To the editor,
I was shocked and offended at seeing the ad from Drug Free Kids in your paper Nov. 14. It features a girl who appears to be black, and provides a message that she had her mother’s drugs. This ad promotes the racial profiling that is all too common in our society. Statistics indicate that black people are no more likely to use drugs than white people, although they are vastly more likely to be harassed and arrested for drug offences. Images, such as that displayed in this advertising, only serve to exacerbate a life-destroying problem in our society.E-EDITION: Nanaimo News Bulletin, Nov. 14
I hope that this paper will vet its advertising more carefully in the future, and consider the subtle messaging of ads such as this one.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Glenda Barr, Lantzville
