They Meant Well

In my infinite time wasting during the day, I stumbled across something on the internet so funny and at the same time so representative of mainstream America's lack of understanding of some of the subtleties of African-American culture, I had to share it.

For those of you without sisters every toy company issues a black version of it's most popular dolls, except for Rainbow Bright. (I'll explain how I know that later) If you don't already know by looking at this picture why you were never able to find Oreo Fun Barbie at your local Toys R Us, here is the official reason why this doll was recalled.

This doll was originally made by Mattel in a caucasian edition in partnership with Nabisco. Then Mattel decided to do an African American Edition. No one in their R&D department realized that the word "OREO" is a derogatory term for a black person that associates primarilly with white people, an African American person who acts like, sympathizes with, or dates and marries whites. The term is derived from an Oreo cookie, which is black on the outside and white on the inside. Someone who calls an African American an "Oreo" is calling him an Uncle Tom.

This is an example of how much time and money that can be wasted when no one in the R&D department has any black friends. Even if this did doll stayed on store shelves, I am not sure how many people would have actually become angry. I was called an Oreo more than a few times as a youth, and I laughed out loud at this. What's really funny is that during the time in my life when I was called an Oreo my father was an executive for Nabisco, and guess what was the preferred sandwhich cookie in our household was? You guessed it, Hydrox.