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Original poster

Would you consider this racist? H&M advert

999 replies

BornInSydneyy · 08/01/2018 21:12

A young black boy wearing a jumper that says -

“Coolest monkey in the jungle”

I genuinely can’t understand how anyone thought that was acceptable.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
10
PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:42

If I saw the shirt hanging in a store I wouldn't have thought it was racist and would have just thought it was a cute slogan for a kid. I would have thought advertisers would have known better considering its what they do everyday.

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 09/01/2018 21:42

down

Yeah i dont get the connection either

LazyArseAvocado · 09/01/2018 21:42

Not racist. It's just a kid wearing a jumper. But then I'm not racist either so my mind doesn't even go there. Maybe I should over think things to appear to look even less racist.

PonderWoman · 09/01/2018 21:43

Pass the star mix, do you see anything wrong with black child wearing monkey in the jungle slogan and white child wearing survival expert slogan?

CherryMaDeara · 09/01/2018 21:44

NotACleverName Exactly reading is not difficult I can see what it said and it as alluding to the term monkey as I'm sure april was as well. Are you saying a white child can wear it with that phrase on only??

If you RTFT, you will see that the hoodie says 'the coolest monkey in the jungle'. You will also read that black people have been likened to apes and monkeys by racists for hundreds of years. THIS is why the slogan is offensive.

The hoodie should be withdrawn from sale for everyone.

PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:44

It's terrible that racist thugs have made it this way because monkeys to me are like a giraffe or any other animal on a shirt.

PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:45

PonderWoman Nope and I haven't heard of your other example.

PonderWoman · 09/01/2018 21:46

Downthestrada, i think its attention seeking behaviour. No relevance to the thread. She hasnt been fired. Just attention seeking. Her (non)story is so much more important.

MaisyPops · 09/01/2018 21:47

Rufustherenegadereindeer1
I've scanned too many threads on this they all blur.

You're probably right on Twitter though. I don't tend to have things like this pop up in my feed but saw a bit and clicked about to see what the deal was.

Some intersteing discussion about poor advertising choices from a retailer who should have seen the issues and top being the issue vs advertising choices and at the other end 'i find it offensive. Any reference to monkeys is racist and if you disagree with me then you must be racist too' and some 'it's political correctness gone mad' folk.

I do think on platforms I've seen discussions it seems to have got heated, sometimes justifiably, others just shouty closing down debate. I stopoed reading at that point

PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:47

It's racist idiots that have caused this. And as I said I don't view monkeys in connection with people in a racist way. But advertisers should know better and shouldn't have released the shirt as they're the supposed experts...

CherryMaDeara · 09/01/2018 21:48

LazyArseAvocado

Not racist. It's just a kid wearing a jumper. But then I'm not racist either so my mind doesn't even go there. Maybe I should over think things to appear to look even less racist.

Lazy if you RTFT, you will see that black people have posted about people doing monkey chants to them, people leaving bananas on their desks, people making 'jokes' about going back to the jungle.

So black people don't have luxury of their 'mind not going there.'

Seriously, check your privilige.

Zarathrustra · 09/01/2018 21:48

Right. So you’ve never heard racists make comments about BAME people as ‘all looking the same’?

Still, you seem keen on displaying your ignorance, why not carry on...

CherryMaDeara · 09/01/2018 21:50

I don't view monkeys in connection with people in a racist way.

But this is not about you. It's irrelevant that you don't.

downthestrada · 09/01/2018 21:50

Zara of course I have. But that’s a different racism topic to this. I still don’t see the connection. Have I missed something?

MaisyPops · 09/01/2018 21:51

If I saw the shirt hanging in a store I wouldn't have thought it was racist and would have just thought it was a cute slogan for a kid. I would have thought advertisers would have known better considering its what they do everyday
Same.
Top - fine. Choose or don't choose to wear it as you see fit.
Advert - total ballsup and the company should have seen the issue coming.

But that's not enough apparenttly given we have people on this page of the thread claiming the existence of the top is such an issue it should be banned and nobody should be able to buy it.

PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:51

I said the jumper shouldn't have been released calm yourself....

PonderWoman · 09/01/2018 21:51

Zara, are you saying that you are racist as you think two sri lankan boys look the same, therefore you got their names wrong and that you should have been fired?

PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:52

cherry

Zarathrustra · 09/01/2018 21:52

cherryda

You see no irony in laughing at the idea of reading difficulty, and then a few posts later advising someone to ‘check their privelege’.

This is why you ID politics types don’t get taken with the seriousness you crave - you’re anger isn’t based on principle, but sheer tribal* identity

*and no, that isn’t a racist comment

downthestrada · 09/01/2018 21:53

existence of the top is such an issue it should be banned and nobody should be able to buy it.

Were people saying this? I think most are just discussing the topic. Basically, I’m happy that it’s been brought up, that people are discussing it, that H&M have apologised and that maybe some people might have learned something about the topic.

PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:54

MaisyPops Yes they shouldn't have released the advert. I feel it wouldn't be an entirely different matter had it been hanging instore randomly with all of the other kids clothes with slogans.

PasstheStarmix · 09/01/2018 21:54

would

PonderWoman · 09/01/2018 21:54

Maisy,

If you were called a monkey as a child every single day or if your child was called a monkey every day at school and told to go back to the jungle, I am pretty sure you would see things differently.

Zarathrustra · 09/01/2018 21:55

PonderWoman

Zara, are you saying that you are racist as you think two sri lankan boys look the same, therefore you got their names wrong and that you should have been fired?

What an odd reading of my post.

I’m pointing out that incidentally acting/speaking in the same manner that racists have done isn’t the smoking gun that someone is a racist.

StripySocksAndDocs · 09/01/2018 21:56

As far as I can figure out the top has been withdrawn. Pretty sure that was stated in the H&m apology.