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Getting drunk in a sombrero is not "celebrating" Mexican culture.
Hmmm............you don't think the original wearers of sombreros frequently got drunk on tequila much like American cowboys wearing their version of cowboy hats frequently got drunk on whiskey?
That seems kind of naïve to me.
And surely both instances are a part of American and Mexican culture. Not the sum total, but a part.
This party wasn't remotely even trying to celebrate Mexican culture. If you want to drink tequila, just drink tequila. No need to parade around in sombreros to get drunk. I am not Mexican, but if my goal was to celebrate Mexico I'd learn more about tequila, bring in lots of types to compare: aged, unaged, mezcal. Learn about appropriate accompaniments and have food from different regions clearly articulated.
Their goal was to throw down tequila shots. No need to say that was Mexicans. No one doing vodka shots is talking about how they are celebrating Russian culture.
You don't really know whether or not they were celebrating other facets of Mexican or Latin culture. The host was apparently half Columbian.
All we have seen is the pic on face book which showed the tiny sombreros and the info they were drinking tequila as well as the inference from the invite that it was indeed a fiesta even though they didn't call it that.
We have no knowledge if there was food, music, dancing, other symbols/costumes etc of related culture involved.
Given they are college students I agree their primary purpose was probably drinking. No sin there really as that is a rite of passage at most colleges.
Your idea of the perfect party to celebrate Mexican culture is far removed from the sensibilities and maybe even the resources available to these kids. Some of them no doubt are 1-10%ers, but even that doesn't mean they have unlimited funds to purchase multiple types of tequila lol.
How many different brands of tequila would make it a culturally appropriate celebration? Get real.
As for doing vodka shots and celebrating Russian culture, you would be wrong again.
First, the college sponsored some Cold War party with a wall between two of their houses where people did wear Russian fur hats. I doubt there were vodka shots at the official party, but I have no doubt some of those people wandered off after the parties end and did vodka shots in Russian hats later lol.
Anyway, I don't need to be sure of that, because I myself have worn a Russian fur hat provided to me by a real Russian immigrant while doing vodka shots and celebrating other food and music related to Russian culture. Some people(Russians) were homesick, but none were offended and a great time was had by all whether they were recent Russian immigrants or other versions of Americans.
someone once urinated in a cross....and the liberals celebrated this as "art"
yes,,many Christians were offended,,,,but nobody cared,
where was the "sensitivity" towards the Christians?????
yep its pc nonsense
for the future......make up your own holiday/festivities to celebrate..
the left/dems/liberals, are the easily offended...
unless its against white Christians ...then its freedom of speech
White Christians have more power and money than any other group in this country. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, it's unseemly. And pathetic.
By the way, I'm a white Christian. And a left wing Democrat. And worse yet, one of those trade unionists too, you know, a "put it on the check" liberal--the kind your corporate bosses fear far more than they fear economically non threatening "social" liberals.
When are you social conservatives going to wake up to the fact that your biggest enemies are the economic conservatives? The greatest force in this country for social change is capitalism--that's what destroyed the family farm (and the family), weakened faith in religion, encourages Godless materialism, turns sex into a consumer product and sells you social conservatives down the river every time. Get wise.
That's the problem with this story, IMO. These sorority sisters decided to hold a party for themselves and their non-Mexican friends that parodied and stereotyped Mexican culture only because the alcohol being served was tequila. There was no celebration of Mexican culture, just drinking. The sorority is linked to Bowdoin, and its actions reflect on the school, so it's very different than if 10 friends got together and had a tequila party where some wore sombreros.
As someone who is partly of Italian ancestry, I'm offended by the near universal portrayal of identifiable Italian-Americans in movies and on TV as Sicilian Mafasios. That's not even what 1% of Italian Americans are or have been, but that's what we're always shown as in the media. So, yeah, I can see where some/many Latinos would be offended that a bunch of well-off non-Latinos in a school sponsored sorority decided to make a mockery of their culture.
When I struggle to find the more respectful words to talk about a group to which I do not belong, I find out where my own prejudices are. I think I'm a better person for knowing where my blind spots are. I can only work on myself when I know that.
The shocking bunch of racists and cultural appropriation robbing sorority girls held a "tequila party" and since tequila comes from Mexico naturally there were some sombreros there which were actually worn by the non latino girls. I know how dare they do that! Well some latino students were very upset by this and complained and now the girls are facing disciplinary actions.
The last time I went to a mexican restaurant I remember seeing sombreros and other "mexican" decore hanging on the walls but since no one took those down and wore them I guess that is OK?
ST Patricks day is right around the corner and I'm sure the local Walmart will be selling all sorts of junk including T shirts that poke fun at Irish people having drinking problems. One that is funny shows a bunch of people in weird positions passed out over beer kegs etc.. and the shirt says "Irish Yoga". My wife who is from Ireland doesn't appreciate it.
I think the Irish shirts are much more offensive then several girls wearing hats at a party.
Lets not forget that Cinco De Mayo is also coming up so who will be offended by that?
Lets not even talk about the super offensive religious day called Easter!
When will this silly PC nonsense end?
St. Patrick's Day is big where I live. I have never seen an insulting or derogatory Irish t-shirt or anything. And I wouldn't approve. We do a parade, and a festival with food and lots of local Irish musicians. It is uplifting and celebrates Irishness.
As for the sombreros, if that is the only thing the girls did, that is ridiculous to complain abut that. I don't get the criticism over that. I'm wondering if there was more to it.
The term "political correctness" is, by definition, phrases or actions used to refrain from causing offense.
In practice, when someone says "political correctness" they are almost always referring to such phrases and actions meant not to cause offense except when they agree with said practice.
Here's an example:
When religion is portrayed negatively in fiction (television, a book, by a comedian) and the usual suspects object, those people never consider their objections - which are demands to refrain from offense-causing criticism of religion - to be political correctness.
Another example:
When Rush Limbaugh referred to liberals as 'retards', Sarah Palin pitched a fit, taking offense because she has a child with Down Syndrome. Her demand that 'retard' not be used as an insult is the very definition of political correctness, but neither Palin nor her followers - the same crowd that incessantly carps about the boogeyman of political correctness - consider it to be political correctness.
And why do these people never consider their own political correctness to be such? Because their self-absorbed definition of political correctness is this: "The modification of speech or actions so as to not cause offense - except when I agree that it's offense."
This same crowd likes to pretend that this sort of thing - which is really nothing more than social norms - is something new. It's not. Why did some television stations (mostly in the South) refuse to air the episode of Star Trek where Kirk (a white man) and Uhuru (a black woman) kiss? Because it was seen as offensive. Political correctness in action. Why did the Cincinnati baseball team change their name from 'Reds' to 'Redlegs' in the McCarthyist 1950s? Too avoid offending those who saw commies lurking behind every bush (and in every dugout) - again, political correctness. Why did the Hays Code (the set of rules for motion pictures enforced by the studios from the early 1930s to the mid-1960s) prohibit negative portrayals of the clergy, law enforcement, or the institution of marriage (among a great many other limitations)? So as to not offend sensibilities - once again, political correctness. The list is endless.
I have yet to meet someone who is genuinely offended by political correctness. The people who say they are, in fact are not - they just don't like political correctness when they disagree with what it targets, but like it just fine when they agree with where it's directed.
I totally agree.
People tend to pick and choose as it suits their agenda.
Huh? Can you expand on this, because I don't have a clue what you mean by that statement.
Plus, I don't see the relevance of what someone does when they are in a particular country vs when they are in their own country representing or celebrating some other culture.
I mean if you wanted to have a Thai themed party or celebrate Thai culture for some reason, there isn't necessarily a Thai person around the corner in every American city to ask sincerely what that should look like.
You originally asked, "Who is the arbiter of the appropriate celebration of Mexican culture?"
I responded that it isn't a question of "who". It's a question of "what" constitutes a meaningful celebration of Mexican culture.
Let's go back to the Ireland example. I'm of Irish ancestry, but never celebrated St. Patrick's Day. Because, going out and getting drunk has NOTHING TO DO WITH celebrating another culture. When I would get handed that crap, I would ask friends to name the capital of Ireland. Tell me the difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Point to Ireland and Northern Ireland on an unlabeled map. They virtually never could. But they thought that getting drunk with green beer somehow celebrated the culture of a people.
Same idea with Mexican culture.
Same with Thai culture.
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