Trump Bonds with “the Hispanics”

Trump Celebrates CincoDeMayo

BY MARTIN KICH

Preliminary notes for an explication:

Trump apparently thinks that he can begin to mitigate, if not erase, the political damage caused by his characterizing Mexicans and rapists and murderers by simply posing for a photo while eating a taco bowl.

Although food is a major element of all cultures, equivocating one’s enjoyment of certain dishes with a broader appreciation for and a sensitivity to a culture is generally an indication of the opposite—of a deeply ingrained cultural parochialism and cultural insensitivity.

Asserting that a “taco bowl” connects you to Mexicans is equivalent to saying that eating a meatball makes you Sicilian or eating a pierogi makes you Slavic.

Worse, Trump reduces one of Mexico’s most important holidays into yet another opportunity to plug the Grill in Trump Tower and, in essence, himself.

In exercising his usual egotism, Trump insults Mexicans, for he claims that people employed in a building that he has named for himself make the “best” taco bowls—that is, better taco bowls and, by extension, better Mexican food than any restaurant anywhere in Mexico. (And, if whoever is making the taco bowls in Trump Tower is not Mexican or Mexican-American, you can calculate the additional layers of irony.)

I cannot help but notice that the tacos are a darker shade of the unreal color of Trump’s hair (which is unreal on multiple levels, literally and figuratively). I have no idea what that similarity might suggest, but it made me laugh out loud.

I admit that this whole exercise may amount to a cheap shot, but Trump himself has made a career out of taking cheap shots at just about anyone and everyone, and I have the feeling that, like most bullies, he may be about to receive a large measure of what he has been so gleefully dishing out.

 

4 thoughts on “Trump Bonds with “the Hispanics”

  1. I hate to tell you, but Cinco de Mayo is not one of Mexico’s most important holidays, though it may seem so here in the United States. Instead, it is el Dia de la independencia on September 16th, when the “Grito de Dolores” marked the beginning of the Mexican War for Independence.

    Notwithstanding, the cheap shots, as you say, have already begun against dear old Trump, rather gleefully I may add: and oh what delight! You might want to add the actual tweet here for full effect, but I’ll give you the link so you can see it and laugh heartily: https://twitter.com/aurabogado/status/728343762598912000

    Enjoy!

    Besos, not borders,

    Ana M. Fores Tamayo, Adjunct Justice
    Petition: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts
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    Blogger: http://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com
    Twitter: @anamfores

    • The edited image is very funny. Thanks much for sharing it.

      I knew that Cinco de Maya is not the most important national holiday in Mexico, but I am surprised that it seems a more important holiday here than it actually is in Mexico. I did say “one of the most important holidays,” not “the most important holiday.” But I am very willing to defer to you on this.

      • I am not sure why or how Cinco de Mayo got the fame it did here in the United States. It is an important holiday in Puebla, but outside of Puebla, it is not celebrated much, and it is certainly not the feast it is here in the United States. Not being Mexican, I also did not realize this at first, but having many Mexican friends I have seen — through their posts especially every Cinco de Mayo — how upset they get to have this holiday sabotaged by cheap shots at sombreros, margaritas, tacos, stereotypes, and the rest.

        So now it’s fitting that Donald Trump, at trying to get back the “Hispanic” vote, should be the butt (or the head?) of Cinco de Mayo jokes!

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