oh no he diiiin't

I had a sociology professor in college who was a black South African. He made the point that when he was growing up, he preferred the blatant discrimination of the Afrikaaners to the subtle discrimination of the British-descended whites. His point: At least you knew where you stood with the Afrikaaner.

I'm hoping that Vicente Fox's gaffe was due to a language barrier and not the legacy of a latin culture riddled with anti-black feelings. (I'm all too familiar with that, given my own bigoted Latina mother.) But even if it wasn't, at least it's clear where the man stands on race issues. Discrimination that's overt can be called what it is: ugly, misinformed, and unrealistic. Discrimination that's subtle is worse, because it takes even longer to overturn.

President said Mexicans take U.S. jobs ‘not even blacks want to do’
MEXICO CITY - President Vicente Fox came under criticism Saturday after saying Mexicans were willing to take jobs “that not even blacks want to do in the United States.”

Fox’s remark Friday came a day after Mexico announced it would formally protest recent U.S. immigration reforms, including the decision to extend walls along the border and make it harder for illegal migrants to get driver’s licenses.

“There’s no doubt that the Mexican men and women — full of dignity, willpower and a capacity for work — are doing the work that not even blacks want to do in the United States,” Fox told a meeting of the Texas-Mexico Frozen Food Council in the western city of Puerto Vallarta on Friday.

Via MSNBC