RNC screws up Hispanic outreach (ha ha)

[eyesroll]

Via Atrios:
Everyone talks about how crucial the Latino vote is going to be in November. Both parties are putting out literature and Web pages in Spanish in an effort to communicate better with this huge constituency.
The Republicans have a sign-up page -- called "Abriendo Caminos" or opening paths -- that promises Spanish-speaking folks that President Bush and the GOP will "send you weekly news about the topics that most interest you."
The sign-up page asks the usual stuff -- name, address, telephone number and e-mail address. You are to check which of many listed topics -- immigration, health, Social Security, corporate responsibility, crime prevention and so on -- are of most interest.
Then it asks what you are. There are four options: war veteran or retired military; teacher or educator; senior citizen; or farmer or rancher. That's it. Nothing for lawyers, doctors, engineers or corporate executives to check.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13946-2004Jun3.html

Go to the RNC site and you get this:

Soy:
Veterano de Guerra /Jubilado de las Fuerzas Militares
Maestro / Educador
Persona de la Tercera Edad
Granjero o Ranchero

http://www.hdcsolutions.com/xpress_mail/rncespanol/index.shtml

[cap]

1. not only no professionals...

but no small business owners and no working peoples either.

[bleedingheart]

2. hahahahaha...their bigotry blinds them...

[DinahMoeHum]

3. The "guest worker" program that * is peddling doesn't help

either.


:evilgrin:

[displacedtexan]

4. Typical! When I was in High School in Texas...

the counselors explained that studying Spanish could lead to careers in Law Enforcement and Social Services.

I took four years of Latin and two years of German (plus a year of College Russian in Summer School).

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

6. Would you say you're fluent in German?

That way you could talk to Rumsfeld in his native language about the good old days in 1930s Germany.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

5. Whaaaaaaaaaa?

No arhcitects, doctors, lawyers, musicians, real estate agents, mechanics, porn shop owners, professional clowns, fire breathers, etc. I guess some of my family, friends and I are screwed. We are not welcome in the new republican party.

[GOPisEvil]

7. que stupido!

[LittleApple81]

9. If you want to say stupid in Spanish, it is "estúpido". That is why

we Spanish speakers have trouble with words starting with "s". We always want to put an "e" before the "s".

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

10. Cierto, como Jorge Chocha. En su escuela decían que era "especial". n/t

[LittleApple81]

13. Even my son, who is tri-lingual (English, Spanish, German) makes

fun of my pronunciation (in a nice way, I must say)... when I say it is "scary" it sounds like "escary"...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

14. I used to do it back in the day in PR.

But when I got to high school they really hammered us on it. It's probably the most common trait when pronouncing English.

[LittleApple81]

8. The prejudices run deep...I am from Latin America and when

I first came to the USA I had an evening job to support myself through College. When I finished my Bachelor's degree Summa Cum Laude, a person working with me (as a clerk) said by way of congratulations: "well, you have done so well for being Hispanic!!!!!"
I knew she meant well... but I guess I did not expect it.

[truthspeaker]

11. response for next time:

"You're not much of an asshole for being white"

[eyesroll]

12. Indeed...

My family is of Eastern European descent but my father, a retired Spanish teacher who is fluent in the language (and will speak with your accent -- without really realizing it -- if he talks to you for more than a few minutes). He also has dark eyes, dark hair and a ruddy complexion, and has been assumed to be of Hispanic origin on occasion.

When I was 19 or so, we went to a car dealer so I could get a car. My dad was wearing a "Cristobol Colon NO discubrio America" T-shirt (excuse the spelling -- my Spanish is terrible) -- the whole thing was in Spansish. Nobody came by to help us, even though the dealership wasn't busy. When he asked for help, he kept getting blown off. He finally asked for the manager and ripped him a new one. ("I was prepared to buy a vehicle in cash today, and because of your lousy service, it won't be here." Only he was less nice.)

You know what the manager said? "Oh, sir, I'm so sorry...if I'd known...you know, though, we get a lot of ethnic people, and they just loiter...blah blah blah." As though telling us "we're prejudiced against Latinos but not against you now that we know you're a white guy with Russian grandparents" would help. My dad explained that it's good business to treat everyone as a good customer, and we left.

[alarcojon]

15. What a bunch of pendejos

I really can't believe they left out businesspeople, for crying out loud. :eyes: