To paraphrase comedian(?) Jeff Foxworthy, if you’re trying to choose between the 2019 Buick Envision vs 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee…You might be a racist.
Propelled by the immediate outreach of social media trending, it has become easier than ever for sociological buzz words to take root. Terms such as ‘woke’ and ‘problematic’ are just a few examples of terms that some feel have been bastardized and repurposed in order to promote an agenda. And regardless of your personal/political beliefs, we’re sure you can come up with a few of your own.
The problem, of course, is that such terms promote conditional rationalization and further divisiveness. And through social media, many of them become weaponized with synthetic emotion, thanks to such triggering slang modifiers as ‘AF.’ As summarized so succinctly by hiplatina.com “Babies in cages? Problematic, at least. Intersectional Feminism? Woke AF. White supremacy? Problematic. White allies? Woke AF.”
But it’s the term ‘white savior’ (and trending hashtag #NoWhiteSaviors that has really picked up steam in recent months, having a valid (and long overdue) conversation about the phenomenon as an extension of both privilege and white supremacy. For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to a white person who acts to help non-white people in a context that could be interpreted as self-serving.
A long-term staple of both literature like “To Kill a Mockingbird” and such film favorites as “Dangerous Minds,” “A Time to Kill”, “The Blindside,” and “Hidden Figures” the phenomenon has gone out to be contextually lampooned in such films as Jordan Peele’s psychological thriller “Get Out” and (in a more satirical sense) this now-infamous Seth Meyers sketch.
But back in the real world, White Saviorism has been identified as a very real problem, with both far-left and left-leaning ‘social justice warriors’ on the receiving end of the criticism. Bottom-line, the minority groups that these activists are coming to the self-delusional rescue of, would prefer if they don’t get involved. And now, it’s even affected the realm of automotive marketing.
Meet Magi (Michael) Rainwater, a full-blood Cherokee, veteran commercial actor and (having been blind since birth) and impassioned advocate for the Continued Furtherment of Blind Professionals.
Recently Rainwater had been cast by a production company to host an automotive YouTube Channel where professional drivers and engineers would compare various makes and models against one another to determine what they felt were the best. Rainwater would serve as both narrator and moderator, on the merit of (what the production company called) his charismatic demeanor and strength as a presenter. And according to sources close to Rainwater, “he was ecstatic about the opportunity.”
Unfortunately, the series failed to move forward, hindered by a group of vocal protestors enraged by the content of the first episode. 40-year old Jenna White-Paradise (no, seriously, that’s her actual name), was one of those protestors.
“Why on earth would they have a proud Native American man and member of the Cherokee tribe who also happens to be blind present a side-by-side comparison of the Grand Cherokee and the Envision?” she asked, demanding answers. “It’s dually-insensitive and socially unacceptable!”
Rainwater, who failed see to see any issue (no pun intended) replied, “I don’t know what the hell those crazy white people are talking about. I would have chosen the Jeep!”
