Handy Manny

Okay, I'm going to post another rant. I try to keep these few and far between mainly because I know that I can be overly confrontational and this blog is supposed to be about my son and not about me. But, I just can't help myself because I'm still upset about it.

Let me start by saying that Buster does not watch TV that often. But, every once in a while, it's nice to plop him in his Bumbo in front of the "babysitter" and enjoy 20 minutes of silence. Such was the case on Sunday morning when all Jim and I wanted to do was read the Sunday paper. So we turn to Disney kids because, well, it seems like a good enough choice. First up - Little Einsteins. Overall, kudos to Disney! They show a wide variety of toddlers both in terms in gender and ethnicity. Up next...my new personal hatred...Handy Manny.

The show revolves around the main character...Handy Manny. Manny is "Disney's favorite fix-it guy" with a toolbox of talking tools. Manny is also, predictably, Hispanic. While I love seeing other races and ethnicities portrayed on television (especially on children's shows) I cannot help but to be dismayed by this. Why? Well, the only way they could make the show more stereotypical is if Handy Manny were hanging outside the Home Depot. Seriously. And just to be sure that I wasn't being an overly sensitive liberal sociologist, Jim even chimed in with a "I can't believe they did this" letting me know that I had good cause to be upset. I love that they have a show revolving around someone who isn't white, but couldn't they have taken the Dora the Explorer route and had Manny be something other than a handyman? Couldn't Manny have been a doctor instead?