Seventh Street and Avenue A.
Monday, January 16, 2012
29 comments:
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Using a slain civil rights leader to hawk brunch.
ReplyDeleteI am speechless.
You should be fucking ashamed of yourself, 7A.
Take it down, take it down now.
Messing with MLK is not a good idea...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrFOb_f7ubw
go there and urge them to remove the poster
ReplyDeleteI just tried calling them to express my outrage and demand they take the sign down but the phone just rang and rang. No voicemail. Their number is (212) 475-9001. I'll try again later.
ReplyDeleteIf that sign doesn't make you lose your appetite, nothing will.
ReplyDeleteBOOOOO!
ReplyDeleteYou people need to get a grip on yourselves.
ReplyDeleteHe's not Jesus Christ. And if it was a sign with Jesus or Buddha none of you would complain, in fact you would probably applaud it, but the sainted MLK can never be touched.
The deification of this man is unnecessary.
Now let me guess what comes next... I get called a racist for even questioning the sainthood of this god like being.
The reality is that he was a deeply flawed man who helped accomplish some great things... but he does not deserve to be placed on a pedestal to remain forever untouched.
He was definitely NOT a saint. A great leader, yes, but not a saint.
Oh God, what bothers you about THIS?
ReplyDeleteWhat's most disturbing is the fact that 7A is promoting cannibalism!
ReplyDeleteIt's in poor taste, and insensitive.
ReplyDeletePlus, I don't think anybody has compared him to JC or the like. Can't the man have a day of respect? He was murdered for being a great leader. If your not worried abt being called a racist then why the anonymous post?
Jeeze people, he's wasn't out to get you.
People take it easy! It just a ill-conceived markating gaffe.No one hurt.Instead of wasting your time calling this place to take it down,how about spending that time calling your congressman,telling him how out raged you are about our inevitable war with Iran, or call CNN about the mainstream medias blackout of Ron Paul, or spend the time in Zuccotti Park. Just seems like energy misguided.
ReplyDeleteIt's spelled 'Prix Fixe' = fixed price, dear 7A staff.
ReplyDeleteAs a civil rights lawyer I find the reflexive denunciation of this ad disturbing. The joke itself pays reverence to MLK by juxtaposing tremendously important ideals (those espoused in the "I have a dream" speech) with a frivolous activity (brunch). The joke wouldn't make sense unless the author in his or her own mind respected MLK and his accomplishments.
ReplyDeletePolitical correctness is the shield of the oppressor. It keeps us from talking about race and other issues in the way things actually play out in the real world. And it is overwhelmingly deployed by paternalistic individuals who are not members of the group allegedly being slurred (i.e. in this instance, non-blacks).
On the other hand, the subsequent posters saying that it's ok because MLK isn't a saint evince rather disturbing attitudes as well.
Anon 2:23 makes excellent points, but I don't see what's so disturbing about saying the man wasn't a saint.His near deification, to the point where you can't innocently use his image in a brunch ad, doesn't say much for the folks who angrily denounced the ad.
ReplyDeleteThe first 4 commenters are acting like religious fundamentalists who have just heard their messiah disparaged.
I'll admit it was a poor choice for a brunch ad, and I would never personally use his image that way, but it's not necessary to go off the deep end about the whole thing.
And Rene, there are definitely people who will condemn one as racist for not genuflecting before MLK. I've seen it done many times.
They took the sign down!
ReplyDeleteTalk about manufacturing controversy! Give it a rest, Grieve. There is nothing offensive about this. It's MLK day, and people have off, and they're havign an PLK brunch.
ReplyDeleteI think it's amusing. Idolatry is bad, and I think Dr. King would agree.
ReplyDeleteanon 2:23 seems to be the ultimate arbitrator as to what is racist, pseudo-racist, quasi-racist ad nauseum. Sir, you are a litigator not a fucken judge. try not to read into people's hearts. That said, the brunch ad was insensitive but I see a lot more insensitive on the streets of the glorified LES every 5 minutes of every day.
ReplyDelete"Political correctness is the shield of the oppressor." Are you really serious? Do you actually believe that those who oppress others in this country--economically...or by racism--use "political correctness" as a shield? That's nonsense.
ReplyDeleteANYONE HERE SAYING THIS IS OFFENSIVE: PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY OR HOW YOU FIND IT OFFENSIVE. THERE IS NO FUCKING ARGUMENT YOU CAN HAVE FOR WHY OR HOW THIS IS OFFENSIVE TO YOU. "OMG HE STOOD FOR IMPORTANT THINGS THIS IS JUST SO HURTFUL, TO USE HIM IN SUCH A MANNER AS BRUNCH!"
ReplyDeleteSTFU.
Do you all get so jacked-up "offended" when Abe Lincoln's visage is used to hawk cheap electronics for President's Day sales at PC Richards or Best Buy?
ReplyDeleteI think not. I think you buy the cheap electronics.
Oddly, I think it somewhat reassuring that MLK can now be regarded with the same degree of crass commercialism as the good old white boys of the founding fatherhood.
The turkey club at 7A is excellent btw. With fries.
It's an ad for a brunch special, people...however ill-conceived or executed it may be. Just spell those stupid french words correctly. Merci beaucoup.
ReplyDeleteThis is like when Nike used the Beatles "Revolution" song to sell tennis shoes. It's a stupid way to advertise a brunch. They should've just called it a Martin Luther King Day Brunch Special. Plus they used too many exclamation points in it.
ReplyDeleteTACKY. Really, really tacky in a way that lowers my opinion of the place and makes me less likely to eat there.
ReplyDeleteY'know, the American Revolution is ancient history. The Civil War is, by most measures, over (don't tell South Carolina, though). The revolution King represents -- one for justice and dignity for African Americans and everybody else -- is not over. The Republicans are right now dogwhistling their evil little hearts out with rhetoric about the "Food Stamp President" and lazy black people coasting on government benefits -- Nixon's Southern Strategy in full effect, forty years on. Across the country, they're implementing new Jim Crow-esque laws to suppress the black vote.
So yeah, it's not cute. It's messed up. And you don't have to think him a saint to feel that he -- and what he represents -- deserves more respect than that.
All of this white guilt. 7A has had the MLK Brunch for awhile now. Are you really going to blast an establishment that has been in the neighborhood since the 80s? The tag line is cheesy. Lighten up.
ReplyDeletejesus really?? stay classy, 7a....
ReplyDeleteyes it is extremely offensive... DUH
Kudos to Matt for his spot-on post.
ReplyDeleteI am racially hyper-sensitive as the next guy but I can look past 7A's appropriation of Dr. King's image. It's tacky and inappropriate yet it's on such a small scale and most likely if anything had a negative net effect on sales. Still a part of me wishes people were not so noxiously glib, or didn't act so put out by the idea of a little restraint or act like their freedom and liberties are being threatened anytime someone doesn't react well to their attempt at humor.
ReplyDeleteAND it's prix fixe!
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, TyN, like all MLK was was a parochial black leader? Bullshit. It's not about white guilt, it's about showing some respect to the memory of a man who spoke for a movement that embodied universal human aspirations. It's about a man who set forth a vision of a more just and equitable world that's impacted our country as much as that laid out in the Bill of Rights. And it's about, yes, acknowledging that we still haven't made it to the mountaintop. When we do, then they can put his face on a brunch special and keep my business, but until then...
ReplyDelete