No Laughing Matter

Ironically, the PTA of the most Mexican school in Santa Monica – Edison Language Academy -- is inviting to a fundraiser a Latino comic who has become rich and famous by putting down Mexicans in front of predominantly white audiences.

It is clearly hypocritical to raise funds for a bilingual education program by having Carlos Mencia at Barnum Hall this Sunday using the racist epithets (b*, w*b*, etc.) he is known to utilize in his comedy. For this reason, members of the Association of Mexican American Educators (AMAE) have decided to protest the comic.

After 1847 when racial epithets against Mexicans originated and flourished, the number of Mexicans lynched matched the number of blacks lynched in the South. Lynching and psychological terrorism was also a Mexican legacy.

In more modern periods, these slurs lose the original etymological context but retain the rancor of discrimination. Another problem is that Chicano/Latino youth, feeling alienated in schools and the curriculum, sometimes participate in using these words against themselves.

While his “Mind of Mencia” is widely watched, so was Sarah Palin. Mencia has made millions making a predominantly white male comedy audience comfortable with their racism. One Chicano pointed out to me that whereas George Lopez makes fun of Latinos he also uplifts Latinos; Mencia almost entirely relies on put-downs of Mexicans. Although he is half-Mexican, half-Honduran, he has an issue with positive Chicano identity.

As a contemporary of Mencia, I recall in high school during the conservative 1980’s, my friends calling each other “b**.” Their identity was influenced by Rambo, Robo-cop and Reagan. I was influenced by my older brother in college who had joined MEChA, the Chicano activist group.

In my first year in college a sorority girl called me this slur from a second story window; this led to the sorority’s windows being broken various times during that year (as a young man, my friends and I were not into writing letters to the editor).

Some are comparing Mencia’s use of the slur to Black youth’s appropriation of the n** word. Black and Chicano histories share experiences but are distinct. The n** word has a different meaning when used “in-house,” and even this use is controversial within the Black community. Mencia can take a cue, however, from the pioneering career of Richard Pryor.

Like Malcolm X and Mohammed Ali before him, after taking a trip to Africa in the 70’s, Pryor experienced a transformative sense of African history and pride, and dropped the use of the n** word from his act. This was a political decision and gesture that requires learning, reflection and action.

Mencia needs to read some history and see his responsibility to his Latino audience. While AMAE does not want to undermine fundraising for the most Latino (63%) and lowest funded elementary school in Santa Monica, we also refuse to condone racism.

Edison’s principal and PTA should’ve been more thoughtful. Maybe Mencia will cut out his anti-Mexican slurs in Santa Monica, or entirely. Maybe we’ll all stop laughing at racism.. Maybe the school district will fund all schools equally and champion a culturally relevant curriculum. But that is not my decision.

The role of AMAE is to advocate for Latino students, teachers and community, and to participate in dialogue about public policy. For those who disagree, we can continue the discussion outside Barnum Hall on Sunday.

Respectfully,