Mexican stamp called offensive to blacks

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AP) -- The Mexican government has issued a postage stamp depicting an exaggerated black cartoon character known as Memin Pinguin, just weeks after remarks by President Vicente Fox angered U.S. blacks.

Note by poster regarding this news item:

While watching the news I just saw footage of Jessie Jackson being led away in handcuffs, for apparently protesting this issue (in Mexico).

There is a picture of the stamp provided on CNN at this link.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/americas/06/29/mexico.sta...

available here--

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=225x325

if our country showed the back of a Mexican farm laborer wearing a wet shirt on a stamp, it would be "viva la raza" all over the southerwestern US.

It is offensive as no Mexican looks like the stamp-it is a clear affront to African Americans--who've done nothing to the people or the government of Mexico to warrant such a blatant display of racism.

President Fox should be ashamed of himself and those who thought up that stamp should be ashamed of themselves for not being able to rise above stupidity and small-mindedness.

It wasn't until I was a young adult that I witnessed racial issues with some Mexican Americans in southern California. I just don't get it. Why this need to remind African Americans' they are better. Aren't we ALL still HUMAN beings? Aren't we ALL seen as minorities in the eyes of some in this country?

Frankly, I'm just baffled.

Please let me begin by saying that I am mortified by the rift that this incident has caused between our communities. I think the choice of cartoon for a postage stamp was ill advised for the now obvious reason that it could be so easily misunderstood.

I beg you to help me heal the rift by trying to see across the cultural chasm that divides our communities and try to see that no offense was intended even if one is perceived. People in Mexico are just as baffled as you are by the reaction to the cartoon, because they do not see it from the same frame of reference. The majority of Mexicans do not see themselves as separate and apart from Black people, they see themselves as kin. As do I.

The Mexican community, and the Mexican-American community are not the same. Although we share a common heritage we are different in many respects, not the least of which is racial attitudes. People of pure Black heritage are rare in Mexico not because they were shunned, but because they have integrated by marriage into the community as a whole. I cannot speak for the Mexican-American community in LA, I know very little about them. But I can tell you a little bit about myself and my experience with Memin growing up in Mexico.

Memin is a heroic character in Mexican culture. His appearance is unique to him, and is not meant to represent a class of people. There are other Black characters represented in the Memin magazine and other magazines from the same publisher, but they are not drawn to look like Memin.







I remember one particular series of episodes dealing with Toussaint L'Ouverture, the Black general of Haiti considered Napoleon's military equal, where Memin learns about him and takes justified pride in this great man. There are other episodes dealing with travels in Texas where Memin is the subject of ridicule and scorn. This is what Sixto Valencia, the present artists drawing Memin had to say:

"In one story, Memin and his friends travel to Texas to play soccer. They go for ice cream, but the place refuses to sell to Memin, because it doesn't serve blacks, Mexicans or dogs," he said.
"His friends, stood up for him, got into a fight and ended up in jail. I liked it that such a difficult issue was addressed in such an entertaining way. They (the comic book's detractors) should know that Memin always stood for family unity, love and friendship," he said. The associate director of education of Mexico's National Council to Prevent Discrimination, Jose Luis Gutierrez, believes the U.S. protests "trivialize the struggle against discrimination."



http://www.mexico.com/notimexico/?method=una&id=3290&lang=eng

Another story deals with Memin's encounter with a mean boy who tells him there is no point in taking communion, because Blacks cannot go to heaven. Convinced that this is true, Memin becomes a mean boy himself and does cruel things. There were howls of protest from the readers, so the publisher had to abbreviate the story and rush to the plot point where Memin learns that he too is a child of God and deserving of salvation.

The main point I want to make is that I saw myself as Memin. When I was a child, I had no concept of race and I identified with him because he was different from the rest and I felt different too. I think many Mexicans instinctively identify with Memin. I do not see Memin as out of the range of human appearance. I do not see him as ape-like, as he has been described by some horrified Americans. His features are exaggerated, but I saw them as exaggerations of human facial features, not otherwise.

Memin is a beloved and cherished character from my past. I loved him, and what is more important I admired him. Not because of his appearance, but despite it. His personality, heart, and nobility transcended physical appearance.


For what its worth, I offer my humble and abject apologies for any offense and distress this cartoon may have caused you, my brethren.

First of all, I apologize that it has taken me so long to respond to your post.

I appreciate your explanation of what this character has meant to you, and the historical perspective entailed in this. It does help to have some background on who/what this character is and what it means to people of your country.

I just wanted you to know that I appreciated all of your comments and your attempt to explain at least one perspective of this.

It is unfortunate that all of this occured, particularly at a time when racial tensions are high between the Mexican American and African American youth in inner city Los Angeles.

It would be great if our new Mayor takes note of this, and finds a way to bridge this gap of misunderstanding between the two communities. Maybe then we could all coexist better...

I don't know what the 'answer' is or if there really is one 'answer' that will resolve the problems between the two respective communities. It would certainly help if the country's president was a bit mindful of the fact that he has made statements directly addressing the African American community that have seemed to come out of left field--with no provocation on the part of the black community.

If African American leaders made off handed comments about the Mexican or Mexican American communities, I think it would be hurtful to a very large segment of the southern California community. It certainly wouldn't bade well for community relations--if after making such comments the same leaders decided to release a stamp that showed Mexicans in a way that people of the culture saw as an 'old stereotype.' Even if AA leaders could show that this was just a beloved, folk hero for us.

It may ease the tension--perhaps to have an explanation and historical background. I doubt it would be any less hurtful to those that have worked hard--given their lives even, to ensure those that came after them never had to see such images utilized as part of popular culture again.

Maybe these statements are too broad, given the fact that the stamp was released in and for Mexico and not in America. Maybe 'we' shouldn't be telling Mexico what kind of stamp they can and can't have. Maybe it will be enough if each side of this issue takes the time to understand the background of the other side and why each side feels as it does. I don't know...

Sorry that this is sooooo loooong. lol. Thank you for trying to bridge the gap for some of us--your effort was appreciated!
:hug:

:hi:

This incident has triggered much soul searching in the Mexican communities; I know that it caused me to re-examine my default assumptions.


I came across one editorial on this subject, which is significant in that it was originally published in Mexico City and addressed to a Mexican audience. This is a link to an English translation:

http://www2.eluniversal.com.mx/pls/impreso/web_columnas_sup.detalle?var=23228


I hope that some good comes out of this cultural faux pas. Perhaps my countrymen will finally wake up to the realization that they are now part of the global community and can no longer afford to live in cultural isolation.


:dem:

Your account of this character is interesting (I have an interest in the history of racial caricature). I am wondering if this is really some sort of satire on racists. R Crumb had a similar character, I believe. You say it was educational - was this a way of getting around censorship?

Comic books in the US have a similar history and have often been the target of censorship campaigns.

Forgive me, but I am guided by memories that are now 35 years old. When the postage stamps were published, I thought this was an historical homage to the character. I was shocked and a little perplexed to find out that the magazine is still in circulation.

I suspect that the author, Yolanda Vargas Dulche, is not a satirist per-se. At least not of the stature of Crumb. She has a feel for the heartstrings of the Mexican reading public and touches, often, on subjects near and dear to her public like love, family, and community.

The closest allegorical equivalent to Memin, in American literature, is The Ugly Duckling. Memin's mother loves him dearly, and Memin absolutely adores his mother (to the point of raising Oedipal hackles in Mexico). You get the sense from the story lines that Memin is a swan surrounded by ducks and that, someday, he will blossom into a handsome human being. That is part of his eternal allure.

Thank you for your question.

(on edit)

Yolanda Vargas Dulche passed away recently. That is part of the impetus to add Memin to the postage stamp series (I speculate). I speak of her as if she was still alive because in Mexican culture the living and the dead are never separated. We are always in the company of our ancestors.

YES.

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