Wednesday, October 20, 2010

What is a Stereotype? The NAACP Targets Newport

All stereotypes turn out to be true. This is a horrifying thing about life. All those things you fought against as a youth: you begin to realize they're stereotypes because they're true.
David Cronenberg

A word rarely used here is stereotype. It is an ugly word, because ideas have to have a genesis. You would be shocked to know what search terms entered by people on Google, Bing and Yahoo once drove traffic here (before Google blocked search bots from bringing people here on random searches that might trigger a match).

Black people can’t swim. Yes, we know this. Black people don’t tip. Check. We got it. 

Stereotypes are true, we know this. But in a society governed by the ideals of Black Run America (BRA), observing a stereotype or making mention of what one has noticed of a stereotype is a recipe for professional suicide. Block them from your mind. 

Black people might be loud at movies, but this shouldn’t dissuade you from noticing those Black outliers who watch films in blissful silence. 

It was Dave Chappelle himself who profited by playing upon Black stereotypes, making it seemingly okay for people to laugh at Black people

Now an organization that prides itself upon fighting for the advancement of Black people has decided to say enough is enough and attempt to end one pernicious stereotype:
The FDA's deliberations over a possible ban on menthol cigarettes have touched off a firestorm of debate within the African American community, and among public health groups divided about how to wean black consumers from their heavy dependence on cigarettes spiked with the minty flavoring.

On Monday, the debate among African American organizations burst into the open after the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP,  joined ranks with the anti-smoking group, the American Legacy Foundation, in calling for a ban on menthol as a cigarette flavoring.

The NAACP's appeal came just days after three other African American groups -- the Congress of Racial Equality, the National Black Chamber of Commerce, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives -- urged the FDA to reject a ban on mentholated cigarettes. Those groups, testifying before a recent meeting of the FDA's scientific advisory panel on tobacco products, expressed concern that banning mentholated cigarettes could spur an illicit market for the outlawed products in minority communities where they are favored. Such a trade in banned menthol cigarettes, in turn, would likely drive a range of illegal activity and put new burdens on law enforcement agencies, they warned…


After decades of marketing mentholated cigarettes in minority communities and blunting criticism by supporting minority causes, the tobacco companies have secured a huge following in minority communities, where rates of smoking remain stubbornly high. As many as 80% of African American smokers favor menthols, as do 30% of Latinos. By comparison, 22% of non-Latino whites smoke mentholated cigarettes. At least one large study, published in 2009, has found that those who smoke mentholated cigarettes find it harder to kick the habit than those who smoke unflavored tobacco…

"Menthol is not just a flavorant; it makes it easier for our youth to start smoking; it keeps people smoking, and it inhibits them from quitting," said Carol McGruder, co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. "Menthol makes the poison go down easier."

"We are in a state of disbelief that some of our Black leadership organizations ... continue to act as front groups for the predatory tobacco industry," McGruder fumed.
 What next? The NAACP declaring that McDonald’s 365 Black campaign is a repugnant and frontal assault on healthy Black diets? With passing on seconds a rarity and waistlines expanding in the Black community, this could transpire soon.

Menthols first, McDonald’s second. What will they come for next? What's left?

Richard Lapchick - our favorite Disingenuous White Liberal (DWL) - always crusading for some inane cause, published a piece bemoaning the lack of Black people in commercials during the Super Bowl:
As I watched this year with my wife, Ann, we both remarked how many ads seemed to go way over the line with stereotypical images that could be considered offensive. In the months since they aired, I've looked further into the content of those ads and the people who produced them; and it became apparent that both areas reflected a stunning lack of cultural diversity and sensitivity.
For example:
• Only four of the 67 ads shown during the Super Bowl had an African-American male as a main character; and of those four, only two (Bud Light's "Light House" and Doritos' "House Rules") involved an actor who is not a well-known celebrity. Other minorities, including minority women, did not have a leading role in any of the commercials. (Beyoncé was on the screen for less than 10 percent of her Vizio commercial, so that was not considered a leading role.) The minority actors who were present in the ads had limited speaking roles or received just a few seconds of camera time.
• There was also a lack of depictions of black middle-class families in the ads. The Doritos "House Rules" ad showed an African-American single mom ready to go on a date, reinforcing a stereotypical image of African-American women as single mothers caring for their young children with no father figure present…
A few months ago, Cyrus Mehri, a civil rights attorney and a friend, told me he was working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to take action against the Madison Avenue agencies he felt were discriminating in the areas of race and gender. We talked about how ads bearing negative images can reinforce stereotypes and damage race and gender relations.
The inherent problem in this strategy of having Black pitchmen in commercials is the one that plagues Newport and soon, McDonald’s. Black people will find something worth complaining about, for the commercials will only reinforce negative stereotypes and the corporations peddling their wares on the airwaves will be attacked for perpetuating hateful labels and worse, hooking Black people on an addictive product.

 Don King who once said, “Only in Amerca.”

SBPDL can simply respond, “Only in Black Run America.”

 Stereotypes are true and this should horrify those who preside over Black Run America.

The entire country, and for that matter the world know it is built upon a house of sand. A cursory glance at this Web site;s archive provides mounds of data to support that statement; and the unfiltered, private conversations of millions of people prove that the knowledge of stereotypes is pervasive and not contained to those who can see.

So-called "racists" don't just believe and disseminate stereotypes of Black people; the entire country partakes in this national pastime. Even the NAACP.


13 comments:

Warrior said...

Lorrilard, The manufacturer of Newport cigarettes has their stock price hit an all time high yesterday(10-20-2010. The blacks I knew growing up and work with smoke KOOLS, turn the pack upside down and rip a hole in the bottom to extract a butt. I could never figure that one out, but I guess they were just trying to be KOOL.

Anonymous said...

Unlike the superbowl ad's, many of the new tv shows have smokies as the 'supervisors' or boss of whites. While I dont spend much time watching, there was a detective type show on the other night. What caught my eye was the team was taking orders from the"boss"....a 7' congoloid bald, knuckle-dragging female gibbon, who looked like she just jumped out of a booga bush.

B. Herder said...

Warrior ... It was explained to me once (By a black guy when I asked why he opened his smokes from the bottom of the pack) that it's to keep from loosing tobacco out of the end of the cigarette, when you take one from the pack in the traditional method..

Lisa said...

I constantly notice blacks being paired up with white women on t.v. shows and commercials all the time now. Even in print ads or promos for shows where the entire cast is featured they will always pair up a beautiful blonde next to a black while the white guy is off to the side.

Just this morning I saw a Campbells soup commercial with a black actually feeding a white woman soup. Grossed me the hell out. I no longer will buy their product.

Anonymous said...

What I find most amusing is the constant portrayal of the two-parent middle-class black family, even though everyone knows it does not represent the "normal" black family.

Anonymous said...

Like Lisa above I frequently see black men usually paired up with blonde white women. Just recently I saw an ad for a new "guitar" video game where a young black boy was kissing a young blonde white girl. The running theme of the commercial: "Let's all mix together". This is the sickening social agenda being pushed by the MSM, run by sell-out whites who are getting rich at the expense of our sons and daughters. These scumbags are the real enemy. Tarring and feathering wouldn't be enough for these vultures. This racial mixing propaganda has reached levels where white women will actually feel false white guilt to the extent that they feel they owe these animals some sex/attention so nobody will think they're, gasp, racist. And of course after that they're either pregnant or diseased and most definately tainted. As a black guy at work said:"Once you go black you don't go back", to which I replied to his chagrin: "No, once you go black we don't take you back". Amen.

Anonymous said...

Lisa,

"I constantly notice blacks being paired up with white women on t.v. shows and commercials all the time now. Even in print ads or promos for shows where the entire cast is featured they will always pair up a beautiful blonde next to a black while the white guy is off to the side."

"Just this morning I saw a Campbells soup commercial with a black actually feeding a white woman soup. Grossed me the hell out. I no longer will buy their product."


White people are the majority of the population, and when enough of you guys complain about this "travesty" the sooner it will go away.

Are you really going to stop buying Campbell's soup? If you do that, it means the terrorists won.

-Black guy

Anonymous said...

SBPDL,

"Stereotypes are true and this should horrify those who preside over Black Run America."

Really?

What about the stereotype that says white women are attracted to black dudes. Is that one true? Of course not, but ironically DWLs, retarded black guys, and racist(normal) white people all seem to spread the same lie.

-Black guy

Stuff Black People Don't Like said...

Black guy,

I think most people are aware that white girls who are attracted to Black guys do so out of a desire to gold dig.

It is primarily athletes who attract these types of girls and it is primarily insecure white males who fret over these girls who find the allure of money and fame a thrilling attraction.

This study should silence anyone worrying about that insignificant problem:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/10/female-race-consciousness-as-prudence/

Anonymous said...

Two days ago I saw an article and accompanying photograph of the actress Sharon Stone. It was raving about how incredible she looks in a bikini at age 52. Tucked inside her waistband: a pack of Newports and lighter.

Throughout my twenties I smoked cigarettes and preferred the menthol type. My brand was Benson and Hedges Menthol Light 100's, or, in a pinch, Salem Lights. Anyway, I bummed a Newport one time and as soon as the first wisp of mentholated smoke hit my lungs my entire scalp felt like it had been repeatedly pierced with an icepick and then slathered with Vick's Vapo-Rub and boiling eucalyptus oil. I immediately understood why so many black people smoke crack: They take up smoking crack in an attempt to quit the Newports because they intuitively understand that Newport cigarettes will kill your ass.

Here's the Sharon Stone photo:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1321532/At-52-Sharon-Stone-smoking-hot-bikini.html

Anonymous said...

SBPDL,

Once again thank you speaking the truth regarding interracial dating and marriage. It is more insignificant than most would want to ever believe. Even among black male athletes 90% of them date and marry black women.

There was a survey done in the 1940's where 90% of whites stated they were against interracial marriage. Today a majority of whites state that they are in favor of interracial marriage, yet ironically today 96% of whites date and marry whites exclusively. If that is not political correctness run amok I don't know what is.

We may not always agree, but I have to respect truth and honesty





-Black guy

Anonymous said...

"What about the stereotype that says white women are attracted to black dudes."

I've never heard that one. It sounds like wishful thinking.

However, based on my own personal observations, fat unattractive white women are often seen in the company of black males, or toting around several biracial children whose fathers are obviously black.

Silent Running said...

This racial mixing propaganda has reached levels where white women will actually feel false white guilt to the extent that they feel they owe these animals some sex/attention so nobody will think they're, gasp, racist.

This occurs on every college campus with a sizable black population. I've heard stories about black males roaming dorm hallways, propositioning every white female they see. If they get a negative response, they accuse the female of racism. Rinse, repeat.