black in america, according to cnn

so since i don't watch much television, i can be pretty late to the game on things. but i've spotted this cnn commercial for the umpteenth time and had to feature it.

first, it's set in a barbershop, one of three media-designated habitats for african-americans (the others being the beauty parlor and chuuuuuuch) so you know there's going to be some jovial jive talkin'. that's what happens in barbershops, right?

during campaign season, i hated reading stories on black folks' collective musings about obama that were set in either one of these three places. it was such bullshit. they're not the only places we hang, ya know. we also tend to hit up a starbucks every know and then.

but that doesn't quite fit with the exoticism associated with "the other." doesn't quite make us look so distinguishable from "normal, regular" people. and with tripe like this, it may be a while before we can start looking at our similarities rather than our differences.