One of the things I think people need to be very careful about is pointing out the difference between being racist and acknowledging that there are certain differences between racial groups (which may or not apply to a given individual within that group.) These days, the popular mode of thought is that because we are all equal, we are all the same. One of my core tenets is that while sameness and equality may proxy for one another, they are not the same. In fact, they are very different, especially when we start talking about people.
The fact is that each of us is different. We are very similar. But similar is not the same. When we use the phrase “all men are created equal,” what we’re really talking about is intrinsic value. All people have a certain worth. Period. Just because. It has nothing to do with the family they were born into or their financial status or anything else that is attached to them. The fact that they exist as a human being gives them worth. That’s very different than saying that another person is the same.
To use my favorite example, in a wrestling meet, every person represents the potential for 6 points for his team. In that respect, everyone is equal. Two guys might be winless and undefeated, respectively, but the super-stud killer can only bring as many points with his pin as the scrub could bring with his. At the same time, they’re obviously not the same; one has never lost and the other has never won. There could be any number of actual differences between them, but they are equal.
So it is with this idea in mind that I watch this video. It’s one of those things that’s, at first glance, cringe-worthy. The idea works, I guess. The execution is…meh. I don’t know if it’s necessary to go to theeee broadest stereotypes possible to make the illustration, but I also think that we (and I’m definitely included) have trained ourselves to be offended at anything that points out racial differences. So bearing that in mind, why would it be a bad idea to illustrate the differences when doing the song “Jesus Loves The Little Children?” That’s actually the point of the song; they’re all equal even though they’re not the same.
But this video is crazy, though. No gettin around that.