A sign of intolerance, or a sign of progress?
Hallmark Pulls Card With Audio Clip Over Accusations of Astronomical Racism (from The Consumerist)
Short version: Hallmark releases graduation card with one of those built-in audio modules that plays when you open the card. The card is visibly on an astronomy theme, and the audio talks about `black holes.' The exact quote is, "You black holes, you're so ominous! And you planets? Watch your backs."
Enter the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP. Their spokesperson is shown in the video as saying, "That was very demeaning to African-American women, when they made reference to African-American women as whores, and at the ends says, `Watch your back.'"
When I first read this story, it made me mad. I've listened to the card a few times now, and even on this low-fidelity audio device recorded on a low-fidelity Youtube video, I think it clearly says "holes." It's difficult to imagine hearing it otherwise, especially in the obvious context. And the NAACP spokesperson further undercuts his already weak premise when he implies the "Watch your back" is intended to be somehow threatening to black women, when even in the sentence it's clearly directed at "planets." Exactly what is "planets" a racial slur for, I wonder? But others clearly heard the word "whores."
I've increasingly become of the opinion that supposed civil rights groups and leaders are the ones most responsible for causing and sustaining racism in this country. Granted, I live in a progressive area where racism isn't a key issue as it is elsewhere in the country, but in terms of national-level dialogue, do we see anyone else making so much hay out of this? I'm admittedly disconnected from a lot of the national dialogue by choice, so if anyone out there sees it coming from elsewhere, please chime in. But they're the ones constantly drawing circles around things that are supposedly racist, and keeping everyone's minds on how separate we supposedly are.
So I was grumpy about this for awhile, but then I started to think... maybe this is really a sign of progress. Think of the examples we've seen recently in the national debate on racism. This. In a surprising parallel, a black Dallas County commissioner taking exception to the use of the term "black hole" when a white commissioner used the term to describe a dysfunctional bureaucracy, and hilariously trying to instead call it a "white hole." It's as if they're trying to read a racial context into places it clearly doesn't exist. Don Imus using the phrase "nappy-headed hos" on his radio show (which Al Sharpton used to get himself a lot of national attention, as well). Now in this case he's clearly making a reference to race, but... is this really the best you can do for a racial slur?
A comment I read on one of the stories linked to by the story above even makes a good point: the NAACP dilutes its effectiveness when it "cries wolf" in this fashion, because their credibility will have been damaged should a situation arise where there is a real need for action and advocacy.
Once upon a time, real crimes and real injury were done to people because of their race, and these threads ran deep throughout our society, where politicians, law enforcement, and prominent individuals were involved in and supportive of it. Now, hate groups are fringe and criminal. I really have no idea if there are small Southern towns in the pocket of the KKK anymore. White supremacist groups seem to have concentrated power only inside prisons. I'm curious what real strength and influence such groups have anywhere in the country anymore. I have no idea.
But if these civil rights groups have been reduced to inventing controversy out of situations like this, fabricating a racial subtext where none exists, perhaps this means we are really moving on as a society. And this is what made me look more positively upon this story. It's only when these controversies (or supposed controversies) happen that self-styled "civil rights leaders" are interviewed and garner national attention. It seems as though they realize if we actually make progress as a society and racism becomes a non-issue... they become irrelevant.
How wonderful would that be?
Short version: Hallmark releases graduation card with one of those built-in audio modules that plays when you open the card. The card is visibly on an astronomy theme, and the audio talks about `black holes.' The exact quote is, "You black holes, you're so ominous! And you planets? Watch your backs."
Enter the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP. Their spokesperson is shown in the video as saying, "That was very demeaning to African-American women, when they made reference to African-American women as whores, and at the ends says, `Watch your back.'"
When I first read this story, it made me mad. I've listened to the card a few times now, and even on this low-fidelity audio device recorded on a low-fidelity Youtube video, I think it clearly says "holes." It's difficult to imagine hearing it otherwise, especially in the obvious context. And the NAACP spokesperson further undercuts his already weak premise when he implies the "Watch your back" is intended to be somehow threatening to black women, when even in the sentence it's clearly directed at "planets." Exactly what is "planets" a racial slur for, I wonder? But others clearly heard the word "whores."
I've increasingly become of the opinion that supposed civil rights groups and leaders are the ones most responsible for causing and sustaining racism in this country. Granted, I live in a progressive area where racism isn't a key issue as it is elsewhere in the country, but in terms of national-level dialogue, do we see anyone else making so much hay out of this? I'm admittedly disconnected from a lot of the national dialogue by choice, so if anyone out there sees it coming from elsewhere, please chime in. But they're the ones constantly drawing circles around things that are supposedly racist, and keeping everyone's minds on how separate we supposedly are.
So I was grumpy about this for awhile, but then I started to think... maybe this is really a sign of progress. Think of the examples we've seen recently in the national debate on racism. This. In a surprising parallel, a black Dallas County commissioner taking exception to the use of the term "black hole" when a white commissioner used the term to describe a dysfunctional bureaucracy, and hilariously trying to instead call it a "white hole." It's as if they're trying to read a racial context into places it clearly doesn't exist. Don Imus using the phrase "nappy-headed hos" on his radio show (which Al Sharpton used to get himself a lot of national attention, as well). Now in this case he's clearly making a reference to race, but... is this really the best you can do for a racial slur?
A comment I read on one of the stories linked to by the story above even makes a good point: the NAACP dilutes its effectiveness when it "cries wolf" in this fashion, because their credibility will have been damaged should a situation arise where there is a real need for action and advocacy.
Once upon a time, real crimes and real injury were done to people because of their race, and these threads ran deep throughout our society, where politicians, law enforcement, and prominent individuals were involved in and supportive of it. Now, hate groups are fringe and criminal. I really have no idea if there are small Southern towns in the pocket of the KKK anymore. White supremacist groups seem to have concentrated power only inside prisons. I'm curious what real strength and influence such groups have anywhere in the country anymore. I have no idea.
But if these civil rights groups have been reduced to inventing controversy out of situations like this, fabricating a racial subtext where none exists, perhaps this means we are really moving on as a society. And this is what made me look more positively upon this story. It's only when these controversies (or supposed controversies) happen that self-styled "civil rights leaders" are interviewed and garner national attention. It seems as though they realize if we actually make progress as a society and racism becomes a non-issue... they become irrelevant.
How wonderful would that be?