurt my heart. That was abuse. If the kid peeked you deal with the action right out, you don’t humiliate and treat the child cruelly. How harsh.
ihasurnominashun on March 2, 2008 at 2:06 AM
…and with that, a serial killer was born.
Duh-duh-DUUUUUUUUH!/sinister music
All kidding aside, the look on that kid’s face…WTF is wrong with this kid’s parents? What kind of demented freaks would continue to play a kid out after seeing how crushed he was? WTF did those scumbags find so funny about the look on the kid’s face?
If that kid grows up to be a menace to society, twenty bucks says THIS will come up in session with the social worker/psychologist/court appointed attourney at some point.
SuperCool on March 2, 2008 at 3:07 AM
…that and then putting the tape of it up on the net for the entire world to see.
This kid’s parents are moral degenerates.
SuperCool on March 2, 2008 at 3:10 AM
Oh man that’s soooo funny! Yeah, listen to ‘em laugh! “Hey kid, don’t get your hopes up for anything but just resign yourself to always live in the ghetto and not dream for anything! Just like us!” Yeah real funny. And the talking heads all wonder why these kids never grow up and get the hell out of that world -it’s because they get STEPPED ON and told there is not point in TRYING, HOPING OR BELIEVING. Great work parents. Whatever.
Keith
kickstar1 on March 2, 2008 at 3:19 AM
This is what America will be feeling should we elect Obama.
amkun on March 2, 2008 at 4:37 AM
THAT, was too funny! That kid needs a haircut…BIGTIME!
traderdfw on March 2, 2008 at 4:49 AM
I feel bad, but I would probably do that. In related news, two years ago for Christmas, I gave my little brother a big box, with a cinder block, stuffed with newspaper, and a Gamecube game hidden in the side.
Fizzmaister on March 2, 2008 at 5:17 AM
Does not look right to me. I think it was staged. We are in a youtube era where people are competing for their 15 minutes.
tommylotto on March 2, 2008 at 6:00 AM
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