05 February 2007

When No One Notices

Sunday, Matt and I were fast forwarding through the Super Bowl (is that some kind of sports event?) to watch the commercials -- which, let's face it, were rather lacking in creativity for the most part. (I got a real laugh out of the gorilla spot, and the pet store spot for that movie rental company that is not Netflix.)

I was confused by the one spot for the soft drink that featured different bottle designs at the time of significant events in black history -- February being Black History Month, after all.

At the end of this particular spot, it said this product was proud to have been around for all the significant events in black history -- especially today.

Hmmm? I didn't understand that reference, so I asked Matt what was the big deal about today. He told me that both coaches in the Super Bowl were black -- which I already knew. I said, "Why does that make today special? Don't they think blacks can coach football?"

Of course, I understood what made that day special. I guess such recognition about the accomplishment of a black man or woman (or just a woman, for that matter) seems weird to me -- like, they were saying, "Wow! A woman! Who woulda thought?" That seems so demeaning, as if people are so surprised a woman could do something.

Perhaps I will be more impressed, one day, when a woman does something big, or a black person, or an Asian, and no one notices their sex or ethnicity -- because, of course, everyone would feel "Well, why couldn't they do it?"



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