Thread: Highway safety director apologizes for chiding Hispanics

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/in ... xml&coll=1

Friday, December 15, 2006
BY RICK HEPP
Star-Ledger Staff

The head of the state Highway Traffic Safety Division apologized yesterday for telling a Spanish-language newspaper Hispanic immigrants need to remember they can't drive drunk and then bribe police to avoid arrest like they did in their old countries.

"They ought to remember that now they are not in Latin America where if there is a problem due to driving drunk one pays the police so they 'will look the other way,'" Roberto Rodriguez is quoted as saying in the biweekly newspaper Reporte Hispano. "Hispanics should accustom themselves to the culture of the USA, its norms and its rules. Here, if you drive drunk they will catch you and put you in jail."

He also told the newspaper: "In the Latino community people don't drink to feel happy, but to get drunk. This is not a problem, if it weren't for the fact that many drive drunk."

The comments, which have drawn criticism from some Latinos, appeared in the Nov. 22 edition of the newspaper as part of a story on the increasing number of drunken-driving arrests among Hispanics in New Jersey.

The story cited statistics provided by Rodriguez that show drivers of Hispanic origin made up 16.5 percent of those arrested for driving drunk in 2004 compared with 13.5 percent of those arrested in 1997.

Rodriguez sent a letter to the newspaper yesterday apologizing for his comments, although he noted the statistics remain "deeply troubling" to him.

"This is a serious and deadly issue in New Jersey and I apologize if it appeared that my comments on the problem of driving under the influence among Hispanics were based on inappropriate ethnic stereotypes," he wrote.

David Wald, spokesman for the Department of Law and Public Safety, which oversees the Rodriguez' division, said Attorney General Stuart Rabner learned about the comments Wednesday and found them "stereotypical and inappropriate."

Rodriguez -- who earns $112,801, according to public records -- is set to retire Dec. 31 after more than 23 years in state government. Wald said the retirement was set prior to the dust-up over his comments and was not related to his comments.

Rodriguez's interview has drawn criticism among some Hispanics, including those who belong to an online group called New Jersey Latino Issues.

Mahonrry Hidalgo, chairman of the immigration committee of the Latino Leadership Alliance of NJ, who posted comments to the group, said Rodriguez made a mistake by misinterpreting an immigrant community whose members hail from more than 20 different countries.

"I don't think he did it in bad faith, but it a misinterpretation of the reality and the complexity of the Latino community," Hidalgo said. "A lot of people think when they look down at Latin America that our culture is based on corruption and that is not the case. As any other society, we have the same type of problems. The same things happen here (in New Jersey.) At all different levels, we face all different levels of corruption in the state.

William Colon, president of the nonprofit Latino Institute, which focuses on educational issues for the Hispanic community, agreed in his post on the Internet that although Rodriguez's warning valid, "his choice of words was very poor."

"Are there more Latinos drunk on the roads, in proportion, than any other groups?" he said. "Or are Latinos-especially Mexicans, or those who look Mexican-- the new target of the very well-documented cases of profiling?"

Staff writer Brian Donohue contributed to this report.

Why does one have to apologize for telling the truth in this country?

Originally Posted by nittygritty

Why does one have to apologize for telling the truth in this country?

A lot of the comments are true. But I am sure there are a lot of Americans of all races who don't drink to be happy but drink to be DRUNK

A lot of the comments are true. But I am sure there are a lot of Americans of all races who don't drink to be happy but drink to be DRUNK

I agree with you on this, but I also agree that many immigrants have no intention of assimilating. If someone needs to point out the facts, so be it.