Calling Rapist Hispanic is 'Racist'

[MDM4AU 336]

Newsbusters

KMYL Radio: Calling Rapist Hispanic is 'Racist'

By Warner Todd Huston

Created 2007-11-12 05:56

If a person of Hispanic origin rapes a woman and, in an attempt to catch this violent criminal, police publish a description identifying the suspect's general racial makeup, is that a "racist" thing to do? Apparently the folks at KMYL (1190 AM) in the metro Phoenix, Arizona area think it is. It appears that we cannot even discuss the basic appearance of a wanted criminal now without being "racist" about it all.

The story comes to us from The East Valley Tribune , where the paper quotes the vice president for programming at KMYL as saying that calling a criminal an Hispanic is "racial profiling." And what is her reasoning?

(Mayra) Nieves said Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race -- and many Hispanics are white or black. She said ethnicity should not be used when describing an attacker. Instead she said she would describe the Chandler Rapist as having "dark skin."

Even her "explanation" contradicts itself. If a "Hispanic" can be white or black, why should the rapist be called "dark skinned"? After all, what is the definition of "dark"? To an albino, even a white person is dark skinned... or can I say albino without somehow being a racist?

Is it really a racist thing when we are given a generalized description of a wanted criminal's race or is it just good police work? It would seem to anyone with an ounce of sense that the later is the answer here. After all, if police are looking for a white Ford Bronco, should the police report describe the auto in oblique terms? (Such as calling the vehicle a "somewhat colorless, large American car that could be thought of as a sport utility vehicle, not that we are impugning all SUVs.") Or should the police just say it is a white Ford Bronco? Which one would more easily get the public to lend assistance with finding the vehicle?

But, no, we are now in an era where the race card is thrown about with such abandon that no one can take the charge of racism seriously anymore. Worse, by making the job of the police harder, this KMYL VP would allow a rapist to more easily roam the streets in search of his next victim.

Fortunately, the Chandler, Arizona police are not stupid enough to fall for this radio troublemaker's ploy. They are refusing to change their tactics here.

But Chandler police spokesman Sgt. Rick Griner said his department will stand by its description, saying they release the details the victims give them.

"It would be irresponsible on our part to change or alter that," he said.

Excellent work, Sgt. Griner, excellent work.

But, the final question remains: how have we allowed PCism to get so far that we can no longer even mention the actual description of a suspect on the lose without charges of racism filling the air?

Now, I’m curious. Does KMYL stand for Kain’t Mention You’re a Latino? Ooops. Was that not PC of me?

[CCTAU 3,350]

If a hispanic guy committed rape, call him hispanic. If a hispanic guy fixes your car, call him hispanic. But you can't say the black dude down the street that looks like someone from mexico fixes my car. Doesn't make sense. Does she propose that we refer to him as the greasy little bastard that raped a woman? Whether people want to admit it or not, we do not all look the same. That's not racist, that's an intelligent observation. But this lady has learned form the libruls that if you complain enough, it doesn't matter whether you ar right or not, somebody will come and try to save you.

[TexasTiger 13,029]

You guys will whine about absolutely nothing. The woman said this:

Nieves said Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race -- and many Hispanics are white or black. She said ethnicity should not be used when describing an attacker. Instead she said she would describe the Chandler Rapist as having “dark skin.”

She's absolutely right:

The Hispanics in the United States or Hispanic Americans are an ethnic group in the United States with Hispanic heritage. A Hispanic person may be of any race (Amerindian, Mixed-race, white, black, and Asian). Also, a Hispanic person's status is independent from whether one speaks the Spanish language, as not all Hispanic Americans do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic#The_term_Hispanic

The term "hispanic" does not describe how someone looks nor does it describe their race.

The racial diversity to be found among Hispanics stems from the fact that Hispanic America has always been, since 1492, an area of immigration until late in the 20th century, when the region has increasingly become an area of emigration. Even outside the broad US definition of Hispanic, the term encompasses a very racially diverse population. While in the United States, Hispanics are often treated as a group apart from whites, blacks or other races, they actually include people who may identify with any or all of those racial groups.

In the mass media as well as popular culture, "Hispanic" is often incorrectly used to describe a subject's race or physical appearance

Warner Todd Huston is just another in a long line of right wing morons who don't let their ignorance deter their misplaced indignation.

[MDM4AU 336]

You guys will whine about absolutely nothing

TT says, Posting an article without any comment is equal to whining if he is opposed to the view of the author.

Remember people...to avoid the scorn of the resident liberal apologist, you have to make crystal clear that you are simply posting an article to see the reaction or you will be talked down to viciously.

Tex, just for the record, I thought it was an interesting scenario because at first glance I was a bit miffed at what appeared to be PC run amuck, once again. But when I read the article closer it wasn't quite what I thought it was. So, I posted it here to see who reacts the way I did originally.

BTW, you appear to whine more about those on the right than anyone I know. Or are you just voicing a differing opinion?

[TitanTiger 20,511]

You guys will whine about absolutely nothing. The woman said this:

Nieves said Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race -- and many Hispanics are white or black. She said ethnicity should not be used when describing an attacker. Instead she said she would describe the Chandler Rapist as having “dark skin.”

She's absolutely right:

The Hispanics in the United States or Hispanic Americans are an ethnic group in the United States with Hispanic heritage. A Hispanic person may be of any race (Amerindian, Mixed-race, white, black, and Asian). Also, a Hispanic person's status is independent from whether one speaks the Spanish language, as not all Hispanic Americans do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic#The_term_Hispanic

The term "hispanic" does not describe how someone looks nor does it describe their race.

The racial diversity to be found among Hispanics stems from the fact that Hispanic America has always been, since 1492, an area of immigration until late in the 20th century, when the region has increasingly become an area of emigration. Even outside the broad US definition of Hispanic, the term encompasses a very racially diverse population. While in the United States, Hispanics are often treated as a group apart from whites, blacks or other races, they actually include people who may identify with any or all of those racial groups.

In the mass media as well as popular culture, "Hispanic" is often incorrectly used to describe a subject's race or physical appearance

Warner Todd Huston is just another in a long line of right wing morons who don't let their ignorance deter their misplaced indignation.

So Tex, how would you propose this man be described? I think dark-skinned is silly since many people will take that to mean African-American. The goal here is not to placate sensitive feelings, it's to quickly disseminate a description that will aid in getting this guy recognized and captured. Most people if you say Hispanic will think a person who is tan or brown and has certain other facial characteristics we associate with people from Mexico and Central America and other "Hispanic" areas. A white skinned Hispanic person would likely be described as Caucasian and a black-skinned Hispanic person would likely be described as "black" or "African American." This isn't designed to be census-level accurate. It's designed to trigger recognition based on what the person looks like and hopefully get him apprehended.

[TexasTiger 13,029]

Actually, calling my remark "viscious" is pretty whiny.

Posting without comment usually implies endorsement. It's easy enough to simply say, "What do folks think about this?" So there you have it-- whiny AND lazy.

BTW, I think your own brother has commented negatively on the practice of merely posting articles without comment.

You guys will whine about absolutely nothing

TT says, Posting an article without any comment is equal to whining if he is opposed to the view of the author.

Remember people...to avoid the scorn of the resident liberal apologist, you have to make crystal clear that you are simply posting an article to see the reaction or you will be talked down to viciously.

Tex, just for the record, I thought it was an interesting scenario because at first glance I was a bit miffed at what appeared to be PC run amuck, once again. But when I read the article closer it wasn't quite what I thought it was. So, I posted it here to see who reacts the way I did originally.

BTW, you appear to whine more about those on the right than anyone I know. Or are you just voicing a differing opinion?

[TexasTiger 13,029]

Many people in Alabama will assume dark-skinned means African-American. Most people in Texas, NM and Arizona will conclude that it is someone of Latin-American origin. Saying he appeared to be Mestizo or that he was dark-skinned and appeared to be from Mexico or Central America would be a better description. From the drawing, he could easily be Native-American.

That said, I wasn't criticizing the description of him as Hispanic. I was criticizing the hyperbolic response of the writer criticizing the woman for pointing out the inaccuracy of the use of the term.

You guys will whine about absolutely nothing. The woman said this:

Nieves said Hispanic is an ethnicity, not a race -- and many Hispanics are white or black. She said ethnicity should not be used when describing an attacker. Instead she said she would describe the Chandler Rapist as having “dark skin.”

She's absolutely right:

The Hispanics in the United States or Hispanic Americans are an ethnic group in the United States with Hispanic heritage. A Hispanic person may be of any race (Amerindian, Mixed-race, white, black, and Asian). Also, a Hispanic person's status is independent from whether one speaks the Spanish language, as not all Hispanic Americans do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanic#The_term_Hispanic

The term "hispanic" does not describe how someone looks nor does it describe their race.

The racial diversity to be found among Hispanics stems from the fact that Hispanic America has always been, since 1492, an area of immigration until late in the 20th century, when the region has increasingly become an area of emigration. Even outside the broad US definition of Hispanic, the term encompasses a very racially diverse population. While in the United States, Hispanics are often treated as a group apart from whites, blacks or other races, they actually include people who may identify with any or all of those racial groups.

In the mass media as well as popular culture, "Hispanic" is often incorrectly used to describe a subject's race or physical appearance

Warner Todd Huston is just another in a long line of right wing morons who don't let their ignorance deter their misplaced indignation.

So Tex, how would you propose this man be described? I think dark-skinned is silly since many people will take that to mean African-American. The goal here is not to placate sensitive feelings, it's to quickly disseminate a description that will aid in getting this guy recognized and captured. Most people if you say Hispanic will think a person who is tan or brown and has certain other facial characteristics we associate with people from Mexico and Central America and other "Hispanic" areas. A white skinned Hispanic person would likely be described as Caucasian and a black-skinned Hispanic person would likely be described as "black" or "African American." This isn't designed to be census-level accurate. It's designed to trigger recognition based on what the person looks like and hopefully get him apprehended.

[MDM4AU 336]

Actually, calling my remark "viscious" is pretty whiny.

Blow it out your a$$

Posting without comment usually implies endorsement. It's easy enough to simply say, "What do folks think about this?" So there you have it-- whiny AND lazy.

Bite Me!

BTW, I think your own brother has commented negatively on the practice of merely posting articles without comment.

Yeah, but we all know Titan gives some of us preferential treatment.

[TexasTiger 13,029]

Actually, calling my remark "viscious" is pretty whiny.

Blow it out your a$$

Posting without comment usually implies endorsement. It's easy enough to simply say, "What do folks think about this?" So there you have it-- whiny AND lazy.

Bite Me!

BTW, I think your own brother has commented negatively on the practice of merely posting articles without comment.

Yeah, but we all know Titan gives some of us preferential treatment.

Have a nice day!