I’ve noticed that many Spanish journalists seem to have a vision of America that they have a hard time letting go of. The vision they are clinging to so tightly is one of a fundamentally racist American society. I guess this view makes them feel comfortable, maybe a little superior, and probably safe in their own prejudices and long held beliefs. They really seem to be obsessed with race. Well, at least race in America.
When I read articles like this one from El Pais, I can’t help thinking that the writer had to go out of his way to find what he was looking for. He quotes Harley Davidson riders in the deep South, Rednecks in a gun store, and mentions the KKK several times like it actually has any relevance anymore. Maybe I’m crazy and I probably have been living in a racially mixed society for too long, but in my American world people are not running around talking about the colors of the candidates. They are talking ideology, experience, our taxes – the usual stuff.
There are also some quotes that are real gems in this article too:
“If God was black and Satan was white, there would be Americans willing to forget heaven and burn in hell at the hand of the white demon.”
And I love this one – the obligatory dig at fatso Americans:
“Susan, forty years old, enemy of diets and gastronomic moderation, sells clothes from the front of her house … etc. etc.”
It seems like the writer of the article really wants Obama to lose. If Obama loses – he will be correct in his beliefs. Americans will be proved racist and it will be clear for all to see. If the unthinkable happens (in his eyes) and Obama should win, then there will have to be an explanation. I wonder what that explanation will be? I’m sure El Pais will let me know.
Of course everyone knows that race does play a part in this election. There obviously are racist idiots in America who will vote against Obama because he is black – just like there are many people who will vote for him just because he is black. But can we get a little credit for how far we have come in the race relation area at least? A black American is the Democratic candidate for president after all. That's pretty good guys.
Well, if El Pais won’t say it I will. No matter what happens in this election - Nice work fat Americans! You have come a long way trying to get along together – now go on that diet.
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9 comments:
Oh, Carl, you know we're just too ignorant to understand what is really going on in our own country.
Thankfully, we have skinny, over-educated, morally-superior, and racially unbiased European reporters to put us all straight. wink.
Luckily for Spain, they don't have any racial problems, no poverty, and have a long, rich history of equality, employment, intelligence and health.
I mean, just look at all the minority politicians and candidates they have over here. They are truly a shining example for the world.
Carl,
Un aplauso. Amen, brother. Thank god you read El País so that the rest of us don't have to. That newspaper really me saca de mis casillas!!!
You hit the nail on the head, that European media like El País secretly don't want Obama to win so that they can maintain their smug, arrogant and very erroneous coverage of the U.S.
Interestingly enough, some of their readers have called them out for the story's obvious bias. Some have noted that Spain wouldn't fare much better if a foreign journalist only quoted "los catetos" of Spain. Others have noted that despite its longer history, Spain has yet to elect a gypsy or a person of indio-mestizo heritage (like from Latin America) to higher office. Of course, it appears that several of the people making those comments are either Americans, Latin Americans or Spaniards who live in the U.S. In other words, not readers who are representative of El Pais' general readership.
In other news, another Spanish newspaper is reporting today that the United States Supreme Court has ordered the execution of Desmond Tutu. Yes, THAT Desmond Tutu, the Nobel Prize winner.
I'm not going to bother putting the link here. Suffice it to say, they got their info wrong, but hey, all black men look alike, right? (sarcasm off) Guess that is what happens when "progre" journalists from Spain are sent to cover the U.S.
Vaya catetos.
I'm wondering how many hours it's going to take for them to fix their article. It's already been up for six hours with no change.
Pues yo hasta que no lo vea no lo creo. ¿Un presidente estadounidense afroamericano?. He visto demasiadas pelís yankis como para saber que eso nunca pasará. Pobre Obama si gana.
In regards to European papers and their obsessive reporting. Yes it's about race, yes it's about controversy, yes it's about sensationalism. It's also about money. Stories sell. Is El Pais the new Sun or Daily Mirror? Bring on the tabloids I say. Then we'll know for sure the stories they print are unfounded and lack substance and don't merit commenting on. Until then...
Brandon,
I'm not exactly sure I follow what you're saying because the recycling of old, reliable stereotypes doesn't qualify as "news". I'm not sure how writing stories about ignorant yokels from the American South and Midwest sell papers in Europe. That's not surprising. That's not anything new.
Dog bites man, not news.
Man bites dog, in the words of Sarah Palin, you betcha! That's news.
In other words, fat, racist, ignorant Americans, are not news.
The story that the Spanish media has completely missed are the many white Americans who fit the general profile of of what Europe considers to be the "quintessential American," (i.e. dumb, overweight, beer- guzzling-Bible-thumping patriots who drive a pickup truck with a gun rack on top and shops at Wal-Mart), who have told pollsters and American journalists that they WILL vote for Obama or will vote for anyone BUT McCain because they're sick of the Republican party.
Where are the stories about those people in Spanish media? That kind of angle would be news to the majority of Spaniards.
Eleena,
"the recycling of old, reliable stereotypes doesn't qualify as "news"
I agree with you but unfortunately it does and it sells. As I said, this type of news is nothing more than tabloid hype, which doesn't merit the paper it's printed on.
Madre mía, cuanto resentimiento...
Mirad, si yo me ofendiera por cada vez que un periódico extranjero publica estupideces o estereotipos sobre España estaría todo el día enfadado. Uno de los peores es el NY Times, que cada vez que habla de España, sean articulos de viajes, temas economicos, politicos o supuestas entrevistas a Zapatero, no dice más que obviedades sensacionalistas, inexactitudes y estupideces variadas. Parece que estuviera escrito por y para retrasados. Pero entiendo que no es asi, que simplemente tienen que vender periodicos y tienen que añadir "picante" para hacer intersantes las noticias. Y que tienen su propia agenda politica interna.
En Europa pasa igual, y El Pais, como gran parte de la prensa europea es de izquierdas y sesgado, pero no entiendo por qué suponéis que los lectores españoles no son lo bastante críticos o informados como para sacar sus propias conclusiones. Lo creais o no, existe vida inteligente en este continente.
En fin, chicos, lo siento mucho, pero: get over it!
Y Eleena, no se cuanto tiempo llevas en España, pero lo que dices sobre elegir un indio-mestizo presidente es un poco extraño. Como sabrás, la mayoría de ellos llevan es España menos de 10 años. En cuanto a los gitanos tienes razón.
Well Anonymous, That pretty much sums up how I feel every time I pick up the Spanish press - I get upset.
I've said many times that I am too sensitive but that's the way it is and it's my stupid Blog.
Do I think the typical Spanish reader knows when they are being fed a bunch of crap? No I don't. That doesn't mean they are stupid, it just means they are constantly being fed a bunch of crap.
So I won't get over it. My job is to bitch and moan.
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