Yeah, I grew 45 minutes south of the Motor City; and just like Oakland, I’ve found that most of the negative reputation is rooted in systemic racism and latent bigotry.
Hell, the same is probably true of any many major metropolitan area that has a large population of PoC.
I’ve lived in Detroit all my life. I’ll be the first to admit, we have our issues. But all in all, we’re no worse than any major metropolitan city out there. We have some not-so-good areas, but we also have fine museums, strong businesses, a rich history, and plenty of wonderful, hard-working, kind people who just don’t give up. And little by little, we’re coming back and getting better. I’m so sick of the Detroit-bashing, it needs to stop.
Found in the FB comments. (I did not care to venture far.)
Perhaps there is no ideal means to display these ornaments and it is best not to sell them at all.
No, but that’s… academic; it’s Texas that sets the standard for out-of-state textbook publishers.
Yes, the whole concept of making people not named “Klaus” (or “The Doctor”) into Christmas ornaments was not well thought through. It might have been less offensive had the string been attached to a hook out of the top of the head, or had there been some non-string way of attaching the ornament to the tree.
very dangerous argument to make when those acts are expressions of free speech. Doesn’t matter if you like what’s being said or not. It’s really dangerous if you make a blanket decree like “racism is illegal” and then start prosecuting people for implicit bias. This is one of the few times the concept of a slippery slope holds water. Start with making generally unacceptable things like hate speech illegal and you open the door to thoughtcrime.
Detroit is what… 80% black?
This wouldn’t happen there. At least one person in the shop would recognize what it looked like.
So is there a room of white designers currently trying to find to best way of displaying a black person hanging from a tree? Or are they still working on book covers.
I have plenty of holiday ornaments that are figures… you sew a loop into the back (or embed it for non-soft figures).
Sure there is. It is just as real, and as arbitrary, as the value of a $100 bill.
Same, and most are black men. In Pittsburgh Steelers uniforms. In action poses. Strangely, not one of them could possibly be confused with a lynching. This particular situation seems to have been the perfect storm of piss poor planning combined with white-blindness. Or stupid. Or all of the above.
Living in Michigan about an hour from MSU, I vote “all of the above.”
“They’re black people hanging from trees,” she said. “I mean, lynching? It was just not registering with them.”
sure it wasn’t. uh huh.
angels, and little drummer boys provide ample opportunities to advance the state of the art. Angels fly, though, so the superman pose remains a possibility.
One thing, I will note-- white pearl necklaces and white string loops make for an especially poor combination. Perhaps a wire hook blends in to a fully foliaged tree, but still stands out against a leafless background.
I’m using the concept of racism as a structural mechanism intended to cause harm (for example, various forms of segregation including segregation in things like health care access, redlining, etc.), not a bigotry based on social cues.
Legislation is not based in apathy and cruelty is the point.
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