Dark brown means... Part 2 - 4.19.2007.3

Continued from Dark Brown means... Part 1

I would bet that the controversy over Mr. Imus makes no sense in most countries, if the story was covered at all. In countries where commercials that contain Black Americans (or just Blacks) are called the N-word, I would guess the controversy never was covered. And don’t delude yourself to think that I’m speaking of 3rd world nations. In my opinion overseas, Germans, Italians, Belgians, Arabs, and so on all hold similarly negative views. In each case, in my experience, they all point to music videos as well as news footage to confirm their reasoning.

So I’m not surprised that a Chinese translation (given that it was old, but still used) would define dark brown as it did. I’m not surprised that foreigners fear and shun Black Americans on sight. I’m not surprised that the words N-word, felon, criminal, drug addict, and Black American can be often used interchangeably. We use it in this manner in music videos and conversation, why shouldn’t they.

Words are power. The meaning and the understood meaning affect action intimately. They affect potential business transactions, reinforce cultural beliefs, and personal attitudes. If you think that how the world views African Americans isn’t important then you don’t understand how the world works. What may be a misguided greeting to you is a reason for a CEO not to build a store or factory in Detroit or in D.C. or other parts of the country, thus preventing jobs or giving opportunities to improve the lives of some people. Bling may be an impressive word to you, but to an overseas corporation it’s a reason to sell sub-prime loans in an area, or to market over-priced clothing, or sub-standard goods. Presumed ignorant, drug-addled, poor with one of the strongest currencies in the world are always a good target for profit without consideration of morality. I mean why should a corporation care if it is gouging prices or selling inferior goods to people who refer to their mothers and children with terms worse than used to describe a dog?

And that’s how a couch gets labeled the N-word in Canada. By the way, when was the last time you checked the label on anything that has a dark brown or black color in your home or possession? If you just wondered about checking them, maybe the disparaging words, like N-word, don’t mean what you think or want them to.

This is what I think, what do you think?