Inappropriate Behavior

If anyone has been keeping up with current events lately then you will know that the clothing store H &M is now under fire (and has since removed) a picture of a young black boy wearing a sweater that says "Coolest monkey in the jungle". Adding insult to injury, the mother of the young boy has been apathetic amidst the backlash and is telling critics of the advertisement to "get over it". Well, we cannot just get over it. By allowing her son to wear a sweater that contains this type of offensive rhetoric is detrimental to him and the black community.

The intention of clothing chains such as H &M as with all businesses is to make money. They're job is to sell a product to the public no matter how offensive it may be. Keep in mind that racists also buy clothes as well. Unfortunately, this is the dynamic of the society we live in. However, the individual who bears the majority of the criticism in this controversy is the boy's mother. Rather than fulfilling her duty as a mother and parent to protect and nurture her son, she allowed him to be exploited and humiliated on a global scale. Only when this boy grows into adulthood will he understand the effect his mother's actions had on his life.

In her selfishness and naivety, the mother fails to understand that allowing her son to wear a sweater that refers to him as a monkey will do nothing to boost his self-esteem as a black boy living in an already racist and oppressive society. Instead of acting within his best interest, she chose profit over principle and exploited him. As a parent it is her duty to teach her son right from wrong, but also instill self-respect and dignity within him. She failed to do that and as a result offended him and the black community.

Black parents such as this boy's mother need to be held accountable by the black community and others for allowing this detrimental act to take place. For the past decades, black people in America and world-wide have been subject to many stereotypes, and instead of trying to change the narrative and portray ourselves in a positive light, there have been many individuals, the boy's mother included, who for personal profit and so called "fame" have chosen to adhere to negative stereotypes (monkey, crack head, etc.) with the promise of stardom. In most cases, the stardom is only short-lived and leaves the individual damaged emotionally and psychologically. When it is all said and done, the black community must rally around this boy and remind him that he is not a monkey and has a rich history that he should be proud of. That is the most we can do because it is painfully obvious his mother is not capable of doing that. Instead of being labeled the "Coolest monkey in the jungle", he should be known as the "Coolest king of the jungle".