Major retail chains Target, Wal-Mart and others announced today they will end the so-called war on white people that had resulted in most stores posting signs welcoming “shoppers” or “customers” instead of “white patrons”, even though white people represented a considerable majority of their business. “I’m white, and I’m here shopping for gifts for my white friends, and I’m offended that the store has been pressured into making some generic greeting that doesn’t reflect me.” said William O’ Reilly, a concerned caucasian shopper. “If they’re not going to welcome me and my race, I am going to take my business somewhere else.” O’Reilly’s complaint, echoed by dozens, perhaps scores of other shoppers, has led the chains to alter their policies. Signs declaring “Look good with today’s colors” will be replaced next year with “Look good in colors designed for white skin.” The “Happy holidays” sign, recently changed to “Merry Christmas” will be further changed to “Merry Christmas for White America” to reflect the ethnicity and religion of 80% of the shoppers in the stores.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
Oppose the war on white people!
Brad Templeton has a very funny post. I'm quoting the whole thing -- but don't let that stop you from checking out Brad's blog, which really is reliably full of really interesting stuff.
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This is awesome.
ReplyDeleteDid I tell you that that picture of you that you have up now looks amazingly like my brother a few years ago? I do a doubletake every time I come here.
It would be funny if it were an apt analogy. If it were due to the fact that people are white that the store earned income from the shoppers who are white, and everyone pretended that weren't the case, there might be a complaint that something true is being deliberately swept under the rug. But white people's whiteness has nothing to do with why they buy most of what the buy.
ReplyDeletePeople who celebrate Christmas, on the other hand, contribute ridiculous amounts of money to stores that act as if there's nothing in particular that anyone might be buying gifts for. I understand the mindset of wanting to be inclusive, but refusing to acknowledge that there's this huge, money-making (and secular, for the most part) holiday coming up seems to me to be pretty stupid. No one ever wants to say the word.
It's pretty stupid to think you're not being welcomed simply because someone won't say "Merry Christmas", but I think it's a bit absurd to think inclusiveness means refusing even to use the word 'Christmas' or recognize any of the particulars of what people associate with Christmas. That amounts to saying inclusiveness requires exclusion, exclusion of those who happen to be a majority. It's not inclusiveness if it doesn't at least include the majority, and that's what's not being included in many of the cases I've been hearing about.
Well, I wholeheartedly agree with most of that comment. But where does the ending come from?
ReplyDeleteIt's not inclusiveness if it doesn't at least include the majority, and that's what's not being included in many of the cases I've been hearing about.
Wait, the alternative is for people to say things like "Happy Holidays", right? That includes the majority and everybody else who has a winter holiday. The other alternative is to put no signs up at all, and not make any particular changes. Then they'd say things like "welcome to Target", which also includes everybody present.
I'm not sure what you mean. I'm arguing that we not refrain from saying anything positive. We can wish people Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, whatever the right phrase for Kwanzaa would be, and Happy Holidays. I have no problem with any of these. What strikes me as strange is that you can't say Merry Christmas but that's supposed to be in the name of inclusiveness. It seems more like exclusiveness to me.
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