I wrote a month ago that I had no problem with John Beck calling the president a racist. He is entitled to his opinion just like Kayne West when he said “Bush does not like black people”. In that blog entry I said the problem I had with Beck was the statement about “white culture”. I wanted to know what is “white culture”? Katie Couric tried to get the answer to that question. John Beck seems to be tap dancing…not sure which culture can claim tap dancing?

Last week I received a copy of a NewsWeek article titled “Is Your Baby a Racist“.  The article it is a great read. The main message  from the article is that if more people talked about race with their children the less the chances of stereotypes that lead to racism. It is something I have observed since I lived in America. People are scared to talk about race. I recall some my race conversations with white friends and ex-coworkers. I typically start these conversations from a current event or a joke. First there is some resistance to talking about it. The typical excuses about being comfortable with all races etc. Then when the conversations get deeper and they realize that I want to have a serious discussion things change. Most open up and talk frankly. I remember one person, in a mid-west state I visited, telling me that I was the first black person he ever had a conversation with. These conversation can be uncomfortable but I think they can be healthy.

Last week there was some discussion in the Jamaicans.com forums on Colin Powell endorsing Bloomberg and not any of the other black candidates. I saw some posts on other website basically saying he should have endorsed a black candidate and demonizing him. Like I said in the forums last weeek I think some in the black community have made a big mistake demonizing Colin Powell especially when he was in office. I totally lost all respect for Harry Belanfonte when he call him an Uncle Tom. He was the voice of reason in an administration bent on war. He was literally forced out because of this.

Any back to this issue of supporting a non-Black candidate. When he supported Obama he heard it from the “right” that he was only supporting him because he was black. Now that he is supporting Bloomberg he is not “black” enough. I think Colin Powell should endorse who he thinks is the best candidate black or white for the job. Based on what I have seen I think he is fair.

I think one of the biggest missed opportunity Jamaicans had was when Mr Powell was in the Bush administration. I don’t care if you are Republican or Democrat if you can help Jamaica I am for it. We pushed up our chest because he was of Jamaican decent however many of us stood by and said nothing when he was demonized. I remember arguing with many of my friends on how it important it was to have Colin Powell in the White House. The things he could have done for Jamaica and Jamaicans if he was embraced and defended by the community. The Caribbean was ignored by the Bush administration as they focused on terror. Africa was not as the Bush administration now holds the record for giving aid to Africa.  Imagine a little voice that could whisper in the President’s ear about the Caribbean. We lost out

I had a discussion with a friend about Beck’s comments that the president is racist and Kayne West comments that Bush did not like “black people”. Is it similar or there is no comparison? Was Beck chastised harsher with corporate boycotts because he is white and Kayne is black? Can black people be racist?

I did not have a problem with him calling the president a racist (with no facts like Kayne West). I think it was a silly comment.

I was more troubled by the statement “deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture”. Sounded to me like there is a need for some “secret society” to defend and preserve “white culture” like Hitler attempted to do. I guess the question is what is white culture?

The press is reporting on the uproar over a Russian company’s new ice cream. The ad for the ice cream is above. The slogan is even more interesting -  “Everyone’s talking about it: dark inside white!”. With the commericialization of President Obama we are sure to see more questionable items. I am sure someone is probably collecting everything and will have a exhibit of Pres Obama merchandise in the future.

A while back I wrote on how shocked I was when I saw a TV commercial with a interracial couple (black and white). Seems that advertisements are getting more diverse per an article on Yahoo however  interracial couples is still taboo. It is a long article but a good read. There was a college professor mentioned in the article who did an experiment every valentine to see how students feel about interracial couples. Here is an excerpt

 This 2008 spot is clever not only for its humor, but because it gingerly tests one of several racial boundaries most advertisers are still loath to cross: The presentation of interracial courting or romance.

“It’s still one of the three taboos in the industry,” says Williams, the University of Texas advertising professor.

Each semester, he hands a Valentine’s Day ad to his students that depicts a black man presenting flowers to a white woman in a romantic setting. Most of his students don’t see anything wrong with it.

However, he adds, “When I ask them to take it home to show their parents and grandparents, the reaction I get is still, ‘We’re not quite ready for that yet.’”

What is happening in New York. It is known as a Northern liberal state but recent incidents are really tainting this view. First there was the Negro Head cookie. I understand the outrage about the cookie but the thing that caught me about this video was the reporter saying that this bakery was in a liberal area of New York.   Then came the  New York Post cartoon. What were they thinking? Money is green and people will always go where they can make money whether it is a liberal or conservative area.