Letters may be edited for clarity and length. E-mail to le*****@oc******.com">le*****@oc******.com, fax to (714) 708-8410 or send to Letters to the Editor, c/oOC Weekly, P.O. Box 10788, Costa Mesa, CA 92627-0247.
BROWNIE POINTS
Regarding Gustavo Arellano's piece on Cruz Bustamante [“Fear of a Brown Planet,” Sept. 5]: Conservatives do not fear Bustamante for his skin color, which is as light as mine. Rather, it is his ideas that we loathe and despise. This man wants to increase taxes and bring back gas controls, while not reducing government spending. Bustamante's economic plan is akin to that of the fascist president of Venezuela. He also utilizes the tactics of class warfare and enjoys control of his nation's petrochemical sector, and sure enough he is also facing a recall election. Today's California Republican Party has made peace with Latinos; we just don't like those who want to force socialism down our collective throats.
Art Pedroza
Member, California Republican Party Central Committee
Mr. Arellano does his best to explain away the evil and racist goals of MEChA. The most frightening thing about MEChA is its presence on 90 percent of our high school and college campuses. At least for now it is, because I plan to raise hell with my local school board and fight for its banishment from campuses. Critics of MEChA are correct when they say it is the brown version of the KKK. The only element missing from this brown KKK is the white sheets to hide their identities. May I suggest, for disguise purposes only, that the mechistas smear each others' feces all over their faces? Then not only will they be indistinguishable, but what is on their faces will match what is in their minds!
David Kay
Buena Park
I remember MEChA from many years ago when I was a student at UC Santa Barbara. It was too radical for my tastes but it never came across to me as a racist organization, but rather as a radical group (this was in 1968-70) working with other groups such as the Black Students Union to further the cause of ethnic studies and other issues on campus. I thought your article was very reasonable and I hope it will help counter the racial smear campaign against Bustamante. There is certainly legitimate criticism that can be raised against him, but this racist charge is not one of them.
Stephen Denney
Library assistant, UC Berkeley
Gee, imagine my surprise at OC Weeklypublishing a long-winded cover editorial spinning away the racism of MEChA member Cruz Bustamante. I am happy to know that for you left-wingers racism is acceptable as long as it is a liberal who is racist. That's an amazing admission of hypocrisy on your part! I can tell you that we on the right don't accept racism from any political persuasion. Our disgust with Cruz has to do with his politics, his leftist/socialist positions and the fact that he is part of the Democrat/left wing in Sacramento that has single-handedly run California's economy to the brink of bankruptcy. Oh, and the fact that he and MEChA are racists? ''To the race, everything. To those outside the race, nothing.'' It's amazing you left that quote out of your attempt to spin Cruz out of being a racist. Who's words are they? MEChA's. Time to give it a rest. You left-wingers are starting to stink of your hypocrisy.
B. Dirk Yarborough
Costa Mesa
Gustavo Arellano responds: The quote Yarborough mentions is not—as almost every publication asserts—MEChA's official slogan; it's a Chicano chant dating from the 1960s. And my stink is pretty sexy, thankyouverymuch.
CLAY PIGEONS
Girrrrrrrrrrrrrl, I feel sorry for you, Rebecca Schoenkopf. You are going to be bombarded with hate mail from Clay fans [“The People Love Loud,” Sept. 5]. I know what you are thinking: “Ha, ha! Who cares what Clay fans think?” Well, my dear, you are about to find out BIG TIME! You obviously “don't get” Clay, and that is really too bad. All you have to do is close your eyes and listen to that angelic voice coming out of his mouth and you will know what millions of others know. Enjoy the ride, because Clay will be here for a long time.
Susan Gold
Via e-mail
This was one of the dumbest reviews I have ever read. I hope you don't have to make a living writing articles, because you are really unable to capture the essence of an event. Don't try singing—I'm sure you couldn't do that very well either.
Elaine Mathias
Via e-mail
A tad bitter, dontcha think? Try again after Clay has one of the top-selling CDs of all time. When he is a multimillionaire, I assume you will still be submitting second-rate boring articles to second-rate boring websites. I think you protest a bit too much. Jealousy is so tiring. Try writing about Big Brother. Lots of boring, talentless people. Probably more your style.
Nancy Chandler
Via e-mail
SLUR THING
I just read the ridiculous explanation or definition of the usage of pocho/a [Gustavo Arellano's “Attack of the Pochos,” Aug. 8]. It goes to show that when one wants to read more into things, one'll find the way to do so. Pocho/a in most of Mexico, when referring to a Mexican American, is one who mixes the two languages—a sort of Spanglish, but not necessarily the conversion of English words into Spanish—but such language will bring out the pocho/a designation. It is not necessarily a “slur,” though it can be used that way. Typically it is used as a slur toward Mexican Americans visiting who cannot speak correct Spanish but who lord over low-income Mexicans a “we're better” attitude. Likewise, the word Mexican is not by any stretch of the imagination a slur but is used as such by those who wish to do so. In short, if one seeks evil, one finds evil.
Patrick Osio Jr.
Editor, HispanicVista.com
Gustavo Arellano responds: Pocho not a slur, pocho? Why do you think Lalo Alcaraz, Sandra Sarmiento and others felt it necessary to reclaim the term, pocho? I don't know of anyone else who uses the wordpocho in a nonpejorative fashion, but that's just me, pocho.
