Tag Archives: racism

Stupid? Yes. Insensitive? Yes. Racist? No.

12 Nov

November 12, 2013

You may have seen some headlines like this recently:

headline

The controversy swirls around a tweet sent out by Home Depot, a large nationwide hardware chain. Here is the original, since deleted post:

BYfsCgKIIAAPADW

It is stupid on a lot of levels, not the least of which is how it somehow is meant to promote either Home Depot or College Gameday, which it sponsors. It is just a vain attempt to create a viral video and get their name out there. Again, it promotes neither hardware or college football, but I guess the name of the game is simply getting your name out there for any reason at all.

It really is a stupid picture, and the knee jerk reaction is to call it racist. I get it. Two black men and a gorilla. The racist symbolism is clear and obvious. Plus, looking at the “gorilla’s” hands, it is clear that the man in the suit is white. If one of the other guys put on the suit, the picture would show one white man, one black man, and a gorilla, which, while still stupid, might have avoided some of the racism claims. (Although you would still have the issue of a black man dressed as a gorilla, which some could still take offense at.)

But is this racist? Sure, it evokes racism, it even abuts racism. It brings the issue of racism immediately to mind.

But it is not racist. To be racist, it would have to equate the black men with the gorilla. It does not. The caption clearly reads “which drummer is not like the others?” It is not equating the black men with the gorilla.

The tweet is clearly stupid, and it is insensitive for so obviously bringing the specter of a racist stereotype image into what is meant to be a funny picture. But it is not racist. It is not insulting the people in the picture or people of any race. To immediately call this racist is a knee-jerk, though understandable, reaction.

Home Depot is guilty of being insensitive, and of being oblivious to what they are posting, but I think Home Depot stops a bit short of being racist.

 

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Allan Keyes Presents: Idiocy Both Accidental and Purposeful.

13 May

May 13, 2013

keyes1.jpg

As the pre-eminent internets recapper in my apartment, I’d be remiss if I didn’t make a post on the latest THING. The FAIL newsreader, AJ Clemente:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! (In fact, that was my first draft of this post, just the word HA repeated 800 times)

It’s brilliant, especially at the 14 second mark where he realizes that he’s not only on the air, but will be off the air shortly.  There’s very little I can comment on this except to note that while he is a dummy and a dullard – did you hear the awful monotone he read the news in? It’s like having Droopy Dawg anchoring – he’s also a pretty cool guy about it all. His twitter post after the debacle said it all “That couldn’t have gone any worse.”  I mean good for him. He’ll need that good sense of humor while the world laughs at him, at least until Lindsay Lohan’s next meltdown.

So let’s move on from an accident to an absolute EPIC FAIL creative decision by Mountain Dew, in what has been quite accurately described as the most racist commercial ever:

(Please click as this will not embed.) http://pjmedia.com/eddriscoll/2013/05/02/banned-mountain-dew-ad/

Here’s a network news story about it:

I’m sorry, but even the hardest-core Klansman would see how wrong this is.  Battered women! Corrupt cops! Stereotype thugs! A talking…..goat? Erm – ok whatever. This one is a veritable carnival of awfulness that would even make Don Rickles speechless. On the other hand, I’m inclined to forgive them, since a soda as truly awful as Goat Piss Mountain Dew and the people who drink it deserve a truly awful commercial. If you drink Mountain Dew I’m NOT apologizing – some things just need to be said.  And it’s not like racist commercials haven’t made it through the cracks before – remember this one that we wrote about:

And McDonalds still hasn’t  recovered from THIS disaster of an ad campaign:

(see what I did there?)

But here’s the thing – a genuine dope like AJ Clemente gets fired, fired oh sooooo fired, all for the crime of making a mistake. What are the chances that the brain trust (yeah that phrase is hack, sue me) behind that commercial who willingly and knowingly signed off on that steaming pile of fecalus at MULTIPLE points get no repercussions whatsoever? Your career can end 5 seconds after it starts for something petty and spontaneous and stupid, but a truly massive eff up, nothing. Great times we live in.  If North Dakota can’t take a few unintended curses, too effing bad. It’s the same thing as everyone yelling about David “Big Papi” Ortiz saying “fuck” in front of kids last week. YOU KNOW WHAT OUR WALL TO WALL NEWS WAS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO?  A DEAD 8-YR OLD AND PEOPLE WHO HAD THEIR LEGS BLOWN OFF BY A COUPLE OF CRETINS, THAT’S WHAT. I THINK THE KIDS AND THE GOOD PEOPLE OF BISMARK CAN HANDLE A CUSS OR TWO.

The idiocy is strong in this nation – except for Mr. BTR of course.

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