Two days ago this country took a small step towards addressing systemic racism. One would only hope it's the first of many. And to see how far we must go, I would personally suggest a mandatory viewing of HBO's excellent miniseries Exterminate All The Brutes.
Apropos of all this, I came across an ad campaign, from Canada, that I had not heard of.
It's an incredibly simple campaign that employs an elegant ju-jitsu move, my favorite, on people who espouse hate, my least favorite people.
And rather than explain it, I'm going to post the case-study video that does the job so eloquently.
If my embedding code doesn't work, you can click here.
I love this idea for so many reasons, including my affinity for this amazingly huge continent which is unmatched for natural beauty.
Africa is after all, at least to those who understand evolution, the Motherland for all of us.
It's also where my people served as slaves for 400 years and gave birth to the original liberation story as well as exquisitely delicious Passover Seder food like charoseth, bitter herbs, and matzo.
My daughter spent 5 months living in Kenya on her study abroad program. And later went on to visit Tanzania, Ethiopia and the Seychelles. You'd think after spending all that money, she'd be able to answer every Jeopardy question regarding Africa, but she can't.
And my first book, Tuesdays With Mantu, My Adventures with a Nigerian Con Artist, originated from Africa's second most populous country and home to thousands of wealthy Nigerian princes.
But, perhaps selfishly, the reason I love this campaign the most is because it is tangential to an idea I brought up years ago, on this very blog. You can see it here.
I believe in the palliative value of travel. And to that end, I believe this country ought to start a Birthright program for all African American kids.
Furthermore, and I know my right wing friends will disagree, it should be funded with US taxpayer money.
And it should start now.
No comments:
Post a Comment