I feel like my head is about to explode. If I read one more insane, irrationally argued op-ed about President Vicente Fox, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton I might spontaneously combust or something worse. I just don’t know.
I don’t have much respect for either Jackson or Sharpton. Believe it or not, it is NOT because of the color of their skin but because of the ideology they promote.
I think they are the leaders of a cult following of “woe-is- me-I-am-the-continuing-victim-of-the-evil-white-race” mentality. I believe they promote this in their self-perceived importance and role in America. In addition, I think they make more contributors send in bigger amounts of money to their nonprofit organizations by playing their vanguard roles of the protectors of the allegedly victimized African-American.
But what this piece is really about is America and its willingness to believe most anything the elite media throws in their faces. This business with Fox’s supposed “racist” statement is a prime (and sickening) example of how America does exactly this. It is an example of Americans living lives of Untested Assumptions and willing to do so without a shred of credible evidence or a modicum of rational, linear thinking.
Let’s take a sample shall we?
In a Chicago Tribune op-ed entitled, Latin America’s Take on Race, the writer makes this statement:
“Mexican President Vicente Fox isn’t going to win any hands-across-the-border awards for his offensive remarks about African-Americans in the U.S. But the remarks should not cause any great surprise. The reality of racism in Latin America is not news.” [1]
Problem One: America is a nation that does not take responsibility for its own emotions.
The statement, “for his offensive remarks about African-Americans in the U.S.” is false. All Fox did is make a statement. It was neither offensive nor inoffensive. In fact, that is pretty much all we ever do in life. We hear and make statements. Fox’s statement had NO power to do anything. It was just information.
If the President of America came on the TV and said something, those who hate the man would be hostile and, more than likely reject, what he had to say. Those who like him would say something like, “Oh, I agree with everything that wonderful man says.”
But all the ones who like him or those who hate him would hear is INFORMATION! How they respond to what they heard is the hearer’s responsibility.
When Fox made the statement he did, do you really think this Mexican man, when he wrote that speech, said to himself,
“Hmmm. I think I will say something really gross and offensive to the American people today?”
Only an irrational person would think so.
The man made a statement. He exercised the right of freedom of thought within the context of his culture and BOOM! The “We are the continuing victims of the evil white males” imperialist went into action.
Do you get this? All Fox did was disseminate information. How African-American Ideological Imperialists CHOSE to react to the information is the responsibility of the African-American Ideological Imperialists.
We interpret what information we hear, every moment of every day, according to the interpretive lenses of whatever presumptuous ideological glasses we are wearing at that time in our lives.
Problem Two: Wearing the wrong interpretive lenses produces irrational conclusions.
I have been reading all manner of nonsense coming from the keyboards of American liberal writers as the result of their untested assumptions. One such amazing “fact” to know and share is that dark-skinned Mexican maids will rub lemon on their dark skin to try to lighten it up. This was supposedly garnered from some novelist who did her research by interviewing 30 (now you be sure to count that huge sampling of the Mexican people) maids. The conclusion drawn from this statistical wonder is that there is massive racism in Mexico.
Another is the conclusion reached by the Chicago Tribune writer in the above quote:
“But the remarks shouldn’t cause any great surprise. The reality of racism in Latin America is not news.”
My, my, oh my!
I live in Mexico and those locals with whom I discuss the presumptuous, nimrod thinking of the American people just shake their heads in amazement.
This brings up another issue. With the bilingual ability of Americans being 9.3 percent compared to 52.7 percent European bilingual rate,[2] just how are Americans coming up with their amazing research stats on their self-perceived Mexican racism? Are they going into Mexico and resorting to hand gesturing and grunting to learn these things? They must be since only 9.3 percent of the American people are fluent enough in ANY language other than English.
The utter gall of those American journalists who would write such silly and irrational statements about Mexico when in reality they COULD NOT test the assumptions they believe even if they wanted to since they cannot (or more likely will not) speak the language.
I want to know just how they get their information and then test their assumptions! Ah!the wonderful American press.
If you want to test everything you have ever read or heard about the Mexican people, why don’t you come and live here with them? Why don’t you bother to learn the language and come live among them for a couple of years? Then lets see what changes in your thinking will occur.
[1]
/chi-0505180139may18,0,1775005.story
[2] Transitions Abroad; by Sherry Schwartz
Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He is a columnist with Cricketsoda.com and the Magic City Morning Star. He is also listed with Ezinearticles.com. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico. His newest book Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country can now be seen at
