Hello Kitty Speaks Out in Support of Black Lives Matter

We’ll admit it — we definitely did not have Hello Kitty taking a stand on our 2020 bingo card. But sure enough, Japan’s most popular export and the epitome of wholesome cuteness has issued a statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Sanrio, the company that owns Hello Kitty, has been posting images across many of their social media channels including Hello Kitty, Gudetama and Aggretsuko acknowledging and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. One statement reads:

We stand for friendship, kindness and inclusivity.⁠⠀
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Sanrio was built on the foundation of social communication for people to express their heartfelt feelings of respect and love for one another.⁠⠀
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We stand united with our colleagues, partners, customers, fan community and all affected by acts of discrimination. ⁠⠀

Sanrio

The statements and images represent a positive force. However, we were disappointed to see the messages issued only in English. And they were noticeably absent on the company’s Japanese Twitter account, which is focused more towards their domestic audience. Japan can be ignorant and complacent when it comes to issues of race and discrimination, which is why we wish the company would have taken their stance one step further and issued their positive messages in Japanese as well.

5 Comments

  1. Curious: does being an ally also extend to those who emphatically disagree with much of what appears on the BLM website, while simultaneously disavowing the ugliness that is racism…or does that not count?

    • All lives won’t matter UNTIL Black Lives Matter.

      • That’s a good soundbite, but its lacking in substance. Black lives have never *not* mattered to me, and millions of others. Charges of systemic racism against nations that fought to abolish the practice of black slavery (even to the point of civil war, in the case of the U.S.) are spurious at best, and ludicrous at worst, as they perpetuate professional victimhood as a legitimate lifestyle.

        Again, if I fail to lend support to the problematic elements within the BLM statement of belief (by their own words, on their own website), then I am counted as no manner of ally and am branded a de facto racist.

        So much for content of character over and above skin color.

        • If a revolution has to be 100% perfect for you to get on board, then you should question what your true motives are. Moral superiority? Or do you actually, truly grasp that Black people are facing an actual worldwide genocide every single day, in schools, workplaces, parks, etc. First you revolutionize, because there are literal lives at stake. When Black people stop dying at an unnaturally high rate then we’ll talk reform. But the goal here(for me anyway) is saving lives. Keep in mind this isn’t a mere philosophical debate, this is actual people’s lives/lives experiences and daily struggles we’re talking about. Also Asian anti-Blackness is another pandemic to keep in mind as you process these things.

  2. Exactly!!!

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