Posted on 07/01/2005 2:15:29 PM PDT by Pharmboy
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Hundreds of people lined up at Mexico City's main post office on Friday, some waiting hours to buy postage stamps featuring a black comic book character that U.S. leaders have called racist. The series of five stamps released Wednesday depicts the Memin Pinguin character, a hapless boy drawn with exaggerated features, thick lips and wide-open eyes. His appearance, speech and mannerisms are the subject of kidding by white characters in the comic book, which started in the 1940s and is still published in Mexico.
The stamps have become a symbol of resentment that the United States - where Mexicans have long faced discrimination - would dare to accuse Mexico of racism.
"They're the racists. They're worse than we are, but they just want to belittle us, like always," said Cesar Alonso Alvarado, 53, a businessman among the hundreds of people waiting in line to buy stamps. Alvarado said he started reading the comic at age 10, and denies it is racist.
Memin and the artist who draws him, Sixto Valencia, were lionized on Mexican television news programs.
People were also drawn to the post office by reports that full sheets of the 6.50-peso (60-cent) stamps were being offered on the Internet auction site eBay for as much as $200 each or more.
"They're paying $120 for them in the United States," said Luis Guillen, 66, when asked why he had bought several sheets. Responding to the accusations of racism, he responded: "What about all the waiters, and servants, and dumb depictions of blacks in old American movies?"
The stamps were released just weeks after Mexican President Vicente Fox angered U.S. blacks by saying Mexican migrants take jobs in the United States that "not even blacks" want.
Fox, in an interview with the Associated Press on Friday, rejected U.S. claims that the stamp is racist, saying critics should read the beloved comic book on which it is based before they make judgments.
Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar, said Mexico is "by no means" considering the possibility of withdrawing the stamp.
Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez called the criticisms "a total lack of respect for our culture."
Stamp collector Enrique Gutierrez, 41, waited 2 1/2 hours before he proudly came away with one sheet.
"It's just a cartoon," he said, recommending Americans "not be so closed-minded."
Umm, they are old.
This is new.
Send in the Marines...again.
Don't Palestinians deny that killing Jews is racist? It seems to me there's a similar phenomenon developing between Mexicans and blacks, as if the Mexicans feel they have a manifest destiny to replace and displace the black population.
They are evidently too limited to understand that was then, this is now.
""It's just a cartoon," he said, recommending Americans "not be so closed-minded.""
W
T
F
OVER?!?!?
We're called evil racists all over the freeking planet by freind and foe alike, but that little pissant country south of me has the effing maracas to say somethinf like this over some VALID criticism!? Eff Them.
The U.S. should just create a stamp of the Frito Bandito.
Well put!
LOL! AHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAAAAA!!! Thanks, I seriesly needed that, I was beeber-stuned.
Thanks. Y'know, I can take the crap most of the time, but this just lit the ol' fuse.
I say Jesse Jackson, et. al. and Mexico deserve each other. Have at it!
Use the one from Taco Bell that was eating a taco and got it all over his bullets and everything.
Are you kidding? I didn't see a sarcasm tag...
The stamps look Al Jolson-like, complete with Mammy in the background. If it weren't for the mammy, I would have thought the character was a monkey. "Cute animal" nothing. I'd be insulted if I were a black person.
Animals??
Now you have done it!
I could see why they get bent out of shape.
I took a college history class that covered WWI to today. Our teacher who was a big time liberal who had a mustache Freddy Mercury would envy who showed us a film that was supposed to show how insensative we were in the 50's or so. The film showed cartoon characters from that era. I took the class with a friend and we laughed so hard, the teacher had to stop the film half way through. He was so PO'd we were so insensative. Wish I had a copy of the film now.
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