Normally, I'm the first one out the gate telling black people to get over some silly ish, but Costco definitely needed a chin-check for selling black dolls labeled "Lil Monkey." It seems the dolls were one of a set. The black doll was wearing a hat that read "Lil Monkey" whereas the white doll was sold with cute panda bears with a hat that said "Pretty Panda" on it. That's just crazy. I'm glad someone took up the fight and got 'er done. Someone that wasn't Al or Jesse.
Ok. So, ordinarily, I'd say let it go. When Obama was compared to Curious George, I said "let it go" because, truth to tell, he does look like Curious George. There was a reasonable explaination for the jibe that didn't map back to racism, however far-fetched. But you can't let stuff like this go is because it is so clearly racist, and you never really know what's next if you let this ride. It's small thing in the bigger picture, but you have to know that the picture gets bigger: drawing comparisons and contrast like this incubates harmful ideas. Anything can, right? But some things seemed designed to covertly stoke prejudice. I could be wrong, though. After all, there are bigger fish to fry.
Is the "Lil Monkey" doll emblematic of the kind of everyday stuff black people should let ride? Why or why not?
Single Father, Author, Screenwriter, Award-Winning Journalist, NPR Moderator, Lecturer and College Professor. Habitual Line-Stepper