Well, its Cinco de Mayo, so I knew someone would have to bring out the stereotypes at some point today. After all, with the big 
immigration debate, aren’t Mexicans our favorite people to hate? Interesting how that discrimination is deemed acceptable by so many in our culture. Perhaps it makes it easier on some people to justify when we call them illegal “aliens.” I understand the usage of the word, but it has always bothered me.
Here are just a few examples of racism and prejudices that I noticed today:
- Our friends at Yahoo had the little animation that is shown in this post. If you haven’t seen it yet, you don’t have much time. They even spin around and dance. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in Mexico and have never seen many people on the streets dressed like that. I wonder…would it be acceptable to have an animation of African Americans doing some type of tribal dance, dressed as slaves, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day? Probably not! Maybe next year Yahoo should add some cacti to the picture, or an old drunken guy on the street passed out from one too many shots of tequila.
- On my way home from work tonight I nearly wrecked my car because there was a kid walking down the street with a huge sombrero on celebrating “Cinco de Mayo.” Even though he looked to be about 1o, maybe next year his parents will add a frozen margarita to his costume.
Racism aimed at Latinos is one of our last accepted prejudices in this country (along with people from Appalachia). Use your brains people!
Jay Rowsey is a blogger from Columbus, Ohio who writes about social media, his daily life, and what is on his mind at the time. Having been obsessed with social media before it was “cool’, he has always been a Technorati that seeks to incorporate the latest and greatest social media tools for you and your business.
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