Here are the booking photos of Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., employees, Jose Luis Sanchez and Daniel Navarro. They are both suspects arrested in connection with the animal abuse incident at the slaughterhouse.
They seem like pleasant mustachioed fellows.
U.S. sees largest meat recall in history [Yahoo!]
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@forever_knight: Did you see anything like that in my post? No, you didn’t.
The only thing I’m talking about is the automatic assumption by some people that Hispanic surname = illegal immigrant, and the only time we see “DEPORT THEM” type comments is when there is a person with an Hispanic surname. Citizenship/immigration status was not even mentioned in the OP, so some people’s prejudices just come shining through in their posts when they bring up the topic.
Although many of the illegal immigrants here come from Mexico and other places south of the border (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, etc.), there are illegal immigrants from other places around the globe (China, Thailand, Eastern Europe, etc.), yet I rarely (if ever) see the “and if they’re illegal, deport them” type comments attached to those articles where they are the “villains.”
@UpsetPanda: and having to raise property taxes to cover the this crack down:
[www.washingtonpost.com]
(registration required?)
@FightOnTrojans:
It doesn’t matter who they are, if they are guilty of needlessly torturing animals, they need to be prosecuted. Did they say their superiors instructed them to mistreat the animals for fun?
@ct03: HA! Awesome! You made me spit coffee : )
@ClayS: Who said they were doing it for fun? They were lifting them and prodding them with forklifts because they were too sick to walk, and they NEEDED to get them on the slaughtering line – not because they wanted to get a jolly out of it. I wonder why they felt it was so necessary to get them slaughtered…Wonder who pressured them (and threatened their job) to produce as much as possible no matter the consequence.
@smitty1123: TOTAL lego hair! I peered at him and was like, “Is that a wig???” AND he’s wearing sunglasses?
Now let’s see what you really look like!
Those that think that these two are wholly responsible need to work on their critical thinking skills. These two are being used as scapegoats. Why aren’t the managers’ mugshots being shown in the media and tagged as “villians?” Do you really think that a large company like Westland/Hallmark, that held some of the largest contracts in the country, had no controls in place? Of course they did, and the actions of these men had to have been known by managers there.
Personally, I feel kinda sorry for ‘em because they’re taking the heat that should be directed at the firm’s managers.
@youbastid:
dont forget spraying water up the nose/into the mouth of an injured cow on the floor.
@FightOnTrojans: It’s getting really annoying when people act and assume things like this. What’s sad, is that Americans who think like this – think it’s okay to talk like this — because ALL ‘white’ people must think the same way (sometimes it seems they do at this point) People make Hispanic generalizations and racist remarks to me all the time, not realizing that I am half Mexican. Not that changes my opinion on disliking ignorant people.
Those are pretty big flavor savers that they are sporting!!
The ranchero on the right needs the shades to protect his eyes from the glare off his giant silver belt buckle. I know he has one, you can even see the flash reflection off of it.
In your best Carlos Mencia voice: Noooo seeeenor judge, I was not heeeting the vacas with the forkleeeft, I was tendeeerizing the carne for deeeener.
@mikelotus: I’m not too fond of raising taxes to fund this, but I don’t live in PW County either.
@savvy999: Can we find a way to deport Carlos Mencia?
Both the workers and the management are at fault here. I doubt there’s an official company training manual for waterboarding cows and plowing into them with forklifts. However, whether or not the workers are legal, from what I understand humane treatment of animals is not a huge priority in Mexico. It’s possible that the stache guys had no idea that what they were doing is considered pretty wretched by consumers in the US. And management clearly failed by either encouraging it or allowing it to happen.
I suspect the true culprit here is the market force of the $.99 burger.
@ClayS: And I didn’t say that they shouldn’t. I said I want to see some management mugshots right up beside them, as they are equally responsible for what happened.
not wanting illegal immigrants somehow makes you racist.
It has already been reported on Feb. 22, by the Press-Enterprise newspaper in Chico, that Sanchez is an undocumented immigrant.
Can somebody post the link ?
@BayStateDarren:
Ohmigosh, me too!!
@UpsetPanda: You mean Ned Holness, the fake Mexican comic?
@FightOnTrojans:
The numbers of illegals from Mexico are much higher due to the close proximity of our countries. In other words it’s much easier to run across the border from Mexico to California than it is to swim to Alaska from easter Europe. That’s why it’s easier to assume Juan is more illegal than Vlad.
Hey, guess what happens when there aren’t as many Mexican illegals in this country? It won’t be assumed that everyone here with a Latino surname is illegal like it is now. I assume people with Latino surnames who are citizens or here legally would be happy about that.
@FightOnTrojans: we agree that assumptions are bad. hurray.
what you are seeing by people posting DEPORT THEM is not anti-hispanic fever. it is not specific to hispanics either. as you point out, people come to this country illegally from all over. it is the frustration and anger that 1) people come to this country illegally and without real consequence for breaking the law, and 2) the immigration policy in this country is horribly outdated; it needs to be changed so that the children of illegals aren’t automatically granted citizenship if born here, and employment of illegals is punishable by large fines. eliminate the real and perceived reward for coming here illegally and there is no need for an expensive border fence.
@bestuser: No, but assuming that all hispanic people are illegal immigrants is.
I blame corn subsidies for this mess.
why dont we see booking pictures of the USDA reps who were asleep at the wheel?
@SaveMeJeebus: i blame global overpopulation. too many mouths to feed, not enough food.
my bad on bringing up immigration status. i take it back and apologize. i’m still seriously fuming over the animal cruelty. anyone who looked the other way, or otherwise made such actions “OK” should be prosecuted, in my opinion.
@FightOnTrojans:
The simplest way to deal with the illegal immigration problem is to handle it the same way Mexico does…
[www.humanevents.com]
Some highlights:
Mexico has a single, streamlined law that ensures that foreign visitors and immigrants are:
* in the country legally;
* have the means to sustain themselves economically;
* not destined to be burdens on society;
* of economic and social benefit to society;
* of good character and have no criminal records; and
* contributors to the general well-being of the nation.
The law also ensures that:
* immigration authorities have a record of each foreign visitor;
* foreign visitors do not violate their visa status;
* foreign visitors are banned from interfering in the country’s internal politics;
* foreign visitors who enter under false pretenses are imprisoned or deported;
* foreign visitors violating the terms of their entry are imprisoned or deported;
* those who aid in illegal immigration will be sent to prison.
Too bad they don’t want us to have the same…
@forever_knight: Dude, I am not taking the bait. That’s an argument for a whole different forum, not here.
My only concern is the automatic association that Hispanic = illegal, and that these guys are being put forth as the only culprits, when everyone knows there are some management-type people that also need to be arrested. My personal belief is that everyone all the way to the top of the company is complicit in this.
@rbb: Dude, let’s try to stay on topic. I don’t want this story to get hijacked into a “who’s immigration policy is better/worse” thread. What we should all take away from this story is that these two guys broke the law and are being offered up as the main culprits by a management staff trying to cover its ass. As a consumer of beef, and an employee of a school district that is probably this company’s second largest consumer, I am concerned that the management staff that allowed this to happen is not being held responsible for their actions.
How do people still sport those staches?
That’s disgusting. They should be shot. After being forced to stand with a cattle prod and a forklift.
What makes what the two vaqueros did any less moral than the typical
slaughterhouse protocol of killing healthy cows? This is a scummy
business, one predicated on people having no idea how the animals they
eat are killed, and — apparently — that the hombres doing the killing
look like the kind of people many readers of this site wouldn’t trust
to mow their lawns. My theory is that if you haven’t killed the animal
yourself, you have forfeited the right to bitch about how it’s killed.
@Project Thanatos:
the senoritas must think they are muy macho!
What is this, the end of 12 Monkeys?
I can’t believe someone could treat an animal, ANY animal with such a blatent disreguard for it’s existance. If there is a Hell I just saw a picture of two people who are going there.
@mattbrown: Probably; yes. Happy?
@elijah_dukes_mayonnaise: Because their conduct was with the intent of skirting FDA regulations and introducing sick animals into the food supply. That’s what makes this case different than what you’re supposed to observe at a “typical” slaughterhouse.
@smitty1123: That is one of the most hilarious things I have read in a while!!!! Got to give you props…
two fall guys that happened to be caught on camera…you think anything will actually change in slaughterhouse policy? Back to business as usual…
@cunnij98:
of course it will change slaughterhouse policy! Employees will be more scrutinized to make sure they arent sporting hidden cameras.
I think we’re all ignoring the real masterminds of this operation:
Follow the hair gentleman, follow the hair….
Where did that guy Navarro get his toupe — in the brooms and mops section at Bed Bath and Beyond?
But, seriously, working in the meat industry has got to be an awful job, which would probably erode the humanity of anyone unfortunate enough to face the necessity of supporting their family by doing that kind of work. I wish I had the strength of character to be a vegetarian.
@Underpants Gnome: Well played. You win.
@m4ximusprim3: I thought we deported ZZ Top in the mid-90′s
Hunh? Clearly, it was Sabotage
[991.com]
I thought they didn’t eat meat or something.
I’m pretty sure the guy isn’t wearing sunglasses, but has those glasses that change for sun-use. My grandmother never had a good picture of herself because of her darn color changing glasses!
And it’s taken me all day to post this because Consumerist never seems to load with no errors at work any more
Astoundingly, the execs broke no laws that Republicans deem worthy of writing. That’s why the authorities are prosecuting these two on animal cruelty charges, of all things, instead of poisoning 80% of America’s school children. Bio-warfare-levels of brain damage undoubtably spread to tens of thousands, twenty years out from BSE if it turns out that way – imagine the outcry if al Quada planned this – while Big Agra chuckles as they slip on their golden parachutes.
But hey – the Free Market worked! The company’s out of business and two laborers following orders will get spanked!
i find the biggest crime here is the white guy on the left posing as a hispanic guy. THAT’S RACIST!
In last town in Texas that I lived in the town’s biggest employer was a Monfort beef packing plant. A small town called Cactus had sprung up near the plant that had a population that was about 99% Mexican. These plants don’t care if the people they hire are legal or not. It costs about $100 or so to get a false state ID. I’ve seen them, they are very real looking. (I am sure it prob costs quite a bit more to get phony resident or green card identifcation though.) Working in a chicken or beef processing plant is very difficult work, not alot of “White” people want to do it, not for what they pay for their beginning workers. Since it is so easy to get hired on and I am sure these jobs probably pay alot more than what they’d make in their native countries the problem is going to continue.
The problem isn’t the illegal workers. It could have very easily been White, Asian or black workers caught on tape doing the exact same thing. To make any issue of the race of these men is wrong.
The moral of the story: Be careful where you beat your me…Don’t abuse cows.