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July 10, 2008

Comic controversy

Reader Craig sent me a CNN article from earlier this week about Walmart's decision to take a cherished Mexican comic off their shelves.

Fans of the comic, which has been around since the 1940s, insist that the morals that Memin Pinguin has instilled in generations of children far outweigh any appearance of racism.

Critics say the image of a young Cuban-Mexican boy, and also of his mother, is offensive and has no place on the bookshelf. In fact, a Mexican stamp in 2005 inspired a similar round of criticism.

Clearly, this comic incites passion from both sides. But when does a national tradition become an outdated, unneeded detriment, especially in today's global environment?

Posted by Nancy Knight at 4:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Whatever

Comments

um, is the monkey in the hat supposed to be the boy?

Posted by: aeb | July 10, 2008 5:34 PM

Yes. Defending this would take a lot of imagination, in my opinion.

Posted by: Nancy | July 10, 2008 5:37 PM

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While she always preferred The Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew, Nancy Knight grew up reading nearly everything she could get her hands on, including a probably unhealthy amount of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, with the obligatory Jane Austen thrown in. She'll still read just about anything you put in front of her, especially the funny or weird. She lives in the city with her books, cat and drum set.

Dave Rosenthal came to The Baltimore Sun as a business reporter in 1987 and now is an assistant managing editor and Sunday editor. He reads a wide range of books (but never as many as he'd like), usually alternating between non-fiction and fiction. Some all-time favorites: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole; Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; and anything by Calvin Trillin or John McPhee. He belongs to a book club with a Jewish theme.