HFWTFMF?!?

He Gets The Lifeguard's Vote

People are in a dither about Rep. Pete Hoekstra's Super Bowl advertisement.  Something about racism, insensitivity, xenophobia, and stereotypes.

The Michigan Republican, who is running for Senator Debbie Stabenow's seat, has been called a racist for the advertisement.  The Lifeguard doesn't care, however.  It's a poignant ad (what with all of the discussions about America being beholden to China), which hits a raw nerve because it speaks (on some level) the truth.

Think about it for a second.  The advertisement is meant to portray a Chinese woman...in China.  The Lifeguard thinks that she speaks pretty good English for a Chinese woman in China.  (Better, certainly, than The Lifeguard's Mandarin.)  Second, it highlights the fact that unskilled workers in China are taking unskilled manufacturing jobs from unskilled American workers.  (Again, The Lifeguard would like to see China pay a fair wage; but, then again, The Lifeguard would also like to see an auto worker from Flint speak Mandarin.  Or, a high school student in Detroit speak English, for that matter.)  Finally, the advert is...well...an advert.

Seriously, if people want to get pissed off about something, it should be what little has been done to preserve American manufacturing jobs (lower corporate tax rate, anyone?), or to educate Michigan's students.  (The racism is not in this advert, but the fact that predominately-black Detroit has a functional illiteracy rate of 47%. Just sayin'.)

Common sense dictates picking your battles.  If I were Debbie Stabenow (or her supporters), I might find another one.