Before I get into the blog post I just want to point out that I do not support or endorse racism, discrimination, bigotry, or violence.
If you are familiar with the internet news, you may have come across a story regarding the H&M scandal where they posted some kids clothing of two children wearing sweatshirts with some questionable text. Tons of people were quick to jump onto the bandwagon of the racist card due to what the articles of clothing said in addition to the color of skin that kids had combine with which piece of clothing they were wearing.
Now there are some people who say that this is racist and others that say otherwise.
So the reason why people argue that it is racist is that there is a white child that says "jungle expert" while a black child says "coolest monkey in the jungle" and if taken in a particular context calling a POC a monkey is a racial slur while others suggest that calling a kid a monkey just means a kid that is playing around in a jungle like a monkey. I guarantee that if a white kid had been wearing the monkey version, there would be no racist card tossed out but because the other kid was chosen this is what caused the entire uproar.
Other people have even gone as far as to say the white kid is the jungle expert because white people dominate over POC. I see where they could pull that from however...
Interestingly enough, the mother of the child photographed wearing the hoodie was completely okay with it and took no offense. And I believe there is a divide on people who did take offense (POC and white people alike) and many who don't see the problem.
Where do I stand? Well, if calling a POC a monkey is a recognized racial slur then I can totally see why the clothing item could be seen as offensive. However, you would think that the child, the mother of the child, etc... would have stepped down from the modeling opportunity if they viewed it that way. And if the mother of the child model didn't take offense then perhaps "coolest monkey in the jungle" was simply a general statement to express being the coolest kid playing around. Kids are hyper and animated and they jump around and climb all over things up and down just like that of a monkey or an animal.
Do I think the clothing is racist? No, but perhaps maybe they should have switched who wore what or included various other kids modeling the same items in assorted colors or options to make it more apparent that the black kid getting the monkey one (or another phrase) has NOTHING to do with race, racial slurs, etc...
We've come to be so PC with our actions, our words, our motives, context, reasons, etc... that it feels like everything you say and do is a matter of walking on eggshells. It seems as though no matter how much you analyze or carefully select your expressions, you have to censor yourself down to every word in order to try not to piss off people.
Of course when it comes to these odd marketing tactics with unintentional messages based off of consume interpretation, they have to retract the items and issue an apology. If a person interprets something a completely different way than an item is or was intended to be and it goes viral to the point where the company is receiving global backlash, they get backed into a corner and have no other choice. They'll lose millions of dollars if they do nothing and they lose millions of dollars (hopefully less) if they do take action. Because in this online mob mentality no choice made will be good enough.
I personally don't see the clothing as racist because I see it from the standpoint that they're kids and they're having fun and goofing off. The only thing I would have changed is maybe adding other kids wearing the same phrases or have the black kid wear a different phrase to avoid this entire fiasco. Something I would suggest to companies and their marketing team is to have diverse eyes look at their products, advertising, brand statements, etc... and point out any discrepancies or questionable imagery, symbolism etc... that can be acknowledged, assessed, and improved before reaching a public eye. Because something you may not see as an issue could be offensive to another community. If your entire team of marketing is all white people who are unfamiliar of certain phrases, designs, etc... that a POC or sexual orientation, religion etc... might struggle with then being able to point out these details may prove difficult unless it has already been called out before.
A prime example would be the dove commercial where it shows several women stripping off their skin and because of the order of women it looked like the soap will cleanse you of your black sin and make you a white person. That uproar was HUGE. So we have this situation where companies feel like they are obligated to included diversity so that other races feel included and represented, which is GREAT. It makes me SO happy to see someone who isn't white take part in things and I hope as time progresses we can reach a point where diversity is so accepted that we don't have to point out that "this kind of person is never represented." Right now I think the two biggest types of people that don't get represented or recognized are Asian people and people with disabilities that are legitimately disabled. It irritates me when an actor who isn't wheel chair bound plays a roll of a wheel chair bound character. IF there were no qualified candidates to fill the role then fine, you gotta cast it to someone who can... but I think there are plenty of people out there with various disabilities or disorders that could easily play that character and be truly relatable to those who look up to them. But I kind of got on a different tangent there, woops.
But with this Dove commercial they did right by showing various diverse women but they screwed up in the public's eye because of the order of operations in which they show the black woman phasing into a white woman. And it could have been 100% coincidence that it happened and maybe to the director, the producer, the actors, writers, etc... this wasn't an issue in the foreground of their minds because the message is: dove soap is great, it will make all women feel clean and beautiful. But society is eager to launch their pitchforks at anything and so if you do a before/after segment and the before is an average black woman and the after is a super confident white woman, the mob will latch onto it like vultures and rip the company apart.
So dear companies and marketing departments, keep up with the diversity in your content but please have other sets of eyes truly critique what you put out before it's too late. I think if you listen to my advice, your consumers will be happier and your companies will not have to play clean up as much.
So now that we have a few examples of what not to do as a company, let's talk about what not to do as a consumer.
I think it is really great that people care about things enough to stand up for them to inspire changes in their communities. I'm lazy so I don't go to protests, I don't go to meetings, and public councils and political events, etc... I'm a horrible citizen. I obey the law, I pay taxes, but I don't really look into or care much about everything. I go to work and I come home and relax. And I thank the hard working people in our military and in our country that have made the US a place where I have that freedom. I do not take it for granted and I'm not here to shitpost on our country. I just don't have passion for anything enough to leave my house to tell other people that I agree or disagree. I do that on the internet because if the SJW's can I can, too. I'll be the first to admit that I am ignorant in many ways. It's part of being a learning and growing human.
So when it comes to problems that exist in our world and community driven events of support or protest, I think it can be very beneficial to a cause or very harmful. That outcome is strictly based on where the arguments come from as well as the actions of those who actively participate. I know that the actions of a few do not speak for a whole but what I will say directly applies to people who are in the wrong but is a good guideline for all people to follow and to consider when they stand up for what they believe in and act on it.
Let us revisit the H&M scandal for this portion. So the problem that we've identified is that people are upset that H&M created some clothing that poses a message of racism projected onto kids. Parents don't want their kids promoting racism and kids don't want to be racist or treated poorly among their peers. So the basic solution is to just not purchase the clothing. If 50% of the people are offended and the other 50% are not then those who are offended should go shop somewhere else. Because we've established that many people don't think it's offensive at all while others do.
So H&M steps in and apologizes and pulls the clothing off the market so that it can no longer be sold. So the people who didn't think it was racist and/or didn't really care don't really get affected by it and those who did find it racist can sit back down and revel in their success. But the apology and the removal of the item was not enough for the mob.
Instead of sitting back and assessing the situation to see if more needed to be done or if this action was good enough people rampaged into H&M stores and destroyed mannequins, clothing racks, clothing displays, articles of clothing, etc... So because of 1 article of clothing giving off a mixed message the world, a select group of protesters decided it was beneficial to their cause to act on the behalf of everyone to go into H&M retailer stores and vandalize their property and products.
So not only did H&M apologize and remove the clothing, but now they have to handle all of the damages to their stores and product inventory, not to mention the negative effects it will have on their employees. So not only did you go in and destroy a store and make yourself look like a rampaging asshole but now other people who are completely innocent have to suffer and clean up your mess. If you bought a coolest monkey in the jungle sweatshirt and you're upset by it then go ahead and by all means light it on fire while recording it on YT to express your boycott of the company. Go ahead and make a blog like me expressing your disgust for this kind of message being sold to consumers. Go ahead and explain that you are offended, why you are offended, and why things could have been dealt differently.
If you want to stand up for your beliefs and to inspire change to move forward to improve our world, CAUSING DESTRUCTION AND DAMAGE in the process IS NOT THE ANSWER. Causing harm to the employees and stores of the company, which if you need a reminder, are not in charge of the marketing, design, and decision making of the company overall, does not fix or solve the issue at hand. If you want to be effective, protest in front of the H&M headquarters if you care that badly. Make your poster in a big bold text and stand in front of their office chanting. If devoting your time and energy and money to travel will help you in your quest to inspire and receive change then by all means go ahead but do not do it at the expense of innocent people.
Protests that hold up traffic cause more harm than good for whatever cause is at hand.
Imagine the doctors stuck in traffic that are supposed to perform surgery on cancer patients and maybe those cancer patients are people you know and love and instead of that doctor being able to get to the hospital, they're being held up in traffic by you because of whatever pissed you off. I get it that sometimes you have to make big bold statements or actions to truly get the attention of people - but I think it is EXTREMELY important to acknowledge and question what your actions and words will do for your cause and who it may affect in a negative way. Sure you might get an extension to push back an important decision but to what expense? People dying? Losing their jobs so they can't feed their kids? Etc...
If what you're standing up for gets in the way of innocent people, I ask that you take a step back and truly ask yourself if it's worth doing. I think racism is an issue in our country and there are most certainly times where companies or people of influence make bad decisions and there are other instances where it's an honest mistake while other times it is intentional and out of hatred etc... But going into the stores and destroying them over a piece of clothing is so childish in my eyes. Just make a youtube video, a blog, an instagram post, a tweet etc... to express how you feel. Do not harm other people that have nothing to do with it.
The actions of a few do not make up a whole. That applies to both sides of an issue.
The people that work for H&M and the people who stood up and said that clothing is racist, please remove it and please don't make anything racist ever again. To the people who voiced themselves peacefully and responsibly, thank you. To those of you who are violent, ignorant, and selfish, please consider things differently before jumping on an opportunity blindly or in a fit of rage. Also keep in mind that the people who were involved with the clothing are the ones to be questioned, not the innocent teenagers and adults that are just trying to pay their bills. The corporate level of a company is extremely different than the store level of a company. The people at the stores just do their job and do what they're told. The amount of decision making and authority they have is very minimal in comparison to the corporate side of the company. The corporate side is where the decision making is made. So the next time you have an issue with a company and something they did or didn't do, please do not jeopardize the jobs and safety of the people just living their lives, take your problems to the company and the people responsible for whatever has your bunch in a knot. And when you do so, also do so respectfully. Because no only are you representing yourself but you are representing the people that stand along side you along with the people who support your cause from afar. And if you act irresponsibly towards the cause you fight for, it could have a ripple effect on everyone else.
That's why people roll their eyes at feminists and vegans because certain individuals in those communities have caused so much unnecessary trouble and harm for the causes they fight for that it has created a blanket of negative judgement and bias towards people who identify with those things and even though I mentioned earlier that the actions of a few don't make a whole, though few in numbers may have a big impact on the whole. So I know that feminists and vegans are not bad people but I also know that when someone gives off a certain attitude when they proclaim they're a feminist or vegan, I can't help but want to push them into that category. So keep in mind that if you are the kid of person to rampage into the store and just go wild with destruction and violence, you are putting a bad label over people who didn't participate but supported your cause.
Treat others the way you wish to be treated. Treat things as if they were happening to you. Question your actions and morals. Question what is truly right or wrong or if multiple things are right or wrong. As soon as you think that you are right about everything I guarantee with a little digging and listening you will come to find that you are wrong about things and when you can learn to accept that you are wrong and not perfect and can see other perspectives, you can then grow and further your cause maturely and responsibly.
If you have a problem, I believe that it can be dealt with through words and actions but I don't think violence is the answer. I understand that sometimes violence is the last straw and it gets pulled but it should only be done so in times of defense if necessary for protection. But getting pissed over a monkey hoodie... that's not cause enough to bust down the doors of a clothing store.
As a kid I expected so much more out of adulthood and the years we're going through now. I'm truly disappointed with the kinds of things that pop up in the news. I've said it before, I'll say it again, I think God outta drop another meteor on this planet. Reset this whole thing and hope that next time life will go the right direction. Got people eating tide pods, got people filming dead bodies, got everyone getting sexually abused more than once, and everyone is a little snowflake that wants to whine if their coffee isn't hot and then wants to sue the hell out of the company if it is hot. Can't win... :(