Thank you google boys
I'm sitting here ruminating on a really bad New York Times story and I'm at the airport, online for free. The google boys gave me a present for the holidays-- free airport wireless. I'm very grateful. Thanks google boys.
No thanks to you, New York Times for the article that Gawker describes as a Racially Segregated Gift Guide. Since I only get the Times on Sunday. I went online to check out the article (after all we at FairerScience are researchers).
It's actually a lot worse than I expected. First you will be pleased (or saddened) to know that "people of color" are all the same so gifts with an African American link are interspersed with gifts with Hispanic, Asian and Indian backgrounds (no not that Indian-- apparently there aren't enough Native American gift buyers to get Native American products included.) So if you are a person of any color but white-- hey you are all the same.
Oh wait is that the most offensive thing? Maybe it's the assumption that I as a white person would not want to buy a young relative or friend a book about our president or our newest Supreme Court Justice-- or that I don't care about Contemporary Indian Fashion. Well actually I don't care about that but since I don't care about any contemporary fashion. I'm pretty sure that's not racial.
I guess the thing that bothers me the most is why they didn't just list the gifts and let people check them out-- the authors/designers might make a little more money and we all might learn a little bit more.
BTW New York Times, I'm pretty sure being the old grey lady does not qualify you as a person of color.
PS Thanks to FairerScience friend, Kathryn Campbell-Kibler for the heads up.
Comments
As a black guy who likes to read the paper, I'm more offended by the fact that the NYTimes wastes space and reporter time to share gift suggestions with us. A) who the hell cares what they think we should buy our friends, B) why bother even venturing into dangerous territory by doing the "ethic special" piece. I also notice that the author dropped in the reference of Obama's and Sotomayor's historical significance, to somehow justify why they would have a '1st Black Gift Special Feature'. I wonder if it will become an annual thing, as there is no doubt that we will continue to have brown people rising to power (and maybe, just maybe, even getting jobs as editors at the NY Times).
Separately I should mention the irony behind the fact that a book like 'The Conversation: How Black Men and Women Can Build Loving, Trusting Relationships' would need to be given to me in such a delicate way as to not completely offend me just based on the title. I can hear the gift giver back peddling as they say "But, but, the NY Times said it was a good gift for my black friends!"
And BTW, I can see you sporting one of those scarves too :)
Posted by: Mason | December 18, 2009 04:58 PM
Mason
"I can hear the gift giver back peddling as they say 'But, but, the NY Times said it was a good gift for my black friends!'" made me laugh so hard I spewed my tea. Thanks
Pat
PS yes I would love a Bindya Scarf http://www.bindyany.com/ but I am so not a woman "who knows how to layer, wrap, tie and belt."
Posted by: Pat | December 18, 2009 05:11 PM