Let them eat tacos!

I consider myself an advocate of social justice for all and wish to fight against inequality and injustice wherever I see it in the world. However, this can be a tricky situation, especially on social media. Classmates, friends, family members, acquaintances, friends of friends all post things that are on their minds. When is it appropriate to confront someone about something they posted? How is it best to do this? I would argue that our goal should always be to educate, never to condemn. I'm passionate about issues related to race, sexual orientation, language, religion, ability, age, and gender. Given that my career aspirations revolve around doing the work of promoting social justice, I may be more sensitive to/conscious of issues involving these subjects. Sometimes it can be hard for me to contain my enthusiasm, therefore I am creating this blog as an outlet. I'm not saying I will be 100% right, 100% of the time. I'm bound to have typos, so don't bother copy-editing my posts, I know I'm not perfect. Also, I'm not saying that my way is the only correct way to think about these issues, and my reasoning may have flaws in it at times, but this is my attempt to promote social justice, one post at a time.

This article from the Western Journalism Center recently came up on my Facebook timeline (http://www.westernjournalism.com/serio)sly-eating-food-now-considered-racist/#6hkJoAza8Cxl2wZU.01). The Western Journalism Center is self-described as "a blogging platform for conservative, libertarian, free market and pro-family writers and broadcasters" (http://www.westernjournalism.com/about/). In the article, one account of what happened surrounding the event Pi Phiesta is given. What appears to be an irrelevant stock image of aisles of food at some kind of convenience store is featured at the top of the article. Throughout the article, the word "some" is used several times. For instance, "some radical leftists," "some thought the trend could not get more bizarre," and "what some considered an offensive gesture." I'm sure we all use the word some in daily conversation. However, do we ever stop to think about what this word does in instances such as the ones highlighted above? Who are these elusive "some?" Are they credible? What stake do they have in this discussion? Exactly how many "some" are there? 

The "outrage" mentioned in the article is described as "manufactured," suggesting that it has been invented or fabricated and that it is not real. The philanthropic event's charitable roots are highlighted, promoting the idea of the event as good and the backlash as bad. It is said that the event raises a "significant amount of money for charity," however the amount and the charity are not mentioned. The fundraiser is said to be "under fire," creating a metaphorical image of a war zone, effectively dramatizing the current situation. We hear from one individual, a writer from The College Fix; however, the voices of those opposed to the event and members of the involved sorority are silenced or at least disregarded. 

The Stanford Daily, the campus newspaper at Stanford University, one of the main sites of this confrontation, posted two articles about the Pi Phiesta debate (http://www.stanforddaily.com/2014/05/06/cincOo-de-mayo-observances-cause-student-protests/ and http://www.stanforddaily.com/2014/05/07/pi-phi-fundraiser-opens-up-culture-minded-dialogue/). These articles featured the voices of those involved in the protest, as well as witnesses of the confrontations that occurred related to the protest, and the Pi Beta Phi president. These articles focused more directly on what occurred on Stanford's campus related to this event and the hopeful resolution that was reached as a result of conversation between the sorority and those concerned about the event's cultural sensitivity. One of these articles (Cinco de Mayo Observances Cause Student Protests) even featured a picture of one of the student protesters with her sign which read, "Our culture is not a costume."

Now I love tacos, margaritas, tamales, enchiladas, tequila, and salsa as much as the next person, and the good news is that you get to keep loving these amazing foods and drinks! I'm going on the record here saying that it is not racist to love Mexican-inspired food. Phew! Thank goodness for that! One of the Stanford Daily articles (Cinco de Mayo Observances Cause Student Protests) offered a definition of cultural appropriation. "Cultural appropriation refers to actions that trivialize aspects of a culture by not respecting a custom's symbolic significance or the history of a style of dress or other artifact." The issue is not with non-Mexican people eating Mexican-inspired food... in fact, most of my friends from other countries LOVE to share their food and customs with others. The problem lies with how we treat others and their beliefs. We wear sombreros, ponchos, and fake mustaches pretending to be a caricature of another person. I know quite a few people from Mexico, and I can honestly say I have never seen them dress this way. We get drunk and act stupid and say we're celebrating Mexico, yet we have very little concern with what actually occurs in our neighboring country and are currently involved in a fight to keep Mexico's people out of our nation. We speak Spanglish, but when our nation's epidemic monolingualism is challenged we maintain that English is the only language that matters and even argue that our patriotic songs should never be sung in any other language. The problem is not tacos. The problem is disrespect and ignorance. So next year on May 5th (or better yet, this year on September 16th, Mexico's actual independence day), have a taco, but please do so with only your real facial hair and your regular clothing... and while you're at it, make a friend from Mexico and learn what it really means to be Mexican.