Hey there y’all! I’m back with the second installment of my “From the Blog to the Stage” series. The post this bit is based on goes back a little further than the last one… Before you watch the clip, check out this post from January 20 (MLK Day, incidentally) about my visit to a local Abercrombie & Fitch. Good times.
Lemme know what you think? Is it a keeper? You get to decide. My act is in your hands.
OK, I know I’m gonna get some comments from you parents out there about how this isn’t new… yada, yada, yada… but I don’t have kids, so I’m allowed to be a bit behind the curve.
Handy Manny? Really? My very pregnant friend Angi is cramming and learning about all things baby in preparation for her new bundle and she brought this cartoon to my attention. I realize my tardiness in learning about this show means I’ve probably missed whatever backlash–if any–surrounded this cartoon when it first began. And I’m sure it’s educational and the kids love it because it’s from Disney, but I gotta assume that there were at least a few Latinos who weren’t too happy about a Latino handyman cartoon.
Talk about perpetuating a stereotype. Why aren’t there marches going on right now? I know damn well if Disney or whoever else came up with a young black girl cartoon and named her something like… I dunno Preg Nancy, we’d be marching, well… until.
Alright, so this isn’t even a funny joke. Lord, let this be a joke…
What we need at a time like this is more Reh Dogg…
Today we have a double dose of blognificence from yours truly. Why don’t y’all check this link to the shelved Boondocks episode about BET and we’ll talk about it on the other side. Wish I could embed it. If you know me, you know how I feel about BET.
Boondocks - Hunger Strike (Banned) | Videos > HipHopDX.com
You’re welcome.
I was in Georgetown on Friday afternoon looking for a long-sleeved black cotton t-shirt. I stopped by Urban Outfitters and couldnt find what I was looking for. Then I went to the Gap — still no luck, so as I was walking back, I walked by Abercrombie and Fitch. I’d never been in that store before, but I know it’s casual clothing, so I decided to go in. When I walked in there was a girl standing by the door and she asked if she could help me. Since I didn’t have a lot of time, I was like sure… I’m looking for a long-sleeved black cotton t-shirt. And she said, “Oh, I’m sorry. We don’t sell anything black.”
For real? At first I thought she was kidding. I was like wait, so nothing in this store is black? And she looked at me as if to say, “Well nothing but YOU.” Of course she didn’t actually say that, but if this whole encounter had been a scene in a sitcom (Scrubs, for example) there would have been a dream sequence where she totally would have said that, then I would have punched her in the face, and then it’d be back to reality.
I was in the store for a total of about 8 seconds. When I left I was upset, but I wasn’t sure if I had the right to be. I mean she didn’t say we don’t sell TO anyone black, but it bothered me so much I had to investigate further. Was it just the buyer for that store who didn’t like black so that location didn’t carry black clothing or was it a company-wide policy?
So on my way to my show on Friday nite, I called another Abercrombie store and asked to speak with a manager. And I asked him 1) if it was true they didn’t carry black and 2) what was the reason. He told me that since Abercrombie was an “outfitter”, by definition they carry casual clothes. Black was a more formal, grown-up color and they carry black in their sister store, Ruehl. (Apparently Ruehl is to Abercrombie as Banana Republic is to Gap). He told me that American Eagle, which is also an ”outfitter” didn’t carry black either. So okay… I was about to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think it’s a stupid policy/reason not to carry such a basic color in their stores, but it’s their right. I was like hey, Erin, you’re turning into Martin Lawrence’s character in Boomerang… Everything’s not racial. So I said well, thanks for the explanation. And then he said “No problem, and in case it makes you feel better, we don’t carry purple either.”
Alright, pump the brakes.
So I’m in the UnSafeway down the street from my house about an hour ago and I almost witnessed a riot. I was walking down the pasta aisle and there was absolutely no elbow macaroni left on the shelves.
On the night before Thanksgiving.
In southeast D.C.
Every single person on that aisle was looking for macaroni noodles… cause a Black Thanksgiving without macaroni and cheese — just ain’t happening. The poor stock boy was like “I’m sure we have some more in the back. Y’all hold up while I check” In the meantime the ladies in the aisle started preparing themselves to riot. “Yeah, they BETTA have some in the back!”, “How I’m ’sposed to fix Thanksgiving with no baked macaroni?”, “They don’t wanna see us act a fool.”…
Luckily–for everyone in the store–he came back with a flatbed full of macaroni. He didn’t even attempt to put it on the shelves. He just rolled it down the aisle and backed away. Smart guy.
Happy Turkey Day, y’all!
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