Racist ads in TT also?

THE EDITOR: Chance the Rapper of the US has hit out against the manufacturer of a popular beer for an advertisement which he termed “terribly racist.” The ad reportedly involves three black people and a white person. The ad has been aired in the US, New Zealand and Australia. The rapper suggested some companies are purposely putting out “noticeably racist ads.”

In the past, companies whose products are sold internationally have apologised for similar ads.

TT citizens need to ask if those international companies have shifted their alleged racist ads from First World countries to Third World countries like ours. Of more concern however is whether they are literally “buying out” blacks and other non-white locals and Caribbean people to promote their products and their xenophobic opinions.

A recent ad of an international company with local branches show a young black man refusing to share his fried chicken with his lover/wife. Another ad by the same fast food company shows a non-white woman being sliced, as in a circus show. A sliced human being for a fried chicken advert?

A few individuals may have earned a small financial benefit, but are we not aware when big businesses are insulting our collective intelligence? Maybe we’re not and that’s how they got big in the first place. Is there some kind of timeframe for us to depart from being stuck with this Third World stigma?

LLOYD RAGOO, Chaguanas