There are some things that I just can't wrap my head around, or actually I guess there are a lot of things I can't wrap my head around, but some things are particularly challenging. One of these particularly challenging things is hate. Hate is unbelievably unnecessary and frankly quite boring. Life is so much more fun when you're laughing.
Super Bowl was a few days ago and yet again the world kept its breath as the biggest companies spent a few million on a 30 second ad. Coca Cola decided to make a statement with a new version of the anthem America The Beautiful. If you haven't yet seen the commercial, go ahead and take a look below.
I wouldn't do cart wheels over the commercial, but it's a decent one. Meanwhile, Coca Cola tweets, quote
The only thing more beautiful than this country are the people who live here
Nice thought, Coca Cola, I'll give you that. You may not be my favorite company in the world, well frankly, which multinational company is? But this commercial is nice. Might even make me go get a coke. Zero of course, I'm on a diet after all. Never ever in my mind could I have imagined the outrage this commercial could produce. Never ever in my mind could I have imagined the amount of hate it would awaken. A friend of mine shared this hideous article that made my eyes bleed and my heart stop. I know not even half of you will actually click the link, so I'll save you the trouble and shamelessly borrow some of the material in it. For example, Tristin here decided to offend about 20 % of the American population, if you believe CIA's statistics that 79.96 % of Americans are white. Minus of coarse the 1.7 % that is Jewish. Although, I do not know how many are terrorists, CIA did not list that group of people in their statistics.
Naturally, Mexicans are not American. They are Mexican. Also, I am not certain what "American" means. Is it the same thing as American? Anyone? Well if you thought Tristin's choice of words were a little over the top, you are going to love Beth. She seems to think that American is actually a language.
Way to go Beth. Really showed off your intelligence there. Especially as America does not have any official language. Also, one of the languages in the commercial was actually that of native Americans. Continuing, Robert here actually believes that America The Beautiful is the national anthem (even though it is the unofficial national anthem, last time I checked the national anthem was still the Star-Spangled Banner).
Oh, and Super Bowl didn't make that commercial honey. Coca Cola did.
So we have stupid, stupider and, lord have mercy, stupidest. I hope you realize that America is a blend of people that immigrated from various places. There are not many Native Americans. That is, as Coca Cola would put it, what makes America beautiful. After reading the list of offensive language and clear hatred toward anyone who isn't white and speak American, I started going through some more posts of people outraged by the commercial. I know I shouldn't, but it's like a drug. My hands start shaking of anger, my pulse races, I find myself cursing to the computer screen. Did I mention this is totally healthy and normal behavior? I found a ton of outrageous comments about Coca Cola promoting Islam (in what way is Islam bad) and the commercial being offensive (to whom may I ask) and other motivating stuff. I got so frustrated, I even hit the Like button. Because of you haters I now Like Coca Cola.
Even some politicians (republicans) thought the commercial was not appropriate and naturally tweeted about it. Todd Starnes, host of Fox News expressed his love for the commercial by tweeting
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| Todd "I only speak English" Starnes. |
Well Todd Starnes, I speak Swedish. I speak Finnish. I speak English. I can get by in German. I even know a little bit of Khmer. How. Is. This. A. Bad. Thing. I can communicate in your language while you cannot communicate in mine. Well good for you, you do realize this does not improve my idea of you at all.
#ToddStarnesOnlySpeaksEnglish
As a Swedish speaking Finn (about 6 percent of Finns have Swedish as their native language and Swedish is one of two official languages in Finland) I have gotten my fair share of hateful comments, much like the ones about speaking English in America. It hurts. It also hurts when a Finn asks me if I cheer for Sweden in an ice hockey game (mind you, cheering for Sweden would be the most unpatriotic thing you could ever do). You show your ignorance asking that question. I am Finnish, after all. The hate towards Swedish speaking Finns is strange. It roots in misunderstandings, misinterpretations and lack of knowledge of Finnish history. We have a lot to thank Sweden for. We were a part of Sweden for over 600 years, there was no Finland then. Instead of accepting our past it seems some are trying to fight it. Instead of sharing a laugh with our neighbor, we hate them and make fun of them. Where is the hate coming from? And frankly, given the choice, I still think most Finns would choose being a part of Sweden over being a part of Russia any day.
#WhereIsTheHateComingFrom
Well, back to Coca Cola. Did I already mention that besides Mexicans, terrorists, Jews and niggers, the commercial also showed a gay couple ice skating with their daughter. It was the first gay couple to be seen in a Super Bowl commercial I might add. What an outrage, just offensive really, considering the woman who wrote the anthem was most likely gay herself. Oh the irony. However, Coca Cola is not the only company to take a stand. I read an article on much the same topic in the Daily Finance that tells the story of some of these companies. For example, The Gap made a beautiful ad with a Sikh man. Unfortunately, people thought it would be a good idea to write hurtful comments on the ad.
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| Picture Robert Gerhadt |
Obviously, comments such as Make Bombs and Bin Laden are utterly ridiculous and only shows you know nothing about Sikhs. I have not yet met a single Sikh who made bombs, and I've met a few. Also, I believe Bin Laden was a Muslim, not a Sikh (no offense toward Muslims intended). Now because of the outrage and the comments, The Gap chose to change their Twitter cover to the ad. Cheerios made a commercial with a family of three. A black man. A white woman. Outrage. YouTube had to disable the commentaries for the video as it got so many spiteful comments. You can watch the commercial below. Can't say I blame them, this commercial is ridiculously offensive!
#MakeAStatement
I realize my Liking Coca Cola also has a dark side to it, for Coca Cola is the number one sponsor of the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Fuck
No matter what direction I turn, there is hate. For some reason Russia has decided to hate homosexuals. The public is asking Coca Cola to take a stand with the Winter Olympics, to tell the Russians to get their shit together. Well I agree, only Coca Cola just made a stand and look were it landed them. I won't even get in to the Olympics, that's a whole new post in itself. I even saw a picture of Putin without a shirt that, allegedly, was in a hotel room. I must not smile, but that really is hilarious.
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| Google takes a stand. The Rainbow Olympics. |
I will not bash companies or people any more than I already have, but a serious question remains: Where does the hate come from? I cannot wrap my head around why people hate Muslims, Jews, Christians, Non-believers, blacks, whites, Hispanics, homosexuals or any other "type" of people. Do you not see that we are all the same? We all breath with our lungs, speak with our mouth, see with our eyes, touch with our hands, feel with our senses, love with our hearts. We all have a religion, may it be to believe in a god with a monkey head or to believe in no god at all. We all have a home, may it be the dirt under our feet or a gold castle. We all have our origins, may they be growing up and living in the same small town or traveling from one place to the other. We all have dreams, may they be to climb the highest mountain or to build a home for a family. We are all the same. Look past the shell and you will see it.
We are all just people trying to get by our daily life. Getting up in the morning, going to work, going to school, working on the street to make enough for food. Show each other respect. Learn tolerance. If you dislike something, fine. But don't bash out about it. Why hate when you can love. Why cry when you can laugh. Why not just live and let live. Give others the benefit of a doubt. Give them the respect that they deserve as human beings. Don't be afraid, but learn. Don't talk behind a back, but talk to a face. Don't be a jerk.
Oh, I almost forgot. Thank You America for your prayers. Thankfully she is no longer the president. Oh, and she is married. To a man. If it makes you feel any better.
#Tolerance
