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Cheerios controversy

  1. mrsjazz

    coconut / 8234 posts

    @plantains: Yeah, I wish it was just the internet, too. Don't know if you saw my post about an incident my husband experienced with LO last week. Biracial president, so what? Post-racial? Definitely not.

    It's sad that people just automatically assume you're the nanny. My white friend has biracial children (black and white) and people assume she adopted them. One lady actually called her a saint for adopting her girls. She replied, nope, I'm a saint for pushing them out of me!

  2. ShootingStar

    coconut / 8472 posts

    I don't even understand how this is an issue in today's world. Do these people just live under a rock?

  3. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @plantains: @mrsjazz: Did you guys see this in the news, too? This man was suspected of kidnapping his own biracial daughters because he had the indecency to go shopping with them at Walmart without his wife...

    http://www.inquisitr.com/674360/white-father-accused-of-kidnapping-his-biracial-children-at-walmart/

  4. BKCaribBaby

    pear / 1672 posts

    I haven't seen the commercial, but I am not surprised. As someone in an interracial marriage and the mother of a biracial child, it's nice to seebroader representations of families in advertising. While we've made it socially unacceptable to be publicly expressly racist, please don't think that negative feelings about various racial groups have gone away. My husband and I have experienced enough things both together and separately to know this.

    Also it's not the older generation. There were several news articles about racist/hate speech directed toward our current President after last year's election. Those tweets weren't criticizing his policies, and they were by high school kids and young adults. It makes me sad as these will be the "older generation" when my kid is older.

    @ladyfingers: Word.

    @Mrs. Polish: I don't think some people would have issue with your family. If anything it might feed their racist beliefs/stereotypes of Black people as unfit or inadequate parents (i.e. Black welfare Queen with multiple children/Absentee Black father images/stereotypes). Your family would be lauded (as it should be) instead of vilified.

  5. ladyfingers

    pomelo / 5331 posts

    @BKCaribBaby: Agreed re: the younger generation. I remember when (of all the examples I can think of lol) the Hunger Games movie came out and Rue was black. There were tons of ignorant teens on Twitter spewing the most hateful stuff about this, to them, offensive casting choice.

  6. Mrs. Polish

    blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts

    @BKCaribBaby: I won't claim to understand what interracial couples deal with, but I've noticed that people aren't as friendly and give me odd looks while I'm out and about with just Isaiah. It has really opened my eyes in just the past few months.

  7. plantains

    grapefruit / 4671 posts

    @mrsjazz: omg, no I didn't see it. what happened? I will have to go back through your posts to see. That makes me so sad.

    @Anagram: I saw that and was pretty freaked out by it. Crazy!

    @ladyfingers: I remember all that ridiculous drama about Rue. Funny, because when I was reading the Hunger Games I didn't picture Rue as anything other than black. I don't know what version of the book they read.

  8. plantains

    grapefruit / 4671 posts

    @BKCaribBaby: so much word.

  9. MsLipGloss

    GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts

    I haven't seen it, BUT

    I never thought I would see the words *Cheerios* and *Controversy* in the same sentence. : /

    ETA: Okies, now I *have* seen it . . . couple of things (1) I definitely noticed that the couple/family was interracial; (2) the commercial was really funny! I don't care what configuration(s) a family is in, as long as it is a loving, nurturing environment for a child!

  10. mrsjazz

    coconut / 8234 posts

    @ladyfingers: Oh man, I remember all of that nonsense with Rue and the Hunger Games. What book were these people reading?!?!

    @plantains: Basically, some stupid guys who walked past my DH and LO (in her stroller) commented very loudly about how dark that side of the street was and that they should cross to the other side. I was really sad that they said that shit in front of my baby, not that she could understand, but still.

    @Anagram: I hadn't heard about this. Ridiculous!

  11. ladyfingers

    pomelo / 5331 posts

    @mrsjazz: Holy shit.

  12. regberadaisy

    GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts

    @mrsjazz: omg I love her response!

    @BKCaribBaby: agreed.

    People think racism does not exist any more? Think again. People have just gotten better at masking it bc it's no longer socially acceptable. As the Asian in a inter racial marriage we have gotten our fair share of "looks" even in a big city like NYC.

    First time someone says something to my child they will get a earful from me!

    To answer your OP I didn't even know there was a Cheerios controversy!

  13. BKCaribBaby

    pear / 1672 posts

    @Mrs. Polish: I"ve already been asked if my daughter is my baby (I'm waiting for the nanny ask), but I can only imagine some of the questions and statements you'll get. Crazy world, isn't it? I think we just need to expose our kids to as much as possible.

    P.S. Isaiah is adorable and 1 month older than my daughter, who is pretty cute if I do say so myself. Can we do an arranged marriage?

  14. Mrsbells

    squash / 13199 posts

    @Mrs. Polish: I havent seen this commercial. How come people are complaining about it?

  15. avivoca

    watermelon / 14467 posts

    I haven't seen that commercial, but I want to know exactly how big of a rock those who are complaining are living under. I hate that we're still dealing with racism in 2013.

    @Anagram: That article infuriated me. I have been extremely lucky in my lifetime to never have things like that happen, especially having grown up in that area, but now I wonder how many times people saw my sister and I with our mother (who is black), and didn't say anything because they though she was our nanny or the help? Do they still have a problem when they see us together? Ugh.

  16. immabeetoo

    honeydew / 7687 posts

    @mrsjazz: that makes me sick! so sorry you & your family had to experience that.

    I'm glad Cheerios made the commercial and hope that more businesses continue to advertise as they should... to all families not just white, heterosexual ones!

  17. Mrs. Polish

    blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts

    @BKCaribBaby: absolutely! He's a charmer

    I've been told that Isaiah will have a really hard time as he gets older because "he will be white on the inside". I don't even know what to do with that.

  18. Mrs. Polish

    blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts

    @Mrsbells: the commercial shows a biracial family. I didn't see the comments so I don't know exactly what was said. They were racist comments though.

  19. CupQuakeWalk

    coconut / 8475 posts

    @Anagram: I bet you'll find this (sad) and funny. My Indian friend went to hajj (Muslin girl) with her husband. Her husband is American and white. Well, on the way back, the Saudi government wouldn't let him take her home on the plane because they thought he was kidnapping her! They thought, 'nooo, an Indian and a white guy?!' Anyways- she had to explain to them that she was getting on that plane on her free will and was not being abducted by her fake husband.

    This commercial is very normal? I don't even understand why or how anyone even batted a lash. I honestly did not. I did notice they were biracial, and I didn't care at all...

  20. plantains

    grapefruit / 4671 posts

    @mrsjazz: That is just so awful. I can't believe that anyone would say that in front of an LO. I don't even know how one deals with a situation like that. Your DH is admirable for being cool, I would have lost it. What really sucks is that as they get older and can eventually understand, we have to figure out how to explain it to them.

  21. regberadaisy

    GOLD / wonderful pomegranate / 28905 posts

    @Mrsbells: "The commercial features a girl asking her white mother if Cheerios is good for the heart, then dumping the box of cereal on her sleeping father, who is black."

    http://blog.al.com/montgomery/2013/06/interracial_couple_child_in_ch.html

    @Mrs. Polish: I hate that comment so much. What does it even mean that he will be "white" inside?

  22. Mrsbells

    squash / 13199 posts

    @regberadaisy: @Mrs. Polish: Thanks for updating me. I am surprised this commericial would ignite such a response. I thought everyone was much more open minded

  23. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    When Maxwell House coffee aired a commercial with an unmarried couple (no wedding bands) that created an uproar in the '80s. I am not shocked seeing a biracial family is causing an uproar, but I am surprised this seems to be the first commercial featuring an interracial couple.

    There was a car commercial a few months ago with a dad and two kids and all of them liked biracial. The kids were adorabke waking the car with the windows down. Suds in and outside of the car. I remember watching the commercial and thinking we have come along way, but it wasn't an entire family depicted so we still had more work to do.

  24. avivoca

    watermelon / 14467 posts

    @Mrs. Polish: Aren't we all just people? Do people act a certain way just because they look closer to a certain race? I wouldn't know what to do with that comment either.

    I will say that I had black friends in high school who didn't really want anything to do with me after they found out I was mixed.

  25. MsLipGloss

    GOLD / pineapple / 12662 posts

    @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: The Subaru commercial . . . the kids are ridiculously cute, but I don't think the father's reaction (to soap and toothpaste being used *inside* the car!) is normal!

  26. daniellemybelle

    cantaloupe / 6669 posts

    @BKCaribBaby: @ladyfingers: @mrsjazz: I thought of Hunger Games too. It was absolutely astonishing how many young, "normal" people were tweeting that they were mad that Rue was an N-word. I wish this kind of thing was only on the fridges, but bigotry is alive and well. The internet just facilitates it.

    @Mrs. Polish: Identity is hard as a person of color no matter what, though adoption adds a layer for sure. DH is black but has been told he is not "black enough" because he likes skiing and The Fray, haha. I joke but it was very hard for him when he was younger, and he has two African-American parents who raised him to be proud of his heritage, so its something Isaiah would deal with to some degree regardless. He's blessed to have loving and supportive parents who will help him be exactly who he is.

    I'd highly recommend a book called "Why Do All The Black Kids Sit Together In The Cafeteria?" It might be hard to read (it was for me & I'm half Hispanic) but it's great food for thought.

  27. Mrs. Polish

    blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts

    @daniellemybelle: thank you for the book recommendation! Someone send me a link to a book called Brown Babies Pink Parents that I'm interested to read. Dh feels like it's unnecessary to read about it because we shouldn't treat Isaiah like he's different (which we never would), but when I see people react like they did about the commercial I know that at some point we'll have to try to help Isaiah with it so I want to figure it out now.

  28. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    @Mrs. Polish: White on the inside is an Oreo. Don't even try to fight it because it an absolutely stupid comment. I have been called Oreo my entire life and I other things to basically suggest I am less black. I am not pretending to be someone or something I am not. @evansjamie: Sorry people stopped being your friend. I don't think it's appearance , but I think people act and speak a certain way based on their surroundings. There were 5 black girls in my elementary grade, two of were biracial. We all had long hair. Well one of the biracial girls I got a relaxer in 4th or 5th grade and declared to the rest of us full black girls we would have to get one too. We asked her why? She told I us if she since she was half-white and needed one then we definitely would need one. The silliness is on all sides. I know for certain two of us never got a relaxer and the third just had a keratin treatment to tame her super thick, but "mixed" texture hair.

  29. FancyGem

    clementine / 769 posts

    Wow. some people have too much time on their hands. the first thing I thought is, 'that little girl is cute'.
    I can't believe that this is a big deal.

  30. daniellemybelle

    cantaloupe / 6669 posts

    @Mrs. Polish: Respectfully, I'd say that Isaiah IS different. Being adopted makes him different, and being black with white parents makes him different. Difference isn't bad - it's special! But it is something that will affect him so it makes sense to be prepared.

    I babysat for two kids that were black with white parents, and they really liked the book "It's Okay To Be Different." They would ask to read it and I think it made them feel special and proud!

  31. Mrs. Polish

    blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts

    @daniellemybelle: I agree. I don't know anyone else with a family dynamic similar to ours. Thank you for the recommendations, again.

  32. BKCaribBaby

    pear / 1672 posts

    @daniellemybelle: I can imagine it was hard for your DH. I went to very wealthy predominantly white high school but lived in a majority black working class neighborhood. I had to be able to code switch and survive in both worlds, which wasn't always fun or easy. Let's just say that I would comfortable at both a Jay-Z and a Coldplay concert. Great book recommendation, btw.

    @Mrs. Polish: Who told you that?! That is beyond weird. In addition to Danielle's book, I would also recommend an article called "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh. I know the title is odd, but it might be some further food for thought.

  33. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    @MsLipGloss: no way, he was too calm and cool. Lol

  34. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    @daniellemybelle: @BKCaribBaby: very eloquent description of your experiences. I never quite learned how to switch it up, so I stay mum around most black folks.

  35. mrsjazz

    coconut / 8234 posts

    @BKCaribBaby: Same here on code switching.

    @daniellemybelle: Great response to @Mrs. Polish:, I 100% agree, difference is special And about your DH never feeling "Black enough" that was me for quite a long time because I never fit in in my neighborhood because I was bussed to schools that were mostly white & Asian. The girls in my neighborhood looked at me funny when I was singing Bon Jovi

    One of the comments one of the Cheerios commercial articles was someone saying that the commercial made him want to go eat some Oreos. O_o

  36. daniellemybelle

    cantaloupe / 6669 posts

    @BKCaribBaby: He's definitely better off for it! He can code switch for sure, but I think he is really secure in his own identity now because of his experiences! And oh man, DH is all about the invisible knapsack, haha. He references it in his diversity work all the time. I guess I need to go ahead and read that book so I know what he's talking about!

  37. daniellemybelle

    cantaloupe / 6669 posts

    @mrsjazz: Ha, you & DH would get along great! Seems like you have similar taste in music

  38. citymouse

    persimmon / 1116 posts

    @Mrs. Lemon-Lime: Yeah, I replied to @ZippyLeaf that I need to watch more TV! And as I already said, I definitely agree that its ridiculous the way people are reacting. Don't know if you were replying to me specifically about not knowing which kids belong to which parent regardless of race, but of course I dont either. How could you possibly? Hope there hasn't been a miscommunication between us!

  39. Mrs. Lemon-Lime

    wonderful pea / 17279 posts

    @citymouse: no, that part was just personal experience.

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