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Is This Comic Book Racist?
July 9th, 2008
Black activists are up in arms over a popular Mexican comic book Memin Pinguin recently sold in WalMart. It features a dark-skinned Cuban boy (named Memin) with large ears and big pink lips, who’s always being made fun of because of his color. “This is poking fun at the physical features of an entire people. Making them look buffoonish (and) portraying the young [Black] kid as stupid,” Quanell X, an activist, told The Dallas Morning News. “Whenever they are beating him, they are referring to him as Negro. Even here, when he is being punched, slapped [he is called] Negro. This is a disgrace.” The comic received such a backlash that WalMart decided to remove it from their shelves, saying in a statement: “…[W]e understand that Memin is a popular figure in Mexico. However, given the sensitivity to the negative image Memin can portray to some, we felt that it was best to no longer carry the item in our stores. We apologize to those customers who many have been offended….” The comic, originally published in the 1960s, has been very popular in Mexico for years, so much so that the government decided to issue a stamp commemorating Memin in 2005 – a decision didn’t sit well then with U.S. activists and politicians who said the character was racist. But the Mexican government thinks it’s a misunderstanding and that Americans just don’t understand the character’s cultural importance in their country. Do you think this Memin character is racist?
THIS IS NOT RACIST (NEGRO IS BLACK THATS WHAT IT MEANS IN SPANISH THERES A DIFFERENCE THAT WORD DOES NOT MEAN WHAT YOU GUYS THINK IT MEANS IN ENGLISH US LATINO PEOPLE DONT MEAN THAT IN A BAD WAY YOU TAKE IT IN A BAD WAY BECAUSE YOU DONT UNDERSTAND IT AND NOT WE DONT THINK WERE CLOSER TO THE WHITE PEOPLE THEY DONT LIKE US EITHER
i agree with jessie, this isn’t intended to be rasict, latinos have a very good sence of humor,an a lot of times the things we do or say aren’t ment to be taken so serious.people act like we get more respect than african americam people from white americans when all they do is consider us as “the help” and we opened our own doors and work so hard yet we still dont get as much respect as we should.
I personally never heard of this comic book. but to the person who spoke of curious George, That monkey is not depicted in a negative was. He’s just a monkey that gets into every little thing ! where as this monkey is being used in a negative sense. He’s called , a Negro and is treated wrong simply because he is suppose to be black. I don’t know much, but I know enough Mexican live here in the US that know the word Negro to us is not a good thing. Wal-mart could care less about who this degrades because for them it’s all about a dollar.I’m glad to know some one took the time to bring this out in the open.
If it’s about a Cuban boy, Cubans should be offended. While the artist is good at drawing, he/she along with the creator of that magazine is out of their minds if they believe they are addressing racism without being racist. And they are not bright at all if they believe these images teaches children intolerance. Besides corruption, could this be the reason why Mexico can’t take care of it’s people?
Really? hard to believe.i heard this news times from many friends playing on a tall dating site ~~~~~~~~Tallmingle.com~~~~~~~,i did not believe, i think that they are know nothing but dating and love.
i am wrong.
Thank u C for appreciating the history background that i brought to the table! I also agree of what u wrote in ur blog and it is a racist comic book!!!! Wow….in the 21st century and still dealing with stuff like this! how ridiculous!!!!!
I love this comic book, anyone who doesn’t like it needs to get an education. You people do nothing but complain, get a life.
FYI:
Wikipedia is NOT a reliable source of information. In academic and professional circles Wikipedia is NOT accepted as a documented and verifiable reference.
that iz so racist…
I AM SORRY BUT THAT MONKEY DO NOT LOOK LIKE A BLACK PERSON .
C
Next time pay a therapist cause this ain’t your personal blog.
well who said Mexicans couldn’t be racist? i mean we have overcome a lot but lets face it no matter you are racism is going to exist.
I think that it is racist but as someone previously stated there are many other larger issues that we should be concerned about.
im american and dont claim where my familw was FROM!!i claim where im at!!!ur not african american.ur American just like i am, u wanna be an individual do it in somethin else,but dont try to seperate wut makes america so great!Are u american or u still claimin where ur ancestors came from instead of where u came from.nobody here seems to believe in one nation under god.one nation one people.promote the peace
IF ITS ANYTHING I’M SICK AND TIRED OF IS PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT HOW GOOD MEXICANS ARE AND HOW HARD THEY WORK FOR CHANGE. HOW THEY DO JOBS BLACKS WANT DO THAT IS A BIG FAT ASS LIE. I KNOW A LOT OF MEXICAN SOME WORKED WITH ME WOULD NOT TAKE LESS THEN NINE DOLLARS A HOUR TO DO CERTAIN JOB. THATS WHAT AMERICA WANT US TO THINK THAT MEXICANS WORK FOR CORNBREAD. THEY FIGHT FOR UNIONS, THEY GET PAID THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE. THEY JUST WANT AMERICANS TO THINK THAT SINCE WE ARE SO DUMB WAKE UP AND SMELL THE MEXICAN PEOPLE. THEY ARE BEATING THE SYSTEM EVERYDAY AND HAVING BOAT LOADS OF BABIES SO THE CYCLE CAN CONTINUE. THATS WHAT WHITE AMERICA GET WITH THERE SMART ASSES. MEXICANS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE F150.
IAM PRAY FOR U
One of the first comments compared him to Curious George. I’m not going to lie, that’s possibly the most ignorant statement I’ve ever heard. That guy on the cover isn’t a monkey, it’s a Cuban boy, but they portray him as looking like a monkey. It’s offensive in my opinion.
To Anonymous, I will not. And I stand firm on what I said!
veryyy racist, but wa;mart are the ones should be sued for this kind of comic…
it’s interesting to see all of the racist comments. come on all you racist, you should just support one another. fools