Mehri's Charges of Racism in Ad Biz (Discussed on The BeanCast)
Bill Green poses some really good points for discussion on this topic over at Make the Logo Bigger.
He was on my show, The BeanCast, last night to discuss, and the conversation offered some great perspective. Admittedly, none of us who were on the show are minorities, (Hal Goodtree, Duane Forrester and Bill and me) but even so we came to a consensus that racism does indeed exist. It may be passive most of the time, but it's there.
Bill was actually at the initial open meeting that Mehri had and he says it was "eye-opening" to hear about the patterns of discrimination.
What are your thoughts? I know it's uncomfortable and has been discussed to death, but I'm wondering if any of your positions are changing as we live with the subject.
Bob
He was on my show, The BeanCast, last night to discuss, and the conversation offered some great perspective. Admittedly, none of us who were on the show are minorities, (Hal Goodtree, Duane Forrester and Bill and me) but even so we came to a consensus that racism does indeed exist. It may be passive most of the time, but it's there.
Bill was actually at the initial open meeting that Mehri had and he says it was "eye-opening" to hear about the patterns of discrimination.
What are your thoughts? I know it's uncomfortable and has been discussed to death, but I'm wondering if any of your positions are changing as we live with the subject.
Bob
Tags: beancast, cyrus+mehri, discrimination, marketing+podcast, mehri, racism, the+beancast
Views: 0
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bob Knorpp on -
LOL
It's not funny. But you made me laugh with that last line.
But gotta say that's always the life of whistle-blower, no matter the shade of their skin. Those in power don't like to hear truth and tend to be quite hard with their repercussions. In this case it happens to be about race.
Your anger is justified though. So what do we do next?
P.S. I was aware who I was speaking to. Just not scared to voice my opinions to the angry black man. ;-) -
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Permalink Reply by Harry Webber on
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Bob,
There is nothing to do next. The agencies have tried to stonewall this issue for 40 years. Then they tried to buy off the City of New York. Now, I’m afraid it's too late for them.
Cyrus and the NAACP went right over their heads to the clients. Now it has esculated from a local NY issue to a national one. Eric Holder, our new AG is a former Civil Rights Attorney. Even as we speak, the Justice Department is about to "Dennyfy" the advertising industry. Between the dozens and dozens of multi-million dollar lawsuits, The NAACP client sanctions (can you say Boycott, boys and girls), black jurists in the major cities, client agency firings to save face and every agency in America trembling at the thought of hiring any more blacks because they could turn out to be litigants, our industry will not survive this, I'm afraid.
Our industry is already under attack by our clients for having lost touch with the needs of their customers. The inept response by Neanderthal agency management has sealed all of our fate, both black and white alike. This issue could well be the straw. Corporate America will slowly turn their back and quietly walk away.
I am not angry Bob. I got over that decades ago. Now I am just profoundly sad. I love this business as do we all. But the people. Not so much. Stupidity is so unbecoming. Will the last person to leave Madison Avenue, please turn out the light. -
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Permalink Reply by martin Leach on
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What do you mean "White Americans will never live this down"?
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Permalink Reply by Harry Webber on
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Martin,
You're a young man, so I don't expect you to understand too much about where you stand in life. As a white American you benefit directly from the infrastructure and wealth created by slave labor for the betterment of these United States. You live in a state that massacred or shipped out thousands of Seminoles. Hunted down and sold freed slaves back to their masters upon statehood and built railroads with slave labor to realize Henry M. Flagler's dream of a " Paradise for the White Man." All to create your sunshine state of mind. The institution of slavery is as much of a blight on America as the Holocaust is on Germany and the Nanking Invasion is on Japan. Add to that the genocide practiced on the Native Americans and you have
little to be proud of in the fabric of our founders inhumanity to their fellow man. That white America seems determined to hold on to this reprehensible character flaw is yet one more reason why this particular sub strata of the world's population has so much to atone for. Germans paid reparations for their role in the Halocaust. Personally, my great, great grandfather never got his 40 acres and a mule. Maybe you can tell me where I go to collect.
Maybe to your bar.
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A few more questions for you so I can understand exactly where you stand. Is the torture and subsequent murder of Jesus Christ by Jews a blight on the Jewish people?
What would you collect and how would it change what has already happened?
And finally: Are you saying I should be ashamed of America's history, or aware of it? -
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Martin,
In the case of Jesus Vs Roman Empire,I think it would be more appropriate to play the blight card to the Roman Empire. They did supply both cross and nails. The Great Sanhedrin were only following orders.
AS for the reparations issue, I work for a living. I would have told Lincoln to shove those asses up his ass and give his acres in the desert to somebody who didn't know any better. I'll take a check for $8.50 and hour times how many person hours times how many slaves times how many years of slavery with 8%interest compounded quarterly, tax free and relocation expenses anywhere in the world for all reipiants since thier countries of origin have been denied them. Plus damages.
In Krugerrands. I think that should do it.
The answer to that one is up to you. If you are an avid fan of slavery, genocide, sedition and worldwide mischief for century after century after century then shame would not be appropriate.
If you are under thirty you can skip the entire question as being irrelevant. -
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What do you mean "White Americans will never live this down"?
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Permalink Reply by J.S. Gilbert on -
It's sad to think that if Barak Obama were to go visit my local market without his entourage, the owner would follow him around, convinced by his skin color alone that he was there to shoplift.
And I wish I could say that I lived in a backwoods podunk, and not what is supposed to be one of the more progressive places in these fine United States.
Thank you for the history lesson Harry. It is important that we understand the history, the context and of course the outcome.
Besides a major overhaul of policies, what the world needs now is love, sweet love.
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Permalink Reply by Bob Knorpp on
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Boy! I like you, Harry! :)
And I sense that the sadness is greater than the anger. I just joke with you. I hope you won't let this beat you. Someone with your vision should really be in business in a big way.
Bob
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Advertising? Beat me? You obviously have no idea who you're talking to, Bob. ;-•
http://harrywebberisreinventingadvertising.wordpress.com
http://iapia2.wordpress.com
http://iapia.org
http://thinkhardamerica.wordpress.com
And this is just what I do for fun. My work would blow you away. If the NDAs would let
me show it to you. They don't get rid of somebody like me so easily.
But thank you for the compliment. I don't get a lot of them around here.
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TJ,
Why do I feel like Dr. Frankenstein whenever I look at your work? You write an amazing piece of prose and then follow it up with off the hook slap-stick.
I often find myself wondering whether you are the next George Lois or just a balls out
lunatic. And then you come up with a line like, “Certain fireflies have a stranger, cooler glow.” Then I have to throw everything out the window and go back to square one and ask myself, who the fuck is this guy and what will he become?
But just to set the record straight. Elvis once said, “The only thing a nigger can do for me is buy my records and shine my shoes.” I’m not too fond of the “King.” But trying to get you to change your code name after all these years would be an exercise in futility. So, I’ll just think of it as a tribute to Elvis Kowalski, my 8th grade track coach.
There is so much more to you than class clown TJ. I hope one day we get to see how good you really are. Until then, just keep cracking us up.
E.
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Permalink Reply by J.S. Gilbert on
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T.J.
Are you the one on the left or right?
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