miércoles, 15 de agosto de 2007

Racism: inevitably a part of our lives

I was on my way to the gym when I heard on the local news something that made my blood boil: Rigoberta Menchú, winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Price and candidate to the presidency of Guatemala, was kicked out of the Mexican hotel "Corel Beach" in Cancun, because, according to the hotel guards, she was a "jewelery seller". Rigoberta's part of the story, though, is more credible. She says that she was victim of men favoritism and racism, and that because she looks (proudly) like a native American person she gets "special treatment".

Legally speaking, the hotel did nothing wrong because they just asked her to leave, and actually, if it was a misunderstanding, it's quite understandable. Why on earth should Corel Beach accept traveling salesmen in their hotel? It's also quite understandable from the salesmen's point of view, since who would want to buy their products? Tourists. And where do tourists stay? Hotels. And would tourists go to places like Cancun if it weren't for the traveling salesmen? Probably not to the extent they are right now! This makes a circle, one that the Mayan governors once tried to hide from their people:

The proletarian can't live without the proletariat.
Hotels can't live without tourists - Tourists can't live without salesmen - Salesmen can't live without hotels (because there would be no tourists).

So weren't the Mayan people the first to classify a part of their society as inferior? Didn't they held the working class as the one of the lowest possible class you could belong to?
So is it, in a way, the Mayan's fault that they are victims of racism?
It gives you something to think about, doesn't it?

P.D.: I by NO MEANS agree with what Corel Beach did, I think it was an exponential form of racism that cannot be justified in any way (after all, did anyone see Rigoberta making any business? Selling any jewelery? Offering herself to make "trenzitas" to anyone?), yet, I do find racism highly ironic in this case.

2 comentarios:

Anónimo dijo...

wow... just wow...

Morgan the Muse dijo...

I had never thought of it that way. Interesting.