Cereal With A Side Of Predjudice

Racism is alive and well in the United States of America, and nothing brings racists out of the wood work like progress. It's seems as if whenever someone or something begins to evolve, or make a positive change, all hell breaks loose, helping to reaffirm the fact that racial hatred is an evil that will never end. 

Racism and prejudice in America are like having a pest problem. No matter how much we try to defeat these disgusting vermin to end there existence in our lives, they find a way to come back with a vengeance time and time again.

The latest Cheerios commercial features a cute little girl asking her mother (who is white), how Cheerios helps keep your heart healthy. Then she goes to her napping father (who is Black), and pours cereal on his chest. At the end of the Cheerios commercial, the screen flashes yellow. And the word “love” appears.

Really, what is  there to hate about that?

According to over 800 racist jerks who gave the video a thumbs down, there is a lot to hate. The comments section of You Tube was overblown with racially charged remarks before the comments became disabled.

A mixed family on TV shouldn’t be a big deal. It’s 2013. We have a president who is biracial. We’re decades past Loving vs. Virginia, the case that legalized interracial marriage. But the backlash against the commercial zwas so swift and sour, that by last Thursday the comments section on YouTube had to close.

One troll online said the mother was a single mom in the making. Another said mixed families are weird. And on the Cheerios Facebook page, a commenter said he would never eat the cereal again and called the company “dirt swillers.” What?

Thankfully, Cheerios isn’t backing down. Camille Gibson, the brand’s vice president of marketing, told the media:

“Consumers have responded positively to our new Cheerios ad. At Cheerios, we know there are many kinds of families and we celebrate them all.”

Maybe if more TV people thought like Cheerios, the reactions wouldn’t have been so beastly. How many interracial families do you see in movies and on prime time? Multicultural casts are huge but interracial families aren’t as common on screen as they are in real life.

The fact is, most TV programming creates a false reality. The producers cater to a specific audience. There are literally thousands of channels designed for people with specific interests. They can tune in to their own concept of reality and tune out the rest of the world. There is absolutely no levity when it comes to programming, so people are constantly fed a fantasy. Most of which, is a woefully inaccurate reflection of society. The result is outrage, and displacement when they are forced to face the reality in something as insignificant as a Cheerios commercial. I commend Cheerios for standing by their decision and choosing to advertise to everyone. 

But I wonder how long it will take before the gay community uses the Cheerios platform to demand that a gay couple be represented in a commercial?

Remember, you heard it here first!

PR

At the end of the Cheerios commercial, the screen flashes yellow. And the word “love” appears.

Really, what’s there to hate about that?

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/31/4266549/what-century-is-this-cheerios.html#storylink=cpy

At the end of the Cheerios commercial, the screen flashes yellow. And the word “love” appears.

Really, what’s there to hate about that?

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/31/4266549/what-century-is-this-cheerios.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/31/4266549/what-century-is-this-cheerios.html#storylink=cp