Just found this on youtube, and found it interesting:




Are people too politically correct? The context of the ad is a game of cricket, with the rivalry between the West Indies (who are not African American and don't have fried chicken as a staple diet) and the Australians. The Australian is in the middle of the opposing team's fans (and yes, they do sing and dance like that at the cricket). The commentators are seeing a whole bunch of things that just aren't there, imposing their assumptions onto a context where it is not relevant.

I haven't heard anyone complain about the 'racist' nature of the ad until i found this video. How do others feel about it?

I remembered seeing this on the internet a long time ago. The answer is yes, people are FAR to politically correct. There is nothing racist about the ad at all. I don't know how on earth we are going to get past racism if people call white men being next to black men racist.

Usually, the ones who point racism at everything are the racists themselves.

If they really want racism, how about I introduce them to Adolf Hitler or the KKK or the faith of Nazism?

I personally think that many of the Australians got their panty's in a bunch and are just trying to find something to go after.

I liked the "Post-race" story on Hungry Beast.

lmao, nice

Death over Life wrote:

I remembered seeing this on the internet a long time ago. The answer is yes, people are FAR to politically correct. There is nothing racist about the ad at all. I don't know how on earth we are going to get past racism if people call white men being next to black men racist.

Usually, the ones who point racism at everything are the racists themselves.

I personally think that many of the Australians got their panty's in a bunch and are just trying to find something to go after.

That's my point -it was Americans who found this racist, not the Australians. We recognised the context (heck the West Indies team are sponsored by KFC!), whereas the 'analysts' on TYT did not. They saw the black people with the fried chicken being shut up, but we saw the Aussie making friends with the West Indians by sharing food. Context is everything!

Their ignorance really rubbed me the wrong way. I'd argue that that their politcal correctness in seeing things that aren't there is almost reverse racist stereotyping.

Most americans don't find it offensive, just the sort who watch TYT.

TYT is win.

Sutekh wrote:

Death over Life wrote:

I remembered seeing this on the internet a long time ago. The answer is yes, people are FAR to politically correct. There is nothing racist about the ad at all. I don't know how on earth we are going to get past racism if people call white men being next to black men racist.

Usually, the ones who point racism at everything are the racists themselves.

I personally think that many of the Australians got their panty's in a bunch and are just trying to find something to go after.

That's my point -it was Americans who found this racist, not the Australians. We recognised the context (heck the West Indies team are sponsored by KFC!), whereas the 'analysts' on TYT did not. They saw the black people with the fried chicken being shut up, but we saw the Aussie making friends with the West Indians by sharing food. Context is everything!

Their ignorance really rubbed me the wrong way. I'd argue that that their politcal correctness in seeing things that aren't there is almost reverse racist stereotyping.

Ah, I get what you are saying. I was misled by the title the video shows, but yeah, many people get overtly offensive over nothing. Hence why we did have that small influx of pastors who were arrested for preaching against homosexuality. Nowadays, all this racism/sexism/discrimination bs is nothing more than politics to take advantage of others. Hypocrisy at it's finest.

I do apologize for thinking it was the Aussies who had the panty's in a bunch. It was just the extremists once again.

Cool, TyT is gettting quite huge as an online commentary source. I remember their fledgling days.

Cenk is still one of my favorite commentators.

Where you find this racist depends on where you live. Australians don't find this racist because there is more of a peace with various races on their continent. Americans find this racist because America has become the land of the overly touchy and sensitive.

Australians see this and see a white guy making friends by sharing food, not fried chicken because "all black people like fried chicken." It was an "awkward" situation because there was a guy around a bunch of people who simply weren't like him, plain and simple - he was white from one part of the world, they were black from another part of the world with different customs and habits.
Americans would see this as racist because an "awkward" situation would mean that there is a white guy who just doesn't feel comfortable around black people because they're black, regardless of cultural differences. The fried chicken "shuts them up."
Americans are always on the defensive so easily, we have such short fuses over the dumbest things.

I'll be honest guys, upon first view of that ad I DID think it was a bit racist or discriminatory. I was born and raised in one of the most paranoid areas of the United States - New York. But upon reading your responses, the logic makes sense in why it's not really racist, but can easily be percieved as such. I mean, the commercial would've been just the same if the white Australian guy was surrounded by a bunch of loud drinking Irishmen. He still would've been out of place. We so easily see color first and character/culture later.

It was about how west indies and australians are "enemies" in the cricket world and that he was the lone aussie supporter.. so if he gave his kfc he would be ok... not black and white.

We tend to think along teams when it comes to sport, not about race.

Good way to take it grinchy, too many ppl just react and don't see the actual context...

cos emerica aint the only place in the world... omg

therockismighty wrote:

cos emerica aint the only place in the world... omg

Look, this sword cuts two ways. We see something like that in America, our context is that it is a white man playing on a tired and unfunny cliche, not some obscure sports subculture. In Australia, yeah it may be different, but don't fault us just "cos" *gasp* Australia ain't the only place in the world...omg.

"obscure sports subculture" ?!?!?!

What planet are you from man??? Cricket is often touted as second only to Soccer in terms of most popular team sports in the world. A Cricket World Cup Final (And yes, that does involve a real International competition unlike what Americans call their Baseball "World Series" ) can attract 400 Million viewers worldwide, compare that to a lousy 160-200 million for an American Superbowl.
I think you get the picture here... Cricket is NOT an obscure sports culture.

And back to the main topic:
An Australian depicted in a crowd of West Indies cricket fans "racist"? NO WAY!!!

Take two American NFL or baseball teams etc. which have a strong on-field/on-court rivalry, and put a fan of one of those teams in the middle of a large group of fans from the opposing team... Would that be "an uncomfortable situation" for the lone fan? Is that "racist"?
My guess is those two answers will be "Yes" and "No".
Why? Because America seems to only like playing sports against others of a similar racial make-up.

Now, take a sport that is played somewhere in the world all year-round between teams from England, New Zealand, India, Sri Lanka, The West Indies, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, and of course Australia... They are just the 10 Test Playing nations... Add to that 94 other nations that are part of the International Cricket Council... With so many races and racial backgrounds coming together to play and watch this sport regularly, what right does an American have to call an advert that features this International blending of race and culture "racist"?

Give me an example of a sport that America plays against teams of such diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, then put an American in the midst of a number of those fans... Maybe we could invent a ficticious America V's Pakistan (An Islamic country) sports match, and put a lone American in the midst of hundreds of supporters of their nation's team... Something gives me the feeling this would never happen... Yet this is the cultural mixing that goes on every day for some people.

Race has NOTHING to do with it... Australians (Who this ad was intended for) don't see "A white man in the middle of black people" we see "a fan of one team alone in the midst of fans from an opposing team". This ad wasn't for Americans, and Americans should leave their guilty racist background behind them, and stop telling other countries that they're "racist".

Here we have an example of how a sport (Cricket in this case) can overcome racial, cultural, and religious differences in the name of a greater good, and an ad that even celebrates this... To have Americans label it "racist" is bit rich.

P.S. Sutekh, this come out months ago, and there was a thread on FS about it back then

- Necromanicide

It's about APPEARANCES. Can you at least SEE why it looked like it did? Nevermind sports and all that **** I couldn't care less about. Cricket, soccer, football, baseball, blah blah, I don't care about any of it, but I am just saying, can you at least see why we would think that? What is so hard about this???

Also why is it that when one American makes a statement about something you disagree with, suddenly it's "American's", not "John Doe says...". It's a ******* COUNTRY made up of individuals with different ideas and opinions, so I don't want to hear any of this blanket statement bullshit.

And another thing, why do sports fans get so freakin' bent out of shape over everything to do with their favorite sports? If its so stressful, why bother? Ugh, sports fans....

olias, as you say, the appearance looks bad IF there is no context AND if you apply an American 'culturally sensitive to being equal' attitude, especially in regard to African-Americans. However, there is a definite context and these people are not African-American. Any comment made without that knowledge is not informed. It doesn't stop it appearing bad, but it does show it in the way it was intended.

My original point was that these commentators have made something out of nothing. Without knowledge of the game/West Indies-Australian rivalry, it can appear bad, but their lack of knowledge about its context, and their preconceptions about race within America makes any analysis on their behalf meaningless and irrelevant.

The ad is about food bringing people together, just as cricket is an international sport. They could easily have been English, not West Indian, and shared some other food product. Race is irrelevant to the ad.

Necro's point about 'the obscure sports subculture' stands, though. Your comment comes off a little arrogant, that's all. Just because it doesn't have a high American profile does not make it obscure -its worldwide popularity is fact, not an obsessive sports fan bleating!

And Necro, I rarely check in on FS. The fact that it was months ago makes me even more suprised that I hadn't heard anything of it!

olias wrote:

therockismighty wrote:

cos emerica aint the only place in the world... omg

Look, this sword cuts two ways. We see something like that in America, our context is that it is a white man playing on a tired and unfunny cliche, not some obscure sports subculture. In Australia, yeah it may be different, but don't fault us just "cos" *gasp* Australia ain't the only place in the world...omg.

Lighten up mate, was having a "joke", har dee har har ?

PS... Its kinda obvious that it was aimed at people who DO think America is everything, obviously you do not, so why take offence???!!!

olias wrote:

It's about APPEARANCES. Can you at least SEE why it looked like it did?

yeah...and this ad did not APPEAR in America...so how is APPEARS to us is irrelevant. It isn't any of our business.

therockismighty wrote:

cos emerica aint the only place in the world... omg

Whuh??!?!?!!

Next you'll tell me that all Texans don't ride their horses to work!!!

BTW, we don't

therockismighty wrote:

It was about how west indies and australians are "enemies" in the cricket world and that he was the lone aussie supporter.. so if he gave his kfc he would be ok... not black and white.

We tend to think along teams when it comes to sport, not about race.

Good way to take it grinchy, too many ppl just react and don't see the actual context...

cos emerica aint the only place in the world... omg

yea....


... KATIE GIMME A HUG BUDDYYYY!!!

In certain areas, I can be quite racist.

It is good to know oneself.. the good and the bad.


And going by traditional definitions of Racism... you could call the God of the Bible a racist, as well. He chose a certain people as his own special people.. the Jews.

The idea of racism has to be redefined, I think. It is too broad.