Now, I am certain that the brainiacs behind this little fundraising effort for the war didn’t mean any harm by their choice of words here, but that’s kind of the problem, isn't it?
It reminds me of the time that the former Collingwood Football Club President (and budding-MENSA candidate) Allen McAllister clumsily attempted to refute accusations of institutionalised racism against Indigenous players. He decided that the best course of attack was to explain how he did not have a problem with coloureds, per se...
“As long as they conduct themselves like white people, well, off the field, everyone will admire them and respect them.”
In the words of teh Internets, EPIC FAIL.
Comments
One has to remember the time period in which this ad was produced.
You can't apply today's values to yesterday's world.
Trust me, I've seen old time ads that are 100 times worse than this one.
That said, I think that going back and looking at the subtle and less subtle ways that influence ways of thinking and people's attituded (not just to race, mind you), can be helpful. As Mr McAllister demonstrates, the notion of an acceptable 'black' is one who acts 'white' does remain.
Oh whats that? Your two best players are black? And now you've pissed them off they both want to leave and you'll be crap for the next 20ty years? Good work...