From Marty B on eating watermelon to Judge Lander’s comment about cleaning up white people’s messes, count me in the “almost anything goes” school when it comes to free speech and race relations. Many people aren’t, though, which is why it’s surprising there’s been so little blowback, especially in North Texas, over MetroPCS’s “Tech & Talk” ad series lampooning Indians in the most outrageously stereotypical way. (MetroPCS is based here, as is The Richards Group, which created the funny ads).
So, why the lack of reaction? Is the reason that the Indian community lacks the political will (or punch) to make noise over a portrayal that surely would have sent other “maligned” groups into the streets? Or have we finally progressed to the point as a society that we can appreciate–and have fun with–such obvious, over-the-top racial and cultural stereotypes? Here’s hoping–but without much optimism–that it’s the second.
