Planet of the Apes

Yesterday while I was working out I heard on CNN that W*lmart was being criticized because when shoppers searched for a book about MLK Jr. the website suggested they may also be interested in buying the movie Planet of the Apes. Clearly, this must mean that W*lmart views black people as apes, right? Good lord people. Get a grip.

W*lmart says that the suggestions are random, but probably they aren't. Probably one of the words used to describe the theme of that movie is "prejudice" or "oppression" or "slavery" and those same words are used to describe the themes in books about MLK Jr...and THAT is what the computer connected. Honestly, isn't that what the movie is about? Obviously I know nothing about who wrote the story, but I think they may have been trying to point out the ways in which the majority race in our country has exploited the minority race(s), with a sci-fi twist so that people would go see the movie. I think it was likely meant as an anti-racism film, which makes it clearly relevant to the theme of civil rights.

Did the activists who complained about this web-generated suggestion list really think that W*lmart specifically programmed their system to associate black people with primates? You all know that I am totally pro civil rights and equality for all races, genders, sexualities, etc. But if we keep fighting about the petty things, nobody will take the big things seriously. If we claim to find racism even in computer-programs, rather than looking for a possible logical explanation, we appear irrational. Please people, choose your battles wisely. W*lmart's website should hardly even be on our radar.

BTW, Mark Wahlberg's remake of Planet of the Apes is awesome, you should definitely add it to your e-cart!! He is such a cutie.