Hummer Summer

It's Hummer Summer in L.A. At least it is on a particular Urban radio station out here. They're giving away a Hummer. They play the contest ad EVERY FREAKING COMMERCIAL BREAK! And it's sounds so exciting. You could win a Hummer! Listen all summer! It's so tempting.

Two questions:
1. Why are African-Americans being targeted (targeted, as in a big red target on our foreheads waiting to be shot) by big, gas-guzzling car companies. And, more importantly,
2. Why are we falling for it?

And here are two words you may not be aware of if you're Black: global warming. That's some white people stuff, isn't it? They keep talking about it. Okay, in reality, you had to have heard about it by now. You may choose to ignore, but you can't say that you haven't heard. What you may not be aware of is the 200+ dead sea urchins found in tide pools last week in L.A. because the Pacific Ocean had gotten too damn hot and had boiled them to death. Sea urchins? Again -- white people stuff. Perhaps you didn't hear that it was 118 degrees in L.A. two weeks ago. Actually, it was 100+ pretty much everywhere recently. But maybe you didn't notice because it's summer. It's supposed to be hot, right? You've got a/c. And so the whole global warming thing might not really affect you. That's some white people stuff.

Oh, but the gas prices...now that does affect everybody. Especially the drivers of the SUVs. The Hummer Summer radio ad states proudly, "You'll get twenty miles to the gallon!" Twenty miles?! Sure, it's good for a Hummer. Or a submarine. Or a 747. But are we supposed to be so dumb and so eager to ride in the shiny, new ginormous Hummer that we're lulled into believing that driving a vehicle with 20MPG is somehow good?

Come on, people. My people. See An Inconvenient Truth instead of a Madea DVD this weekend. Think about buying a gas/electric hybrid instead of taking out a loan against all the equity in your house so you can afford a $60,000 SUV that, in reality, you can't afford. (True story.) Read more. Watch more. Think more. Make this Smarter Summer instead.

- Inda