Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Racist or Life teacher


A popular Mexican comic-book character whose been around for generations is now considered racist in the US of A.

For 60 years, Memin Pinguin has been a funny character in Mexican comics. But when Wal-Mart received copies of "Memin for President", shoppers were stunned. But who is Memin?
According to CNN, Memin is a poor Cuban-Mexican kid with bug eyes, thick lips and protruding ears. The mischievous and caring boy helps his mother by selling newspapers and shining shoes.

Okay, so he cares for his family and willing to help out as possible. Many Mexicans view Memin as a lovable character, while others see him as a Sambo-like kid. I don't know anything about Memin, however I can see both sides. He does resemble the Sambo characters of our past and if anyone saw him at 1st glance, would think it's a racial attack. But he's apart of another culture that thinks of him as Bugs Bunny. So, this is an interesting dilemma here, folks.

This isn't Memin's 1st time at the controversy fair. Three years ago, a series of Mexican stamps honoring Memin started an international uproar. The stamps were discontinued because of protests from Black leaders. But I have to wonder, have there been any dialogue about this character? Or any references to Sambo? I don't believe there's any harm intended, but there should be some awareness about his image and the impact it can have.

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Viktor is a small town southern boy living in Los Angeles. You can find him on Twitter, writing about pop culture, politics, and comics. He’s the creator of the graphic novel StrangeLore and currently getting back into screenwriting.