Yanga…the first slave revolt in Veracruz right after the Spanish…SO CALLED CONQUEST.

And as far as here in Mexico we ” blacks” love Memin…dont generalize. Its a caricature of what real dignity and respect should be to a race…any race.

If Hispanics refuse to change with this new world then like so many of the white whiner-class you will be condemned to a future where you bitch and moan non-stop that your favorite racist caricatures of yesteryear are being taken away. For you this racism is a comforting reminder that there’s people who are meant to be beneath you. And you can’t believe those people would fight back.
Shows how “stoopid” you are.

Anyone who thinks racism went away with Obama’s election needs to read this thread and see the strident racism on display. We see the same old feeble attempts to excuse racism: “Anyone who doesn’t like this is the racist!” “Whatever happened to the First Amendment?” “Black people pulling the race card!”
Why is it whenever racism gets exposed we see a parade of whites frothing at the mouth and barking like dogs demanding that hate speech is merely free speech? This isn;t racism from “everyone,” it is specific to whites and hispanics. Notice we reference WHITE and MEXICAN cartoons lampooning blacks, NEVER the other way around? We will call a spade a spade. The reason we even have to have this discussion is because we gave anti-black speech a free pass. No more.

Whites and Hispanics are so warped in their thinking (?) that they rush to defend a blatantly racist cartoon character as if their very lives depended on it. You would think that somebody sodomized their child the way they’re gong on.
Look blacks have dismissed your predictable and weak defense of the indefensible. And that seems to be the main problem Memin’s fan club has: they are SO angry that their “right” to buy their racist rag anywhere anytime they want has been abridged. Worse, that people –especially BLACK people!!!– are allowed to speak against it and –horrors of horrors!!– actually DO something about it!
What kind of world do we live in where peolpe can protest imagery that dehumanizes them and actually get it removed?
What’s next? Full voting rights for all races?

Al Jolson was around 60 years ago and it was wrong then too. Seems everyone is entitled to demand respect except blacks. We will not only demand respect but will punish you if you don’t give it. So I say to you, “GET OVER IT!”

Mexico had African American president 200 hundred years before United States if you don´t believe look for Vicente Guerrero Biography He was one of the first presidents in Mexico her mother was spanish and her father african, He was not only president, He is one of the most important part of Independence of Mexico

And always loved his Mother “His Ma’Linda” (slang for Beautiful Mom)…and they were always showing the importance of Friendship & how the Blond Rich boy learned to appreciate his friend without thinking of skin color or social status. THAT IS MEMÍN PINGÜÍN!

And speaking about racism…We Latin American/Hispanics we are always been seeing by North Americans (not all North Americans) like inferior but we had proved that we can be as good or better than anyone. Here in Puerto Rico, we don’t see Memín as racist because we aren’t completely white, we have Black people, Meztiso, ..we are a Blend from African, Spaniard & our Natives : The Taínos.

Thanks.

And always loved his Mother “His Ma’Linda” (slang for Beautiful Mom)…and they were always showing the importance of Friendship & how the Blond Rich boy learned to appreciate his friend without thinking of skin color or social status. THAT IS MEMÍN PINGÜÍN!

And speaking about racism…We Latin American/Hispanics we are always been seeing by North Americans (not all North Americans) like inferior but we had proved that we can be as good or better than anyone. Here in Puerto Rico, we don’t see Memín as racist because we aren’t completely white, we have Black people, Meztiso, ..we are a Blend from African, Spaniard & our Natives : The Taínos.

Thanks.

Agreed, or rant about it and/or the silly circumstances which preceded whatever their decision may be.

You’d have to be remarkably entrenched in your own, tiny world view not to see that a) in Mexico, this kind of imagery is not historically racist; and b) you are bringing your own cultural baggage to the proceedings. Most Americans are way too thin-skinned and defensive when it comes to issues of race or racism, and do everything in their power to not appear as such (especially white Americans). As others in this thread have said (and I can only speak for Mexico here), Mexico never had any Jim Crow laws, the Spanish abolished slavery in Mexico in 1811 without the need for a civil war, and most of our races and ethnicities are pretty well mixed. Our divisions come from class and wealth, not race. It is quite possible for two brown-skinned Mexicans to have one dark-skinned child who can pass as black and one light skinned-child who can pass as white, and they’re all going to read Memin Pinguin (as well as have pet names for each other like “negrito” and “guero”).

So, while Memin Pinguin may seem racist to Americans steeped in racism (though not necessarily racist themselves), it simply is not in Mexico. It’s not viewed that way by any segment of the population.

All that said, Wal-Mart gets to choose what to sell and what not to sell in its stores, for whatever reason, and consumers will either applaud and continue shopping or boo and hiss and go somewhere else. That’s the beauty of capitalism. If Wal-Mart does not satisfy your need for Memin Pinguin, please visit any of the thousands and thousand of bodegas around the country who will no doubt carry Memin Pinguin as well as many other Mexican comics (like my personal favorite Condorito).

Well, agreed that she doesn’t have the right to dictate what Wal-Mart sells. She doesn’t have that right, or that power. As you noted, she does have the right to free speech, and to use that free speech to object to what that Wal-Mart is carrying. People do that all the time, with private businesses, public libraries, schools, etc., on all manner of political or religious grounds. They can either choose to capitulate or not. You could use your free speech to protest their decision to pull the comic book, if you like.

I don’t see how that’s “racist”. I see how it’s a stereotypical portrayal, but I don’t see any racism present. I see how someone could be offended, but I don’t see any reason to remove it from the store. The kid looks human to me. I wouldn’t say the other two characters are in a “realistic style”, but I do think the Memin character is exaggerated.

“However, it must be pointed out that the woman who found Memin in her local Wal-Mart is not complaining about the use of Memin in Mexican culture, but its presence in HER community.”

That doesn’t give her to right to dictate what they sell at the local Wal-Mart. She has the right to not shop there anymore though, and I would encourage her to exercise that right. She has already utilized her right to free speech.

You don’t? Really? How about this, specifically. Take a close look at that cover. See how the two white characters are drawn in a realistic style? Then look at Memin. See how his racial physiogamy is caricatured to an extent that he’s barely even recognizable as a homo sapien? Well, I think that’s what Heidi’s getting at re: “the historical racist imagery inherent in this character.” Specifically.

Also, while the particular story used to illustrate this post may have an anti-racist message, I don’t believe it’s actually the story in question in the Wal-Mart case.

“Memín preached for equality of all people when most of your parents or grandparents would even think about it.”

Come on now. Even Memin’s defender Adalisa Zárate says that this story was one of only three out of 200+ issues that even touched on the issue of Memin’s race. That’s nice, but it hardly seems like the series (which, admittedly, I’ve never read) has racial equality as some sort of ongoing, underlying theme.

Also, I doubt that Memin’s creators based his depiction specifically on Will Eisner’s Ebony. The Spirit wasn’t that widespread in the U.S., was it even seen in Mexico? I don’t give Eisner a pass on Ebony, but he didn’t create that caricature. That visual imagery evolved long before Eisner put pen to paper.

“Or probably this a true case of cultural difference when neither size actually understands the other or want too, as it looks to me that every side is thinking the issue in completely different channels.”

Well, I guess I agree with this, to an extent, since we’ve now heard from several people from South of the Border who seem to share a basic opinion on the character. However, it must be pointed out that the woman who found Memin in her local Wal-Mart is not complaining about the use of Memin in Mexican culture, but its presence in HER community. You can defend or justify the character’s place in Mexican culture – I honestly don’t know enough about Mexican culture to comment on that, and I’ll take your word for it, I guess – but if I’m willing to do that, then you must be willing to acknowledge how the character is seen over here, especially by African-Americans.