Leon Jenkins is the President of the LA chapter of the NAACP, the organization that advocates for equal rights for black people. The work they do is fine by me, and I support their efforts. But organizations are made up of individuals, and individuals can make mistakes.
This is really one of those times. Here’s the story: Hallmark came out with a card for recent graduates, and it’s one of those deals that has a speaker in it that activates when you open it. Like all such cards it’s twee and sugary and over the top. It involves two cartoon characters with squeaky and high-pitched voices talking about how the graduate can now take over the world. It has an outer space theme to it, and what they say, well… watch/listen for yourself:
Um, yeah. It’s pretty clear to just about anyone who hears it — and doesn’t have any particular stake in the claim — that the card is saying “black holes”. The space theme is obvious enough, and black holes are a common topic. So why on Earth would someone think the card is saying “black whores”, as Mr. Jenkins and other LA NAACP members do?
In fact, there’s a good reason. What we have here is a very well-understood topic to skeptics: audio pareidolia. That is, mishearing recorded phrases or words, and thinking they are saying something else. This phenomenon is really strong, and once you think a recording is saying a certain phrase, it’s difficult to not hear it. So once someone thought the Hallmark card was saying “black hos”, they told other people, and that biased them into hearing it as well. I’ve written about this before; go here and here for great (and very funny) examples of this.
So it’s understandable that Mr. Jenkins might hear that… but then his own biases kick in. He looks at the card and finds pretty dubious evidence to support his claims; like saying that the word “ominous” means “evil” and therefore cannot be used for inanimate objects. In reality, ominous means foreboding or menacing like an omen, so of course it can be used for events or objects. Like many people do when making a claim, Jenkins is finding evidence after the fact that simply isn’t there.
Because honestly, when you think about it: Hallmark? Putting out a card that uses a racial slur? Hallmark’s products are the least offensive, blandest I can think of. They’re the lettuce-and-lite-no-transfat-mayo-on-white-bread sandwich of greeting cards.
But that doesn’t really make much of a difference to someone once their mind is made up. Note that Jenkins also says, “If reasonable people can listen to this and interpret it the way I did, you can pull [the card off the shelves].” That’s wrong, and in fact somewhat dangerous thinking; just because a lot of people think something is true doesn’t make it true.
Still, caving to this pressure, Hallmark pulled the card.
That’s too bad. The company took a financial and PR hit because of the customers’ misunderstanding, and that’s a bad precedent.This just reinforces the overall problem of people making decisions in their lives based on bad evidence or the misinterpretation of good evidence. How many ills of this world would disappear if we could make that go away?
Also, and more importantly, when anyone accuses someone else of racism when it’s not there, it hurts the overall cause. Given the press this has received, it’s the LA NAACP’s credibility that has taken a hit, not Hallmark’s. Crying wolf diminishes the NAACP’s work, and will make it harder for them to fight real racism the next time it pops up.
And that, to me, is uncritical thinking’s biggest danger. Not that people actively believe in things that are wrong — that’s here to stay — but that it masks the truth and prevents people from seeing it.
Tip o’ the mortar board to Fark.
- I Spy With My Little Eye… - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- A Crack Opens in the Ethiopian Landscape, Preparing the Way for a New Sea | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Politics of Addiction | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Finally! An iPhone App That Lets You Track Your Bathroom Habits | Discoblog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Don’t Pack Your Bags Yet—New Planet-Finder Hobbled by Electronic Glitch | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- In Controversial Scent Lineups, a Dog’s Nose Picks Out the Perp | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Are You a Cognitive Miser? | Cosmic Variance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Secret Lives and Loves of Great White Sharks | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Britain’s New Protected Minority: Tree-Huggers | Discoblog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Inspired by Maple Seeds, a Robotic Whirligig Takes To The Skies | Discoblog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- New Statesman on Accommodationism | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Laser-Powered Robot Climbs to Victory in the Space-Elevator Contest | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Checking Back In With SEAPLEX | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Podcast: An Embarrassment of Genomes | The Loom - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- A Baby Neutron Star, Swaddled in a Carbon Atmosphere | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Butterfliiiies… iiinnnn… SPPPAAAAACCCCEEEEE! | Bad Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- My Slate Dialogue with Michael Specter Begins | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Musical, Fahrvergnügen-Inspired Staircase Makes Commuters Less Lazy | Discoblog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Laser-Etched Fruit Is an Answer in Search of a Problem | Discoblog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ares and the carnivals | Bad Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Toddler Gets a Telescoping, Prosthetic Arm Bone That Grows With Him | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Neutered HIV Virus Delivers Treatment to Fatally Ill Boys | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Specter’s First Reply: Denialism Kills People | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- LRO sees a Moonslide | Bad Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Al Gore’s New Book: A Focus on Solutions | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Universe Has Us in Its Crosshairs | Bad Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Makers of Universes | Cosmic Variance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Can Your Pet Catch & Spread Swine Flu? Yes, If Your Pet’s a Ferret | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Droid 2.0 Vs iPhone | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tangled Bank News: An Excerpt and More | The Loom - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- LHC Shut Down By Wayward Baguette, Dropped by Bird Saboteur | Discoblog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Careidolia | Bad Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Slate Reply to Specter Up–We Need a National Dialogue on Synthetic Biology | The Intersection - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Pray this doesn’t get passed | Bad Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- You Can’t Make This Stuff Up | Cosmic Variance - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Mother Tongue, Indeed: Newborn’s Cries Mimic Mama’s Accent | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ripped From the Journals: The Biggest Discoveries of the Week | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Alternative Landscapes | The Loom - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Can an iPhone App Decipher Your Baby’s Cries? | Discoblog - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Reminder: Carl Sagan Day | Bad Astronomy - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Are There Pesticides in Your Soup? Dunk a Pollution Dipstick to Find Out. | 80beats - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Log in and Join the Conference - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Conference Ends - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Conference Archive Opens - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Galaxy Zoo - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- .Astronomy 2009 Dates - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- .Astronomy 2009: Programme and venue details - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- .Astronomy Gets Some IYA Love - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 2009 Posters and Imagery - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- 2009 Sponsors - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- When in Holland… - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The WHAT Cloud? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Jewel Box - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Happy Halloween! - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Ares 1-X Launch - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Confessions of an Alien Hunter - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- LRO Spies Apollo 17 Site - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Mercury in Color - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Hubble and M83 - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Cassini Flyby of Enceladus - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Preserving A Moth [Science Tattoo] | The Loom - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Another Russian rocket spiral lights up the sky | Bad Astronomy - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- A (Very Gentle) Riddle to Complete Your Saturday - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Darwin Gets Swine Flu: The YouTube Edition | The Loom - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Happy Slothy Holidays | The Loom - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Jetting to Copenhagen | The Intersection - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Michael Gerson Attempts Thoughtfulness on “ClimateGate,” Then Gives it Up | The Intersection - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Incredible VISTA of the cosmos | Bad Astronomy - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Bundle up Sunday Night to Watch the Geminid Meteor Shower | 80beats - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- “ClimateGate” a PR Disaster That Will Be “Taught in University Communications Courses” | The Intersection - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Is Google the Guardian Angel of Rainforests? | 80beats - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- La ciencia es importante. Una vez mas. | Bad Astronomy - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Sensenbrenner Pulls an Inhofe, Asserts Global Warming is an “International Conspiracy” | The Intersection - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Let Kids Eat Dirt: Over-Cleanliness Linked to Heart Disease | 80beats - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- What Are The Best Science Papers Of The Past Decade? | The Intersection - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Finally! Math Shows How to Cut Evenly Sized Pizza Slices | Discoblog - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Half-baked math | Bad Astronomy - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Can “Biological Passports” Save Sports From Doping? | 80beats - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Aiiiieeee! Slow down! | Bad Astronomy - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Weekly News Roundup: Bad Headlines, Martian moons, and Rotating Houses | Discoblog - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]