In an attempt to stay on top of what is trending, hip, and going on ***IN REAL TIME,*** Snapchat has accidentally(?) gotten itself into some really hot water.
April 20, also known as “4/20”, is a day of celebration for wake & bakers, stoners, potheads, and the occasional recreational marijuana user. In an apparent nod to this, Snapchat released a Bob Marley filter complete with background music, dreadlocks, and actual blackface.
Because that’s what Bob Marley’s legacy is: his connection to an arbitrary weed-fueled unofficial holiday.
Twitter is up in arms in 3 camps:
Camp 1 a.k.a. “I-look-like-a-racist-a**hole-in-2016-and-systemic-racism-is-a-lie.”
BOB MARLEY WAS HALF WHITE, YOU LIBERAL SOCIAL JUSTICE WARRIOR PSYCHOS SCREAMING ‘BLACKFACE’ ABOUT THE SNAP CHAT FACE SWAP FILTER!!!
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) April 20, 2016
Camp 2 a.k.a. “Why-are-we-associating-Bob-Marley-with-4/20?”
Idk if I’d call the Bob Marly filter on Snapchat blackface but its def wrong the man did so much just to be reduced down to weed and dreads!
— sc: Ephrata (@ephrizzy) April 20, 2016
420/Bob Marley: reducing a man w such political and cultural significance to a guy who got high all the time for your 420 aesthetic is ugly
— buttercup (@pvnk_princess) April 20, 2016
Camp 3 a.k.a. “Why-are-we-still-explaining-blackface?”
Done with racist @Snapchat filters. Yesterday’s bindi filter, today’s blackface filter, and a history of whitewashing “beauty filters”
— hignettflix n’ chill (@hignettflix) April 20, 2016