Heart Healthy Cheerios not so good for the hearts of racists

So there is this Cheerios ad, with a white mother, a black father and their bi-racial kid. I have a SERIOUS problem with this ad.

Seriously...the cuteness factor in the ad is just too much for my senses. That is just the cutest kid and the cutest little scenario where she tries to protect her daddy's heart with Heart Healthy Cheerios.

I also have a real problem with all the closet and not-so-closet racists who found this ad offensive. I guess it is tolerable when they - those awful people who choose to walk the streets with someone outside of their race - are just in the corner of one's eye. But how DARE the good people at Cheerios put this travesty on national television, where for 30 seconds, one has to be subjected to the flagrant display of interracial unions and the offspring which come from them. Cheerios - that down home all American breakfast cereal should not be associated with this intermingling. But according to one of the posts on the now disabled comments section under the ad on YouTube, it is not about the ad. Of course not! How silly of me.

“Throughout all of human history, race-mixing and multiracial/multicultural societies have never, not even once, occurred ‘naturally’. It has always been the result of conquest, group A being forced by group B. The systematic decline of western economies has lead to lower white birth rates. Massive non-white immigration leads to loss of land, resources and opportunities for whites. Encouraging whites to race-mix leads to loss of white genetics. It’s not about one Cheerios commercial.”

The truth revealed, kids!

It reminds me of a conversation I had with a white Brit who did not believe that racism existed in the UK. He thought black people were too sensitive to what they perceived as racism. I was flummoxed to say the least. But it does exist and when faced with the growing reality that there are those who choose to not let race, sexuality, gender etc be hindrances to the fulfilment of life's happiness, we see the real and ugly side of society that some of us (un)consciously choose to ignore. Speaking as someone who has dated all kinda men, of all shades, shapes, and sizes, these people offend me greatly and sadly, disabling their hateful comments on social media is just a band-aid on an oozing sore.

While I saw a cute cherub of a child, and did not stop to think of her ethnic background, others saw the decay of society, when in fact their own reaction underscores the real decay out there. I wonder if they will stop eating Cheerios as well. Kudos to Cheerios for standing their ground on what is a great heart warming commercial. Kudos to Saatchi and Saatchi for just ramping up the creativity with mega cuteness.

While we are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, I can still take heart that when I cross the street, I can turn all kinds of heads - black heads, Asian heads, white heads - and we can all laugh and smile about it and life goes on. That my own nephew, like so many others in Trinidad and Tobago, is the result of this awesome interracial love fest and is just loved for being cute and mischievous is also pretty award winning.


 

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Black Girl Problems

Hello fine people. I am alive. I am here.

So besides being extremely busy with work, I have also been trying to use the few moments when I am not working and not comatose from exhaustion to plan vacation. I have been going over in my mind all the little details but besides worrying about the one medium sized suitcase limit I have set myself in order to avoid insanity en route to airports etc, there is also one major dilemma...

The black girl vacation hair dilemma!!!

To be more specific - the Trininista vacation hair dilemma.

Let me just reiterate here - I am NOT a hair person. I repeat - I am NOT a hair kinda girl. Some girls are really good with makeup or nails or looking super fashionista. I can kinda fall into these categories on some days, but the super fly hair girl? Not me. And this is on a good day - a regular day when I still have access to my arsenal a la my dressing table. And still, I tend to take the easy way out 9 out of 10 times.

Vacation is a whole different bucket of water! Especially with the one suitcase limit, and the general hatred of having to take a whole battery of hair products with me. Especially when you are not sure you will have access to super fly hair girl products and salons, or friends who can address one's general lack of hair skills. Black hair is a special kind of animal. You just don't roll off the bed, shake it and look like Oprah. Furthermore, who has the time? Vacations are supposed to be fun. One wants low maintenance, easy, ready-to-go hair, and a style that would protect one's hair from the stresses of vacation - the changes in weather for example.

So what does a cute brown girl do that is both easy and fierce?

Well, with my hair as it is now, I can do maybe some braids...

 but I hate the time it takes to get braids done. I have a life!

Maybe something like this.

Or maybe not. I can feel the heat scorching my scalp and neck just looking at that. Not to mention I once tried a wig that looked like this and looked like a damn fool. Or this, a little shorter but  hmmm...so much hair!

Or just invest in a few wraps and do this...

Me likey. Needless to say, I would still need to pack a jar of something to keep my hair in good working order, but hey...small price to pay. But when one also considers the scaled down toiletries bag as well - it is just too much.

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Sex, the City and Misplaced Friends Found Again

Well, I think I have finally settled on vacation plans. I am notoriously busy lately, notoriously exhausted all the time, and notoriously anal about planning, so clearly this is not a good combination for vacation planning. But I think I am ready. I think...

God knows I can use a break. I have not had a proper (long enough) break since before I headed to London for postgrad life. It dawned on me when a friend pointed it out the other day - I went from a solid, stressful year of studying, straight into a hectic, busy and sometimes stressful job (with early morning wake up calls and late night bed times), without a break in the middle. So guess what? I am exhausted.

I am so looking forward to just relaxing - 3 weeks of doing nothing but stuff I absolutely love doing. I was not at all excited about it before, with everything that has been going on in my world, but by now, I am ready to just kick the heels into a corner and get some new flip flops and bring my Sex and the City alter ego back to life. And I will be able to blog more as well. I know you have missed the excitement!

The IYS application form. Wow. Takes me back.

What is also a bit exciting is that I will get to meet a penpal I have had since I was 11 years old. For my Trini friends (of my generation), do you remember IYS? IYS - International Youth Service. It was an international penpal service that set kids up with penpals from all across the world. I had a penpal from the US, the Bahamas, South Africa and Italy. It was all the rage when I was in Form 1. You just needed to pay $5 and choose 4 countries from where you would have liked to get a penpal, and you were set. Back in the day of snail mail - you know where you used a PEN, wrote LETTERS on PAPER, put it in an ENVELOPE, put a STAMP on it, and sent it via AIR MAIL - getting a penpal letter was exciting. I never heard back from 3 of my 4 penpals but there was one who sent me back really fun and interesting letters about her life in her city.

Sadly we lost touch after a while. Fast forward some 20 years later, and I cannot even remember how or why, but I Facebooked her name, and found someone with the same name. I sent her a message asking if she had ever had a penpal from Trinidad, and waited. Not long after, I got a response. No, she did not have a penpal from Trinidad, but she sent me this message (names changed obviously - gotta leave some suspense!!)

I have to tell you that I'm not your pen pal, but...listen to me....about 7 months ago a friend of mine was searching for my Skype account and she found another (Jane Doe) in Doeville, so she was the wrong person, but my friend told me about her and since that day we stay in contact. We have the same name.....and surname...and they are very rare alone so name and surname together practically impossible. We are the only 2 Jane Doe in Doeville. So I wrote to her, and waited to ensure that it was her... 

AND SHE WAS REALLY YOUR PEN PAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isn't that the greatest story? Wrong Jane sent my contact info to Right Jane and that was it. We resurrected what was a paper-based friendship and began corresponding again on social media, and now we are taking this show on the road! So after 20 years, on my much needed vacation, we will meet for the very first time and catch up and have girls' time! So you will just have to wait and see how it turns out. Until then, I have reports to vet, articles to finish and design concepts to scrutinise. It is not always fun! lol.

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Meet Bride of Dracula

I had dental surgery yesterday - an experience that inspired fear in every fibre of my being until I got a second opinion, and then it just inspired fear in a few fibres of my being, and then no fear when it was finally over. Strapped into the passenger seat of the car, with gauze packed tightly in my mouth, and the loopiness of sedation still very much the overriding sensation, we headed home.

I knew I would be hungry but would be unable to eat anything substantial so when I spied the watermelon van, I told my mother I would really like to get a slice for later. Sitting on the passenger side, I thought I would do the needful and motion to the vendor which slice I wanted, and hand over the cash as well. As the guy headed towards me, his eyes opened in fear and horror, and he almost dropped the watermelon slice from the shock.

"Miss, what happen to yuh mouth?"

I thought perhaps he meant the slack jaw or the swelling. But no, when I looked in the mirror, I was freakin' Bride of Dracula/Vampirella, with blood everywhere - on my teeth, my lips, dripping down my chin. lol. I was a hot mess! I could well imagine my own expression had some crazy woman pulled up to my watermelon cart looking like she had just pulled apart pieces of roadkill with her teeth. Needless to say, the guy was more concerned than terrified in the end. I could laugh about the horrible amusement, even through all the pain, but that was a Mastercard "Priceless" moment if ever there was one. I got home and slept for about 12 hours after that - a combo of I think the sedatives and the physical exhaustion from the past couple weeks.

I am much better today, and no, I do not eat small children. I try not to.

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Life and Ice-Cream - Savour every moment

My home-made cherry coconut ice cream

Yesterday I made a tub of home made cherry coconut ice-cream - rich, creamy ice-cream. The funny thing is, I did not want to eat it, as good as it was. Oh, I loved making it but you know us, girls, always worrying about weight and stuff.

Today, I got news that a former colleague had died. Cancer. She had come back from vacation late last year, and complained of feeling ill. She fought the good fight, but she will be laid to rest today.

And then I went back to this ice cream. We often snipe about such trivial things and miss out on so many wonderful experiences - whether they are big or small. But this amazing thing called life is not a trivial matter. It is an enormous gift that we should all embrace and enjoy, and use well, not just for ourselves, but for others. The consolation I have is knowing she had a marvellous vacation, where she lived and laughed and loved, and in her life, she gave of herself to be a friend and mentor to others. Her memorial service was massive, testament to how well she lived her life and how well she was loved. May she rest in peace.

Today, I am going to enjoy a bit of my ice cream, and like life, even with the pitfalls that may come with it, savour every moment.

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