Midlife’s A Trip

5 Responses to ““What Fresh Hell Is This” Award — The Obama Sock Monkey Doll”

1. 

   Candelaria Silva
   

   16. Jun, 2008

   I agree with everything you’ve said but I try not to get in an uproar about this type of stupidity which is so frequent and widespread. From the Imus comment, to the comments Fox News made about Michelle Obama, etc., etc. Studity, insensitivity, racism, stereotypes confound but they do not and will not stop the progress most of us are trying to make.
2. 

   Pheng
   

   18. Jun, 2008

   Yeah, one of my friends kind of oppose to vote for Obama because he thinks that his last name has something to do with Osaman, but I think part of it is that he think Obama is black just don’t want to admit it in front of me being an Asian
3. 

   Madeleine Phillips
   

   18. Jun, 2008

   This will be an abridged version of the invectives i would like to hurl at the perpetrator of this “educational doll”. I am horrified that anyone could be so stupid as to create this. It’s hateful and smacks of a teeny, tiny idiotic mind. I’m just sorry it’s gotten so much attention. I hope they don’t sell even one of these!
4. 

   Allison
   

   19. Jun, 2008

   Maybe it shouldn’t but it always shocks me that these kinds of things still happen! We are in 2008 for G’s sake!

   Although I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, is it possible that this company didn’t know this was entirely inappropriate and insulting?

   Hard to say whether it’s better to try to ignore it as not even dignifying a response, or throw a fit! Unfortunately, PR people say even negative attention is good attention, grrrr.

   Allison
5. 

   Karen
   

   22. Jun, 2008

   Candelaria–your comments are always so insightful. I try not to watch the negative news much but this one just got to me. I understand that since my post, the company has stopped making this offensive doll. Good move! Karen

   Pheng–I just accept the fact that there will be people who won’t vote for Obama because he’s Black just like there are people who will only vote for him because he is. As voters, it’s our responsibility to get past the candidate’s exterior and really determine if this is the person we want to lead our country. Hope your friends get that message before November. Thanks for writing. Karen

   Madeleine–that’s exactly how I felt when I saw this news clip. As I mentioned above, the company has seen the “light” of its “dark” decision and has suspended production. I wonder how many levels of leadership approved this product in the first place. Scary thought! Karen

   Allison–even scarier thought that this was a deliberate ploy to get negative PR. As a Black person in America, there are a lot of things that I let slide or I’d be angry and upset all the time. But this just wasn’t one of them. I’m sure we’ll see more outrageous PR before the November elections. Karen