By Diego Gallegos. The Sunday, May 27, 2007 San Antonio Express-News ran a front page article regarding the shabby manner by which Mexican American Veterans have been ignored by National Public Television and how they have been ridiculed by Jimmy Kimmel of ABC Television. Fortunately, Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, a professor at Texas University, Austin, has had the tenacity to insist that Mexican American soldiers are adequately represented in the documentary being prepared by Ken Burns of PBS. Previous to Maggie’s involvement the 14-hour documentary had ignored that Mexican Americans had any role in winning the wars in Europe and Asia. What a stereotypical stance by PBS in believing that only the whites were instrumental in winning the many battles necessary to bring peace to the world and to relegate the 750,000 brave Mexican Americans as not even counting in the grand scheme of making America the great power that it has become. Maggie Rivas Rodriguez has been able to research the many contributions that have been made by Mexican American soldiers in many theatres of war to include the fact that 12 Mexican Americans received the Medal of Honor. The greatest dishonor has been the racist depiction of Mexican American soldiers by Jimmy Kimmel during one of the Jimmy Kimmel Live shows where he showed a Mexican American soldier as Speedy Gonzales, another showed a soldier with a large gut to portray the Battle of the Bulge, and still another showed marines at Iwo Jima wearing Mexican sombreros and raising a piñata in place of a flag! This racist attitude is encouraged by ABC Television and the sponsors of the show. One can only assume that they find this insulting depiction of Mexican American soldiers funny and an acceptable stereotyping of a band of brothers and sisters who gave they lives to keep the enemy from our shores. Should we be pissed off? Hell yes, we should shout this anger from every roof top throughout the land and let these people know that just as Mexican American fought and died to protect this country, we will fight the bigots and racists who try to squash us into the ground. You can make your feelings known by writing or calling ABC Television, making a list of the sponsors and guests on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show and then chose another product that does not encourage or tolerate racism.
