the system is overheated

The Oatmeal:

This issue keeps coming up and, despite my footnotes, I keep seeing commentary about it so I’m going to address it here. Initially, Bartolomé de las Casas advocated the use of African slaves instead of native labor. In the first few years after he renounced his land and title, his initial cause was to end the suffering of the natives, rather than seeking an end to the institution of slavery itself, and so this became his deplorable rationale for the endorsement of African slavery. Bartolomé de las Casas eventually retracted those views, however, and came to see all forms of slavery as being equally wrong. In The History of the Indies published in 1527, he wrote the following:

I soon repented and judged myself guilty of ignorance. I came to realize that black slavery was as unjust as Indian slavery . . . and I was not sure that my ignorance and good faith would secure me in the eyes of God.

I know that the discovery of the New World means a lot of different things to a lot of different cultures. I like the sound of Bartolomé Day. If you don’t like that, call it Indigenous People’s Day. Or perhaps Chris-Columbus-was-a-turd Day. I’d even settle for just calling it MONDAY.

George Zimmerman Is Not Mexican and More Scapegoating

Hundreds of tweets claiming George Zimmerman is Mexican have been posted on Twitter in the hours since a Florida jury acquitted him in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

This is usually something not worth dignifying with a response, but it seems necessary to point out the fact that George Zimmerman is not Mexican. He’s Peruvian and white.

But this begs the question: Why are Mexicans being mentioned in the first place?

Unfortunately, it appears to be the latest episode of Mexican scapegoating. It illustrates how little the general public knows about us and how without a clear and unified voice we will continue to be easy fodder for those needing someone to blame. This is unacceptable.

This also demonstrates how easily it seems Mexicans and blacks are pitted against each other. Although in this case it appears black folks were those perpetuating the misinformation and the scapegoating.

We need to do a better job of educating those around us, and when necessary, speak up and advocate for our community. We can all do a lot better than this.