Are these stamps racist?

You may have heard of the controversy about a new set of Mexican stamps featuring a stereotypical black cartoon character . American critics (and some Mexicans), think they're racist, but suporters of the stamp say the stamps are only a "celebration of Mexican culture" and nothing to be upset over.

What do you folks think?

I think the stamps are rude, but I have to admit I'm not familiar with the character or his alleged role in Mexican culture. Then again, similar racial characatures were once part of American culture but such cartooning is now considered insulting and embarrasing- nothing to be celebrated.

Everytime I see them I laugh so hard my sides hurt. I'm not offended, but you would have to care to be offended, which I don't.

It is probably a ploy by the Mexican government to raise revenues. I suspect they are hoping Bill Cosby will come and buy up all the stamps that they made.

I'm not offended, but I am not black either so I dont know if that means anything.

The argument I read, (and its a good one in a way), is that we never saw anyone objecting to all the crass *mexican* cartoon stereotypes in the US (like Speedy Gonzales and pretty much any Warner Bros or Hanna-Barberra cartoon), so why get upset over this?

Personally I dont think two wrongs make a right, but on the other hand perhaps we are way too sensitive about these kinds of things. The cartoon hasn't even been played for many years AFAIK.

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Yes, the cartoon is racist, and I am offended.

Memin is a beloved comic book character in most of south america as far as I know (anyone know better, please correct me). I used to read it as a kid and I remember it not being funny in a *hahaha* kind of way, but more like in a *fuzzy* funny, not sure if I'm explaining myself here. Memin came from a very poor background and his mom did laundry for other people for a living, I don't remember ever reading about Memin's dad though. He had a knack for getting in serious trouble in every issue and the image of his mom holding a big, wooden rolling pin in her hand was not enough to stop him hehe. Memin's troubles always ended in a happy, Brady bunch kind of way, in the sense that there was always a moral to the story or a lesson to be learned, you know, the usual be nice and share drill you hear everyday when you're a kid. I remember thinking how nice it was to be growing up in New York, with a dad, a stay at home mom who only had our laundry to take care of, and plenty of food. I guess that was also Memin's creators working behind the scenes, making kids realize how rough it was for other kids.

I couldn't believe people would be upset or offended with Memin's image, but then I realized he's probably not very well known outside of south america. I guess the geniuses that thought about these stamps didn't think of introducing Memin to the rest of the world first

I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be offended by Memin, it's not the intention behind the character

I think people should read the comic strip(s) before passing judgement on the stamps. Im suprised the news article didn't present any of them, or the opinions of the comic's readers. Its kinda difficult to prove that presenting a comic book character on a stamp is racism. I mean, if that's true, then why is presenting Archie on a stamp not considered racism towards those of a lighter complexion? (Then again, Im only vaguely familiar with the Archie comic as well as the one featuring Memin.)

Eh, political correctness is cornfusing
==Chris

In my opinion, the stamps aren't racist. Insensitive maybe, but not racist. I've seen real racist propaganda. Usually, racist propaganda goes above and beyond insensitivity to portray a particular segment of society in a negative light. If what Leilany said about Memin is accurate, one could conclude that Memin wasn't meant to be a negative ethnic stereotype.

There's another thing I thought I'd mention about race and south america. While there are racists all over, it is kinda silly for us to be racists because the vast majority is mixed (which is why we're prettier, of course) and the term *PC* is not one we're familiar with. So while I understand how a character like Memin can be offensive in the US, it is not the same in south america, and certainly not to the same degree. A small percentage of the population *might* be bothered by it but it is very unusual. We tell racist and sexist jokes in the office and nobody is bothered or offended by them, which makes for very embarrasing moments for those just arriving to the US hehe. Basically, it would take a *lot* to offend south americans as far as race, and sometimes sex goes. And like I said in my previous post, we all grew up with Memin (as far back as my parent's generation and they are in their early 60s) and I don't know anybody that read his comics and didn't love him