*You are probably just as sick of hearing this kind of news as we are of reporting it. But left unreported, leaving others not to be held accountable for their actions, is not a viable option in delivering news that calls out racism in all of its forms the moment we recognize it.
Lately it seems a barrage of incidents have occurred and the people, companies, organizations around them are quick to release statements of apology. But the thing about apology is, it begins to lose its value when seemingly obvious incidents occur – released by “professionals” who we expect should know better – are behind it. This makes it nearly impossible to accept the concept that they didn’t think first and realize the repercussions – just to later stand behind ‘we’re sorry’.
That’s my disclaimer. Now here’s the story.
The “Feed A Child” organization, based in South Africa, is apologizing for their advertisement that depicts a black child as a white woman’s “pet” – being fed by her hand – one morsel at a time.
As the melancholy music plays, a young boy is shown being fed from the hand of a white woman just like one would feed a dog. At another point, the boys head is in the woman’s lap, at her feet while she sits at a table and reclining in a chair, and licking food off of her fingers.
Following outrage, the organization tried to justify their carelessness saying that their message is that animals are treated better than children; a connection that was lost on EVERYONE.
“The average domestic dog eats better than millions of children” comes on-screen towards the end.
