6.23.20: Retiring brands
Plus firearms during the pandemic and the return of live sports
June 23, 2020.
Good Tuesday Morning. The comments to yesterday’s question made clear that many of you have strong views about the retiring of brands like Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben’s. Many of you argued the changes were long overdue.
Others, though, pointed out that if some brands change or some statues are removed, it could lead to more. The follow-up question many of you have been asking over the last few days: “Should we remove statues of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson because they were slave owners?”
It might have been asked rhetorically, but we’re going to talk about it in today’s questions (along with some other topics). Click on the Let’s Talk button to get started.
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Results from June 22, 2020
Question 1: Have you purchased a firearm during the pandemic? And, did you purchase it because of the pandemic?
Only 3 people have purchased a firearm during the pandemic, and not one of those purchases was driven specifically by the pandemic.
At least one user is contemplating purchasing a firearm, though:
My desire to purchase a gun has been influenced by the pandemic and race based demonstrations. I am socially liberal and fiscally leftist... but will be purchasing a firearm for protection during multiple forms of instability. Although, I’ll be waiting until the end of summer to make the final decision. Best to sleep on it some more.
And a few days ago, one of our users shared:
Let’s talk about 2nd amendment rights. I’m a gun owner, I have several firearms in my home. I bought a shotgun for my wife 7 years ago and she enjoys target shooting. We have a child in the home, so we keep them all in the Gun safe. I have many opinions on firearm ownership that a typical republican that hunts and owns firearms would not have.
Do tell!
No firearm purchase yet but I did just complete a hunter education course. Sure, I learned about guns, but also trapping, bow hunting, the appropriate hunting dog, and lots of other information I'll never use. As a side note, hunting a bear sounds like a terrible idea.
I could see that.
Question 2: Last week, Quaker Oats and Mars, Inc. announced that they would be retiring the brands Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's, respectively. Do you support or oppose the decision to retire these brands?
Many supported the brand retirements.
Brands should not use images of a historically marginalized group to sell a product. That’s profiting off oppression
Others cited the opposition by the great-grandson of the woman who portrayed Aunt Jemima as evidence that the brands (at least the Aunt Jemima brand) should remain in place.
Removing the Aunt Jemima name is a disservice to her relatives and history. Quote from her great grandson: “This is an injustice for me and my family. This is part of my history, sir. The racism they talk about, using images from slavery, that comes from the other side -- white people. This company profits off images of our slavery. And their answer is to erase my great-grandmother’s history. A Black female. … It hurts.”
Removing Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben from their brands dishonors them and their families. In addition, our judgment or sensibilities in these times should not determine the removal of statues or monuments. Remember our history. Learn from it.
Others suggested that some of these logo changes and the statue removals may establish a precedent that could lead to… more removals and changes.
Founding fathers like Washington and Jefferson were plantation owners with slaves and framed a Constitution that denied equal rights to African-Americans and women. Should we consider removal of their monuments and use of their names?
Many comments shared this sentiment. It’s unclear whether the question was asked rhetorically, but since it came up, we’ll talk about it more today.
Question 3: Soccer (or to some, football) has resumed play in a few places around the world: the Bundesliga in Germany, La Liga in Spain, the English Premier League. Have you watched any of their recent games?
Does anyone actually watch soccer? I mean, really, is it even a sport?
I mean, I think so…
Question 4: Are you a soccer fan, or did you watch because you simply missed live sports?
That 26.7% share is pretty large. People are clamoring for some live sports entertainment.
Most of the anonymous users who answered “Other” noted that other folks in their house were watching and they just went along with it.
Question 5: If sports are played without fans, what should stadiums and arenas do about the lack of crowd noise?
Most of the anonymous users who answered “Other” here want to mic up the players and coaches, although one nihilist just asked:
What difference does it make?
Make it all the way through but forget to answer today’s questions?
Click on the Let’s Talk button below to get started.