# No, you ignoramuses, this \*isn't\* racist (or, "Here we go again..") **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 6, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886 "2010-01-06T11:09:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/121 "2010-01-06T18:16:46Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > They don’t need to, for purposes of an ad that is trying to play on subtleties of white/non-white fear. Yeah, the white Aussie guy sure looks _scared_, doesn’t he? If I had to describe his expressed emotion using one word, it’s definitely **fear**. I know I rub my palms over my face and let out an exhaustive sigh when I’m scared, too. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/122 "2010-01-06T18:18:04Z")
For easy reference, here’s a high-def version of just the ad: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/FftZt-Dw_hQ/hqdefault.jpg "Racist KFC advertisement?") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FftZt-Dw_hQ) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/123 "2010-01-06T18:20:52Z")
He looks terrified to me. Not bored or pissed off or anything like that. _Terrified._ ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/124 "2010-01-06T18:22:23Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > I know I rub my palms over my face and let out an exhaustive sigh when I’m scared, too. Some people giggle when thay are afraid. Your anecdotal experience is hardly relevent. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/125 "2010-01-06T18:24:31Z")
Okay, 'fess up. You _are_ trolling, right? ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/126 "2010-01-06T18:25:55Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Some people giggle when thay are afraid. Your anecdotal experience is hardly relevent. You’re trying to have a lend of us, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/127 "2010-01-06T18:29:27Z")
No, I am not trolling. I don’t think the ad is _racist_, as that term has taken on connotations far beyond the dictionary definition. But I do believe the ad plays on racial stereotypes. If you disagree with me, just say so and walk away. Apparently my arguments are compelling enough that you unable to do so. ---
**Author:** ![capeo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@capeo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capeo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/128 "2010-01-06T18:34:26Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No, you don’t get it. Just because KFC has plausible deniability with the team rivalry explanation does not rule out racial sterotypes. > > You do not know the purpose of the imagery. You choose to assume it is due solely to team rivalry. I believe that is naive. Man, you are being willfully obtuse. What don’t you get about the fact that this ad was being shown, and only being shown, while the West Indies team was TOURING AUSTRALIA!?! The ad is in that specific context. Almost all West Indie fans are black and almost all Australian fans are white. Casting it any other way would be racist, or in the least, bowing to some backwards PC sentiment like you’re espousing. You’re not Australian, you know nothing about cricket nor cricket fans yet you’re trying to parse it anyway. The ad isn’t for you. Although, I’m neither of the above and I can still quite clearly see there are no racial overtones in the ad when put in its context. This is only one of many ads where this guy uses KFC to get out of jams. This one features a popular sports team’s fans while they were touring the country. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![capeo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@capeo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capeo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/129 "2010-01-06T18:35:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No, I am not trolling. I don’t think the ad is _racist_, as that term has taken on connotations far beyond the dictionary definition. But I do believe the ad plays on racial stereotypes. If you disagree with me, just say so and walk away. Apparently my arguments are compelling enough that you unable to do so. You’ve made no argument. You’ve only ignored the facts and context surrounding the ad and applied your own. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/130 "2010-01-06T18:36:43Z")
I think it’s people like **Fear Itself** that help push Political Correctness to the bewildering heights that it often reaches. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/131 "2010-01-06T18:44:03Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Every so often there’s a thread where the responses blow my tiny little mind. > > **Fear Itself** , you have GOT to be fucking kidding me. > > (If it were jerk chicken or goat curry, maybe someone would have a point, but even then it wouldn’t be considered offensive.) > > Context, people, context. Pull your heads out of your arses. > > \*Used in its cultural meaning here. Or salt fish and ackee, beans and rice! We just don’t do offensive food stereotypes in the uk (well, not recently and then it was just idjits complaining about the smell of their neighbours’ curry and they’d get laughed at nowadays). ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/132 "2010-01-06T18:49:21Z")
They’d be complaining about the smell of their neighbours’ curry, and then they’d go out and have some curry. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/133 "2010-01-06T18:52:21Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > You’re trying to have a lend of us, aren’t you? I don’t know what this means. ---
**Author:** ![KellyCriterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@KellyCriterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyCriterion)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/134 "2010-01-06T18:54:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I don’t know what this means. I’d help explain the context, but what would be the point? Thank you, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/135 "2010-01-06T19:00:32Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > I’d help explain the context, but what would be the point? Well played, that man. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/136 "2010-01-06T19:02:47Z")
Guess you need to take your props when you can. Sure is hard for you when you stay on topic. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/137 "2010-01-06T19:06:28Z")
Well, since you appear to have been specifically referenced in the thread title I submit that we _are_ on topic. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/138 "2010-01-06T19:07:47Z")
If that is where you have sink to for traction, I will accept your concession. ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/139 "2010-01-06T19:09:45Z")
**Fear Itself** - if I were to sum up your position, it’s tea on Day 3 without a cloud in the sky, and no rain forecast for tomorrow. You’ve followed on, you’re seven men down in the second with over two hundred to make before the opposition has to think of padding up again, and reverse swing is in full effect. It’s not 1981, you’re not playing at Headingly, and Beefy isn’t in the middle for you. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886/140 "2010-01-06T19:20:45Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > No, I am not trolling. I don’t think the ad is _racist_, as that term has taken on connotations far beyond the dictionary definition. But I do believe the ad plays on racial stereotypes. If you disagree with me, just say so and walk away. Apparently my arguments are compelling enough that you unable to do so. I’m going to take a crack at this, having absorbed the entirety of the thread in a single read. You believe, as stated in the quote above, that the ad plays on racial stereotypes. Do you believe this was done intentionally by KFC and/or their ad agency? If so, please explain why (and feel free to refer me to specific posts earlier in the thread, if it’s helpful). Earlier, you posted this: > [@Fear Itself](#): > > My point is, why can’t racial stereotypes be a factor in this commercial, even if I concede every point about two different teams and a lone Australian fan? **Surely, no one is suggesting that there is no racial prejudice in Australia, and that the two team explanation is a convenient fig leaf to appeal to baser instincts, or that KFC would never be so crass as to exploit them?** Emphasis added. I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest precisely this. Your implication is that KFC is giving a nod to people who support negative stereotypes while still maintaining plausible deniability. I would argue that a big-name corporation wouldn’t take such an unnecessary risk. Why try to rope in a few racist stragglers at the risk of offending a large population of potential consumers? And plausible deniability doesn’t work here, because no one has to PROVE that KFC intentionally put out a racist ad before people will get upset and begin boycotting. You really think that would be worth the risk for a corporation with that kind of visibility? Isn’t it far, FAR more likely that the target audience (ALL of the target audience) simply wouldn’t see it the way you’re seeing it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-you-ignoramuses-this-isnt-racist-or-here-we-go-again/523886.md?page=8)