Mattel recently posted an official video
on its official Barbie YouTube page depicting a cartoon version of the iconic
doll talking to her black doll friend Nikki about racism. The virtual Barbie
noted that “There is a huge movement going on” and that “Millions of people across
the world are standing up to fight against racism.” They are doing this, she
said, “because too often and for such a long time, people have been treated
unfairly, and in some cases even hurt by others, because of the color of their
skin.” I assumed she was talking about Black Lives Matter supporters and Antifa
members arbitrarily harassing and assaulting white people, but I was mistaken.
Virtual
Barbie asked Nikki to talk about the clearly systemic racism she faced as a
black doll in America. Nikki told Barbie how she was once stopped multiple
times by beach security while on a boardwalk, even though she was “doing exactly
the same thing” that Barbie was doing—adding, of course, that Barbie was utterly
unharassed. Nikki also bemoaned the “fact” that the instructor of their school’s
French honor club once told her she “got lucky” when she got the highest score
on the club’s entrance test. To which a saddened and guilty-by-association Barbie
replied, “What? You speak French better than all of us! Why didn’t you stay in
the club to prove him wrong? Nikki responded, “I don’t want to constantly prove
and reprove myself.”
“That
means that white people get an advantage that they didn’t earn, and black
people get a disadvantage that they don’t deserve!” exclaimed virtual Barbie.
She added, “When we don’t say anything, we’re just letting it continue!” Black Dolls Matter!
USA Today,
that bastion of journalistic balance and integrity, was effusive in praising
the propaganda video, noting it had gone viral, but forgetting to mention
that comments for the video were turned off for some reason. (Probably due to
systemic racism.)
This, of
course, is only the beginning. Look for many more “woke” videos to come,
helpfully informing youngsters that everyone in the world besides straight, white,
male, cis-gendered Christians is hopelessly screwed. They will talk about how
minorities in the United States are doomed to a life of squalor and misery at
the hands of the reactionary conservative majority. They will not, however,
mention that gay people earn more than straight people or that straight, white,
male, cis-gendered Christians are themselves a minority, and a singularly
abused one at that.
Nonetheless,
I am looking forward to Dora and
her friends Alana, Emma, Naiya and Kate lecture Diego and Pablo on misogyny
and sexism, with Diego and Pablo accused of “mansplaining” when they attempt to
reply. And I can’t wait to hear Barney explain to
Baby Bop that dinosaurs “don’t have a chance in this country” due to the
rampant—indeed systemic—speciesism.
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