pickaninny for sale!

this one comes to me via my buddy DPB (by the way, her blog featuring amazing handmade jewelry can be found here).

i'll admit some naivete on my part, as i thought the days of the pickaninny were on the decline. i mean, with the rise of sasha and malia, how could one continue to view african-american children in such a way?

but gravity hit when i got this in my email. this is nuts. i guess this is what happens when your main source of inspiration is 'birth of a nation.'

the nose and lips clearly occupy most of the real estate on this doll's face, since that's what black folks look like. furthermore, there's NO shipping on this! get the ignorance that you can hug and squeeze while supplies last!

but what really ticks me off is the incorrect spelling of pickaninny in the tags at the bottom. wikipedia features alternative spellings, but here it's spelled 'pickannie'. pick annie? what the hell is that? it ties so nicely back into my ignorance begetting ignorance post.

chi-chi-chi-CHIA!!!

apparently, walgreens has decided to pull the obama chia pet from stores in tampa and chicago because of racism claims (i had my money on misplaced idolatry, but let's not go there).

hmm, i'm not personally offended by this, mostly because it's just a damn chia pet. i guess the big gripe is that once the buds begin to sprout from the obama bust, it starts to look like an afro. i don't know, i guess this one is just lost on me.

first of all, everyone is trying capitalize on this obama shit. you know, before he really screws up and they start burning more of these chia pet likenesses than buying them.

second, i'm wondering if people would be equally offended by a bush chia pet. i mean, it grows a bush (heh heh, bush). that's as dirty as you can get. i haven't yet seen this actual product, and hopefully we'll never see it.

third, i have no clue what type of seeds accompany chia pet pottery, but i'm sure it isn't a particular plant which would probably add more weight to the racism argument.

but i tend to respect the viewpoints of others so if you think the chia pet is indeed offensive, no probs. we'll just agree to disagree.

the ones cultural sensitivity left behind: eyewear edition

so originally, i was thinking about not doing a post on what could be this summer's hottest rage: slanties. there was no way i could express all the nuance and anger about this product as well as the ladies at disgrasian and racialicious. but something kept nagging me about this product, so i had to get it off my chest.

i'm seriously wondering who came up with this idea. i mean, did they not think that it could possibly be offensive to people of asian descent? and the product name? for real?

remember however, that it wasn't just the 'genius' who was inspired by the inuits (the true fucking geniuses) who's at fault. think of all the folks who went along with the idea, unwilling or unable to consider the implications. i mean, they managed to square away a production and marketing budget for this shit!

and these shits cost $75! during a fucking recession! they have the nerve to make you pay out the ass to be ignorant!

if you happen to be in the baltimore area on april 17, please don't go to this launch party. unless you're prepared to do battle.