I just saw the weirdest REI ad, and it took me a while to figure out what it was saying. I got it in the end.

    I believe the argument of the ad was “The outdoors is racist, it’s hard for black people to be outside because it’s so racist, and we can all work to make nature less racist. Buy REI crap.”

    It was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen, and I’m going to deliberately avoid that store because of it. Apart from the absurdity of the claims being advanced and the disgusting act of using them as part of an advertising campaign to sell products, attempting to profit off both racism and accusations of racism, it was itself one of the most racist things I’ve ever seen on television.

   Treating black people like infants who can’t even go outside and do things in nature like everyone in the history of the world has done, unless the holy white people come along and help the babies feel comfortable with some nice branded REI crap, is absurdly condescending and paternalistic.

   If black people don’t want to buy overpriced kayaks and down jackets, and want to spend their money and time somewhere else, that’s their decision. And maybe it’s a good one.