So long Uncle Ben...

Soldato
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You should not put a photo of a black person on products. Its racist. No, hang on....not putting them on is racist....no, wait....erm..

Got it, black people are racist about rice....no...oh I give up
 
Man of Honour
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Can someone explain to me why it was racist? Or offensive? Isn't it just a guy on a packet of rice? I mean I get he was paid little, but did the company even really exist when he was asked? And I assume he agreed, and wasn't forced (which would make sense). But I am confused.

The defination of a racist incident is anything that any person perceives as racist. It's open to misuse.

We live in a very awkward world where someone has to he offended which often launches a wave of those offended by proxy ..... even when nothing wrong has been done.
 
Caporegime
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because apparently it leans into the racist way that slave owners would call their elderly slaves “uncle” instead of Mr. This is according to what I read earlier.

Yeah that seems to be what it is after a little googling. Which is understandable to be honest.
 
Caporegime
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The more i see this type of thing the less i can take BLM seriously. I hear Cotton Traders is next!

Ironically it'll be the men who wear Cotton Traders, wear bootcut jeans with slip on shoes and have velcro wallets that would be most upset.

Anyway. The issue with the name is the Uncle bit, in the south older black people were called uncle/aunt because people refused to call them mr and mrs.

https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/...tml?ex=1176782400&en=fac51117ccc2daa5&ei=5070

It's one of those things that seems silly on the face of it, but it's just getting rid of outdated imagery and attitudes.

It's like the battleships box from the 50s with the boys playing and the mother and daughter washing up, it's just outdated and belongs in the past.

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lol uncle bens been cancelled, what a pathetic society we live in.

Yeah it's pathetic that something gets 'cancelled' and all of society is labelled pathetic because it's getting rid of outdated stereotypes that belong in the past.
 
Soldato
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So, hear me out......

They are trying to remove a black man from their advert to........ prevent racism? sounds pretty racist to delete uncle ben not gonna lie....

I really like their rice too. Never thought anything of a black man being on the front of it. Maybe i'm not aware of my privilege.
 
Caporegime
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So, hear me out......

They are trying to remove a black man from their advert to........ prevent racism? sounds pretty racist to delete uncle ben not gonna lie....

I really like their rice too. Never thought anything of a black man being on the front of it. Maybe i'm not aware of my privilege.

Have you bothered reading why they are getting rid of the name 'uncle ben's'? I'm guessing no?

This is a technology forum where you would think most users would be able to spend a few mins accessing the wealth of information on the internet but there you go.
 
Soldato
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I've heard of Uncle Ben's but never tried it. I might buy a few packs to sell on in 30 years time.

Never heard of Auntie Jemima though. Who needs pancake mix anyway?

This seems more of a class or ageism issue. Getting rid of an old dude on the packaging. Branding that is "wholesome" is too boring for society now so instead they are replaced with things like meerkats, minions and marmadukes. It's usually something wacky or something that leans on the "progressive" side e.g. Captain Birdseye went from a salty sea dog to a guy who spends more time grooming than fishing.
 
Soldato
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My Dad still calls them Marathon bars.

Thats because they are marathon bars. No dumb name change god knows how many years ago changes that. :p

The person in the picture was a real person.

Uncle Ben was a real person.

Confusingly, they weren't the same person. :p

Ironically both of them were black and yet neither can be used on the packaging anymore on the product he created
 
Man of Honour
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"white" people shouldn't be allowed to eat rice at all because that's cultural appropriation.

I'm just getting ahead of the curve on "racism". Give it another few years and "progress" will catch up.



Has anyone bothered even trying to find out why the person behind the product used the word "Uncle"? Given that the entire point of the image was to convey kindness, friendliness and trustworthiness, it's possible that was the reason for "Uncle" since that's long been associated with the word.

In other news, Granny Smith wasn't the grandmother of the people who called her that.
 

A2Z

A2Z

Soldato
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Ridiculous decision, so tired of everything that has anything to do with a black person these days is somehow related to racism.
 
Caporegime
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"white" people shouldn't be allowed to eat rice at all because that's cultural appropriation.

I'm just getting ahead of the curve on "racism". Give it another few years and "progress" will catch up.

It could be a troll, but the below tweet is lifted from the Mars tweet in the OP. I seriously wouldn’t be surprised if there are people that think that.

 
Caporegime
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Nothing like a microwaved bag of rice after a long day whipping the chain gang that picks my cotton plantation...

I love history lol. I wish people could just accept the past is the past.

I always though Uncle Ben was a Butler like Jeffrey from Fresh prince of bell air. Now i know the shameful truth. I regret being born i'm so sorry for everything white people have done.
 
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