Race Card Follies

Race-carding has now progressed from an offensive bullying tactic to a comical farce in the theater of the absurd.  First, Janeane Garofalo became the demented poster-harpy of race-carding by condemning all who disagree with Barack Obama as racists.  This past week, Jessee Jackson jumped the shark by insisting that political loyalties determine racial identity.  Now, in Norfolk, Virginia, an animal shelter’s drive to promote adoption of black-colored pets has been condemned for its racial insensitivity.

The Norfolk Animal Care Center had the poor taste to advertise half-off adoption fees on black dogs and cats on the day after Thanksgiving (aka “Black Friday”), naming the promotion “Black Fur-iday.”  None of this has anything to do with racial tensions in American society; for reasons having nothing whatever to do with the racial makeup of human beings, animal shelters have found that pets with black fur are difficult to place in new homes.

Enter the race-carders.  According to an article in Pilotonline.com:

While the promotion might be for a good cause, some worry that the flier circulating about the event might be offensive because it refers to unwanted black animals as black babies. Animal groups everywhere say they find it more difficult to place black cats and dogs in homes.

“On the face of it, I do think it’s insensitive to African Americans who did come to this nation as slaves and were sold,” Norfolk NAACP President James Rivers said. “It does seem sort of strange they would use that as a promotion for selling animals.”

“Yet I know that in many instances we do things without thinking about the broad implications,” Rivers added.

Some See Racial Overtones In Norfolk’s Pet Adoption Event. Okay, things have now reached the point where it is impossible not to snicker at such nonsense.  If the Garofalos and Jacksons and Rivers in our society get any more thin-skinned, we’ll be able to see their bones.

Source:
Race Card Follies
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