Judging a Cartoon by Its Character
Not even in his wildest dreams would Memin Pinguin have guessed he could create such a fuss in the White House. But, in keeping with his tendency to get into trouble, he did just that. This time, though, he will have a harder time than usual getting out of the mess because he's dealing with an audience that has condemned him based on the color of his skin and his cartoonish features, rather than on the content of his character.
Memin is a cartoon character from a decades-old and much-beloved Mexican comic book, a caricature of a young, black Mexican boy. He leads a group of boys and is famous for his childish pranks, street smarts, neat sense of humor and remarkable ability to smooth racial conflicts among his peers.
But last week, when the Mexican post office issued a series of stamps depicting his image -- including his big lips, big ears and big eyes -- Memin made the news in newspapers in Los Angeles, Washington and New York. As might have been expected, the Rev. Jesse Jackson led the charge, demanding an apology from Mexican President Vicente Fox for the "Sambo-like" stamps and asking that they be taken off the market immediately. Less expected and more worrisome was the reaction from White House spokesman Scott McClellan, who said smugly that Memin had "no place in today's world," and left many Mexicans wondering who granted him the authority to decide whether Memin belongs in Mexico or not.
McClellan probably doesn't know much about the subject, but I do. Describing Memin Pinguin as a racist stereotype is an outrageous misrepresentation of the character's character. Memin, who shares the nickname of his creator's husband, first appeared many years ago as one of many characters in a comic book about urban life in Mexico. By popular demand, he took over the lead role and the comic book was named after him. Adapted from many sources (the Our Gang movie series among them) Memin is as mischievous as Dennis the Menace, although he operates in a very different environment. Simpatico and restless, Memin is always dragging his family and friends into messy comic situations that, in the end, he'll manage to solve.
One episode in Memin's fictional life is worth mentioning. He and the rest of the gang travel to Dallas to play a soccer tournament, and they all go to a diner where the waitress refuses to serve blacks and Mexicans. Memin refuses to be discriminated against and creates such a ruckus that he lands in jail. When he's released, the team goes on to beat the U.S. in the finals.
