Spring Break
Sunday night, in the middle of the daily "Law and Order" marathon on either USA or TNT, a Garzo Tire advertisement came on the air.
No big deal, obviously cable shows are going to have commercial breaks.
This particular ad, though, left me gaping, appalled at what I had just witnessed.
The gist of the commercial was that if consumers come to Garzo tire, they're guaranteed to get American tires. Which, naturally, all good Americans should want.
Why would you want a Japanese tire, the commercial asks as the Japanese imperial flag waves behind him.
A similar question was posed for French tires (I never realized there was such an onslaught of rubber from elsewhere), while I'm pretty sure something equally offensive took place.
But the commercial didn't end there.
Oh no.
The owner/worker/spokesperson/whatever likened buying foreign-made tires to putting a beret or a kimono on a cowboy.
Now, I've been in Terre Haute for almost four years, but I've never seen a cowboy.
I've seen people in cowboy boots, or a cowboy hat, maybe both, but they certainly weren't on their way to go wrangle them some cattle.
I suppose Garzo Tire deserves some points for being educated enough to know what a kimono is, but I have no idea why the Japanese imperial flag was brought into it.
That's the symbol of World War II Japan, especially the military of World War II Japan.
The one that, because of the surrender of Japan and resulting occupation by American forces after World War II, isn't really ever used anymore.
I don't think the presence of Japanese tires on American soil is a dire enough situation to warrant comparisons to that era of history.
I can only assume that if German tires were in any way common, we would be urged to buy the true-blue American tires at Garzo as swastikas decorated the background.
Yep, because foreign tires are like the Holocaust.
And back when American tires were exploding on SUVs? Had I been driving at the time, I'm pretty sure I would have chosen foreign tires.
I can guarantee that now, if the choice was between foreign non-exploding tires and American exploding tires, I'd go with foreign tires in a heartbeat.
Garzo Tire also doesn't seem to address the issue of "foreign" cars. I have a "Japanese" car, which very well could have been made in the States, but certainly isn't considered "American" by origin.
Would it be so ridiculous to want Japanese tires for my Japanese car?
Does that make me even more anti-American?
I can only assume that owning a foreign car in the first place makes me some kind of treasonous lecher.
If, as Garzo Tire seems to suggest, the choice is between being a treasonous lecher for owning "foreign" products or being a blatant racist, I choose treasonous lechery any day.
In fact, Garzo Tire made me want to go out and find an alternative to the Goodyear tires my car is sporting at the moment.
I don't know if Garzo Tire has pulled the ad. I saw it once Sunday night. I haven't seen it since, but I also haven't been watching much TV.
If the ad hasn't been pulled, I think it has to be somebody's responsibility to get it off the air.
It's culturally offensive and insensitive, inappropriate and is entirely out of line considering that what's at stake is rubber, none of which probably originates in the U.S. anyway.
There are enough things to cause concern in the world without linking racism and tire sales together.
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