On this day in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released from prison. At that time, he was probably the most famous political prisoner in the world. I still have my anti Apartheid button that I wore in college. Here's a video of the day that he was released & also one of today's anniversary celebrations.
Back in December, KFC ran a tv ad in Australia about unruly cricket fans. The storyline was this. A white Australian cricket fan is trying to calm down loud & unruly black West Indian cricket fans. Suddenly, the Aussie takes out a bucket of KFC fried chicken. The crowd surrounds him & starts eating the chicken.
The commercial ran in Australia for a few weeks without anybody complaining about it in the land down under. God bless the Internet, though, because the commercial found its way onto it. Wouldn’t you know that the second it hit American shores, the fun was over. Now, KFC pulled the ad.
In their press release, KFC said "We have been made aware that a KFC commercial being shown on Australian television has apparently caused offense, particularly in the United States, after a copy of the commercial was reproduced online without KFC's permission,". I like to call that the Scooby Doo defense - we would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those meddling kids.
The main problem KFC has here is that it didn't think globally. In other words, what it does in one country can be felt in other countries. A while back, Hollywood stars, in a bid to seem like they didn't sell out in America, would instead do commercials overseas (mainly Germany & Japan). They didn't need to fear fans in America finding out because the internet wasn't a major part of life at that point. These days, the world is much more interconnected. People can watch tv live from Australia or the Middle East.
If KFC didn't release a commercial such as this in America because they knew it was stereotypical, what made them think that they could release it overseas & get away with it? A large corporation should know that things like this get around rapidly. Shame on KFC for blowing it off & blaming someone for their own insensitivity.
Here's the ad. You can make up your own minds. To me, at the very least, it's insensitive. At the bottom, I also threw in an article that says that Americans are just over reacting to the whole thing. That may or may not be true but I put it in to counterbalance what I was saying.
Here are the advertisers on Glenn Beck's television show. Please join me & contact them. Let them know that you will no longer give your hard earned money to them so that they can support someone who practices racial politics for ratings. Freedom of speech is something that Glenn Beck is entitled to. However, we as human beings are also entitled to not give our money to companies that give financial support to such hatred.
I know that the Mark Sanford issue has swirled for a week but I've stayed away from it to see what the reaction would be to his press conference. Oh, where to begin? I'm aware that people do make mistakes & that forgiveness is divine, let he who is without sin...blah, blah, blah. The problem is that Mark Sanford was the one who's thrown the most stones in the past at others so it's about time he got some thrown back at him. Let us not forget that when he was a congressman during the '90s, he was one of the main proponents for the impeachment of Bill Clinton for cheating on his wife. When Larry Craig was busted for trying to make a pass at a man in a bathroom stall, it was Mark Sanford who went on television & said that Craig couldn't govern any more & that he would resign. Now, the tables have turned & it is Mark Sanford who finds himself in the infidelity spotlight. Forgive me if I find this extremely humorous. It doesn't help that even after the press conference, he still won't shut up. Three days later, he gives an interview to the associated press professing that he's found his soul mate & it's not his wife but he'd like to get back with his wife & make it work. Bet the Mrs loved to hear THAT little nugget of information put out to the media. I'm sure the public humiliation has made his wife want to reconsider taking back the man who skipped out on his security detail & his kids on Fathers Day weekend so that he could play house with his soul mate in Argentina; I mean, so he could go hiking on the Appalachian Trail. If Mark Sanford had any decency left, he should just put out a press release saying that he's working on getting back together with his wife & for the press to please respect his family's privacy during this very trying time. He should not be giving interviews saying how much he wants to be with his mistress & that it's forbidden love. Do the right thing Gov. Sanford, please & just resign already.
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