Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Ignance

I’ve seen a T-shirt a few times around here (both worn and for sale) that kinda bugs me. I’m not sure…I take that back - I am sure why it bugs me. Here’s what the text on the T-shirt says:

Mexican. I am not Latino. Latinos are Anglo Europeans from Italy. I am not Hispanic. Hispanics are Anglo-Europeans from Spain. In the United States of America we each own a constitutional first amendment right to have our ethnicity clearly and properly acknowledged. Mexican. The children of the sun. A rich, cultural heritage. A proud indigenous people – the culture of our choosing, because we refuse to be anything else, becaue it feels so good to be Mexican!

Grammar and anthropological inaccuracies aside, this is one of the most ignorant fucking things I’ve ever seen. The people I’ve seen wearing it are hardly Mexican – I mean, actually Mexicans from Mexico – which is particularly entertaining.

Why does our society continue to perpetuate racial divisiveness?

Beckham
Ever-informative news channel WOAI reported just a few minutes ago that British Soccer player David Beckham was voted the most Masculine man alive in an online poll (Matt Damon was 2nd). Newsworthiness issues aside, this is laughable.

I’m curious to know who the respondents were. I mean, come on. I can think of a number of guys whose masculinity would make this Beckham character look like Tinkerbelle in comparison.

Clint Eastwood strikes me as infinitely more masculine than Beckham

Real Cowboys (less the Brokeback ones) too
Bikers
Mean Joe Green

The list goes on.

Fires
Here's a picture a friend of mine near San Diego took from her back porch. I told her not to worry because Bush was going to be touring the area today. Thank God!




8 comments:

Deech said...

Carlos,

Regarding the T-shirt, I would have asked them where they bought it. Why wasn't it sold in Mexico? And why did they have to come here to get it? We are racially divided because we want to be, I guess. Yes its Ignorant. Yes I agree with you. But I can say that I am kinda tired of fighting that fight all the time.

Regarding the most masculine man- I have a feeling that the respondents are the inmates at San Quentin in CA. That is why the data is as flawed as it is.

The fires are incredible. I am worried about family I have in CA as I have not been able to reach them in a couple of days.

Woozie said...

American society continues to perpetuate racial divisiveness because it's something that's fairly difficult to ignore. Think of it as a positive feedback mechanism. We react to different features of races, which forces us to make light of them, and then react to them more often.

Shelley said...

Regarding the t-shirt: "We're all the same and love is blind" - The Killers (I know, it's alternative rock and you don't know who they are).

Regarding David Beckham - he is fucking masculine, even though you misspelled Tinkerbell. Anyone who can look that good and make me hot & bothered no matter what he wears is masculine to me. Matt Damon - fuck yeah! Mean Joe Green? No thanks. Bikers? I don't think so. Clint Eastwood? Nice, but too old.

Fires? Make me want to cry everytime I see something about them. My state is going up in flames and Bush doesn't really give a shit. Just wants to say hi to the electoral votes in the area.

The_Gator said...

I didnt know the first ammendment said anything about race.

We sing we dance we steal things said...

Ditto what Gator said on the race thing. Thanks a whole lot for posting the masculine man thing.
Early has been crying for hours.
His name wasn't mentioned. Are you sure you read that right?

Carlos said...

FlyinFox: Because we want to be. Yes. I agree. There are hordes of people who wan to be, and that’s a shame. It’s personal and institutional/corporate. The same people who claim to be colorblind are responsible for the perpetuity.

Wooz: That’s one way of looking at it I suppose.

Shelley: I do too know who The Killers are. We already discussed the poll, so :-P

Gator: Yeah….it’s a tiny clause in the amendment that mentions something about Children of the Sun, beans, and claiming to be Mexican even if you were born in Montana.

Bunny~n~Early: Sadly, I did read it right. What I think was missing from the organizers’ candidate checklist was that happy birthday picture you guys sent Robin once upon a time. ;-) That is the epitome of masculinity. I mean, we don’t even know if Beckham has nuts. For all we know he’s a eunuch!

Margaret said...

I wouldn't even have thought of Beckham as a contender at all. Maybe they just polled Europeans?

Shelley said...

Today Ol' Georgie said, "I know how you feel," to the people of Southern California. He doesn't know. How could he know? What an ass.