Is this stuff really racism?

[Coito ergo sum]

If this is the shit we have to complain about, then I'm thinking we're on the downside of racist America... we have a black President for whom white Americans voted for in the majority...

But, Nivea has this ad that they apologized for:

Nivea apologises over 'insensitive' ad showing clean-cut black man holding mask of a scruffy one

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1VVGu0C7l




The only way I can see this as racist is that the people protesting the ad seem to have the racist idea that black men are unkempt.

They have the same sort of ad with a white guy.




Then you have Ed Schultz on DEMSNBC accusing Rick Perry of racism because he said that the debt was black cloud hanging over the US. Shultz said that what Perry really meant was that Obama was a "black" cloud....

[Exi5tentialist]

If the captions on the two Nivea ads were swapped it wouldn't be a problem, on the white model's ad it appears to say "sin city is not an excuse to look like this", correct me if I'm wrong, whereas on the black model's ad the caption is "re-civilize yourself". The insensitivity is in Nivea's failure to realise that being uncivilised is an accusation racists use against black people. The advertisement itself is probably not racist in intent, but it is incompetent, I imagine Nivea won't be paying their advertising agency a full fee for that gem.

Ed Schulz on Rick Perry sounds like politics to me, fair enough.

[HomerJay]

The advertising sure seems to work, judging by the amount of stock you have bought in the second photo.

[Coito ergo sum]

If the captions on the two Nivea ads were swapped it wouldn't be a problem, on the white model's ad it appears to say "sin city is not an excuse to look like this", correct me if I'm wrong, whereas on the black model's ad the caption is "re-civilize yourself". The insensitivity is in Nivea's failure to realise that being uncivilised is an accusation racists use against black people. The advertisement itself is probably not racist in intent, but it is incompetent, I imagine Nivea won't be paying their advertising agency a full fee for that gem.

Ed Schulz on Rick Perry sounds like politics to me, fair enough.

Except that Ed Schultz is the MSNBC equivalent to a Foxsnooze host, and nobody says "fair enough" if Foxsnooze is biased. That Ed Schultz thing was ridiculous....like saying something is a red herring or yellow journalism are slurs against American Indians and Chinese.

[Exi5tentialist]

It's all about context. Red herring wouldn't be a problem. Yellow journalism is a phrase I've never heard of. If it was said to a Chinese journalist it might well be racist. Red herring is ubiquitous, so it would probably pass a red indian by, a bit like asking a black person if they want their coffee black.

[charlou]

^ "red indian" ....

Do people really still use that term?

[Seth]

It's all about context. Red herring wouldn't be a problem. Yellow journalism is a phrase I've never heard of. If it was said to a Chinese journalist it might well be racist. Red herring is ubiquitous, so it would probably pass a red indian by, a bit like asking a black person if they want their coffee black.

"Yellow journalism" refers to the color of the cheap pulp newsprint used in the "broadsheet" days of newspaper publishing. In the late 1700s and early 1800s there were literally thousands of broadsheets published in America and Great Britain. Usually they were mouthpiece organs of one or another political party or persuasion, and the articles were most often grossly biased and downright libelous of the political opposition.

"Yellow journalism" was a term applied to any sort of clearly biased journalism that makes little or no attempt to be objective. Today we call it "tabloid journalism."

[hadespussercats]

If the captions on the two Nivea ads were swapped it wouldn't be a problem, on the white model's ad it appears to say "sin city is not an excuse to look like this", correct me if I'm wrong, whereas on the black model's ad the caption is "re-civilize yourself". The insensitivity is in Nivea's failure to realise that being uncivilised is an accusation racists use against black people. The advertisement itself is probably not racist in intent, but it is incompetent, I imagine Nivea won't be paying their advertising agency a full fee for that gem.

"Re-civilize yourself" is a little close to "noble savages" and the like-- though I agree the reaction is over-the-top.

Reminds me-- Who was it who got in so much trouble for using the word niggardly?

P.S.- I like your foray into foxy avatars, Coito.

[Robert_S]

It strikes me that some twentysomethings making this ad might not be all that familiar with the stereotypes that we older people have been exposed to.

In twenty or thirty years will anyone still give a damn about what we consider racist or horribly insensitive today?

[charlou]

It strikes me that some twentysomethings making this ad might not be all that familiar with the stereotypes that we older people have been exposed to.

In twenty or thirty years will anyone still give a damn about what we consider racist or horribly insensitive today?

There's also a culture of irreverence and taboo breaking which I think will play into it.

[JimC]

If the captions on the two Nivea ads were swapped it wouldn't be a problem, on the white model's ad it appears to say "sin city is not an excuse to look like this", correct me if I'm wrong, whereas on the black model's ad the caption is "re-civilize yourself". The insensitivity is in Nivea's failure to realise that being uncivilised is an accusation racists use against black people. The advertisement itself is probably not racist in intent, but it is incompetent, I imagine Nivea won't be paying their advertising agency a full fee for that gem.

Ed Schulz on Rick Perry sounds like politics to me, fair enough.

This makes sense to me. Perhaps not overtly racist, but a very poor choice of words in context...

They should try civilising this:

[charlou]

^ Nevah!

[mistermack]

Is everyone a bit naive, or am I overly cynical?
I don't see anything accidental about this. Advertisers know that all publicity is good publicity. Well, nearly anyway.
Something like this, mildly offensive to only the most sensitive people, won't lose many sales, but it will get the name of Nivea discussed on the tv, in the papers, and in the chat websites. To most people, the only lasting memory is the name Nivea.

They can't lose.

[Exi5tentialist]

Is everyone a bit naive, or am I overly cynical?
I don't see anything accidental about this. Advertisers know that all publicity is good publicity. Well, nearly anyway.
Something like this, mildly offensive to only the most sensitive people, won't lose many sales, but it will get the name of Nivea discussed on the tv, in the papers, and in the chat websites. To most people, the only lasting memory is the name Nivea.

They can't lose.

I don't think you are overly cynical, so it must be that everyone is a bit naive, yes.

[Azathoth]

racist ads look like this:






The OP isn't racist. It has just been picked up on by oversensitive fuckwads with a chip on their shoulder and too much time on their hands