Why I Wish I Was Spanish

I was shocked. When I first saw it I didn't think it was possible that people could be that dumb.

A million questions boxed each other out for space in my brain. "Who put them up to this?" "Was this picture ever supposed to get out?" "Is this the best Photoshop of all time?"

For the first moments after I saw the controversial "slant-eyes" picture of the Spanish Men's Basketball Team, none of the deeper questions that I should have been asking fought their way to the top of my cerebellum.

"What kind of society is so comfortable with race relations that they don't limit ethnic jokes to behind closed doors"? "Are we a little too sensitive as a culture?" "Are the Chinese actually offended by this or are we just telling them that they should be?" "Should the Chinese be offended?" "Are we hypocrites?"

Those are the type of questions that I wish I had initially asked. As I write this today I am starting to understand the tunnel vision that defines my perspective. Consider the following facts.

--The only occasions that I have been out of the United States are:

1. Trip to Niagra falls. Age 4 (I think)
2. Cruise to West Caribbean. Visited Jamaica, Mexico (Cozumel), Grand Cayman and Aruba for one day each. (The Aruba day shouldn't even count when you consider that the ship dropped us off on a private island that had no contact whatsoever with any natives)
3. Road Trip to Montreal, Canada. This is probably my most international experience. My sophomore year of college I drove to Montreal with four friends and spoke French and ate crepes.

--The country I live in was founded by religious outcasts that are now legendary for they prudishness.

--The country I live in, although racially diverse, may have some of the most strained race relations of any nation in the developed world.

Now with those facts in mind, my experiences with race and "the rest of the world" are probably not much different than that of most Americans my age. I grew up completely brainwashed to walk on egg shells whenever anything even vaguely related to race came up. That is why my initial reaction to the 'slant eyes' photo was moral indignation.

After a while though, I decided to ask a Spanish coworker what she thought of it. I asked her if these guys knew what they were doing?

"Yes and No" she said.

She confirmed what several other European talking heads had been saying for a few days. According to her, Spain is just much more relaxed when it comes to race than America.

Why had it never occurred to me that jokes are OK to tell?

The pictures of Spain's athletes making 'slant eyes' at first seemed to be a symbol of racism and prejudice. But when I looked again it seems that they are a symbol of the opposite. If a country that has survived an occupation, an inquisition and the guilt of their colonial transgressions can put it all behind them in this way, maybe there is hope for the US yet.

I hope we consider this picture a challenge.