Franklin Gets No Respect

Today was Thanksgiving in the United States and although I reside in Canada, I was able to watch and enjoy one of my favourite cartoons that I watched every year as a child.

This of course was "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving".

Now as an innocent child of the 1970's I never gave the cartoon much thought. It was just Chuck, Peppermint Patty, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and the gang sharing their Thanksgiving experience.

But tonight I noticed something I hadn't in the past...the cartoon was a little racist.

Now I don't know if it was intended to be that way or not but it certainly would appear that poor Franklin, the only black kid in town, was treated in a way that might even upset the Reverend Al Sharpton.

I am of course speaking of the infamous outdoor dinner scene.

The table is clearly segregated. The white kids on one side and Franklin has to sit by himself all alone on the other side. Not only that but Franklin gets stuck with the broken lawn chair that forces him to sit lower than the rest of them.

Seriously...how come he can't sit with the white kids? Maybe he was just supposed to feel grateful for the invite to enjoy the toast, popcorn and pretzel dinner. Not only that but he isn't even given any lines while at the table. The least they could have done was have him ask someone to pass the butter.

Perhaps I'm just reading too much into it but this really stood out to me. But don't feel too badly for poor Franklin, he went on to enjoy a successful singing career that all began in the back of Charlie Brown's parents station wagon with a rousing rendition of "Over the river and through the woods". Now he enjoys Thanksgiving in his own mansion while Charlie Brown is still trying to kick his crack habit.