Inducing Anger

The Mexican cartoon character Memín Pinguín is provoking controversy in the States once again. After a dustup over the release of special Memín stamps in Mexico in 2005, now an African-American group is protesting the sale of Memín books in a Houston Wal-Mart.

The problem is how Memín is drawn, with the exaggerated features one might expect from a 1920s blackface routine. Any American cartoonist would be all but booted out of the industry for drawing something similar.

Mexicans say that Memín has nothing to do with the US's troubled racial past. Memín prevails against others' ignorance, and characters who poke fun of his race are always depicted as stooges. As to his features, well it's a cartoon; facial features are always exaggerated. As Mexicans have pointed out, they never once complained about Speedy Gonzalez, which trades in stereotypes much more directly than does Memín.

It's easy to see both sides of this argument. There is nothing overtly racist about Memín; the character only takes on racist overtones when viewed through America's unique racial prism.I don't think there is any racist intent whatsoever in Memín Pinguín's stories, and anyone would be vexed to hear that a beloved childhood icon was racist. If Mexico wants to make and sell Memín stamps in Mexico, that really shouldn't be any of our business.

But the Houston episode is a bit different. The norms of American politeness deem drawings like those of Memín Pinguín offensive. That may be inexplicable to Mexicans, but it's not for them to tell African Americans what is racially offensive. Anything sold at a Wal-Mart in the United States should probably abide by the local customs.