A Saturday front-page article about a Hallmark greeting card that has angered some local black leaders got a lot interest from readers. A handful of bloggers also posted the article, generating some fierce online discussions.
Daily Breeze editors decided not to allow people to make online comments. This is primarily because online comments are often racist (presumably because people can hide behind anonymity) and stories that address race issues usually get a barrage of racist feedback, which we then have to delete.
In response to the story, I got quite a few e-mails and was glad to see that racist comments made up a very small minority of the feedback. Of course, it's always disappointing to be confronted with any racism...
In any event, here are some of the e-mails I received. None were in favor of the NAACP's decision to protest the card:
Daily Breeze editors decided not to allow people to make online comments. This is primarily because online comments are often racist (presumably because people can hide behind anonymity) and stories that address race issues usually get a barrage of racist feedback, which we then have to delete.
In response to the story, I got quite a few e-mails and was glad to see that racist comments made up a very small minority of the feedback. Of course, it's always disappointing to be confronted with any racism...
In any event, here are some of the e-mails I received. None were in favor of the NAACP's decision to protest the card:
"I can't help but think you have to (be) out looking for a fight to find this offensive. I think they would be better served showing their outrage and voting their resolutions to the rap music industry. An innocent greeting card isn't offensive, the lyrics and the lifestyle that is portrayed in many rap songs is. I just think they could choose their battles more wisely. Otherwise, they come off looking rather foolish."
"I have heard a lot of complaints from people for the last 58 years but this is absolutely ridiculous!! People can choose to hear what they want to however I played the card over and over and over again and could here the word hole, not whore..." -- Kim Alaimo
"As a professional black male, I am embarrassed. I am embarrassed that an organization like the NAACP is so petty as to waste their time pursuing such a ridiculous insinuation. Anyone with ears can easily decipher the message in the card and I don't see how it is being misinterpreted. Perhaps the NAACP is crying for attention? It's pretty sad to be honest with you. Hallmark was kind to play along." -- Phil Carter
"Really? This is what the NAACP and the city of Carson have time too worry about? Do they understand what Black Holes are? It's 2010, this really qualifies as front page news??" -- Tim Miller
It's sad that anyone could be so ignorant as to not only not know what a "black hole" is (they've been one of the mainstays of cosmology and astronomy for the last 30 years) but then to make such a twisted misinterpretation in order to have something to complain about ... I'm embarrassed for these people. Do they feel there are no more real issues to be addressed?
These people seriously need to get a life. First of all, they were not offended until someone in Chicago told them they should be. Then they displayed a woeful ignorance of science by turning "black holes" into "black hos". Never mind the rap music they listen to all day uses even worse language. People who spend their time looking for things to be offended by demonstrate that they really have no clue whatsoever what racism truly is.
And while it is sad that a once noble civil rights organization like the NAACP has been reduced to this level of silliness, it is outrageous that the city of Carson has joined in. As a governmental body, the city of Carson should realize that even if there were a shred of evidence that these people were truly offended, the first amendment protects exactly that form of offensive speech.
Why does Carson hate America so much?
I suspect the NAACP is really struggling for relevance in today's post-racial society. This incident seems to back up this statement.
OK, seriously, "black holes" was clearly enunciated. And don't people understand that context matters? Hallmark should not have given in on such nonsense.
Since we're so racially sensitive these days and so eager to find something that angers us, I'm surprised no one jumped all over Sandy's phrase that read, "...racist comments made up a very small minority of the feedback." Racist minority? I'm just saying. ;^)
Olivia and Wilma, I hope you read this: You two look so idiotic holding that card that you should be embarrased to show yourselves. Jesus Christ how do you hang onto your jobs? No wonder this country is failing with voters like you.
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Verrett: Don't you realize that foolish allegations such as this one may stir up attention. However, claiming this innocent card is an attack on black women is utterly ridiculous! You are undermining your own cause. The recording device in the card clearly says "black holes". Ms. Verrett your quote from The Daily Breeze: "The card is saying I(as a black woman) am below class and feel as though I can run the universe, but I'm not going to because I have to watch my back." That is your own interpretation of the card. Do you feel that inferior? That paranoid in this world? Did that card actually make you feel like a lower class citizen because you are a black woman?
You two are creating a stink where there shouldn't even be one. Maybe it's time to examine yourselves. If one is as defensive as each of you appear to be, he or she can find imagined or perceived persecution all around. I wish Hallmark had stood up to your misinterpretation and misrepresentation of that card. I guess they couldn't stand the heat of two women with bad hearing and chips on their shoulders stirring the pot and the NAACP stoking the fire.
More than their misguided disgust over a harmless, innocent greeting card is Olivia's and Wilma's lack of purpose in their lives. There's got to be more pressing issues they could address.
This is a CLEAR and OBVIOUS move to politically GRANDSTAND on a non-issue. Wilson plans to run with Davis in the upcoming March election and this is a PR stunt to gain votes on a "racial bias" platform. If the NAACP was so against this figment of their imagination, then WHY don't
they write the letter to Hallmark? Because it would be as useless as a City Council letter, that is why.
Read the article!!!
DID you NOT read where it said that Hallmark already removed the item from inventory? Why did the two ladies in the picture come to City hall and ask the public for help in locating one of the questionable cards? They KNEW that the
cards were scarce because they already KNEW Hallmark pulled the inventory. If a retail location still had the card out for sale, write a letter to that store, or talk to the manager.
Clearly, this borders on censorship of our 1st Amendment right to free speech and expression. Even if it was offensive "sounding", it was CLEARLY UNINTENTIONAL and all Americans have that constitutional right to FREE SPEECH!
Do I subscribe to demeaning racial slurs? I most certainly do not. Am I racist? I assure you that I am not.
But I must digress; clearly the underlying current of this issue is to make these ladies appear as champions of racial equality, maybe even in their minds to the level of Rosa
Parks or the beloved Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As the DB put it, "thinly veiled". Thinly veiled, indeed; covering the deceit of a hidden political agenda!!
Sorry ladies, your are about 3 years TOO LATE with your indignation.
Lord help us. We as Black people can be our own worst enemy. As a Black man, it is disappointing to see actual problems in the Community ignored, as the NAACP once AGAIN chooses to take on another phantom issue.
The local branches and any other NAACP branch that brought attention to this non-issue should be embarrassed. This shows an apparent lack of knowledge in Science, as well as looking at life through a filter of street slang and "ebonics".
The card in question has an outer space theme and references "Black Holes" not 'black hos'. LOL! I have seen and heard this card in stores and "got" the intent of the message and greeting.
I am hoping that the Carson City Council does not add to this foolishness and instead spends their valuable time on the real issues and problems, for which they were elected to handle.
P.S.: Actor Morgan Freeman is hosting a series on The Science Channel called "Through the Wormhole". The latest episode of this program is titled "The Riddle of Black Holes". Check your local listings. ;-)