Is this racist?

[brimic]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sorority-girls-busted-mexican-themed-pic-article-1.1213746

Synopsis:
Sorority at Penn State had photo taken from Mexican themed party where the girls put on sombreros, fake mustaches, and a signs that said stuff like "will work for beer," University gets all morally indignant- yes, the same university that harbored child molestors for decades....

[T.O.M.]

The univerity may be the same, but most of the administration is new.

As an aside, when did America create a right to not be offended?  All the time I reaad about something being wrong because it offended someone, but for the life of me I must have missed that day in Con Law...

[Perd Hapley]

It could be worse:

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/334655/college-demands-construction-crew-remove-sexist-men-working-sign-eliana-johnson#

[Scout26]

It's things like that that make me double check to make sure I'm not reading "The Onion".

[SteveS]

I am going to say yes.

I was in a frat back in the late 80s and early 90s. Of course this was in the pre-Facebook days, but I think we would have had enough sense to maybe think this wasn't a good idea. Doesn't this sorority have an advisor?

[SteveS]

As an aside, when did America create a right to not be offended?  All the time I reaad about something being wrong because it offended someone, but for the life of me I must have missed that day in Con Law...

I think it is one of those 'penumbra' rights that exists at universities (e.g.hate speech codes).

[seeker_two]

Women with moustaches wanting beer.....are you sure this isn't UC Berkley?....

[Doggy Daddy]

Is the logo for this restaurant racist?

[zxcvbob]

"Ay, yi, yi, yi, I am the Frito Bandito..."

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

late 70's ealy 80's we had a sign" we hire the handicapped. they're fun to watch" on the wall.   we had a one legged waiter/cashier.

couple folks went crazy over it.  the guy who put it up told em to relax.  he owned the place it was his sign.  some still were hostile which is ironic since the owner was the one legged guy.  and jeebus he was fun to watch. good at what he did better than 90% 95% of the bipedal waiters

[brimic]

They could have had the same party without the sombreros, kept the mustaches and called it a 'Ron Jeremy' party and noone would have screamed Racist!! Likewise, they could have put on green wigs/hats/shirts got stupid puking drunk and called it an Irish St. Patrick's Day party and noone would have batted an eye.

By contrast lets look at something that would be well beyond the pale in our country, though probably still acceptable in Europe:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/usandworld/national/182003471.html

So is the term 'racist' a perjorative label simply a fabrication of white liberal American guilt, or do different cultures universally use this label?

[Scout26]

They could have had the same party without the sombreros, kept the mustaches and called it a 'Ron Jeremy' party and noone would have screamed Racist!! Likewise, they could have put on green wigs/hats/shirts got stupid puking drunk and called it an Irish St. Patrick's Day party and noone would have batted an eye.

By contrast lets look at something that would be well beyond the pale in our country, though probably still acceptable in Europe:

http://www.jsonline.com/news/usandworld/national/182003471.html

So is the term 'racist' a perjorative label simply a fabrication of white liberal American guilt, or do different cultures universally use this label?

And if all of SinterKlass's helpers were white people, they'd be complaining about "lack of diversity".  THere's no winning with these people.

[zxcvbob]

So is the term 'racist' a perjorative label simply a fabrication of white liberal American guilt[?]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9s6A1ebjio

"I sympathize with the Arab cause; I feel for the put-upon Jews..."

[CAnnoneer]

Things like that are just bullshit. If the girls were wearing milk-maids outfits and lederhosen, drinking beer from maas jugs, and waving signs "Drang Nach Osten" or 'Sieg Oder Siberia", people would say it is in poor taste but not racist. Why is it racist to make fun of stereotypes?

It is even worse to make the students apologize. They have nothing to apologize for, they only do it so they don't get suspended, and they certainly would not mean it anyway. It is about control and political correctness.

[Scout26]

Things like that are just bullshit. If the girls were wearing milk-maids outfits and lederhosen, drinking beer from maas jugs, and waving signs "Drang Nach Osten" or 'Sieg Oder Siberia",

I want to be invited !!!!

[brimic]

It is even worse to make the students apologize.

If anything, administrators and professors who take the students' money and then indoctrinate them with harmful socialist garbage should be the ones who need to appologize.

[slingshot]

I think it is mostly a photo op for the media.  I doubt anyone cares.  I work for beer....  does it really matter?

Added:  "I don't cut grass, I smoke it."  Who really cares?  It doesn't look very racist to me.  What has the PC world come to that people can't have a little fun?

[K Frame]

Bigoted yes.

Racist?

When is Mexican its own identifiable, separate, race?

I REALLY hate how the term racists is thrown around. The vast majority of the time it's not being used correctly, as there is no racial conflict in a situation.

[cambeul41]

My wife and I went to a Mexican themed party once.  There was lots of beer and tequila! Was that racist? 

Does the fact that it was in Mexico, and we were the only non-Mexican nationals in attendance have any bearing on the answer?

[RevDisk]

Things like that are just bullshit. If the girls were wearing milk-maids outfits and lederhosen, drinking beer from maas jugs, and waving signs "Drang Nach Osten" or 'Sieg Oder Siberia", people would say it is in poor taste but not racist. Why is it racist to make fun of stereotypes?

It is even worse to make the students apologize. They have nothing to apologize for, they only do it so they don't get suspended, and they certainly would not mean it anyway. It is about control and political correctness.

As an ethnic German, I find your comments to be poor taste and racist.  Women of all skin hues are welcome and encouraged to wear traditional German costumes, especially with traditional steins and traditional beer, regardless of what they are singing.

[roo_ster]

Is the logo for this restaurant racist?

I guess the uni admin expects students to be more Catholic than the Pope.

[Buzzcook]

Yeah there was probably some racism involved. Doesn't mean that the girls are going to put on white robes and join the KKK.

BTW the images we use to celebrate St. Patrick's Day are the same bigoted images British people used to denigrate the Irish. It's just that people of Irish descent have made those images their own removing the racist connotation.

[Hawkmoon]

My wife and I went to a Mexican themed party once.  There was lots of beer and tequila! Was that racist? 

Does the fact that it was in Mexico, and we were the only non-Mexican nationals in attendance have any bearing on the answer?

Dunno. Was it Corona beer?

[K Frame]

Corona beer is VERY racist...

[Mannlicher]

anything can be racist if someone takes umbrage, or is offended.

Everyone is outraged about something these days.

when you have offenses that are undefined, that have no official or real ways of looking at them, then it's all political.  Just like sexual  harassment, which has no definition, but is, instead, anything that anyone wants it to be.