Thread: Hispanics Urge Md. Gov. to Respond to Slur

Hispanics Urge Md. Gov. to Respond to Slur
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By GRETCHEN PARKER
Associated Press Writer

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Some Hispanic advocates Wednesday called on the administration of Gov. Robert Ehrlich to eject the leader of a panel that nominates trial judges after he used a slur on his Web log.

Although Ehrlich's office condemned the remarks, aides weren't saying if William G. Duvall Jr. will be allowed to remain chairman of the 13-member panel that nominates trial judges in three counties on the lower Eastern Shore. Ehrlich appointed Duvall to the commission in July 2003.

The remarks, made in a May 5 post on Duvall's politically conservative Web log, caused a stir Tuesday after a report in The (Salisbury) Daily Times.

Duvall, a retired attorney, made the remarks as he commented on a proposal to use a former boot camp as a facility for women detained by federal immigration authorities. " Now it wants to turn the place into a warehouse for illegal female wetbacks," he wrote.

On Tuesday, he initially used his blog to defend his posting, saying the term "is a slur only in the eyes of the beholder." Later that day, he filed a post saying he "emphatically" apologized to "any and all who may have been personally offended by my posts."

Duvall hasn't returned calls seeking comment. He told Ehrlich's office Wednesday he is considering taking further action, said Ehrlich spokeswoman Shareese DeLeaver, who declined to elaborate.

A year ago, Ehrlich declined to apologize after calling multiculturalism "crap" and "bunk" on a radio talk show. He sought to clarify his remarks by emphasizing Americans should celebrate their heritage without isolating individual ethnic groups, but his comments elicited an outcry. The Montgomery County Council approved a resolution asking the Republican governor to apologize.

"I think if Ehrlich ignores it and doesn't do anything about it, by silence or by a wink and a nod, it certainly reflects negatively on him," said Delegate Ana Sol Gutierrez, a Montgomery County Democrat and a native of El Salvador.

I personally do not like the term "wetback"...and do not think it is appropriate to use in referring to illegal aliens. I believe the term originated with Teddy Roosevelt because of Mexicans swimming across the Rio Grande and therefore being wet upon their illegal arrival in the United States. It is a slang term describing the physical wet condition of the illegal alien....and is not a "racial" slur....but now they arrive in different conditions, walking "dry" through National Parks with back packs, and the term is no longer accurate when discussing illegal aliens who are entering through or from Mexico.

Illegal alien is the proper term. If they are Mexican nationals, then the term should be Mexican illegal aliens. If they are Guatemalan, but entered through Mexico, then the term would be Guatemalan Illegal Aliens Through Mexico.

OR just call everyone Illegal Aliens since it doesn't matter where they came in....close ALL the BORDERs and then the problem is solved.

You are pretty much correct in the original meaning of the word. However, I am not gonna get too worked up over it since our own government conducted "Operation wetback" a few years back. It is not a racist term, any more than to call them illegal aliens are... since it does not apply to those who enter legally no matter what their ethnicity.

The trem wetback, originated, because of all the fieldworkers. You look out on a veggie or fruit field, and all you saw was "wetbacks"

Their backs sweaty from working the fields.

Like the term "redneck" originated due to the constant redneck of southern slave owners. When they traveled North, they where reffered to as Rednecks.

I'm still trying to figure out where **** came from....got called that name on to many occasions to remember.

A new racial term I've heard since moving across the river to NJ is beaner...what the heck is that?

Beaner is most definitely a racist term, applied to hispanics in general so far as I know, and is unacceptable.

So far as my knowledge of Redneck, it was applied to short haired farm boys (who often had sunburned necks) by hippies of the 60's. If there were earlier instances of the term being used, I have found nobody who remembers it. Perhaps you are getting confused with Redleg, which was a term which did originate in the civil war era during the border wars between missouri and kansas.

Where I grew up, years ago, there were two terms used.. one was wetback the other sweatback. Both pretty distasteful terms, the former referring to illegals, and the latter referring to legal hispanics. Wetbacks were supposed to have gotten the term from having swam the Rio Grande, while the latter got their name from what you stated. I guess sweatback could be considered derogatory... if one views being a hard working individual as something to be ashamed of. It kinda puts me of mind of how in the old days, men with callused hands were thought to be of lower social status from those with soft hands. Personally, I look upon the calluses on MY hands as a mark of pride, and pretty much feel contempt for those who have never had them.

In any event, such names are not useful for our purposes, as we are concerned not with race, but will illegal aliens of ANY race. If hispanics get focused on most, it is merely due to them being the worst offenders currently.

confused with Redleg, which was a term which did originate in the civil war era during the border wars between missouri and kansas.

Hmm, that is possible. Little pamphlet put out by the ADL years back, listed the supposed origins of racist terminology.


Beeaner is one I've never heard of before, which leads me to this. At what point does a name/p[hrase take on a racist slant?

If we ran around calling all brownskinned illegals, dook dooks, would that be a racists term?

BTW, anyone catch that South Park episode, Goobacks?

it's the timecists ahh ahh ahh!!!

I think the term wetback was created by Chavez...the man who attempted to unionize the mexican field worker.

RR

Actually, there is another minority which over time, has told us today to call them one thing, and tomorrow told us that was racist and they wanted to be called something else. I always found this evolution to be interesting. In this case, the ones who came up with this or that label for themselves, a few years later were the ones who decided they no longer liked that label.

"Villain" did not always mean a criminal type. The word "villain" originated in the middle ages in reference to one who lives in a village or ville. The word came to have obvious negative connotations since villagers in middle ages europe were stupid, dirty, and in most cases thieves. Their own actions gave the word it's current meaning.

Brings one to the question... do labels define you? Or do you (by your actions) define the label? If a label comes to have a negative conotation.. who is responsible for that?

HAHAHA good luck getting Erlich to even remotely give a damn about this. Erlich is one of the least politically correct guys in power. He's one of those guys that you know has a spine and doesn't care about who gets offended by what.

Originally Posted by dman1200

HAHAHA good luck getting Erlich to even remotely give a damn about this. Erlich is one of the least politically correct guys in power. He's one of those guys that you know has a spine and doesn't care about who gets offended by what.

No life forms higher than invertebrates allowed in D.C.