The Examined Life

By W. F. Twyman, Jr.

I began writing this series of Substack essays for many reasons. In particular, I was drawn to the dilemma that I tend to see racial incongruences in life. My black American family does not. They are content to live unexamined lives.

What do I mean?

While walking through a Target store in Poipu on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, I noticed various advertisements and images of beautiful women. Nothing out of the ordinary there. But as I continued to walk through Target in search of sandals, it occurred to me that something seemed off, not quite right. About one out of three women I saw before, above and around me were all black women. Let’s say 35% of the people were not just blacks. 35% or so were Black Women in the advertisements.

Now, how many black people reside in Poipu? Would you guess Poipu is 50% black which would make sense given systemic racism is afoot in the land? Maybe, true racial equity has been achieved at Target and Poipou is about 35% black? (sound of crickets). Guess again.

According to the U.S. Census, 1,075 people live in Poipu. Poipu is 0.1% black. Literally, there is one black person who lives in town.

So, riddle me this — why did I notice this incongruence? Why do I care enough to write about the advertising choices of Target, a national corporation?

I thought about the meaning of incongruence between the world Target presented to the townsfolk and the reality of the customer base on the ground. Do I need people who look like me? Well, the one black person living in Poipu must be in hog heaven. Shopping at Target must be life affirming indeed.

But is it? Suppose that one black person is discomforted by the caricatured world presented by the Target images? Suppose the only black person who lives in town feels Target has gone overboard with the diversity, inclusion and equity thing? Suppose the sole black person thinks it is all a bit extra? The result is one black person doesn’t trust Target to reflect reality on the ground anymore. I call this consequence alienation from one’s sense of reality.

Now, move on to the 99.9% of people who are not Black Americans. I am talking about Native Hawaiians, White Americans, Asian Americans and people of mixed heritage and ancestry. What are they to make of the crazy world images begracing them when they journey to Target for soap, toothpaste or sandals? Do they wonder that something seems off? That the world they know is not 35% Black Women? That reality is not being reflected back at them?

Because I am observant, incongruence stays with me. I reflect and introspect. I ask myself why does Target choose to present a false impression of the world to a 99.9% non-black customer base?

I don’t have the answers. And the purpose of this essay was not to provide an answer. The purpose of this essay was to show an example of living an examined life. None of my family members would have noticed, or cared, about the glaring disconnect between images at Target and the good locals who sustain Target every day.

I notice these things.