Who Could Have Possibly Known That KFC Was Racist?

Just in case you haven’t seen the KFC advertisement that aired in Australia, let me describe it to you…

A white guy is in the stands at a cricket match trying to watch the game, surrounded by a bunch of black people who are dancing, signing, playing music, being loud, and doing everything but watching the match.  The white guy is visibly frustrated, rubbing his face in anxiety.  Suddenly, looks at the camera and says something about being stuck in an awkward situation, and next thing you know he’s giving the black people around him some fried chicken out of a big KFC bucket.  The crowd settles down so that they can get their grub on.  The white guy looks again at the camera and says, too easy.  Click here to see it for yourself.

I’ve seen a few articles from people fired up about KFC’s blatant racism and negative stereotypes of black people.  But I really must ask if people are really that surprised to see a racist commercial produced by an American corporation?  Are people really all that shocked to see that KFC could care less if people from the black community caught wind of this advertisement?  And now that black people see this ad will it change anything to anybody either way?

Chances are if you went to KFC yesterday, you’ll be back there tomorrow asking for one of those Australian chicken specials.  You know the kind.  It’s the one with that chicken recipe that can take black people’s hyper stimulation away and soothe that savage beast in black people’s soul.  If somebody came out with proof that KFC was using freeze dried fecal matter as one of the seven herbs and spices, I seriously doubt if that would even shake people’s need for KFC.  People will simply convince themselves that whatever the evidence was, it’s not in their chicken.  They’re sure that they’d taste the difference if there was.  And if shit powder wasn’t going to snap people out of their mindless eating habits, a little home grown racism ain’t going to come between anybody and their next meal at the colonel’s place.  That’s why KFC could give a rat’s ass if anybody black saw this commercial.

There must have been a couple dozen black people jigging for this commercial.  What were they thinking?  I can just imagine the instructions from the director that day…

Okay black people listen up!  We need all of you dancing in your seats and acting as if you couldn’t care less about what’s happening on the field.  Kind of like what happens when you people go to the game.  We’re going to put a white guy in the middle and you all just act like he doesn’t even exist.  You with the bongos!  Get really obnoxious and beat those infernal drums right down into his ear canal.  And then, when the white guy starts passing out chicken, that’s when all of you go quiet and start eating.  You know, like you people do when you eat food.  Okay?  Let’s shoot!  Cue the white guy!

Is it surprising to see so many black people willing to participate in the production of such racist propaganda?  KFC knows that if all these black people would be willing to work their happy asses to help make this ad to sell their shit, even more black people will be happy to buy the shit.  It’s fried chicken after all.  And the KFC spokespeople have already started spinning.

The advertisement was meant as nothing more than an indication of the truly special relationship KFC has with its black patrons.  Any racially stereotypical connotations were totally accidental and the advertisement was never meant to demean any black people.  To be honest, we didn’t even know black people eat chicken!

This ad is just a painful reminder of how little the interests of the black community matters to the marketing department of KFC.  This is just another example of how the dominant community moves to define black people.  The definition here is that as loud as black people may be they’ll stop to eat their soul food.  And even if black people were angry enough to do or say something about this racist ad, everybody at KFC knows that all they have to do is pull out a big bucket of chicken and the awkwardness of the moment is sure to pass.  Any minute now I’m expecting some white guy to try and shut me up with a piece of chicken.

I don’t want your hush chicken!  I’m happy to say that my family and I don’t patronize KFC.  And even if we did, I’m sure this piece of marketing genius would sever any relationship we would’ve had.  I wouldn’t patronize anybody who thought so little of me.  It really is a shame that more black didn’t feel the same way.  If they did, KFC wouldn’t make such trash, and I’m talking about the commercial.  The company cannot help but make that trash they call food.