Advice Goddess Blog
« Previous | Home | Next »

Erin Aubry Kaplan's White Fright
It's a living!

What in the world would the LA Times' Erin Aubry Kaplan write about if somebody made her change the subject from how oppressed black people are? This time, her column starts with her pretense of speaking for the ordinary poor person (because she can relate so well to that person's daily existence, simply by virtue of having black skin...as a noted journalist, a former regular columnist, and now a sometime-columnist for one of the country's major dailies):

PERFUME IS MY greatest refuge. To be blunt, it keeps the stink of the real world at bay in a way that a million other divertissements can't.

Perfume is also forgiving. Unlike fashion, scent doesn't mock a would-be wearer for not being a size 4 or for having a short torso. It's the great social equalizer of luxury items. Most women can afford it ($50 or thereabouts for nice cologne) and, thanks to quirks of the chemical interaction between skin and scent, a poor woman can actually smell better in Chanel No. 5 than a well-off woman in the same scent. Best of all, perfume is invisible, impossible to flaunt in the way double-C logos or whipstitched pockets on $300 jeans are routinely flaunted on purses and posteriors.

Oh, please. Something tells me she isn't exactly standing in line in the parking lot at Goodwill waiting for them to put out a basket of castoffs. And what poor woman runs around in Chanel No. 5? If Aubry Kaplan's got her head that far up her ass (even if it is a black ass), poor women -- black, white, and other -- could use a new self-appointed spokeschickie.

Aubry Kaplan continues:

The latest perfume ad campaign by Banana Republic brings this crucial fantasy thudding to Earth by injecting race into it.

...The problem is that the Alabaster ad circumvents imagination by giving us photos of an overtly sexy, nude, pale, very blond woman who somehow leaves no doubt as to what Alabaster is: white skin and, more broadly, whiteness. This scent celebrates not stone, not sculpture, not sand, but more likely cloistered, fair-skinned maidens and even Southern belles.

And?

Not that this perfume actually "celebrates" whiteness, as far as I can see, but people celebrate being black all the time. I'm white as a sheet of typing paper. In the name of "diversity" -- which is what they call minority-only journalism programs instead of calling them what they really are (racist) -- people are allowed to celebrate blackness, Asian-ness, and every other race or color, but, what, whiteness is supposed to be shameful? P.S. Before you start thinking of me as some closet race-hater, sorry, I was actually on the other end of the hating (although I have yet to turn it into a living).

Yes, I may be whiter than a sheet of typing paper, but being as I was chased around and called "dirty Jew" and "Christ-killer" as a child, I'm not exactly a poster-child for the KKK. And, just FYI, here at the Human Behavior & Evolution Society conference at William and Mary, in Virginia, from where I'm writing this blog item, somebody informally gave me a little test that found me to be at the other end of the spectrum from racist. What I am, however, is honest, and not the least bit P.C.

All in all, I find Aubry Kaplan's constant flogging of black oppression a cynical career move -- along with, maybe, a lack of original ideas -- more than a reflection of reality. Yes, there's racism. Sure, black people sometimes, or even often, have an unfair shake. But, so do white poor people -- more so than some of the middle-class or upper-class black people who get fellowships, scholarships, or other opportunities because they've got the right skin color. From the words in this Reuters fellowship:

To be considered for the Reuters Fellowship, candidates must:

* Complete a full application to the Maryland journalism master’s program.
* Submit a resume and sample journalistic work products.
* Write a letter stating your interest in the fellowship and business journalism.
* Be a member of a minority group.

Hey, wait! Weren't we supposed to be beyond that? How come racism, in reverse, has now become the answer for racism? And isn't lack of money, not a lot of skin pigment, what often separates good, hardworking people from opportunity? (Unless they, like Oprah, work their asses off to build an empire.)

The perfume Aubry Kaplan's all up in arms about, to her, smells like yet another reason for black girls to feel bad about themselves. Maybe, just maybe, what makes black girls feel bad about themselves is the notion, by all these corporations and schools, that they need special treatment to make it in the world.

And about that perfume Aubry Kaplan's railing against, to somebody who isn't part of the Victim Industrial Complex, "Alabaster" just a white stone, an apparent interest by the company in using some perfume name that hasn't been used before, and the reason behind some innocuous, boring ads. Hmmm, just wondering...but, what does Aubry Kaplan make of, say, Blackglama mink? Should I be whining that there's no Whiteglama fur coat for me?

Posted by aalkon at June 3, 2007 1:14 PM

Comments

Well, she may be a bit over the top, but I have to admit when I first saw the billboard for "Alabaster", I had to wonder if BR would end up alienating some of their non-white customers. I don't think it's deliberately racist, but it does seem to me to be not very well thought out.

Posted by: deja pseu at June 3, 2007 8:13 AM

So then, Kaplan can buy Black Orchid, or Eau Noire, Noir Epices, Geisha Noir, Bvlgari Black, Exclamation Noir, Crystal Noir, Narcisse Noir, Magie Noir, Black Cashmere, Black Pearls, 360 Black, Kenneth Cole Black, Perry Black, and so on. The Amber names list is even longer.
Kaplan's got one theme, can't write only anything else, and is going to work that trope until she falls down dead, hammer in her hand.

Posted by: Kate at June 3, 2007 10:47 AM

I see it as no different than a perfume called "BlackMarble," with a beautiful black woman with very dark skin (which I happen to find quite beautiful) in the ads. I wouldn't feel alienated, pissy, or offended because she doesn't look like me. That would be...idiotic.

In fact, since I'm a redhead, very few people in ads look like me, but somehow...somehow...I manage to make it through magazines without a whole lot of weeping and self-pity.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at June 3, 2007 10:54 AM

Exactly, Kate.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at June 3, 2007 10:58 AM

After looking at the ad I thought it was trying to provoke a sense of lightness. Alabaster - as you mentioned - is a white stone. In literature white and light are used metaphorically, as are black or darkness, to deliver specific sentiments to the reader. To set the scene completely. These literary uses of color aren't racist. They make sense. At night, it is dark and we can't see very well. This is inherently mysterious, dangerous, and it's also when most people rip each other's clothes off and have hot sweaty sex. Yum. In the daytime it just ain't as sexy. The theme can be carried very far, and it is. Why doesn't she start protesting Poe? His use of color is vivid and a vital part of his work so he must OBVIOUSLY be racist!

It follows that a perfume named for something white would include mild notes, probably floral. I would not suspect a strong smell of musk, tobacco or bergamont. The advertisement is attempting to convey a sense of lightness, airiness. In other words - it's not an overpowering smell and would probably be good for a summer scent. Albeit, it is one of the shittiest ads I have seen as it does its job terribly. I haven't smelled this but assume it would be suitable for work-wear.

Meanwhile, Donna Karen's Black Cashmere is a spicy pepper fragrance that is deeply sensual. I would wear this at night when I go out to dinner with my boyfriend. I'd drink some delicious wine and give him naughty looks across the table. The intoxicating smell (or is that the wine?) would surely facilitate our passion (it's been proven over and over that smell is a huge trigger for many things including memory and desire).

Do I cry out in despair because I assume I, a translucent-white girl, cannot be sensual or elegant because Black Cashmere uses the word "black"? Can I only be mild and boring? No. It's about attitude. FYI there's also: Black, Black Forest, Black Dahlia, Black Cat, Black Marlin, the list goes on and on.

For a writer she seems rather oblivious to basic literary techniques that are used and it is not surprising that such techniques are carried over into the world of marketing. An ad is like a story only they have less time and less space to tell it. They have to rely on trusted ways to evoke emotions and convey what their product is all about.

Posted by: Gretchen at June 3, 2007 11:07 AM

Woe is me! These adverts are all aimed at women. What's a fellow to do? I guess it'll be sackcloth & ashes again.

Posted by: Norman at June 3, 2007 11:12 AM

Wait, Norm -- there's a fragrance in that!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at June 3, 2007 11:21 AM

*eye roll*

Thanks, Amy. I had to go to Google in order to see the ad in question, and the first fucking thing I turned up was a site called "Racialicious." Oh, and when I finally found a pic of the offending ad that caused all this uproar, my reaction was a semi-disappointed "That's it? I thought it would at least be racy or... something.

Posted by: Kim at June 3, 2007 1:53 PM

Like deja pseu, I thought the ad was a little weird I first saw it -- but then when I saw that Kaplan jumped on it as yet another opportunity to whine, I just had to laugh. She is so predictable.

Posted by: Lena at June 3, 2007 1:58 PM

One of the most curious experiences of my life happened in Poland. Before I got there my friends boyfriend asked "Is she tanned like a latino??"(apparently they had had a foreign exchange student from Mexico who was a natural pale blonde and they had been rather disappointed because he looked like every other Pole). They seem to like darker skin over there. Maybe the lady should go to Poland, I only saw one black person there.

Posted by: PurplePen at June 3, 2007 2:44 PM

Dark Energy and Dark Matter rule the universe. I'm not dark, but I'm OK with it.

Posted by: Dave at June 3, 2007 7:18 PM

"Oppressed". Yeah, whatever. I worked in Miami for a few months, am from Florida originally, and I can tell you with some confidence that the Cuban exiles cannot believe anybody would live in the Projects. They've done what they can - including politics, crime and both - to avoid that.

But since perfume has been brought up, I wonder if you all know of the Great Cosmetics Conspiracy...

...the one that says if you just smear the right combination of cat urine and sheep fat on yourself, you'll be magically transformed. Buy those oils, ointments, creams, gels, solutions, essences, tints, conditioners, pastes, polishes, salves, pigments, collagens, silicones, electrolytes, oxides and items 1 through 91 in the Periodic Table and YOU can be just like Halle Berry, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour or Heather Locklear. Or all four, dammit, you're a real woman, aren't you?

Meanwhile Real Men™ have dish soap in the shower, and that's it. I mean, they make some of that stuff for "guys", but not for men. Capisch?

Bless you all for trying so hard!

Posted by: Radwaste at June 3, 2007 7:56 PM

This is a great blog post.

PS- LYT says she's foxy, though.

Posted by: Crid at June 3, 2007 9:12 PM

Amy's white ass is just as big and juicy as Erin's black ass.

Posted by: Lena at June 3, 2007 10:12 PM

* Be a member of a minority group.

Most "minorities" that receive preferential treatment are white women. Check your facts.

Posted by: um at August 23, 2007 7:28 PM

The perfume Aubry Kaplan's all up in arms about, to her, smells like yet another reason for black girls to feel bad about themselves. Maybe, just maybe, what makes black girls feel bad about themselves is the notion, by all these corporations and schools, that they need special treatment to make it in the world....

I tried to read this and not get angry, but I couldn't. You have absolutely NO idea what you are talking about here. Forget the perfume, which I do not find to be a very big deal either. Racism and classism are two things that are sometimes connected and sometimes not. Well-off black people might not have financial concerns, but they put up with issues in the workplace and society that you clearly could never imagine. Black WOMEN?? Forget about it. And journalism programs catering to minorities are not racist, but a necessary tool to ensure that newsrooms don't become completely whitewashed (and thus not the best at covering culturally and racially diverse populations). I'm not sure if you've taken the time to notice, but there is absolutely no shortage of white people in the journalism profession. And FYI, when a person flaunts their racism test scores, kind of like when a person says "no offense BUT", you know something ignorant is coming. Thanks for delivering.

Posted by: Shouldn't be surprised at August 29, 2007 7:46 AM

Oh, please. I'm about as far away from racist as can be, perhaps, according to a study I read, because I had a black boyfriend. The study shows that this changes attitudes (and blacks have them, too, about other races) of the person in question to where other races are more "neutral" rather than being seen as "the other." I'm rushing, so forgive me if that isn't a great description, but it probably gets the point across.

You never solve injustice with injustice.

Likewise, I am not interested in having a woman president, merely the best person for the job. Whether they have labia or not is immaterial to me.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 9:45 AM

Oh yeah, and I'm interested - why can't you post under your own name, as I do?


Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 9:45 AM

Oh, please. I'm about as far away from racist as can be, perhaps, according to a study I read, because I had a black boyfriend.


*lol! And I bet your Japanese roommate and Mexican BFF think you're just "teh kewlness"!


Get over yourself.

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 12:37 PM

"Oh, please. I'm about as far away from racist as can be, perhaps, according to a study I read, because I had a black boyfriend"

Umm riding a black penis doesn't make you not racist. I'm sure Strom Thurmond thought the same thing too. And correct me if I'm wrong but haven't white women benefitted from Affirmative Action as well?

Posted by: Kendra at August 29, 2007 1:04 PM

I'm against affirmative action for anyone.

I'm against anything but merit-based selection for jobs. Is life sometimes unfair? Do some people have to work harder to get jobs? Well, boohoo. I got hired at Ogilvy & Mather right out of college. It wasn't easy. I was first ignored and ignored (when I wrote letters), as, unlike Reggie Hudlin and others hired there, I didn't go to Harvard (or Princeton) or have an important family or any connections. I went to the building, tried to sneak in and show somebody my student film, which was pretty damn good. The guard caught me. I stood outside, waited for somebody to walk out and stopped a guy who looked important yet creative and gave him my resume, which was entertaining, and asked him to do something with it if he liked it. He did, and I got an interview a week later, showed my film and got the job.

The study shows, Angel, that people who have dated people of other races don't think of the other races as "other."

A lot of nitwits being sent over here by somebody - better check my technorati links.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 1:22 PM

Well-off black people might not have financial concerns, but they put up with issues in the workplace and society that you clearly could never imagine. Black WOMEN?? Forget about it.

Uh, does it not occur to you that I have black women as friends? Furthermore, their childhoods were idyllic compared to mine. I had no friends, people egged our house and called me dirty Jew, etc., etc.

My closest black friend is an entrepreneur/fashion designer, who started her own business and sells to movie stars and internationally. She managed to make it without affirmative action for fashion designers because she's smart and talented as hell, and like me, willing to work her ass off.

I syndicated myself when nobody would, got myself into 70 papers, and only then did syndicators consider me. Initially, they told me I'd never earn a living at it. It's not a white/black thing, dearies, it's a how bad you want it thing. Perservering seems to have worked for Oprah, no?

Maybe instead of whining that I don't support affirmative action, and calling me racist for calling Erin Aubry Kaplan on her silly bullshit (she grew up privileged in Los Angeles, unlike me), you should be pressing for parents of children (all children, but that's just me...but you can just press for parents of black children) to foster ambition in their children, teach them the importance of paying attention in school, and work to make schools better in inner-city neighborhoods. My mom was a pain in the ass, showing up at school and demanding things be different. You are...posting huffily on my blog? Right.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 1:35 PM

Here's a picture of the bottle, in a case about the color of my good friend who's black. Whoops!

http://jackandhill.typepad.com/jack_and_hill_a_beauty_bl/2007/08/alabaster-by-ba.html

In what way is Erin Aubry Kaplan's column anything but a pathetic whine for attention by playing on her single favorite subject?...Everything is about whitey putting black people down.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 1:46 PM

You keep referring to a study which supposedly proves that you're not racist just because you dated a Black guy sometime in the past, but you have yet to offer any links or any other possible way for anybody to look up the information for ourselves.


While you go look for something that may or may not even exist, I've that these little gems that prove the exact opposite.


Quote the First:

In the name of "diversity" -- which is what they call minority-only journalism programs instead of calling them what they really are (racist) -- people are allowed to celebrate blackness, Asian-ness, and every other race or color, but, what, whiteness is supposed to be shameful?

First of all, the minority-only journalism programs were established because, not to long ago, (merely a few decades or so) non-whites weren't allowed to compete on the same level as whites.


Secondly, many people love to celebrate their Irish, English, Italian, Greek, Russian, etc. heritage. But when you honor your "whiteness", you're celebrating imperialism and oppression. Whenever Europeans colonized another land, the ones with darker skin were always considered inferior; the "whites" held themselves above the natives.


Quote the Second:

Sure, black people sometimes, or even often, have an unfair shake. But, so do white poor people -- more so than some of the middle-class or upper-class black people who get fellowships, scholarships, or other opportunities because they've got the right skin color.

As I've said before, the reasons that programs like these exist is because minorities weren't able to get the same opportunities as whites do otherwise. Also, Um and Kendra are right. Affirmative action programs were originally enacted to help white women break that glass ceiling. It took many years and a lot of raised voices for it to apply to minorities.

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 2:20 PM

You keep referring to a study which supposedly proves that you're not racist just because you dated a Black guy sometime in the past, but you have yet to offer any links or any other possible way for anybody to look up the information for ourselves.

Because you have a bug up your ass doesn't mean I don't have work to do. You'll just have to dig.

"But when you honor your "whiteness", you're celebrating imperialism and oppression."

Oh, hurl. Peasant Jews from Russia didn't oppress anybody but the occasional mosquito they swatted.

Programs that give privileged black people a leg up over poor people of any color are racist. I don't want black faces in business. I want the best fucking person for the job, whatever color they are.

Posted by: Amy Alkon Author Profile Page at August 29, 2007 2:25 PM

Because you have a bug up your ass doesn't mean I don't have work to do. You'll just have to dig.

And *I'm* the one who's supposed to be the nitwit?


Names! Dates! Titles! You mention none of these! Aren't journalists supposed to back up their information with - oh, I dunno - sources?


And by the way, what you experience as a Jewish woman is nothing compared to what Black women go through for one reason and one reason only:


Nobody knows you're Jewish until you tell them.


My skin color never comes off.

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 2:43 PM

Uh, does it not occur to you that I have black women as friends?

**ROTFLMAO!!


What a classic!! How unoriginal can you get?

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 2:47 PM

Just out of curiosity- do you work at the DMV, angel? Because your insistence on hating white people, (which, by the way, is racist) reminds of all the minorities who work there, and annoy the general populus with their incompetence.

"Nobody knows you're Jewish until you tell them."

unless, of course, your name is goldberg and and you've got that nose, or maybe you're wearing a yamaka, or however it's spelt. oh wait? Am I being racist? so very sorry for pointing the nose thing.

Here's my beef; I don't walk around making sure I don't talk to black women at parties. I don't look at the pick up group of softball players and then make sure they're not on my team. But you sure as hell seem to assume that a person of white skin immediately does all of the above.

We don't celebrate whiteness cause it sounds really really silly. After all, why should a common SKING COLOR denote a binding similiarity.

"Whenever Europeans colonized another land, the ones with darker skin were always considered inferior; the "whites" held themselves above the natives."

This "fact" is the most "blackwashed" (if I may coin the term) way of viewing history. while true enough, that europeans colonizing new lands seemed to hold the native population below them, I'd like to point out that EVERY culture has done this to outsiders in years before the 20th century. Trappers of the old american west were careful about what they wore, because walking into Iroquis land when you wearing deerskin that looked even remotely like algonquin coloring could mean swift death. Part of the reason native americans were demolished so quickly was because it took them the better part of two centuries to figure out that europeans weren't really partial to the cultural differences, and was much bigger and powerful. Though I doubt you know the difference in look between the two tribes, or what the Lakota look like vs. Cherokee. And indian is an indian, right?

Same thing happened in africa. African tribes murdered eachother all the time. Still do. So europeans. It's not like the white colonists who came down into africa, or into the U.S, were doing anythign different than humanity has been doing for the last two millenia and beyond. In fact, it seem as though the united states, and its other first world brethren, seem to eb the only promoting the idea of cultural tolerance.

In short, after all that history, Amy is not a racist because she finds what Erin Kaplan writes to be ridiculous. Her point is that the world is tough, no matter who you are. Sometimes, it really just is not about your skin color. **ROFFLECOPTER LOLZORZ or what ever.


Posted by: Scott at August 29, 2007 4:22 PM

Uh, does it not occur to you that I have black women as friends? **ROTFLMAO!!

Somebody (maybe it was you or maybe it was some other purveyor of nonthink above) suggested that I don't have it in me to understand black women. I think my writing reflects that I understand PEOPLE pretty well, and I don't divide them by skin color -- unlike some of you racists professing to be against racism above.

As for the notion that nobody knows you're Jewish until you tell them -- I didn't really know I was Jewish until people started egging our house and calling me "dirty Jew." But, you keep working that one if it makes you feel better.

I have to laugh - the black people I know wouldn't waste a moment whining about race like some of these nitwits above. They're all too busy doing something with their lives.

And thanks, Scott - great points. Black people were the first to oppress other black people when they sold their asses to be slaves to white people. It's, again, not a skin color thing. Assholes and evil people come in all shades. As do idiots (see above).

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 4:31 PM

My skin color never comes off.

Like Erin Aubry Kaplan, what are you without your self-pity?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 4:33 PM

>Secondly, many people love to celebrate their Irish, English, Italian, Greek, Russian, etc. heritage. But when you honor your "whiteness", you're celebrating imperialism and oppression. Whenever Europeans colonized another land, the ones with darker skin were always considered inferior; the "whites" held themselves above the natives.

This trait is hardly confined to, as you put it, "whites". There are many Asian, African and Native American cultures who see themselves as "the people" and everyone else as "other". For that matter, many of the groups you mention acted the same toward other whites, not just those with darker skin - the English to the Irish, the Italians to the Greeks, the Russians to...well, most of Eastern Europe.

One can celebrate the positive aspects of ones heritage without approving of some of the actions members of that group did a hundred, or a thousand, years ago. I'm sure you know full well that many African tribes practiced some very unpleasant things. That doesn't mean you should reject the positive aspects of your heritage.

I'm 37 years old, and really, really tired of being told I'm racist because I'm white. I don't make assumptions about others based on the color of their skin, because that's what I think racism is.

As far as what Amy's saying - I think she's right. It's easy to take offense at any little thing. A perfume ad? Come on. I know there's still racism everywhere, but is going after a perfume ad the way to combat it? Is going after someone who's simply expressing her opinion about a newspaper column (by trivializing her experiences as a Jewish girl, no less) the way to combat it?

Posted by: Kimberly at August 29, 2007 4:36 PM

I think Erin Aubry Kaplan's just lazy. It's easy to raise hackles by finding oppression where there is none, and FYI, black people aren't the only ones who do this. I got a letter once from Palm Beach that said something like, "How dare you use your column as a pedestal for anti-semitism?"! ...because I'd used a visual of a little old Jewish grandmother from Florida floating off to Cuba in her big yellow Cadillac. I could very well have cast Larry Elder's (little old black lady) mother in that role (from her voice on the radio, I always pictured her looking like a tiny black Betty Boop). Instead, I thought my grandma would get a kick out of appearing in my column. Those who want to see racism at every turn, who try very hard to find it, will.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 4:51 PM

So long as marginal thinkers like Angel refuse to give up the victim status and the group identity politics, they will fall behind the mainstream of society.

Educational achievement and intellectual development are not 'white' traits. And hearing a black man derided for being insufficiently "authentic" because of his education disgusts me.

And racism is a two way street. When a black kid walks up to you at university and tells you "your people owe my people" you know you are looking at a racist.

If the best thing you have to get offended about is a perfume ad, then you have it fucking made, my friend.

Posted by: brian at August 29, 2007 4:56 PM

Because your insistence on hating white people, (which, by the way, is racist) reminds of all the minorities who work there, and annoy the general populus with their incompetence.

I don't hate white people. Just dumbasses, which is why I'm having so much fun here!

Here's my beef; I don't walk around making sure I don't talk to black women at parties. I don't look at the pick up group of softball players and then make sure they're not on my team. But you sure as hell seem to assume that a person of white skin immediately does all of the above.

The only thing that I could surmise from this rambling garbage is that you're referring to the post I made directly above yours. The reason I lol'd is because the old "I-can't-be-racist-cuz-I-have-black-friends" routine is so old that it's cliche'!

Part of the reason native americans were demolished so quickly was because it took them the better part of two centuries to figure out that europeans weren't really partial to the cultural differences, and was much bigger and powerful.

But the big reason that only 90% of the NAtive Americans survives after the Europeans landed was because 1) they couldn't survive the diseases and germs carried by the colonists, and 2) they were being used as slave labor and treated cruelly. But then of course, that whole lack of immunity kicked in, which meant that the colonists had to bring over another source of labor, namely the Africans, who had been working as slaves on Portuguese sugar plantations before the western hemisphere was colonized.


But I guess that's a little too "blackwashed" for your taste.

Same thing happened in africa. African tribes murdered eachother all the time. Still do. So europeans. It's not like the white colonists who came down into africa, or into the U.S, were doing anythign different than humanity has been doing for the last two millenia and beyond.

Shorter version: They did it too, so why couldn't we?

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 5:06 PM

Nobody knows you're Jewish until you tell them.

What the fuck?

People know I'm Jewish from a mile away. And I'm not Orthodox and don't wear a yalmuke, or tzitzi or have payes.

They know it because I look Jewish. Ya know, the big nose, dark eyes, curly hair that Hitler liked to put onto posters.

Those are the kinds of looks that kept relatives out of various
neighborhoods, out of clubs, kept them from immigrating to the United States and placed them in danger in Germany and Russia.

These are the kinds of looks that are still not marketed to children giving many Jewish kids, girls especially, a big case of the "why can't I be blond?"

Angel, perhaps you're not as enlightened as you like to believe you are. Perhaps you have a lot of privilege of your own that needs some examination.

Posted by: Jerry at August 29, 2007 5:20 PM

Somebody (maybe it was you or maybe it was some other purveyor of nonthink above) suggested that I don't have it in me to understand black women.

True.

I think my writing reflects that I understand PEOPLE pretty well, and I don't divide them by skin color -- unlike some of you racists professing to be against racism above.

I always think it's cute when people who are called are their privilege always turn around and call others racists. ^_^

As for the notion that nobody knows you're Jewish until you tell them -- I didn't really know I was Jewish until people started egging our house and calling me "dirty Jew."

And this is why you "don't have it in [you] to understand black women".


You say that you never realized you were different until somebody else told you. Other women of color and I are constantly surrounded by that difference. If you were to turn to any channel on television, open up any magazine, turn to any radio station, you could see or hear somebody white. It would have been easy for you to imagine yourself in that person's place. But somebody told you that you were different, and that you weren't one of them.


I didn't need anybody to tell me. I knew it all along.

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 5:20 PM

The reason I lol'd is because the old "I-can't-be-racist-cuz-I-have-black-friends" routine is so old that it's cliche'!

I was told I couldn't POSSIBLY understand black women, which is a crock of shit. Some of my friends are black women, and conceivably, they're friends with me because they think I "get" them, same as I think they get me.

If I were racist, would I have black friends? I don't think so!

"But I guess that's a little too "blackwashed" for your taste"

You and Erin are the ones doing the "blackwashing."

What do you do when you aren't whining about being oppressed?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 5:23 PM

Amy,


Maybe you should go take a nap because you're seeing things:


#1: Where did I say you were racist?


#2: Who the hell is Erin?


And to answer this question:

What do you do when you aren't whining about being oppressed?

I'm being oppressed.

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 5:28 PM

Oh, please. I also have red hair and they also ran around taunting me "The redhead is dead" when I was a little girl. The real difference between you and me and my friend who's black: She and I are about making something of ourselves and you're about whining about how hard it is.

A lot of people have it rough. My friend John Callahan is quadriplegic and still manages to get girls. It's, again, got a lot to do with your orientation in life. And Martin Seligman has done piles of research on that. I trust you have Google? Or have the white people purposely left that off your computer?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 5:30 PM

By "orientation" I mean optimistic and forward thinking versus whiny and looking back in blame.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 5:31 PM

#2: Who the hell is Erin?

Oh, I get it-- you didn't actually read the post, you just started spewing about racism. Scroll to the top, read the actual blog item and who Erin is should become clear.

And to answer this question: What do you do when you aren't whining about being oppressed? I'm being oppressed.

I'm sure there's good money in that in lefty university departments.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 5:33 PM

Angel -

I have a suggestion for you.

Die.

You are oppressed only because you choose to be. You derive more self-worth from playing the victim than you do from simply living. And since you have become complete defined by being oppressed, there is no hope for you. You have completely closed your mind to opportunity, and if it ever crosses your path, you will not even know it is there. I'd say I feel sorry for you, but you would just accuse me of oppressing you with my condescension.

You told me all I need to know about you right here:

You say that you never realized you were different until somebody else told you. Other women of color and I are constantly surrounded by that difference. If you were to turn to any channel on television, open up any magazine, turn to any radio station, you could see or hear somebody white. It would have been easy for you to imagine yourself in that person's place. But somebody told you that you were different, and that you weren't one of them.

I didn't need anybody to tell me. I knew it all along.

And you failed to learn the appropriate lesson. The two most important words you will ever use when someone says you can't do something:

Fuck you.

Posted by: brian at August 29, 2007 5:34 PM

*lol* THAT Erin! Silly me!

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 5:39 PM

Oh, I get it-- you didn't actually read the post, you just started spewing about racism. Scroll to the top, read the actual blog item and who Erin is should become clear.

Actually, I did read the post. Did you read you actually read what Erin wrote?


I went back to it because I thought I had missed something. Maybe she was being over the top, or seeing thing that weren't there. So I reread it and...


Nothing.


From what I see, it's not her problem; it's yours.


What you fail to point out is that she mentions Banana Republic is also (at the time) selling 2 more fragrances - Jade and Arrowood - as a part of a possible EArth theme. However, they choose to exclusively market Alabaster and in all of it's "whiteness". It might have appealed to even more customers had it gone the way of Benetton, as Erin points out, and done a more global and - uh-oh! the dreaded "d"-word! - diverse approach

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 5:55 PM

I love you, brian! ^_~

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 5:56 PM

And you failed to learn the appropriate lesson. The two most important words you will ever use when someone says you can't do something: Fuck you.

Brian is exactly right.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 6:07 PM

"Other women of color and I are constantly surrounded by that difference. If you were to turn to any channel on television, open up any magazine, turn to any radio station, you could see or hear somebody white. It would have been easy for you to imagine yourself in that person's place."


When I was child I used to wonder why I wasnt blonde. Then I hit puberty... I am hispanic and when I was a teen I used to get confused for every race (except black). Not so much anymore, but people of all races have found my face appealing. When I lived in Latin America you would never see a non-white on t.v. So since I'm here in the states I can't help but enjoy the fact that I do generally see all races (Beyonce isn't exactly Gwyneth Paltrow and she's about one of the most desired women on the planet). That being said I never suffered any hardships cuz of my color or my race. The worst people have done is ignore me. When I was a teen I used to have asian guys, white guys, hispanic guys, and black guy after me....so I'm guessing they werent sitting around JUST desiring the hot white girls that I went to school with. I always think affirmative action is silly because I've done some weird shit to people and because I'm a young woman they dont care. However if I was a fat woman, or a man then I would be a social outcast. Why dont we have affirmative action twoards those that are not socially acceptable? I mean thin people make more money than fat people...so why not make a law against not hiring someone because they are fat?

Posted by: PurplePen at August 29, 2007 6:07 PM

PurplePen:


You're really not helping to win any arguments to win any arguments, you know that, right?

When I was a teen I used to have asian guys, white guys, hispanic guys, and black guy after me....so I'm guessing they werent sitting around JUST desiring the hot white girls that I went to school with. I always think affirmative action is silly because I've done some weird shit to people and because I'm a young woman they dont care.

Just because guys of all races want to stick it in you does not mean that race relations are all okey-dokey then. 'Kay?

Posted by: Angel H. at August 29, 2007 6:22 PM

"Race relations"?

Huh?

Angel, perhaps it scares you to think of setting your focus on becoming somebody and doing something with your life, but it's got to get you a hell of a lot further than sitting around whining about being oppressed.

See Brian's remark above.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 6:47 PM

Wow, this is quite the battle.

Brian, I'm afraid telling someone to die might be going a little tiny bit over the edge.

At any rate, I agree entirely with Amy on this one - people are oppressed, but whining about it (particularly in the comments section of someone's blog) is not going to do anything about it. I doubt it will even make anyone feel better.

In order to help Amy make her point that people who have it bad can still get what they want if they want it badly enough, here's a family anecdote:
My grandfather, who was half Lebanese, ran for Sheriff in a very small town in West Virginia. His opponents called him every name with a "bad" connotation they could think of, including (but not limited to, I wasn't there) Catholic, Jew, Arab, and "foreigner" (he was born and raised in that town). Obviously these words barely even held any real meaning besides "evil" in a place so cut off from the outside world. In spite of this, he was elected and ended up posthumously with a bridge named after him in the town. So.

Also, I went to a very "lefty" college, and as I was walking through the common room of the dorm I was asked if I would participate in a "diversity discussion group." I sat down, and was immediately asked "what is it like to be an oppressor?" I was completely dumbfounded. I am a woman, and while I am not recognizably of Lebanese descent, I did not use either of these to defend myself. In my opinion, the sort of people who would ask that kind of question are not the sort of people I'd like to pander to.

Everyone should calm down, can it with the death threats, and if you're feeling oppressed today, go do something about it that will actually make a difference.

Posted by: Sara K. at August 29, 2007 6:47 PM

Angel.

Do you know why Rosa Parks is famous?

Because instead of bitching that she was oppressed she looked the bus driver in the eye and said No.

Race relations were better in the moments prior to the death of Dr. King than they are today. And people like you are to blame.

Posted by: brian at August 29, 2007 6:53 PM

Also, I went to a very "lefty" college, and as I was walking through the common room of the dorm I was asked if I would participate in a "diversity discussion group." I sat down, and was immediately asked "what is it like to be an oppressor?"

Likewise, my first week at the University of Michigan, after growing up in a suburb that was mostly white, I sat down at a table of black girls, thinking it was nice that college wasn't so homogenous. They all went silent and stared at me -- these angry stares -- I was shocked. The people who mewl the loudest about "diversity" don't really want it -- they want handouts, reparations, and special treatment.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 7:03 PM

Here I was too busy enjoying the fact that I could date anybody of any race to notice race relations are bad. Anyways Amy would have prob. advised me that guys wanting to stick it in me is a good thing....

After guys get to know me they tell me that "you're such a dude" or "you should have been born a dude, no offense". What I was trying to say is that if i was in any other body (fat, man, ugly, gay) I would be discriminated against because I have one of the most socially inept personalities imaginable. The only reason men and women tolerate me is because I'm a young thin woman. So why arent all the uglos out there demanding I compensate them for life being unfair?

Posted by: PurplePen at August 29, 2007 7:06 PM

Sara - Death threats? Like anyone on the internet is worth that.

I was merely suggesting that since Angel was predisposed to bitching about being oppressed, and expecting someone else to change to suit her needs rather than taking the initiative to live outside of someone else's artificial restraints that it would redound to the mutual benefit of mankind for her to simply remove herself from the available gene pool.

No sense letting someone who is terminally angry drag the rest of us down. That's the kind of attitude that lets people make excuses for Michael Vick.

PP - As a self-acknowledged uglo-American you can compensate me personally by appearing in public with me. And look happy while you do it, k?

Posted by: brian at August 29, 2007 7:12 PM

Suggesting somebody "die" is not a death threat, it's an intimation that they're a living waste of time.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 7:23 PM

Brian - sorry, I didn't mean to accuse you of making death threats...threatening to kill someone and asking her to die of her own volition are indeed very different things. I apologize.

Posted by: Sara K. at August 29, 2007 7:23 PM

And Purple Pen is exactly right -- kudos for your multi-culti fuckability!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 29, 2007 7:23 PM

Apology accepted. I don't go in for death threats unless I have a reason to believe that someone intends to do me bodily harm.

But I don't think I've got to worry about someone driving 1,300 miles to torch my house. It's not like I called her a nerd.

Posted by: brian at August 29, 2007 8:07 PM

Out picking up some groceries tonight, I witnessed how my young daughters knew they were different.

We were trying to figure out something as simple as which beans were kosher and I watched as all sorts of people pretty much just gawked at the young elementary school girls having what seemed a pretty talmudic discussion over the nature of beans, oil, lard, vegetables, and the machinery they are packed in and whether the (U) is really necessary.

Jewish kids know pretty quickly that they are different.

It's a big reason that we teach tolerance and respect for others.

Posted by: jerry at August 29, 2007 8:15 PM

No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I'd rob them

And now I know you're dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don't you understand
it's not my problem

I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you

Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
Then you'd know what a
drag it is To see you

Posted by: Bob Dylan at August 29, 2007 8:16 PM

Didn't call you a racist. I called your comments ignorant and meant to imply that your mention of the racism test (and your subsequent mentions of your black female friend) are tiresome. Knowing a handful of people (and Oprah) does not give you an expert view on an entire race.

I don't think that posting a comment on a public blog amounts to "spending all of my time whining" instead of doing something. Or that I'm sitting around pitying myself because of the color of my skin. I will say that you seemed to be whining a bit about "racist" journalism programs in this post yourself. So apparently no one is immune.

I also think you have a poor sense of history if you compare hair color to race. Well, this whole post kind of shows that. I think you used Erin, whom you have every right not to like for whatever reason, as an excuse to malign every black womon (minus your ambitious black friend, of course) who sticks up for herself in the face of discrimination, and you imply that when black women do this, they're whining. Or feeling down on themselves. Because in 2007, there's no way black women experience any sort of prejudice in the workplace or society in general. At least, not any more than poor whites, right?

Anyway, if you write a post with some controversial stuff in it, you're going to get checked. This is a volatile issue, to say the least.

Posted by: Shouldn't be surprised at August 29, 2007 9:21 PM

Ugh, I meant woman.

Posted by: Shouldn't be surprised at August 29, 2007 9:35 PM

Personally, I find all of the new posters whose primary response is to go on the attack against someone they don't know at all to so fundamentally ill-informed almost worth being ignored out of hand. Good god, people, if we can't be critical of stuff, what in the hell do we stand for? And if you're going to attack people for racism, shouldn't you know where they're coming from? Amy, and the other regular here, all about considering people in terms of who they are and what they do - i.e., they think skin tone isn't where it's at.

Personally, I think we all need to work on thicker skins. Erin Aubry Kaplan is a damned successful writer who addresses in much of her writing a controversial subject. She, and her fans, should expect some comments and criticism from time to time. And realize that it doesn't necessarily mean they hate her for being black.

Posted by: justin case at August 29, 2007 10:27 PM

Sorry for the typos. A couple of drinks will do that to a guy.

Posted by: justin case at August 29, 2007 10:28 PM

I think you used Erin, whom you have every right not to like for whatever reason, as an excuse to malign every black womon (minus your ambitious black friend, of course) who sticks up for herself in the face of discrimination,

Brian above referenced Rosa Parks. I have great respect for people who stand up against discrimination and no respect whatsoever for people who manufacture discrimination.

P.S. Per Justin's remark above, I might look whiter than Wite-Out, but I was at the March for Jobs, Peace, and Freedom in Washington, D.C. in 1983 (http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/about_king/details/270427b.htm). Were you? I also spent a good deal of time and energy when I was a teenager trying to help persecuted black Jews (the Falashas) get out of Ethiopia, and railed publicly against persecution in Israel of darker skinned immigrants. You?

It's action that instigates change, but it's a whole lot easier to manufacture problems and pile on on others' manufactured problems instead of taking on the real ones (see my note about inner city schools above). Black-on-black violence? Black-on-cop violence? http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2007/07/who_marches_aga.html
You have a problem with those, too, or just with white girls who think perfume as racism is bullshit?

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 12:21 AM

Oops - just a reminder - please put only one link in per comment (I forgot above, and my own comment was temporarily eaten by my rather aggressive spam filter). Gregg will be fixing all this at the end of September, so please bear with me.

This is a free-speech blog, and if your comment disappears, please e-mail me at adviceamy AT aol DOT com, and I will retrieve it. Please do it asap so it doesn't get deleted.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 12:26 AM

Im sorry, even after reading all that I'm still stuck on Kendra's image of Strom Thurmand riding black dick

Posted by: lujlp at August 30, 2007 3:29 AM

That's funny.

I liked Crid's comment on another entry about the nitwits coming here to complain, and why he can't be bothered:

Can't find the energy. They can't land a punch hard enough to give offense. To answer them would be like asking the women on the View to stop talking so much. This is their best stuff; it's all they got. They just want to talk about race. They don't want to say anything interesting, they just want to talk. It's more about feminine nature than racial oppression.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 6:31 AM

Crid's great. Best dismissive comments ever.

Posted by: justin case at August 30, 2007 6:47 AM

Angel,

Life is not fair, it never has been, it never will be.

Quit your whining,put on your big girl panties,and Deal with it!

Posted by: ukawill at August 30, 2007 6:48 AM

Lujlp now has me stuck on Kendra's image of Strom Thurmond riding black dick!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 6:56 AM

There was a comment in here somewhere about Europeans celebrating their culture and listed a bunch of different countries. I see this as completely different than celebrating "black" or "white" or "green".

Just as an example, we have Jamaica Days (or something like that) here where the food, music and cultural history of that country is celebrated by people with that background and people interested in learning about it.

So celebrate the culture of whatever historical place your ancestors came from...I'm always up for a good party. But I'm not sure how going on about "blackness" or "whiteness" compares to that. If you want to talk about African culture or heritage, then you're on the same page as Irish, German, whatever.

There is racism out there and in my eloquent prose I'll say, it sucks. But it occurs not just by people with white skin, but by people with all colors of skin. My personal definition of racism goes something like: "Making a judgement about another person based on the physical characteristics they didn't choose." That's why I think the assumption that black people need special assistance to get ahead is being just as racist as the person who thinks black people are, say, dirty or stupid or something like that. People have socio-economic disadvantege, not just black people or brown people or white people.

Please, stand up and say "no" against opression where it exists, but let's not go around inventing it in freaking perfume ads!

Posted by: moreta at August 30, 2007 6:57 AM

People have socio-economic disadvantege, not just black people or brown people or white people.

Exactly my point. As I noted about when I worked at Ogilvy & Mather, Reggie Hudlin, who happens to have black skin, had a much easier time getting in as he came from Harvard and had connections. I had to try to sneak in the building and then chase a guy down Fifth Avenue.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 6:59 AM

This is what I keep getting stuck at:

...thanks to quirks of the chemical interaction between skin and scent, a poor woman can actually smell better in Chanel No. 5 than a well-off woman in the same scent.

Because poor women are chemically different than rich women? Or become they sweat more and bathe less? Or have different skin?

Posted by: Jessica at August 30, 2007 7:03 AM

That's funny!

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 7:05 AM

When you start the intellectual laziness of painting everything with a broad brush, you save yourself the trouble of actually THINKING. Complaining about "being oppressed" is the rallying cry of those who would rather complain than actually DO something about it. Racism/Sexism/etc is something that can't be bitched away. It's something that has to be dealt with on a case-by-case, person-by-person basis. If you KNOW someone discriminates against you because of your race/gender/which-gender-you-prefer-to-screw, stop whining and do something. If it's a job thing, do you really want to work for that kind of an ass anyhow? Don't be afraid to take a long hard look at yourself either (which shouldn't be hard if your head is so far up your posterior that you can tell what your duodenum is up to) to question if it is really about race/etc and not about your qualifications or something else non-bigoted. Parading your personal sense of entitlement and whining about how persecuted you are makes you look like a whiny baby, not something that helps anyones cause save those who discriminate against you. It empowers them because you've just admitted that you're powerless to deal with the situation.

And if someone doesn't like it when Brian tells them to "die"...Shinde onegaishimasu.

Posted by: Jamie at August 30, 2007 7:42 AM

I do think that the media makes it hard on women of all colors to find themselves beautiful. The images that we normal folks are barraged with in the media present a horrificly warped version of how people actually look in reality. It doesn't matter WHAT race you are, you don't look like anyone in any perfume ad. Women in ads and on TV have been starved, personally trained, coiffed, painted and airbrushed to perfection. No one in the real world looks like that, black or white.

It does seem like these media images being mostly white do have an affect on the mindsets of young black women in particular. I saw an amazing video a few months ago (I can't find it) where young black women discussed their own ideas of beauty and their race. There was also a heartbreaking excersize they did where they had small children look at two baby dolls (one black, one white) and pick the "good" baby. The kids invariably picked the white one. The thing is, while these girls were talking about how they were so ugly I couldn't help thinking about how beautiful they all were, and I guess that is what made it such a powerful video. (I will keep looking for it.)

HOWEVER, with regards to this particular issue, I think singling out one ad as racist is ridiculous, especially when that ad had an actual justification for focusing on the color white. Why not talk about all the multitudes of other ads that are racist or sizeist, and often misogynist, for no particular reason. If you really want to take something on, then take on the advertising industry for selling everyone unrealistic images of reality.

(I'm not saying that I think this is something that can or should be done. But I think pretending that just one ad is the problem is kindof naive. That ad isn't keeping anyone from getting a decent job, it is just another ad making normal women of all shapes sizes and colors realize that they aren't as hot as the woman in the ad. And really, at this point, what's one more? Bring it on.)

Posted by: Shinobi at August 30, 2007 8:15 AM

then take on the advertising industry for selling everyone unrealistic images of reality.

The advertising industry and the media don't create what people want -- that goes back 10,000 to 1.8 million years.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 8:19 AM

I was always taught that you are to judge people by who they are on the inside, not the outside. And I am a Southerner from the Deep South who went to college in Mississippi. There was no discrimination to speak of. My sorority had minority members. There were even a couple of- gasp!-uglo-Americans. We chose people based on their personality, not their looks. (In truth, if we were going to discriminate, it was usually against the vapid skinny blondes, but only usually because they tended to be boring people.)

My minor was gender studies (yay Liberal Arts!), and I don't remember ever learning that Affirmative Action was started to help white women. It was always tied in with the Civil Rights movement which gave rise to the Women's Movement of the 70s. It all kind of worked together.

Also, if we want to be really technical, when the 15th Amendment was passed in 1870, all citizens regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude" were given the right to vote. In this case "citizen" meant "men." Women were denied this basic right of democracy until 1920, which was less than 100 years ago. Just thought I'd point that out.

Posted by: Amy at August 30, 2007 8:37 AM

The advertising industry and the media don't create what people want -- that goes back 10,000 to 1.8 million years.

I know that the basis of what we found attractive was formed evolitionarily, i.e. waist to hip ratio, youth etc.

However I have to question whether our current ideals of beauty are being shaped by the images we are constantly barraged with. Nowhere else in history was there constant access to such a large amount of images of people. I think to pretend that what those images are does not somehow affect our thoughts on what is attractive, (Or even worse 'Normal') is unrealistic.

It is one thing to select only "attractive" women for ads, or media shoots or whatever. They take images of already very attractive women and airbrush them to make them "perfect" in an unrealistic way. I just think that distorts our perception of beauty. For instance this airbrushing of faith hill http://www.starling-fitness.com/archives/2007/07/20/beautiful-faith-hill-not-good-enough-for-redbook/.

They took her from a beautiful healthy adult woman to a young starving waif whose arm might break off at any second. (I guess this falls under fasion, or media, rather than advertising.) We prefer not because it makes sense biologically, but because it is a symbol of status to be so thin you can barely lift your arm. One could argue that this standard evolved through the media, and that without it our preferences may have moved in a different direction.

I doubt that the retouched image would actually be considered attractive historically. Even if it was a culture that prefered slender women, it was not good to be thin to the point of weakness. She looks so thin that evolutionarily it wouldn't make sense to prefer her as a mate as she would be unlikely to survive childbirth.

Posted by: Shinobi at August 30, 2007 9:21 AM

Jeez, this is one of the most ignorant rants I've read on the Internet. African-Americans are an ethnicity; not a "race." Read a book: the majority of African-Americans are mixed race with 18 to 22% European and 8 to 11% Native American ancestry.

When African-Americans celebrate their history, they are not doing so with any kind of superiority implied. It's a celebration of victory over oppression.

More importantly, to dismiss racism as a thing of the past is arrogant and oblivious to the facts. Then again, Amy, bringing up some study that says that you're not racist but refusing to name it is astonishingly peculiar for a journalist. Telling people that they should research this study is ridiculous. If you are going to reference a study, you have to produce evidence of its existence.

And, for God's sake, just because you had sex with an African American man does not disqualify you from being racist, neither does having a "black friend." The anger that you have against someone writing about their views on racism speaks volumes about your fear of the subject.

Not discussing racism, sexism, homophobia, and anti-semitism doesn't make them less real. What right do you have to tell someone to keep her mouth shut because it bothers you?

As for white Jewish emigres from Russia not having oppressed anyone, if they benefit by white privilege then shouldn't they be held accountable for that?

That said, pretending that Affirmative Action did not primarily benefit white American women ignores fact. Affirmative Action as created and implemented gave white women the ability to hold positions that had been denied them. It also gave them opportunities for other mentoring and educational positions. Federal and state laws specifically required that women received percentages of contracts or receive equal treatment in other areas.

What's awful is your dismissing someone's concerns as "whining" since you disagree with them. By doing so, you infantilize Ms. Kaplan and her intellectual abilities. Why should Ms. Kaplan not contemplate a perfume called "Alabaster" and the imagery used to promote it in the context of race in the U.S.? How is this not a legitimate area of concern? Are you saying that race and color have not been used to sell products to the exclusion of others who don't fit a certain "racial" mold?

In your description of your childhood when you were taunted with anti-semitic epithets, were you not made to feel as the other, strangely different from others? Don't you have the right to question the motivations and causes of the individuals who verbally assaulted you?

After reading your words, it is apparent that you consider yourself part of the larger group of "whites." You are not just a Jewish person but a "white" person who is Jewish. Therefore, you are able to benefit from the advantages tacitly or explicitly given to "whites."

By the way, do you think your friends who are "black" would prefer to be described as "black friends" or "friends who are black/African-Americans"? Somehow, from your writing, it seems that you do not understand how African-Americans experience their lives in the U.S. Have you ever had a serious discussion about race with your friends?

Posted by: brad at August 30, 2007 12:55 PM

Do you know why Rosa Parks is famous?

Yes, but you obviously don't.


Not to belittle her contribution to the movement, but the reason Ms. Parks is famous is because she would look better to the media. Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat, 15 year-old Claudette Colvin did the same thing and was also arrested for it. Apparently, however, NAACP didn't believe she would appear as just the right symbol for their cause, so they waited until a woman like Ms. Parks came along.


But of course, you knew that. Didn't you?

Race relations were better in the moments prior to the death of Dr. King than they are today.

Oh sure! Jim Crow. Segregation. Everything was all peaches! And let's not forget slavery! Good times. Good times.


[/sarcasm --> in case you needed a clue]

Posted by: Angel H. at August 30, 2007 2:49 PM

One tired and incredibly boring thing I've noticed about the comments that have popped up since I've been gone is that instead of actually reading what I've posted, everybody is digging up ridiculous stereotypes, pretending like they know me, and giving me the most moronic answers to things I've never even said. OMG! THERE'S A LEFTY IN THE ROOM! LET'S VENT ALL OUR ANGER ON HER!


What-the-fuck-ever.


I actually thought that by visiting, I'd see something original, but it's the same tired bullshit I've seen before. Seriously though, do you all just cut-and-paste each other or are you really just sharing one brain?


You freaks are boring me to tears. It's just as well, though: I've got people to do, and things to see. ^_~


Later bitches!


BTW, Amy: How do all of your Black friends feel about you treating their friendship like some sort of anti-racist card?

Posted by: Angel H. at August 30, 2007 3:14 PM

> Later bitches!

Wait! We need you! Without you to lead our thinking, we're doomed!

Posted by: Crid at August 30, 2007 4:25 PM

Kinda pointless to tall Angel to brush up on her reading comprehension skills. I did say MOMENTS.

Jim Crow and segregation were long since gone by the time Dr. King got shot. And yes, I am quite aware that she was not the first, but the one used as a tipping point. Which is, of course, completely irrelevant except in the mind of a demagogue.

And so far as white privilege goes, stuff it. There is no such thing. Maybe if you're born into a rich family you get some benefit, but being white didn't help me get into college. In fact, it kept me from getting any financial aid at all.

Are there people who intentionally hold people's blackness against them? No doubt. The solution is not to turn the entire world into a racialist pissing match where revenge is the only goal.

The entire point of this post and subsequent rants is very simply this: if you have nothing better to do with your time than rail against a white chick in a perfume ad then perhaps you ought to reconsider your existence. Because you aren't adding anything to the sum total of human experience.

You don't like it? Start your own ad company. Start your own cosmetics company. Your skin color does not deny you opportunity - it just gives you a convenient excuse when you fail.

If your goal is truly the end of racism, then the only thing for it is to STOP GIVING A FUCK ABOUT RACE. But you can't do that, it would take away your reason for living.

Posted by: brian at August 30, 2007 6:46 PM

I'm not going and find the study because I have work to do, and I really don't give a shit if you believe me or not.

I'm all for intelligent debate, but those who've been sent here by whatever RACISM ALARM! link aren't really capable of having it. See Crid's earlier comment about The View. I also have to remember my late friend Cathy Seipp's advice not to bother with the tiny little nitwits.

Those who achieve something in the world are those who do things, not those who sit around whining about how oppressed they are.

Brian says it so well above:

Are there people who intentionally hold people's blackness against them? No doubt. The solution is not to turn the entire world into a racialist pissing match where revenge is the only goal. The entire point of this post and subsequent rants is very simply this: if you have nothing better to do with your time than rail against a white chick in a perfume ad then perhaps you ought to reconsider your existence. Because you aren't adding anything to the sum total of human experience.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 30, 2007 7:20 PM

Thank you for the kind words, Amy.

Posted by: brian at August 31, 2007 4:03 AM

Not to belittle her contribution to the movement, but the reason Ms. Parks is famous is because she would look better to the media. Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to leave her seat, 15 year-old Claudette Colvin did the same thing and was also arrested for it. Apparently, however, NAACP didn't believe she would appear as just the right symbol for their cause, so they waited until a woman like Ms. Parks came along.

Clearly this proves that women are not and never have been oppressed in any way!

Posted by: lurker1 at August 31, 2007 7:21 AM

Why is all the cologne just for the monochromatic crowd? I'm a Ginger and I want a fragrance that caters to my needs as a person without a soul.

Posted by: Russputin at August 31, 2007 9:30 AM

"BTW, Amy: How do all of your Black friends feel about you treating their friendship like some sort of anti-racist card?"

You have to love this. Since you have black friends and readily admit to having black friends, you're a racist. Now, if you didn't have black friends, you'd still be a racist.

And do people honestly think when we talk about our friends we go "Me and my black friend shaneequa are going to the store"? Most of us don't actively seek minority friends to be seen as non-racists.

I think this quote properly applies to people who think they're being discriminated against.

"Williams, have you considered a third alternative, namely, that people don't give a damn about you one way or another?" Professor Alchian

From this good article by Walter Williams (and he's black!): http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4989

Posted by: Scott at August 31, 2007 10:05 AM

You have to love this. Since you have black friends and readily admit to having black friends, you're a racist. Now, if you didn't have black friends, you'd still be a racist.

Precisely.

I became friends with the designer I mentioned above for the same reason I became friends with all my pale-ass homeys: She's an amazing person, really smart, I'm completely impressed with what she's done with her life (and kind of in awe of her for the person she is), she's lots of fun, creative in the most amazing ways, and she's a really interesting lunch partner and great to go to Paris with (she's the kind of person who will look at something that might even be outwardly mundane or uninteresting and make some very interesting point about it).

Do I think of her as black? Sure I do -- especially when I'm recommending her to some magazine editor I meet as a way balance out there coverage by showing some black faces, or when I'm telling her to use being a black designer to get media attention. Luckily, she knows I just think she's talented. And she does have very pretty chocolate-velvet-colored skin.

And she doesn't come on blogs, but if she did, she'd be the first one to sneer at Aubry Kaplan's bullshit column.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 31, 2007 11:10 AM

as a way to balance out their coverage...

sigh...I'm supposed to be writing my column. Been up far too long already.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 31, 2007 11:11 AM


Brian you are so, so naive. The only way to make race "go away" is it accept that it does play a role in our society and that people do judge each other by race (which so many of you are afraid to accept. I'm referring to all people, not just white people. Then, together, we can take steps to change that. That's exactly what those "whiny minorities" that you so vehemently hate are trying to do. Why do you assume that because Angel accepts that she is in a disadvantaged group, that she somehow given up on trying to make a difference? How can you make a difference if you don't accept that there is a problem? Stop being a child. Pretending something doesn't exist doesn't make it go away. Maybe to you race isn't a big deal, because it doesn't play a factor in your life and thus your not aware of it. But to me, its a big deal because I'm constantly made aware of it. Our perceptions of life are based largely on our experiences. Just because you haven't experienced something, or friends haven't experienced something, doesn't mean its not out there. Have some empathy Brian.

P.S. Erin wasn't just nonsensically rambling. She was making a non-obvious observation by bridging an intellectual gap between two things that seem wholly separate. Its something smart people like to do. Maybe thats why she writes for the LA times and not for the internet.

Posted by: emily at October 27, 2007 9:20 AM

Uh, Emily, the LA Times isn't a standard by which to judge great writing. Try to think for yourself instead of looking at the masthead.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at October 27, 2007 10:53 AM

Leave a comment