Sure He’s Cute, But Would You Want Him Dating Lois lane?
Hi everyone, Cub Reporter Ross Lincoln here again. I’m about to be extremely profane.
I’d like you to take a look at the following image. It’s not pretty people, and you’re going to be amazed, and offended.
Now have a look at this one:
If you’re like me, you’re probably a little freaked out by this shit. There’s just no way to look and not see Minstrel-Steppin Fetchit-Aunt Jemimah-”Mammy!” racism in every stroke. It’s the sort of neutered-primateesque portrayl of young black people (especially black males) common during the days of segregation and lynching. Ridiculing Black potential and intelligence has long been a way for white men to feel less threatened by Blackness - It’s imagery more at home in the 1920s and 30s, at the height of mass-media racist campaigns against black people.
Only it’s actually quite modern.
What you’re seeing is art from the long running, racist-as-a-motherfuck Mexican Comic Book, MEMÍN PINGÜÍN. (WARNING: The Wikipedia Entry is incomplete and inaccurate. I only link to it for general info.)
MP depicts the adventures of a bunch of kids, normal looking (presumably) mexican children of varying brown and white appearances, and their freind, the star of the comic and little Black Sambo stunt double, Memin, whose “amusing” appearance is the basis for much of the series’ humor. I AM NOT MAKING THAT LAST BIT UP.
And it’s now the subject of a new issue of stamps in mexico:
The series of five stamps released Wednesday depicts a hapless boy drawn with exaggerated features, thick lips and wide-open eyes. His appearance, speech and mannerisms are the subject of kidding by white characters in the comic book, which started in the 1940s and is still published in Mexico.
Activists criticized the stamps as offensive, though officials denied it.
“One would hope the Mexican government would be a little more careful and avoid continually opening wounds,” said Sergio Penalosa, an activist in Mexico’s small black community on the southern Pacific coast.
Gee, you think?
Carlos Caballero, assistant marketing director for the Mexican Postal Service, said the new stamps are not offensive, nor were they intended to be.
“This is a traditional character that reflects part of Mexico’s culture,” Caballero said. “His mischievous nature is part of that character.”
It always amazes me how quickly people move to defend inexcusable defamations as expressions of Culture. Whether bigots in the American south defending the Stars and Bars as expressions of pride, ignoring how the popularity of the Confederate Flag rose in direct relation to the fight against civil rights, or the Queen’s Consort’s amazing penchant for glib bigotry, it’s clear that PC behavior is a bigger propblem for people on the right who need to justify resentment and mistrust of people who don’t look like themselves. For proof that stupidity is an ailment not limited to English speakers, look no further.
Publisher Manelick De la Parra told the government news agency Notimex the character would be a sort of goodwill ambassador on Mexican letters and postcards. “It seems nice if Memin can travel all over the world, spreading good news,” de la Parra said, calling him “so charming, so affectionate, so wonderful, generous and friendly.”
It’s true, and you know what else? He’s so well-spoken, so articulate. I’ve known so many black people in my life, but this little boy is definitely one of the good ones.
I’d like to invite you to take a close look at this next image:
How could anyone look at this and not see a monkey being attacked by normal looking latino children? Anyone who defends this sort of trash ought to be considered socially dead. It’s offensive that anyone would even try, and to them, I ask, how would you feel the US put Speedy Gonzalez on our stamps?
Fortunately, El presidente himself is here to make sure this issue is given the treatment it so seriously requires:
In May, Fox riled many by saying Mexican migrants take jobs in the United States that “not even blacks” want. Fox later expressed regret for any offense the remarks may have caused, but insisted his comments had been misinterpreted.
It’s true. The remarks were actually part of the following statement (Pardon the bad translation):
“If I were going to say something incredibly Racist, something that would instantly offend people who have more than three functioning brain cells, and possibly tarnish my own good name, I’d probably make some kind of flippant remark about illegal immigrants, who take jobs not even blacks want. But because I’m not a fucking idiot, I’d never say such a thing.”
Seriously Liberal media, why do you keep having to quote people accurately? Don’t you know that being held accountable for one’s words and deeds is a communist, pro terra anti freedom tactic? Of course, I know how he feels. I myself hate it when the Jews get upset when we point out their obsessive greed for money.
One Rainbow people. Many colors. And apparently, some of those colors need to quit bringing down the property vaules and stay the fuck away from the white women.
Found via the race traitor Jesse at Pandagon.
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Woahhh!
People of color CAN’T be racist! (That’s what they said when I was in college.) Only English-or German- speaking white people are capable of racism. It’s in our genes or something…
Seriously, though, it sure is interesting to see that clearly, if there is not enough pressure in a society to change, it won’t.
Comment by Dave — June 30, 2005 @ 2:44 pm
OK, this is offensive.
I’m also offended by Garfield and Beetle Bailey. Especially Beetle Bailey.
A little help from Mr. Rogers Please,
Can you say low-brow? Of course you can.
Comment by kamachanda — June 30, 2005 @ 4:15 pm
I posted this over at Ross’s site where there is more discussion going on in his comments section…
to judge the meaning or intent behind an image you have to consider the culture in which it was created. especially when dealing with caricatures.
france, to this day, still publishes comics that use “blackface” caricatures. in france, they do not have the history of racism that the US was founded on. the “blackface” imagery used in french comics is considered no different than any other form of caricature- which is defined as: “A representation, especially pictorial or literary, in which the subject’s distinctive features or peculiarities are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comic or grotesque effect.”
That definition applies to nearly EVERY cartoon and comic character. to nearly every character in literature, as well.
because of the U.S.’s history of racism, the traditional caricature of a black person is considered extremely offensive. but remove the racial history of this country, and that caricature becomes no more offensive than everything Basil Wolverton ever drew for Mad Magazine (and other comics).
Mexico does not have the same racial history as the U.S.- therefore, the caricature of Memin is merely a caricature that doesn’t carry the heavy historical burden of our racism.
For a point of comparison- the character was created and existed in it’s height of popularity, in roughly the same time period as Will Eisner’s Spirit side-kick, Ebony (who still lives on in reprints currently published by DC Archives). Now, it’s difficult to do, but try to remove the cultural history of racism from this country. Or at least reduce it to a bare minimum. Try to think of the U.S. without a history of slavery, lynchings, segregation and the need for civil rights movements. Now, look at Ebony in the pages of the Spirit. He becomes a funny looking character who serves as the comic relief in a series in which nearly everyone else is drawn more realistically.
If you remove the cultural burden- he becomes no different than a character like Homer Simpson. Is Homer, a caricature of a fat, bumbling, childish, stupid man, any more representative of fathers in suburbia? No- we understand Homer Simpson as a caricature and a comical character that, while he may resemble some, is not representative of every American dad.
I’m not defending the character of Memin Pinguin or the comics. I’ve never read them, and only recently found out the character exists. Based on what i’ve seen- I suspect that the character may have been inspired by Will Eisner’s Ebony (they are extremely similar in design)- and was created out of ignorance to the cultural ramifications of this brand of caricature- ramifications that didn’t even exist yet in this country. But this is all speculation on my part. I would not judge these comics for there surface value, and impose my own prejudices onto another country’s cultural history.
Should Mexico stop using these new stamps that sparked this controversey? Perhaps. Should Americans impose their cultural fears, prejudices and guilt on a country that doesn’t share our racist history? No.
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 9:32 am
i would also like to point out this bit of sly trickery on the part of Ross’s argument.
The comparison of Memin to Speedy Gonzales was actually originally made by the Mexican government in defense of the Memin character. So, Ross, for you to try to flip that arouund on them to call them ignorant is kinda sleazey.
Again… i’m not defending the comic. To my naive eyes, it does appear to be racist and offensive. I’m just trying to say that everyone needs to calm down and realize that we have a different cultural history and we shouldn’t impose our cultural guilt on another country. And we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover- and most of us have only seen a dozen images of this character so far.
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 9:45 am
TomN, you’re joking right? No racist history in Mexico?
I guess you’re not familiar with the casta paintings that delineated people by race and “mix,” or the indigenous rights movement, or the struggles black Mexicans have faced since the slave trade first brought Africans to Veracruz centuries ago.
Mexico has a history of racism. It’s a different history than ours, but that doesn’t mean Mexico is free of racism. Frankly, the stamps themselves show that racism exists. It’s no surprise that many Mexicans are offended by this charicature.
Fox has been a disaster. It’s a shame, really, since he is the first non-PRI president Mexico has had. He might be the last!
Excellent post, Talent Show.
Comment by Kate — July 1, 2005 @ 9:56 am
I never said racism never existed in Mexico. I know they have a history of racism. I also know that Mexico abolished slavery in 1814- more than 50 years before the U.S.
What i said was that Mexico has a different history of racism than the U.S. and we shouldn’t pass judgement on them based on a few images and our own cultural guilt. I point out my own naivete in this case regarding Memin Pinguin- and that i shouldn’t pass judgement on Mexico based on my ignorance of the character. I’m only asking everyone else to consider that as well.
If anyone, who speaks Spanish and has a huge collection of Memin Pinguin comics would like to offer their insite, i’d gladly accept their take on this character. Memin may very well be a racist character, but how would i, or anyone else here, know the context of the character based on the dozen images we’ve seen in the media and in the blogs?
We are all imposing your own guilt and prejudices on this character based on a few images. I am NOT defending the images- i don’t know enough about this comic, and i suspect no one else knows enough either. All i’m asking is that we consider the cultural context before we pass judgement.
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 10:22 am
Guys,
Relevant quote:
Look, black people IN mexico are pissed off about this. It’s not just about Americans lording it over them, or cultural misunderstandings. Black Mexicans understand these images as racist, and as an affront to them.
End of story.
Comment by Ross A Lincoln — July 1, 2005 @ 10:33 am
good- they probably know a lot more about this than we do. which is my point.
Ross- maybe your post should be re-written more from the perspective of supporting the black mexican activist poulation instead of slandering Mexican cartoonists and politicians as racists based on a few images that you googled.
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 10:47 am
It’s not possible to slander someone when they’re obviously a racist. Come on Tom, what fox said is clearly, clearly just wrong.
Look at those images again. Dignified, normal, handsome mexican boys, and a monkey. That sort of imagery isn’t accidental.
I’m not against legitimate explorations of this kind of imagery, and I like a certain American indie comic that has attempted to explore the meaning behind them. However, the artist of that comic is completely aware of what it means, and drew nothing even remotely resembling the trash on the covers.
It’s possible that the artists involved don’t understand. But any artist who isn’t keenly aware of their power, if he or she isn’t a racist, is an idiot.
Until I see proof that the person who drew these images is completely unware that they were stolen from American racost imagry, and completely unware that black mexicans are against them, I am forced to stand by my assertion.
To draw an analogue from our own country:
Just because Southern people in the US insisted that Sambo’s restaurants weren’t racist…
Just as these people insisited (and insist) that using Jew as a verb cognate for “Haggle” wasn’t racist…
Just because southern people didn’t consider themselves racist at a time when their codified racism was legal, that doesn’t mean that they weren’t racist. And in fact, that very racism was pointed out by critics in other countries. This included Mexican, Cuban, and South American activiets. (Especially Latin American Communists).
I know we want to be sensitive here, but people back in the day were perfectly aware of what this sort of thing meant. And so should people now.
Sometimes, racism is so internalized we may think we’re being magnanimous when in fact, we’re just insulting people.
Comment by Ross A Lincoln — July 1, 2005 @ 10:58 am
and until i see proof that the cartoonist had racist intentions, i’m not gonna make any assertions.
Ross- have you read any of these comics? your assertions are no different than the ignorant people who try to ban books without ever reading them. AGAIN I’M NOT SAYING THAT THESE COMICS ARE NOT RACIST- THEY MAY BE RACIST- but i don’t know whether they are or not. I remember a case in which some activists were trying to ban Huck Finn from public school libraries because they thought the book was racist. and anyone who has read that book knows that it is the opposite of racist.
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 12:05 pm
Here’s a perspective on the comic from someone more familiar with it…From the Comics Reporter:
“Memin Pinguin was created by Yolanda Vargas Dulche, a woman with a long career in comics that created classic titles like Lagrimas y Risas and Ruby. Her stories were more like soap operas and melodramas, aimed at the working class, which consumed comics by the millions back in the 40’s and 50’s.
Memín Pinguín was first published in the magazine Pepin back in 1945. Vargas Dulche had just returned from Cuba, and inspired in the kids she saw there she wrote a story and asked artist Alberto Cabrera to design him. He was a poor kid, dumb and clumsy, that spoke with a cuban accent. He lived with his mother, which looks a lot like Aunt Jemima. He had a couple of friends and got into a lot of trouble. He was teased because of his accent and color, but he was part of the gang. It was a very tender comic book, sweet and innocent. I read it as a child and flipped through an old issue a couple of years ago and I don’t think the book was racist; quite the opposite, I think it had a message of integration and acceptance, it criticized racism and, like all of Vargas Dulche´s stories, tried to teach strong family values.
Cabrera was in charge of the art until 1972, when Sixto Valencia took over. Memon Pinguin was very popular with both artists and for a long time his books sold millions of copies on a weekly basis. It’s probably the most famous and popular mexican comic book, alongside Gabriel Vargas’ La Familia Burron and Kaliman. The book has been in print almost constantly since then. It was relaunched in 2002, reprinting Sixto Valencia’s stories, with a print run of 120 thousand copies. For the last 10 or 20 years it has been published by Editorial Vid, which is owned and run by Vargas Dulche’s sons.”
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 12:19 pm
So he was actually a sterotype of a cuban kid.
The scenario sounds more like the character Buckwheat from Our Gang. We all agree that that character was sterotyped to the times, but that character is more acceptable in the U.S. because the issue of his race is ignored by his friends. He is part of the gang and not discriminated against by Spanky, Alfalfa and the rest. The caricature of Buskwheat may be racist, but the content of the Our Gang films was not.
consider the context before making asseritions. this is what i’m arguing.
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 12:23 pm
I don’t even know what your point is anymore, Tom. That Americans shouldn’t say anything at all because it involves Mexico? That only Mexicans can comment on it? Or is it simply that you don’t find it offensive and you don’t think anyone else should either?
Perhaps you just like to argue for argument’s sake. I can appreciate that. I have my moments too.
Comment by Kate — July 1, 2005 @ 2:06 pm
maybe i haven’t been clear enough, but my point has been consistant throughout my numerous comments. my point has always been- to use a cliche- don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
perhaps you are too sensitive to the issue to be able to understand the point i’m making. that is understandable. i’ve dealt with this issue a lot in my personal life and examined it from many perspecitves.
i’m no authority on the subject, i’m merely trying to offer a differnt perspective on the subject.
Comment by tomN! — July 1, 2005 @ 2:19 pm
This is what I recently read from an (American) news source about the comic’s main character: “His appearance, speech and mannerisms are the brunt of jokes from white characters in the comic book.”
While the American media may not know much more about the contents of the comics than we do, if this condensed description sums up accurately the comic’s basic storyline, then we have reason to voice our concerns.
If this is the case, then there’s an obvious damaging power relationship being played out in the comic, and it’s given weight by the exaggerated appearance of the main character (skin color, facial features, etc.). In fact, from the handful of images I have seen, the appearances of the white kids are not drawn in caricaturized form. It’s obvious that the author has created, regardless of whether her motivation was racist in nature or an innocuous attempt to create tender stories about friendship and love, a loaded delineation between the dark, monkey looking character - caricatured to extreme exaggeration - and the normal white kids. This is not a neutral representation as some, especially the Mexican government, would imply that it is. Whether an author has good intentions or not is not always the main point. It’s whether the creation promotes, however unintentionally, a damaging power relationship at the expense of someone or something. Whether a harmful power relationship exists, and is legitimized by the comic’s racial delineation, has to be gleaned, yes, from the contents and storylines of the comic. But if the main character is the brunt of jokes by his friends, as I strongly suspect he is, then I think labeling these depictions, the result, as racist and offensive (regardless of author’s intent) has strong merit.
Comment by Angie — July 1, 2005 @ 6:26 pm
First that all Memin pinguin is a character loosely base on the cuban childs.
The author name’s is yolanda vargas dulche.
In one of her trips to Cuba she notice tha natutal simpaty of the cuban people and then she decided to give life to a character whose name will be Memin all this happen around 1935.
Ok…We the mexican people don’t think that this cartoon is offensive.
And you know why??
Because WE do not have the kind of prejudice that the people from north america have.
We see humans as humans I sure that all this discusion about racist from the mexican goverment is just bull.
You african-americans get offended to easily.
And is because you think that you are inferior.
WE do not have to feel sorry about the stamps.
We haven’t ask for reparations about the sppedy gonsalez character, or the taco bell dog, or the way you portraid mexico in all your movies. or all the commercials of the hennesy licor about “do not blend” ( where you see african-americans on it)….please guys you need to forget about asking for reparations about your past.
By acting like you are acting now you are not gonna change de fact that you are black.
Or the fact that Im mexican.
you need to integrate your self in the american society…You have so many issues about race.
All the offence is in your mind.
Is sad to see that yours “leaders” engage in this whortless fight.
Do you know that more african american in age to be in college are in jail than in college.
That you are one of the races with more problems with diseases like AIDS, heart attacks ect??
Plese focus in the real issues and stop blaming the word for what you have become…A BIGOTED AND LAZY PEOPLE….AND BELIEVE WE DO NOT LIKE PEOPLE LIKE YOU IN MEXICO ( and a big part of the word) AND WE I REPEAT WE DO NOT FEEL SORRY FOR YOU..GET TO WORK PEOPLE….
Ps you are nobody to tell us what to do with our stamps..bye all you MEMINS
PS
Comment by javier estrada — July 1, 2005 @ 9:29 pm
Wow, because I was totally claiming it’s okay for us to be racist. Thanks for setting me straight. Hey black people, shape up!
Wow, I mean, wow. Way to completely make my point for me. Thanks.
Comment by Ross Lincoln — July 1, 2005 @ 11:40 pm
Javier’s comment has to be the best fucking comment ever.
Ohhh, can I say fuck on a Web Magazine?
Comment by Oneiros Dreaming — July 2, 2005 @ 2:35 am
wow… who’s the racist troll?
Comment by tomN! — July 2, 2005 @ 11:57 am
“There’s just no way to look and not see Minstrel-Steppin Fetchit-Aunt Jemimah-”Mammy!” racism in every stroke.”
I was thinking more Jar-Jar Binks myself.
Comment by Joe — July 2, 2005 @ 1:39 pm
Hey the racist stroll name’s is javier.
If we are gonna lower the level of this debate tell me now!!
As always you espect that WE feel bad about the way you live in america??
Please guys if any of you want i can send you samples of the magazine that I used to read when I was a little boy, and also I can traslate that magazines for you.
Do you know that in Mexico we are so mixed that I have relatives that are blonds and relatives that are blacks??
I mean I talking about brothers and sisters…
So don’t you dare to call me racist.
Let go to the facts
a) stop blaming white people for everything.
b) change the attitute…yes. you love to get attention. yes you love white girls do not lie know. yes most blck comedians love to make fun of the white people and other races as well.
(white chicks ayans brothers, christ rock dave chapelle, ect,ect)
c)MOST BLACK MEN TENT TO MARRY WHITE WOMAN WHEN THEY REACH ECONOMIC WELLNESS.( i would like to know why??)
d) if you are so proud to be black as you claim why 95% of the black womwns wear wigs????
Go a head I dare you to call me a racist that will be very ironic due Im 100% mexican so YOU CANNOT BLAME ME….you got that I won’t endorce racist ( i post to be hate by the white people but I never have any kind of problems with them) but neither i will endorse people like you who’s blame others for your own fault.
This is really stupid you black people blaming the world for everything….now the mexicans who is gonna be tomorrow???
And I know what im talking about because i have live in knosville tn and I actually live in memphis in case you want to find me LOSER!!
ps: THERE ARE THREE MAYOR RACIAL GROUPS IN THIS WORLD…white, yellow and BLACK…so how im post to call you???
Ans don’t say that the anthropology is racist asshole!!!!!!!!!
Comment by javier etrada — July 2, 2005 @ 2:29 pm
i’m sorry i called you a racist troll… your comment was so confusing i thought it was a joke. i don’t even understand what you’re talking about.
Comment by tomN! — July 2, 2005 @ 5:40 pm
I REALLY FEEL SORRY FOR YOU TOMN!
YOU DESERVE THE WAY THE WORLD LOOK AT YOU
Comment by javier etrada — July 2, 2005 @ 7:18 pm
just kiding tom..anyway take care
Comment by javier etrada — July 3, 2005 @ 12:20 am
Hi everyone.
I suggest looking at the Wikipedia article for more information . You could also search for “Memin” or “Afro-Mexican”.
For those who won’t, I’ll only say Memin does suffer racism from SOME white characters, but the comic treats that as wrong. In fact, all of Memin friends are white, and he met them at the public school they attend together (US citizens should notice this was first published in the 1940s). While the depiction might be similar to those made in the US with a clearly racist intent, the storyline puts him as a playful boy just like any other. White characters in the book aren’t perfect -the mother of one of Memin friend’s works at a club, usually arriving home drunk early in the morning; the father of another is alcoholic.
To me its kind of silly to believe just by looking at the carefully chosen covers that anyone would buy a comic about an ethnic character who gets kicked around by everybody else and deserves it (with the possible exception of Ku-Klux-Klan members. Off-topic: is the KKK a legal organization in the US? Some movies make me think it was at least until recently.)
I’m mexican but not black, so my opinion is probably biased. I suspect a black man would be discriminated more by his economic level (i.e. he/she is poor) than by his race. Calling someone “negro” (black) has NOT the racist connotations of calling someone “indio” (indian). Calling a close friend or family member negro, negra, is either affectionate or descriptive. Some people are nicknamed “El negro”, “La negra” and they say so when introducing themselves to new friends. You might think these people are of african ascent, but they aren’t -in Mexico anyone with dark skin (regardless of ethnic origin) could be called negro. I believe the black population in Mexico is less than 1%, and it is mostly concentrated in the Pacific Coast.
It’s true the spanish colony had a caste system, but it seems interracial marriage was barely tolerated, if discouraged. Currently, I can say “race/ethnicity” is not part of our IDs and similar documentation and probably never was, at least in modern times. The official government stance is that mexicans have either mixed blood, part spanish, part indigenous, or fully indigenous (black/asian population is mostly ignored, unfortunately). This admittedly simplistic view of mixed heritage is taught from elementary school, so (from my point of view) discrimination hardly happens because of race or heritage but mostly by economic position, and when it does, it is aimed at indigenous people. Jim Crow laws would have been unthinkable against any ethnic group. Virgin Mary of Guadalupe, the patron of Mexico, is obviously half-spanish, half-indigenous.
I think racism can be found in every nation. I don’t think Memin is racist, and I believe Mexico is ->less
By the way, hispanic groups in the US actually campaigned to have Speedy Gonzales when it was suspended to avoid offending them. Its cartoons have been shown continuously in Mexico since it first aired.
Bye.
Comment by nlara — July 4, 2005 @ 9:56 pm
Correction to the above post: in the next to last paragraph, it should say
Comment by nlara — July 4, 2005 @ 10:01 pm
Thanks for linking to the dear old Duke of Edinburgh. The thing about aristocrats is that they despise us all, race is immaterial.
I’d known of most of the quoted “faux pas” from the Dook, but this was new to me, and, I confess, it does have a ring of amusing truth : -
“If it has four legs and is not a chair, has wings and is not an aeroplane, or swims and is not a submarine, the Cantonese will eat it.” (1986)
Comment by dave heasman — July 5, 2005 @ 4:55 am
On the other hand, here’s something that sort of pokes a hole in the “Mexico has no problem with racism against black people” argument.
I’m not saying that it definitively settles the issue, but it is an interesting layer.
Comment by Ross A Lincoln — July 5, 2005 @ 11:30 am
and here is something that pokes a hole in the memin is racist teory.
Comment by Eduardo — July 13, 2005 @ 9:02 am