Swedish vodka maker, Absolut has pulled a controversial advertisement that showed a map of the United States and Mexico as they were before the Mexican American War. The advertisement read “In An Absolut World.”
A spokesperson for Absolut said that the ad wasn’t meant to stir up anti-American sentiment.
“In no way was this meant to offend or disparage, nor does it advocate an altering of borders, nor does it lend support to any anti-American sentiment, nor does it reflect immigration issues,” a spokeswoman wrote on Absolut’s Web site.
“Instead, it hearkens to a time which the population of Mexico may feel was more ideal,” she wrote.
Absolut vodka pulls ad showing California in Mexico [Yahoo!] (Thanks, Anne!)
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@Peeved Guy: The problem is multifaceted. I won’t sit here and defend every single immigrant that comes over, because not all of them come and do the right thing. The legal immigration issue is murky, because let’s be honest, the process to come in to the country is vastly more complicated now than it was even twenty years go, let alone a century ago. The idea that just because someone comes over illegally automatically means that they wont’ respect any laws is unfairly characterizes many well-meaning and hard-working people that would prefer to live under the radar.
Let’s consider this, for a moment. There’s an entire labor industry that can not afford to pay what would be considered a “fair” wage by most American’s standards. I’m talking about primarily agricultural jobs and other such unskilled labor. The US Government stands to lose by granting legal status to the amount of migrant workers needed to fill the demand. If that were to happen, all migrant workers would be able unionize and demand higher wages. If the US were to succeed in shutting all illegal migrant workers out absolutely, Americans would be left to pick up the slack; again, demanding higher wages that farmers can’t afford to pay. Both scenarios would result in either a massive increase in the price of produce, a massive increase in federal farm subsidies, or both; or worse yet: all domestic agriculture would go out of business thanks to cheaper imported produce. So, what does the government do? It does what it’s been doing for the last fifty years. It turns a blind eye toward illegal immigrants where they’re needed, and makes a few examples here and there to pacify the masses.
Is this right? Well, just like any politics, these matters are rarely in such black and white terms. I maintain that this generation of immigrants is no different that previous ones. There are always growing pains, such is the nature of capitalism. So long as there’s someone who’s willing to work harder for less money, someone’s gonna lose out while another profits.
As far as the question of integration, I believe most Americans are being all too short-sighted. Assimilation goes both ways. I don’t know if you were ever a fan of Star Trek, but I’ll take the example of the Borg. They were a race of cybernetic organisms that functioned as a whole through a hive-mind. They became a nemesis to the Federation because they would forcibly assimilate all organisms that they would encounter. This process would usually be preceeded by this greeting,“We are the Borg. Lower your shields. Your biological and technological distinctivness will be added to our own. Resistance if futile!”. Point being, the assimilatee contributes their own uniqueness to the assimilater. This is why “non-American” holidays, such as St. Patrick’s Day, Mardi Gras, Oktoberfest, and yes even Cinco De Mayo, are still celebrated in the States. The most prolific fast food chain in the country is not McDonalds, but Taco Bell.
Just give it time, and be flexible. Things change. As a fellow service-member, you should know that. SEMPER GUMBY!
And one more thing… where do you stand on Puerto Ricans? Many of them don’t speak a word of English, yet they are natural born US Citizens. Hmm?
@Peeved Guy: Thanks for recognizing the sarcasm.
The usual pattern is: adults who come over directly have trouble with the language and spend most of their times in linguistic enclaves (see Greeks, Italians, Poles, Cubans, etc., especially in big cities). Depending upon their age, they may learn enough to get by, but are usually shuffled off to jobs that don’t require a lot of English (quite often with speakers of their own languages).
Next generation usually is bilingual, acting as interpreters for their parents/ grandparents. The following generation may understand the original language, but only basics. Anywhere there is a strong cultural/language tie (e.g., Greek Orthodox Church), the language may linger around longer and have a life of its own, but once the generations stray from that, the language is lost.
Sure, most illegals never learn much English. They would love to (in most cases), but there aren’t enough ESL classes and they are so focused on working manual labor jobs mostly with people in similar straits. Plus they are worried constantly about being caught, so they spend their time around other illegals. They are absolutely economic migrants and won’t assimilate without a substantial change in their conditions.
I’m opposed to people being here illegally, but I understand why they do it and that enforcement is almost impossible. Europe has many of the same problems and does try stronger enforcement, but with not much greater success. And that’s with a society that requires ID cards.
It’s almost impossible (other than a few guest worker programs) for a poor Honduran to get here legally. As long as there is a better chance of making it for their families here in the North, they will continue to come.
@ilikemoney: Good post. To clarify, if you could guarantee that each and every one of the people that came across that border is a well-intentioned, hard-working person just looking to get to the land of opportunity, I would find it hard to get too worked up about it. BUT!! Not every one is like that, there are murderers, terrorists, and other scumbags that come over here for a variety of reasons. But, I do think that a majority of the folks who cross are just law abiding people looking to provide for their family.
As far as the assimilation argument, I don;t really see how the borg is apropos. Unless you are talking about those that are COMING to the US. I, too, thought of the holidays you mentioned and really don’t have any issue with them, mostly there excuses for people to drink too much and act like fools. Hell, I’d wager that 99% of Americans don;t even know what Cinco De Mayo is about, or St. Pattys day for that matter. My issue is when my tax dollars are paying for the children of illegal immigrants to be taught in Spanish only. Government forms need to be printed in Spanish and English. I am annoyed that unless one is enabling the Latino population to continue like they never left Mexico, you’re a racist. I’m not demanding they wear wife-beater t-shirts, chew tobaccy, eat pork-rinds, watch NASCAR and wave the old Stars and Stripes 24×7, but at least pretend that you wnat to be here sometimes.
@RandomHookup: Agree on all points. My issue, as I mentoned in my above post, is that it seems to me that we are enabling the non-English speaker to remain a non-English speaker. Schools teach in Spanish only (no ESL classes for the kids), government forms are printed in both (several) languages, etc. I understand your point that the first generation folks would have a hard time learning English (one of, if not the, hardest language to learn, I think) and that has been the pattern in the past, but I just seem to think that more and more of the second gen. people are forgoing the learning of the English language for a number of reasons, more tolerance of those who don’t speak English, companies catering to the growing Spanish speaking population, etc.
You bring up Europe in your post and I find that interesting considering that most of the “youths” that case so many problems in Paris are not French. I know that we will never get to that point, but, I thought I’d bring it up.
Where can I get the poster? It’s funny… and educational. I love it! Old maps can tell you a lot, including about chauvinisms from the past.
I’m a third generation Californian, and our Mexican and Spanish heritage – not to mention Native roots- is part of who we are! There is not understanding the meaning of “American” without understanding our past- it’s bloody and contested!
People who get hysterical about this are ahistorical. We did not emerge from Zeus’ head.
@Peeved Guy: The Borg example was merely to demonstrate that assimilation goes both ways. While those holidays may just seem like excuses for people to act the fool, for many, it’s a way to commemorate their heritage.
That aside, this morning I had a conversation about this very issue with a Salvadoran friend of mine, also a Soldier. He brought up that extremes exist on both sides. You have people who are quick to put the blame on many of society’s ills on immigrants, and you have those that feel that society ought to cater to the minority. We both know that the ones on the fringe are usually the ones with the loudest megaphones. My friend brought up a good point that as far as illegal immigrants are concerned, they should expect to have dirt thrown at them, because they are here without sanction. They should expect to not have rights, to be exploited, and to have to live in substandard conditions. Not because they deserve it, but because they chose that path at their own peril. For them to suddenly demand the rights of a citizen undermines their struggle to be accepted as simply hard-working people that would like to earn their piece of the pie; and I stress the word “earn”. On the other hand, can you really blame someone for taking advantage of programs that the system offers them? It’s like telling a child that he’s not supposed to have any candy before dinner, and leaving a bowl-full of sweets in plain sight, unsupervised. Again, this is all about the system turning a blind eye toward the issue. Whether we like it or not, this country benefits from the exploitation of a working underclass. The government essentially throws them a bone from time to time, but please do not make the mistake of thinking that the life of an immigrant is easy. Far from it.
I’ve advocated for years a simplification of the immigration bureaucracy. The issue needs to be tackled from a different perspective than it is now. Falling back on the same old talking points only leads to flaring tempers and the airing of sentiments that border on racist, and that goes for BOTH sides of the issue. The answer is somewhere in the middle.
On a side note about the 60′s Chicano movements, keep in mind the context in which those movements were started. California, as liberal as it may be now, has an ugly history full of racism. I’ve heard on many accounts that if one were to open a history text book on California, it would seem as though the state didn’t even exist before the 1920s. Latinos, who at one point dominated the area, were relegated to lower class status as soon as the Gold Rush hit in 1849. The Chicano movements were a backlash to the gentrification of the state, and it demanded simply that people recognize that Cali was the land of their ancestors, and that that fact be respected and not buried. The movements were since hijacked by street gangs who used it to intimidate, rather than educate.
@Pro-Pain: Absolut is a Swedish company. Europeans aren’t exactly know for their “We love America” sentiment. I doubt they will be firing anyone for an ad.
@ilikemoney: You’re friend is a smart guy, what’s he doing in the Army…? Just kidding. Couldn’t resist.
I understood the Borg reference, it’s just that in todays climate, the assimilation is skewed heavily in favor of the immigrant, simply so Americans do not appear bigoted (in my view). My argument is that I really don’t think its unreasonable to ask that people try to blend with the society they chose, of their own free will, to make their home. Does that mean completely shunning their roots? Of course not, have at it, but when I see protests in LA and other large Mexican communities that have posters very similar to the one produced by Absolut, talking about “taking back” the US, well, it does not sit well with me. I know it sounds trite and I’ll get jumped for saying it, but I think the line “USA, love it or leave it” is appropriate.
Now, with all of that said, I agree that the government is to blame for many of my gripes and I don’t blame the people who are taking advantage of the services offered. I would too in their position, why not? Absolutly the government needs to do some sort of imiigratiuon reform to make it easier for people to emigrate here. But, I really think that we need to secure the border first and work on the social issues second rather than just letting any old person come here and worry about paying for that (either monetarily or with another terrorist attack or with more drugs on the street) later. Maybe paying “$12 for a head of lettuce” is what Americans need to do before it’s taken really seriously.
Interesting info on the Chicano movements. Reminds me of something that I heard recently on a local talk station. The host of the show (who is vehemently anti-illegal immigration) made the point that when Ronald Regan was governor of California it was the same time that Caesar Chavez was active trying to unionize the migrant workers. He went on to say that Regan was SO anti-union that he intentionally made it very easy for illegals to come to CA to work as scabs to undermine Chavez. I thought that as very interesting.
As a resident of Arizona, I just laughed at this. Because it’s pretty much almost true.
Wow, I think this is a fascinating essay on how not only ignorant but oversensitive people are. It should be clear to anyone who took high school American History class what this map is instantly upon recognition, and that is simply a historical map. What part of history, and reality can’t people understand? What is so offensive about this map? It should be no more offensive than a civil war map, a modern map, etc.
Perhaps Absolut wanted to just give us a glimpse at the past and reflect on how things have changed over time?
Probably the line of thinking of the ad – countries may change, but you can always count on Absolut…tacky to be sure, but honest to God, people offended by this need a therapist.
I see no problem with this ad. It’s PC-thuggery striking again!
If anything, the ad is a historical reference, but I can see how one could easily misinterpret the ad.
Shame on the populace’s ignorance.
@Consumer007:
Perhaps Absolut wanted to just give us a glimpse at the past and reflect on how things have changed over time?
Yeah. That’s it. “In an Absolut world” is the ad campaign. In other words; how things would be in a perfect world. As was mentioned in comments previously, they are pandering to Mexicans by basically saying, “The big, bad bully to the north was mean and took your land 150 years ago. See how it ought to be! Buy our shit ‘cuz we think the US is mean too”. Compound that on the already tense feelings of immigration in this country and I think Absolut fucked up. Long and short of it… am I ‘offended’, no not really, it’s not the Mexican Army is going to see that and com storming across the border, but Absolut is basically thumbing their nose at a large consumer base and I think their idiots for doing that.
Not to mention that the map in the ad campaign appears to me to be historically inaccurate. They have Mexico going well in to Oregon and Idaho whereas the borders of 1847 were on the Northern California/Southern Oregon and Northern Nevada/Southern Idaho border. So, they’re “giving their land back” and a little more? What the hell is that, interest? Although, on second thought, I guess they can have Southern Oregon and Southern Idaho, no biggie.
@Peeved Guy: Agreeing with me is always a good thing.
I wonder about the reality of Spanish-speakers resisting learning English. People born here (or raised from young age) are very likely fully English fluent. They may do a lot of their conversing at home in Spanish, but they certainly aren’t fighting English. They just use Spanish as another tool in their bag of tricks. It’s much like the young like to use slang as a way to separate themselves from their peers (or parents).
But the more we label Spanish-speakers as illegals automatically, the more we will ostracize them. We as an economy need more Spanish speakers anyway, so we can more easily do business with all the countries south of the border. Our tendency to overwhelm mother tongues has hurt us as a global power.
English is a powerful and perhaps unstoppable force.
Hey, all of you guys who think that it’s just another case of ‘stupid Americans overreacting’:
Imagine a map depicting the continent of Europe as the sole property of the ‘Drittes Reich’. Think that’d go down a hoot with, I dunno, France? The Netherlands? The British? Hell, anybody? Now, I’m not saying that Mexico is in any way comparable to Nazis, but even at the best of times tensions are high between the US and Mexico. And even that notwithstanding, implying that things would be better if part of a country belonged to someone else is ALWAYS inflaming.
In a similar vein, a map of Ireland as belonging solely to one side or the other, or as being completely without English rule would not be received well.
(All this being said, if Absolut Vodka were smart, now would be a good time to roll out a map of Asia with Tibet as a very, very independent nation and nobody’s property ‘in an Absolut world’.)