The Media's Latino Rules

It is estimated that about 80% of Latinos voted for then City Councilman now Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa when he first ran. I was in the 20% that didn't. Over the years I have treated the Mayor on my show as I have treated all elected officials or candidates regardless of their party affiliation or race. That is: when they do something good I encourage it and when they are doing dumb things I say so. I am -- in this order -- an American, a Latino , a progressive, and finally a Democrat.

I say this so that you can understand that my reaction to Rush Limbaugh's comment that he mistook Mayor Villaraigosa as a "shoeshine guy" is not a knee-jerk reaction based on partisanship. It is a reaction as an American of Latino decent that quite frankly is tired of the media's Latino rules.

As a member of the largest minority ethnic group and a member of the media, I am continually puzzled and outraged by the idea that anyone can say anything about Latinos without fearing any consequence. While it would be out outrageous for anybody to have said a similar thing about an elected official of almost any other ethnicity, Rush will certainly not receive any heat at all for supposedly "mistaking" the Latino Mayor of the nation's second largest city as a shoeshine guy.

There will be no national debate about whether he should step down as there was when Imus referred to a women's basketball team in a derogatory fashion. There will be no national outrage like there was following the racist vocal vomiting of "comedian" Michael Richards. There will be no slam down and painful lame excuses like those offered by Mel Gibson after his anti-Semitic comments. The rules for Latinos are different.

Rush, Lou Dobbs, and a host of shock jocks are well aware of this different set of rules. Dobbs & Rush inc. can freely accuse Latinos of spreading Leprosy and TB, of raping children, and even planning the violent overthrow of the US, without any proof whatsoever.

While the silence around these comments is consistent, media heads are wrong to believe that they bring no negative impact. Someday, CNN will understand that most Latinos laugh when we hear the slogan " the most trusted name in news". Radio advertisers will eventually come to the realization that there is a correlation between radio market share loss, the growth of Latino populations in certain and important markets, and anti-Latino hate speech dominating the airwaves.

It seems that there is a growing consensus that we have moved past the stage of asking media figures to be removed for racism and sexism, a consensus of which I find myself to be a part. In place of firing Rush & Dobb Inc., broadcast outlets must be pressured to increase racial diversity and diversity of opinion on their platforms. How those diversity standards are enforced should be voluntary. However if voluntary action is not taken now, future majorities may act legislatively. Broadcast outlets should remember that in America, shoeshine guys elect members of Congress and their sons and daughters sometimes even become them.

Mario Solis-Marich is a radio talk show host that can be heard at www.GoToMario.com.

Comments

[Nezua]

When I walked into NYU in 1998 to hand in my Creative Portfolio, the woman asked me if she needed to sign for it or anything. I just didn't understand what she meant. Then she got embarrassed. It's true I wasn't dressed spiffy. I have ink on my arms. Delivery boy!

[liberalghost]

Duh? Did you say you're submitting your creative portfoilo as required, or just say, "Here."

"...ink on my arms..." Tattoos? I'd have a low opinion of you too. Ya see, I'M ENTITLED TO MY OPINION! You don't like it? Tough. Cuz that's only *YOUR* opinion of my opinion. See how it works?

Oh, and BTW, not getting a receipt signature for your portfolio was dumb. What if it had been lost? Could you prove you submitted anything?

[Mack20]

As usual Casper, you miss the point. People, or rather humans, make snap judgments and assumptions all the time. Here are a couple in my typical day: I'm in business to business sales and wear a suit and tie (and a trench coat in the winter) everyday. I have customers in our county courthouse and am constantly asked if I am a lawyer. Should I be offended or flattered? At the grocery I'm frequently mistaken for the store manager. It's a lot of fun to play along. It's even more fun when two of us are working together and we pretend were from the IRS or even FBI. No one has ever gotten mad that I remember.

I’ll bet you get mistaken for a thoughtful and caring professor whose “open” lectures provoke thought and ideas from all political flavors. Discussion and debate are encouraged while a one sided view by the host is avoided. And then reality sets in as students race to beat the drop date. By mid-term, your class has shrunk by 30-40%.
I'm sure in your classroom your opinion is the only one.

[Durango]

Is it just me, or is there anyone else out there that thinks this post fails to make a lick of sense?

What in the Hell is he talking about?

[stubbhead]

Thank you. I believe (and hope) I am a little more aware as a result of reading your powerful article.

[metropolitan]

i remember as a young boy phil collin's band had a hit song "illegal alien" which had him singing in a thick cartoon mexican accent while in the video the band members are dressed like "funny" mexican peasants. i was totally outraged but of course no one else seemed to care. the song was a hit and the video was on MTV on heavy rotation for months. would that have happened if phill collins had donned blackface?

[Maanu]

Whatever happened to going after sponsors? Another angle, which could help a number of matters, is going after these ever-more-powerful media conglomerates who employ these blow hards. Yet another incident analogous to racism's inherent projection. Rush said he looks like a shoe shine guy. Rush works on RADIO for a good reason. Have you seen him? Now, have you seen Villaragosa? I'm done.

[TexMex]

Well what about the disgrace of the national association of Hispanic Journalists giving Lou Dobbs national life time membership.........
may 8......
An article in the Spanish-language newspaper El Diario La Prensa y notes that the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) has accepted CNN host Lou Dobbs as a national lifetime member. A lifetime membership costs $1,000; Dobbs donated $5,000. NAHJ president Rafael Olmeda tried to justify Dobbs’s membership:

Shameful!!!!
Talk about vendidos!
I refused to renew my membership.