I try to stay away from controversy on my little baking blog.
I have a philosophy… it’s silly I know. But I believe that we can all unite over cake. No matter your beliefs or views or politics, we can all come together and celebrate with a beautiful and delicious cake.
When I heard that there was a controversy over a Cheerios commercial, I was deeply saddened.
After seeing the commercial, I literally had no idea what the controversy even was! In case you are as blissfully naive as I am, the issue was race.
Some people were upset that the husband was black and the wife was white and that they had an interracial child.
Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.”
I don’t want to be a part of the appalling silence anymore.
After reading some of the awful comments people have made, it’s clear to see that their minds are not going to be changed through some brief internet interactions. I am never going to argue someone into seeing my perspective.
Instead, what I do want to focus on is solutions.
This cake is simple. Overly simple some might say, but that was intentional.
I feel like the solution is simple.
Teach love.
I can certainly make sure that I am raising intelligent, well-mannered and considerate young people who understand that our inherent value is not based on appearance.
Simple.
I can model the behavior that I want to see in them. I hope that my children will see in me a love for others, regardless of physical appearance. I hope that they will remain blissfully ignorant of the pain and destruction caused by prejudice and racism for many, many more years.
Maybe we can all make a simple cake for someone you love!
Now. Do you want to know how I really feel about segregation?
Ahem.
Just in case you want to make your own Cheerios Cake here is what I did:
Make the perfect white cake in two 8-in rounds and the best chocolate cake in two 8-in rounds.
I then whipped up a batch of chocolate buttercream to cover the cake. There is no frosting between the layers.
Using Chocolate Cheerios, I spelled out the word “love”. For the individual slice, I just poured some more Chocolate Cheerios over the top to add some texture and depth of flavor.
Bless you! It saddens my heart to hear about this. Just like the talented young boy who sang The National Anthem for the Spurs game – he did an outstanding job, that’s all that need to be said!
I love the post. I for one will be reading your posts as usual. It was a great post about a nice commercial! And a really lovely cake. Now let’s all get out and buy some Cheerios and show our support.
Anyone who is offended by this post, PLEASE stop following this blog because I do not want to share internet space with you. Being offended by this commercial is simply indefensible.
I love this cake.
I hope I live to see the day where everyone can live and love whom they want, equally. And I hope it is soon.
It makes me sad that this is even an issue with people – it’s ridiculous.
I LOVE the fact that YOU CHOSE to “DO THE RIGHT THING” just as CHEERIOS has done, by celebrating the LOVE of a FAMILY and IGNORING the IGNORANCE of those who can’t see what truly matters. If we could ALL just move FORWARD and see each other as the imperfect human beings that we are and only by the Grace of GOD are “PERFECT in HIS EYES”. It is sad, that this is still a controversy in our country…but it is a difficult task to shake off our old ideas of what is ok to believe and ACCEPT each other for who we are.
Wow! Do people not realize it’s 2013!! I also could not understand what the issue was. I had to read further in your story. Great post! And the cake looks great, as usual!
Great post Amanda! Like you, I didn’t get the controversy either until the CNN journalist spelled it out in the news report. As a country we’ve come a very long way and those who write ugly comments are in the minority. I think that is evident by all the positive comments left by your followers. Sadly, some people will never evolve in their thinking because they refuse to do so. It’s difficult to understand why some prefer to feel hatred when loving each other feels so good!
I have seen the commercial and when I first saw it, my first thought was, what a beautiful little girl! I just love her hair! I loved your post and agree with you 100%. Thank you for sharing your heart and speaking up. *hugs*
oh good grief……..this IS 2013 isn’t it?
LOVE your post Amanda! xoxoxox
and for the record, I’m a cheerio lover too 😉 I love the Honey Nut and Frosted!
how can anyone see anything except the cute little girl in that ad? I thought we were way ahead of racism. Sigh!
But what a way to put ypur point forward, love that cake esp the layers. 🙂