over whether or not this STUPID freaking commercial is racist or not, but at the end of the day, it's all about our own individual interpretations.

HOWEVER. Just because some readers and the OP "took it" one way does not IN FACT mean that it is what they claim it is.

I for one do not see this as blatant (or even thinly veiled) racism. It is just a commercial. It is a family having dinner with a nice dialogue. It is a family that could be in any neighborhood in any town in this country.

If it were truly stereotypical, they would all be wearing dew rags and talking in street slang and the mother would be puffing on a Black and Mild and loud rap music would be playing the background. But that's not what they show here.

I think there are people who want to believe that everything that doesn't look and sound exactly how THEY believe it should are the ones who are offended by it.

It's like the Salem witch hunts. Do we really need to go down that route? Accusing everyone of doing something wrong and making each other paranoid and suspicious of everyone else's motives?

If we truly want to squash this mess, we need to stop looking for the bad in everything we see and just accept it for what it is.

Don Imus calling the Rutgers Womens Basketball team "Nappy Headed Hoes" is racist (and unbelievably ignorant).

A commercial featuring a black family having a nice dinner without a father present, is not.