So, I don’t know how beer commercials clock in at over 4 minutes, but Heineken just managed to do it. Maybe they were trying for a few minutes longer than the Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial that caused such a stir. Either way, they have a long commercial out there, almost 10 million views on YouTube, and it offers a similar notion.
You take some people that don’t get along (or have different views on certain subjects), put them together, have them put together some furniture (I know, right?), and with some talking and some Heineken, things get better. It’s not that far-fetched. In talking things out, people can come to an agreement.
But do people change? Does having a beer and talking really make things better?
A few nights back, Adam Jones, center-fielder for the Balto O’s, had racial slurs yelled his way at Fenway Park. Adam Jones is black. Hey, I’ve been to Fenway Park. Those fans are rough on their own players, so good luck out there in center, Adam. But there’s no place for the racial slurs–it’s 2017 and Adam Jones doesn’t need to hear it, nor does anyone not feeling racially charged who paid money to see a ball game.
The media caught wind of this, so the next night the Fenway fans gave Adam Jones a standing ovation. It was their way of saying, “Dude, there are some racist asses in the seats of every game, but that doesn’t reflect the overall views of all the fans.” At least that’s what I would think it means. It was a good moment for Jones and Fenway Park and made many a news headline today.
But do people change? Did everyone give Jones a standing ovation? and, if they didn’t, does that mean they’re racist?
We’ve come to the point in our history where one small event seems to forgive another event, especially if it fits the agenda that we’re all good people who just slip up sometime. But Adam Jones knows that whatever field he goes to in the future, there might be standing ovations, but there are always going to be people who don’t like him based solely on his skin color. But it’s the standing ovation that dismisses these acts, as if one day later erases something really disgusting that happened the day before. It does not erase it–it merely offers a different headline.
I shift to my 12-yr-old son. He’s never heard this. He’s never been subjected to a slur, or been offended at what he’s been called. It just hasn’t happened. If he had been at the game, he would have been confused about why someone would call a player certain names.
When I show him the Heineken ad (it will be at the bottom of the post), we’ll talk about it after. Because when you’re over 25 and think that women should be around to have your baby, and you’re placed in the same room as a strong feminist, you better have a lot of beer and short-term memory loss about what you just said on a video.
My opinion might not be yours. You might not be my friend. But do you want your kid to change his/her opinion or beliefs so he/she might attract more friends? Can’t my kid just grow up, do what’s right and good by others, and enjoy a Heineken at the ballgame? https://youtu.be/8wYXw4K0A3g