As the author of the ManhattanKids blog — a blog that routinely demonizes pedophiles and heroin addicts — I find this post extremely cruel. The woman in the ad is a real person who lives in the Bronx and she really lost had her fingers amputated because of her smoking. The woman is brave to be willing to be a public figure in the anti-smoking campaign and it is cruel to mock her and her life story. She is a lower income Latina and just an everyday person. Why mock her suffering for a cheap laugh?
ZPP, I have not seen audited tax returns, but she lives in the south Bronx and is clearly a “person of color” to use your favorite expression. Statistically speaking, it is highly likely that her income is well below national, state, and city averages. Moreover, in the commercials, she sounds like a tough talkin’ street educated New Yorker, so I’d say yes, she is “lower income”; she is downright poor. Moreover, I have not performed a maternal and paternal test to properly diagnose her ethnic heritage, but she is brown — she is not white and she is not a Jew — she looks like a Hispanic to me, but who knows anymore? Her name is Marie, not Maria. Maybe she is a person of African descent? Is she a “lower income Latina”? Who knows? Where I was going with that comment is that she is an average person who is should not be mocked. People who are famous, rich, powerful or who have committed reprehensible behavior should be mocked.
In these ads, that is what they portray – “people of color.” Why not a white person in this ad? I just get concerned about the message this sends. You, like myself, already begin to create an image of someone who is poor, of color, etc. Aside from the smoking message, is this harmful? Does it perpetuate something?
ZPP – i give you credit for trying to engage JPZ in a rational dialog. manhattankids is the grounds of a crazy person…totally off the reservation if you ask me. but you, as always, prove to me measured and calm in the face of criticism, no matter how out of bounds, so i certainly commend you.
i dont think ZPP was MOCKING this woman…it was a joke, yes, but she did agree to be in a commercial, so it’s not as if she’s some anonymous lady going about her business and ZPP decided to walk up to her and make fun of her situation. you take a public stand on an issue, you agree to appear in a commercial with a clear point of view, well maybe someone makes a joke about it. CLEARLY not the worst thing in the world…and certainly not the worst thing that’s happened to this woman in her life.
@Alice: I am three-quarters full blood Cherokee Indian as 3 of my 4 grandparents are Cherokee, so your comment that I am a “crazy person” and “totally off the reservation” is deeply offensive and hateful. Alice, do you know what the Trail of Tears is? That was when Alice’s people drove my Cherokee brethren out of the East Coast area all the way to Oklahoma; it was a genocide and ethnic cleansing that happened in the United States. Alice, please read about the Trail of Tears here http://tinyurl.com/ynogzw. In the future, please do not make such racist and cruel remarks.
JPZ, you made very systemic racial assumptions about Marie by just looking at her face. That inclination is systemic racism which is much more insidious than the racist that says the N word every day of his life because that is an individual act. Systemic racism is what drives all of us to contribute in some way to the continuation of racism.
so typical of every insane rant that shows up on your manhattankids blog, which is why i stopped reading it.
Apparently “my people” drove your people someplace, which is pretty impressive considering they were chained the bottom of a freakin slave boat, but whatever.
As the author of the ManhattanKids blog — a blog that routinely demonizes pedophiles and heroin addicts — I find this post extremely cruel. The woman in the ad is a real person who lives in the Bronx and she really lost had her fingers amputated because of her smoking. The woman is brave to be willing to be a public figure in the anti-smoking campaign and it is cruel to mock her and her life story. She is a lower income Latina and just an everyday person. Why mock her suffering for a cheap laugh?
JPZ, you”re right. I still think when it comes to the media, she is a pawn for a militant anti-smoking campaign.
JPZ, is she “a lower income Latina?”
ZPP, I have not seen audited tax returns, but she lives in the south Bronx and is clearly a “person of color” to use your favorite expression. Statistically speaking, it is highly likely that her income is well below national, state, and city averages. Moreover, in the commercials, she sounds like a tough talkin’ street educated New Yorker, so I’d say yes, she is “lower income”; she is downright poor. Moreover, I have not performed a maternal and paternal test to properly diagnose her ethnic heritage, but she is brown — she is not white and she is not a Jew — she looks like a Hispanic to me, but who knows anymore? Her name is Marie, not Maria. Maybe she is a person of African descent? Is she a “lower income Latina”? Who knows? Where I was going with that comment is that she is an average person who is should not be mocked. People who are famous, rich, powerful or who have committed reprehensible behavior should be mocked.
In these ads, that is what they portray – “people of color.” Why not a white person in this ad? I just get concerned about the message this sends. You, like myself, already begin to create an image of someone who is poor, of color, etc. Aside from the smoking message, is this harmful? Does it perpetuate something?
Also how frequent are amputations with smokers?
ZPP – i give you credit for trying to engage JPZ in a rational dialog. manhattankids is the grounds of a crazy person…totally off the reservation if you ask me. but you, as always, prove to me measured and calm in the face of criticism, no matter how out of bounds, so i certainly commend you.
i dont think ZPP was MOCKING this woman…it was a joke, yes, but she did agree to be in a commercial, so it’s not as if she’s some anonymous lady going about her business and ZPP decided to walk up to her and make fun of her situation. you take a public stand on an issue, you agree to appear in a commercial with a clear point of view, well maybe someone makes a joke about it. CLEARLY not the worst thing in the world…and certainly not the worst thing that’s happened to this woman in her life.
Alice, thanks for some perspective.
@Alice: I am three-quarters full blood Cherokee Indian as 3 of my 4 grandparents are Cherokee, so your comment that I am a “crazy person” and “totally off the reservation” is deeply offensive and hateful. Alice, do you know what the Trail of Tears is? That was when Alice’s people drove my Cherokee brethren out of the East Coast area all the way to Oklahoma; it was a genocide and ethnic cleansing that happened in the United States. Alice, please read about the Trail of Tears here http://tinyurl.com/ynogzw. In the future, please do not make such racist and cruel remarks.
JPZ, you made very systemic racial assumptions about Marie by just looking at her face. That inclination is systemic racism which is much more insidious than the racist that says the N word every day of his life because that is an individual act. Systemic racism is what drives all of us to contribute in some way to the continuation of racism.
so typical of every insane rant that shows up on your manhattankids blog, which is why i stopped reading it.
Apparently “my people” drove your people someplace, which is pretty impressive considering they were chained the bottom of a freakin slave boat, but whatever.