I first became aware of the recently-issued Mexican stamps featuring caricatures of blacks through Gerard Vanderleun of American Digest’s post, “Tia Jemima: Stamps from the Land of Day Labor”. They are apparently pictures of a beloved Mexican comic book character from the 1940’s. David MacDuff of A Step at a Time has a good post highlighting Mexican reaction to the criticism that’s being received. From a Mexican-American blogger:
I can understand why here the character looks awful, but in Mexico, 30 or 4O years ago, the perception of race was quite different.
Of course, precisely the same defense could be mounted for minstrel shows and American caricatures of blacks sixty or seventy years ago: times were different, we looked at things differently then.
I hadn’t planned on commenting on this story but yesterday afternoon I was listening to the reporters’ roundtable on News & Notes with Ed Gordon on NPR (there’s a button on the page linked to so you can listen yourself if you care to). I was astonished to hear one of the reporters explaining the offensive images as an example of the United States exporting its racism to the world or, in other words, Mexico was a racial paradise until the evil United States exported its unique vice of racism there (and to Europe, Asia, etc.).
Poppycock. Racism is a human problem and it is present in every country and has been present at every time in history. I’m no art expert but I bet there were caricatures of black Africans prior to 1500. America is far from perfect but at least we’re struggling with the problem which is more than can be said for much of the rest of the world.
The racist character of Mexican society, with the ultra-rich being of Spanish descent and the ultra-poor of native Indian descent, is apparent to anyone who ever set foot within the borders of Mexico. Avoidance of scandal—what Jefferson referred to as “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind”—should have made the Mexican government forebear from dredging up this image of the past however beloved this character might have been.
Mexico is no longer a poor, isolated, ignorant country. It’s time for them to grow up. Nostalgia for the bad old days is unbecoming in adults.
First, no Mexican-American, only Mexican.
Second, who the hell do you think you are to tell me and my country “grow-up”? If you are so concerned about unfair practices you have plenty of things to do here in your country, its foreign policy, and its dealings African-Americans, Mexican-Americans and others.
Third, you are taking out of context the answer I send to my friend, and chances are that you did not even cared to read the Spanish posting preceeding the e-mail.
Fourth, I just uploaded a small sample of Mexican cartoons. Do you think we Mexicans all look like Regino Burrón or like Hermelinda Linda? Fifth, who the hell hired you gringos as moral referees of the world? Travel, go around, look at the world: Afghanistan, Irak, Vietnam, Guatemala, Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua. Look at the widows and orphans, all because of your stupid interventionism. That really deserves a grow up, grow up, stop being so abusive, stop assuming that your freedom justifies all that violence.
Sixth, Mexico is no racial paradise, that is for sure, but are the U.S.? Remember gringo, we abolished slavery 30 years before you, there has never been Jim Crowe laws in my country, and even if violence is prevalent because of your hypocritical laws on drug consumption, there is no record of racially based violence, no “Mandingo myth” Grow up!
Please, no swearing and no name-calling.