Paper People Checks & Race
This is a very random post that I wasn't planning on doing, but I cannot seem to stop myself from writing it.
I ordered some new checks the other day. I usually purchase something cute and take a billion hours choosing the design. I saw these new Paper People Checks, which are absolutely adorable. I was thinking about ordering them, so I went further into the website to choose my people. I was looking for a cute little brown girl. I think there are approximately 100 characters to choose from, but none of them are brown. I found that rather odd.
If I'm going to buy something like a card with people, I look for one that has some diversity of people shown. They couldn't have one or two brown characters out of 100? They even have pets and random objects for some of the characters.
Again, my curiosity and irritation got the better of me, so I wrote to customer service saying how I loved their new line of checks, but why no brown people. This morning I received this reply.
This reminded me of someone who said to me that she didn't consider me black. Huh? I know that she considered it a compliment, but it wasn't. I think that she just meant that I differ from her idea of who is a black person and how "we" behave. I get that a lot and it irritates me to no end.
It's like the whole idea of a color-blind society. Ignoring color should not be the goal. People are different colors. Nature loves diversity. We should be able to acknowledge and embrace our differences, not merely be tolerant. The goal should be to not treat each other badly or differently based on color.
So after I read this email, I became curious about the artist, Laura Kelly. Her work is beautiful.And she actually has some cute little note cards with some brown people.(Updated July 6, 2012: A fair number of people still end up on this post looking for the checks. The link to the note cards is broken, so I removed it.)
I don't know what the deal is with the Paper People checks. I agree that we should care more about what's in our souls than by external appearances. However, I think that the customer service representative failed to see that by choosing not to represent people with any color, by default all the characters are white. Just my two cents for the day.
Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2008. All rights reserved.
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I ordered some new checks the other day. I usually purchase something cute and take a billion hours choosing the design. I saw these new Paper People Checks, which are absolutely adorable. I was thinking about ordering them, so I went further into the website to choose my people. I was looking for a cute little brown girl. I think there are approximately 100 characters to choose from, but none of them are brown. I found that rather odd.
If I'm going to buy something like a card with people, I look for one that has some diversity of people shown. They couldn't have one or two brown characters out of 100? They even have pets and random objects for some of the characters.
Again, my curiosity and irritation got the better of me, so I wrote to customer service saying how I loved their new line of checks, but why no brown people. This morning I received this reply.
"Thank you for contacting us. It is the artist's belief that her Paper People are just that.....Paper People....void of color at all and more about what is inside our souls rather than our external appearances. We appreciate your feedback and it will be forwarded."
This reminded me of someone who said to me that she didn't consider me black. Huh? I know that she considered it a compliment, but it wasn't. I think that she just meant that I differ from her idea of who is a black person and how "we" behave. I get that a lot and it irritates me to no end.
It's like the whole idea of a color-blind society. Ignoring color should not be the goal. People are different colors. Nature loves diversity. We should be able to acknowledge and embrace our differences, not merely be tolerant. The goal should be to not treat each other badly or differently based on color.
So after I read this email, I became curious about the artist, Laura Kelly. Her work is beautiful.
I don't know what the deal is with the Paper People checks. I agree that we should care more about what's in our souls than by external appearances. However, I think that the customer service representative failed to see that by choosing not to represent people with any color, by default all the characters are white. Just my two cents for the day.
Anali's First Amendment © 2006-2008. All rights reserved.
This Post's Link
Comments
*bangs head against desk* My wife gets that a lot here in Boston but didn't when she lived in Miami.
Massachusetts is still very much a segregated state and it shows when you get a comment like that which is meant as a compliment (I think) but really just goes to show what kind of bubble of ignorance the person has been living in.
Amen to that.
Question: Were the "Paper People" given pigment, or just outlines with the check color as their "skin" tone? I don't mean to upset the apple cart here - you know I love you - but if the check color was the pigment, I can kind of see their point. Of course, if all had straight hair, thinner pointy noses, or whatever else might be seen as white, then I see YOUR point :-)
chris - So true and unfortunate! I guess all that I can do is try and explain to the person when it happens, but that can get exhausting after a while.
suldog - I'm glad you found the link. Yeah, it was pretty disheartening. I mean scrolling through all those people. Well, I'm at least glad that I said something.
los angelista - I so agree with you about the one Mahogany card! There are no other cards with brown faces on them and they usually only keep in stock one Mahogany card per category. Aaaargh!!! ; )
I haven't written out a cheque for months
It seems that in my everyday life nearly all my transcations are done online these days.
I like the idea of the personalized stamps that you can order though. So maybe they could do personal cheques and then you can post them out with your personalized stamps.
Wouldn't that be fun?
Cheers
Oh, I know the words to this song, too well.
It's from the soundtrack from my life, since I was a kid.
gunfighter1 - I wonder when people will stop saying that line...
I found your blog via T., the anesthesioboist (how I love trying to spell and type that word). I look forward to reading more.
These checks — what an amazing example of how the "color line" is present in so many odd, everyday ways, still, in this new century. These checks remind me of life during my childhood, when Crayola's "Flesh" crayon was a light pinkish-brown. And of the now-common classroom exercise of asking students to describe themselves so that a stranger can identify them at an airport. White students will very often omit any reference to color ("white" is their default setting).
I'm reminded too of what the narrator in Invisible Man asks — am I to become colorless? If I were black, I can't imagine how I would react to someone telling me that they didn't think of me as black. (What then would I be?!) And if they meant "only as black," I guess I'd think that was mighty white of them. : )