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Just came from some last minute Christmas shopping at my local Hallmark store at the mall.
I noticed Hallmark carries a line which features black people on it, and noticed the back of all these cards said "Mahogany". Googled it to find out it is Hallmark's African American line which is meant to cater to their culture. This raises 2 questions:
1. (Minor question) Why is this being distributed outside of the US? (I live in the Southern Caribbean...there are very very few African American tourists/expats here)
2. The main question...if the US touts itself as such a massive melting pot why is a separate product line needed to cater to another culture. Ideally to me there should be no Mahogany line at all and African Americans should be featured on Hallmark's main line of cards according to their proportion of the overall population. Why marginalise a non immigrant group of Americans like that? (not saying it is okay to marginalise immigrants of course lol)
* Sorry if my post seems a bit ineloquent compared to others on here....I have a math background and writing is not my strong suit.*
Ummmm, I seriously doubt that Hallmark came up with this idea on their own. If you haven't noticed, African Americans like to separate themselves from everyone else by doing things like this. They want their own language, their own churches, their own caucus, their own TV channels, their own everything and now it looks like greeting cards make the list. But god forbid you say anything at all about them doing this and you're a RACIST!
I guess the short answer is: Hallmark is a privately owned company, based out of Kansas City, Missouri, and they may do as they wish. If they wish to produce greeting cards that appeal to little green men from Mars, it is of no concern of others.
Invariably has a drunken Leprechaun swilling Guinness in front of the Christmas tree, during the Easter Egg Hunt, in front of a Menorah, with Jack O Lanterns, etc.
The Kwanzaa one has him being kicked out of an urban looking domicile.
Is this another one of those "Why can black people do this and white people can't" threads?
Either advertising did it to appeal to a base, or there was a demand for it. It doesn't matter either way. Not all black people are the same, just like everyone else. Some assimilate to other cultures, and others like their own culture. It doesn't matter what one individual's opinion is of the culture is. It's all about money, anyway.
This Hallmark Card line has been out for YEARS. I suspect Hallmark is filling a market demand or they wouldn't have it.
OP, the US doesn't tout itself as a melting pot anymore but as a multi-cultural society. Had you really not noticed?
Ok. I really didn't know that. I'm not American (but have vacationed there many times). I thought the melting pot ideal was huge over there...as compared to Canada for instance which embraces the smorgasbord concept.
My issue is not with Hallmark having cards with African American faces on them. That's perfectly fine and reflective of the American makeup. I just don't understand why they needed to bring out a separate line for that purpose. It implicitly is saying African Americans are "different". They could have achieved what they wanted to (black people on cards) by just working it into their main line.
Ok. I really didn't know that. I'm not American (but have vacationed there many times). I thought the melting pot ideal was huge over there...as compared to Canada for instance which embraces the smorgasbord concept.
My issue is not with Hallmark having cards with African American faces on them. That's perfectly fine and reflective of the American makeup. I just don't understand why they needed to bring out a separate line for that purpose. It implicitly is saying African Americans are "different". They could have achieved what they wanted to (black people on cards) by just working it into their main line.
Did you contact Hallmark to ask them why they have the mahogany line? That would be the most logical thing to do right?
Ok. I really didn't know that. I'm not American (but have vacationed there many times). I thought the melting pot ideal was huge over there...as compared to Canada for instance which embraces the smorgasbord concept.
My issue is not with Hallmark having cards with African American faces on them. That's perfectly fine and reflective of the American makeup. I just don't understand why they needed to bring out a separate line for that purpose. It implicitly is saying African Americans are "different". They could have achieved what they wanted to (black people on cards) by just working it into their main line.
The melting pot ideal used to be huge but our country has strayed from it over the past few generations. Various groups in the US have found that professing themselves to be "different" often gains them special rights rather than equal rights and they most certainly garner special political attention as a voting block.
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