Here is No Why

<-Hall of Fame |Main|"Oh, He Couldn't Bring the Columns Down, He Couldn't Destroy a Single One"->

Great--Now Everyone Thinks Mexicans Are Idiots

March 22, 2007 3:37 PM

'm sure many of you have been keeping up to date with the U.S. Attorney scandal centering on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. To recap briefly, certain members of Congress (mostly, but not exclusively, Democrats), are upset at the firing of several U.S. Attorneys throughout the country. Although the attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and, theoretically, can be hired and fired completely on the president's whim, the Attorney General has been accused of firing certain employees solely because they were not sufficiently loyal to the Bush Administration.

Mr. Gonzales, for his part, has admitted that he made misrepresentations to Congress and that he didn't oversee the process closely enough. Still, he has refused to admit any overt wrongdoing and has attempted to shift most of the blame to Karl Rove and other senior White House advisers. It's an interesting story, and it'll be really interesting to see how it plays out.

But that's not the point of my post today. While reading cnn.com, I found this column by Ruben Navarrette, Jr. Frankly, I find Mr. Navarrette's entire column, and indeed the very premise of his article, to be stupid and borderline offensive.

Mr. Navarrette is a second-generation Mexican American, at least according to the bio here. That this would inform his political outlook is to be expected. What is neither expected or excusable, however, is the tone of his column, which suggests that the Mexican American community votes as a block, that we do so based on who can pander to us most effectively, and that we're so blindly self-interested that we'd hold a grudge against a politician that supports investigating a politician's questionable activities.

The column's opening line is absurd: "In the flap over the ousted U.S. attorneys, Alberto Gonzales has been hoisted up as a political piñata." Yeah, ok, we get it--you're Mexican, Mr. Gonzales is Mexican. Do we really need the gratuitous piñata reference? That sentence sets the tone for the rest of the column. Mr. Navarrette argues that the calls for Mr. Gonzales's resignation are motivated, at least in part, by his race. And he concludes by saying that Mexicans will keep this in mind in 2008. The point? That you'd better be careful when holding a Mexican American public official accountable; otherwise, you'll have one of the largest voting blocks in the country pissed at you.

As a Mexican American, I'm ashamed that Mr. Navarrette made this argument. I admit that I was very happy to see President Bush appoint Mr. Gonzales. However, that has never clouded my judgment about Mr. Gonzales's job performance. The guy, whether he's intelligent or not, is a terrible Attorney General. I mean, the guy has supported America's use of torture. TORTURE! And he's made the unbelievably laughable argument that, since it merely prohibits the government from removing the right to habeas corpus, the Constitution doesn't guarantee that right. I firmly believe that, if you attempted to make that argument in court, you'd not only get laughed out of the room, you'd get hit with sanctions. It's a completely ridiculous contention.

My point here is not that Mr. Navarrette isn't entitled to his opinion. My point is simply that, if you're going to defend Mr. Gonzales, there are any number of ways to do so without bringing race into the picture. By accusing Mr. Gonzales's detractors of acting solely out of racial animus, Mr. Navarrette undermines not only his own credibility, but that of all successful people who happen to be members of a minority group. It's fair to criticize Mr. Gonzales, that much must be admitted. Even if Mr. Gonzales is actually innocent of any wrongdoing, the burden is on him to prove that to the satisfaction of Congress and the country--the fact that this happened while he was the person in charge of the Department is enough to put the burden on him.

By blindly asserting what is, essentially, the "vast racist conspiracy" defense, a defense for which I see no support, Mr. Navarrette is isolating not only Mr. Gonzales or all Mexican Americans, but all minorities. The fact of the matter is that Mr. Gonzales is not less qualified for the job of Attorney General than a white person simply by virtue of his racial background. But neither is he morequalified. And Mr. Gonzales's race cannot insulte him from criticism--and it should not be argued that it can or should.

Members of minority groups can be extremely successful, given the chance. I don't think anyone out there would disagree with me. And if you do, fuck you. But if we are to credible in our success, we must be accountable, and we must refrain from asserting that our detractors are criticizing us just because they're racists. The fact of the matter is that the vast majority of people are not racists, and insisting that our all of our detractors are always biggots only damages us.

Yes, some politicians show up on Cinco de Mayo in sombreros and panchos and try to be Mexican. But I have the utmost faith that Mexican Americans can, for the most part, tell the sincere candidates from the complete phonies. And I have equal faith that Mexican Americans will not stand blindly behind a disgraceful, dishonorable politician simply because that politician is "one of us." That Mr. Navarrette would imply otherwise is reprehensible.

4 Comments

TheExpat said:

Right on Ismael. I'm tired of this continually cynical bent that Gonzales and his supporters either allude to or drag right out into the open and hide under: The Race Card. Oh please, like it even holds up in his case. Besides, to argue that one man is representative of "his race" is not only thoroughlly simple-minded, it's un-American. Well, at least I know ONE Mexican in this argument who isn't stupid, Ismael.

March 23, 2007 2:52 AM

Dee said:

Now?

ok, sorry. i think this guy reveals himself as being painfully ignorant. gonzales is probably, what, the ninth person in the Bush administration that people have demanded a resignation from--it just goes to show that the author simply wasn't paying attention until now. probably because Ashcroft, Rumsfeld etc aren't hispanic.

March 23, 2007 10:28 AM

morenonesense said:

Ismael, I think it is horribly racist of you to point out that being an Italian-American, I cannot use the race card simply because it would be ricockulous. What type of world are we living in were we cannot make baseless claims?

March 23, 2007 12:27 PM

TheExpat said:

Morenonsense,

You, me and the devil in the deep blue sea can make all the baseless claims we want, but if by some chance of fate you were elected to public office, I think Patty and the Wetbacks could all agree it'd be time to stuff your Dago Bullshit where the sun don't shine and man up about things.

March 26, 2007 3:37 AM