Ot-please Read!!

[essenceofomega]

To whom it may concern:
This petition is to request a formal apology from Vanity Fair and Dame for the offensive article regarding Latinos and the Spanish language
which appears in the February 2003 issue of Vanity Fair. In the meantime, please boycott Vanity Fair magazine, and urge others to do the same. If you are offended by the word-for-word transcription below, please copy (rather than forward) this email in a new message, sign it at the end of the list, and send it to all of the people whom you know. If you receive this list with 100 names signed, please send it to the Editor at: vfmail@vf.com <mailto:vfmail@vf.com> and copy maldonadowendy@hotmail.com
wendy@hotmail <mailto:wendy@hotmail>
Thank you!------------------------------------------------------------
Excerpt, Vanity Fair (February 2003), p. 116, Ask Dame Edna:
Dear Dame Edna,
I would very much like to learn a foreign language, preferably French or Italian, but every time I mention this, people tell me to learn Spanish instead. They say, "Everyone is going to be speaking Spanish in 10
years. George W. Bush speaks Spanish." Could this be true? Are we all going to have to speak Spanish? Torn Romantic, Palm Beach
Dear Torn:
Forget Spanish. There's nothing in that language worth reading except Don Quixote, and a quick listen to the CD of Man of La Mancha will take care of that. There was a poet named Garcia Lorca, but I'd leave him on
the intellectual back burner if I were you. As for everyone's speaking it, what twaddle! Who speaks it that you are really desperate to talk to? The help? Your leaf blower? Study French or German, where there are a t least a few books worth reading, or, if you're American, try English.
Dame Edna
----------------------------------------
Dear Editor,
I was infuriated at Dame Edna's response to Torn Romantic,, Palm Beach (Vanity Fair, February 2003). Dame Edna could have chosen any number of amusing responses; however, she responded using cheap, two-dimensional stereotypes of Latinos and Latin Americans, revealing not only her racism but also her profound ignorance of who we are. We are not just 'the help' and the 'leaf blowers'. We are architects and activists, journalists and doctors, governors and athletes, scientists and business people. We are Nobel Prize Winners and Rhodes Scholars. We speak Spanish, but we also speak fluent English, and many of us speak
other languages as well. As of last week, we are officially the largest minority population in the United States at 37 million and 13% of the population.
Without us, the economy of this nation and the Americas, and consequently the world, would come to a complete standstill. If Dame Edna were even remotely cultured or educated, she would have read and lost herself in the exquisite writings of Nobel prize winners Octavio Paz, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, and Pablo Neruda. She would know that Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz was one of the first feminists and poets in the Americas. She would admire Isabel Allende and Sandra Cisneros for their passionate prose and vibrant spirits. And of course, if it had not been for us, the world would not know chocolate! And everyone knows life would not be worth living without chocolate. Finally, I would like to point out that Dame Edna would have NEVER written such blatantly offensive material about African-Americans or Jews, for obvious reasons. It seems that Dame Edna AND the Editors of Vanity Fair believe that Latinos and Latin Americans cannot read, and even if we could, we would never be Vanity Fair readers. For the life of me, I still
cannot figure out why you chose to feature Salma Hayek on the cover and in an article celebrating her success immediately following such an offensive piece.
I demand an apology in print in the next issue of Vanity Fair from the Editors and from Dame Edna. In the meantime, I will be mobilizing everyone I know to boycott and protest Vanity Fair. By the way, I am a 31-year old Mexican-American woman, with three Ivy League degrees, working in New York City at a major firm. I sure as hell am NOT the leaf blower or the help, and I think all of you need to go to college.

Wendy Maldonado


1. Wendy Maldonado, Jackson Heights, NY
2. Jasmine J. Friedman, New York, NY
3. Angelique Jewell, New York, NY
4. Paula Cserei, Houston, TX
5. Monica Cardenas, Houston, TX
6. Denise de la Cruz; Houston, TX
7. Ana Aguirre, Houston, TX
8. Elisa Mendez, Fort Lee, NJ
9. Elizabeth Vidal, Orlando, FL
10. Mirta Fernandez, WNY, NJ
11. Jessica Feria, North Bergen, NJ
12. Jeannie Feria, North Bergen, NJ
13. Barbara Perez, North Bergen. NJ
14. Angel Perez, North Bergen, NJ
15. Angelina Deleon, Flemington, NJ
16. Rolando Deleon, Flemington, NJ
17. Nilo Calichs, North Bergen, NJ
18. Alicia Calichs, North Bergen, NJ
19. Casey Perez, North Bergen, NJ
20. Dean Perez, North Bergen, NJ
21. Myrta Gonzalez, Miami, FL
22. Ramiro Gonzalez, Miami, FL
23. Patty Villoldo, Miami, FL
24. Evette Santana, Miami, Fl
25. Gina Lopez, Miami, FL
26. Javier E. Baena, Miami, FL
27. Annette Navarro, Miami, FL
28. Lucy Moreno, San Antonio, TX
29. Hector Rodriguez, Dallas, TX
30. Jesus Galvan, Dallas, TX
31. Robin Lopez-Gibbs, San Antonio, TX
32. Enrique Covarrubias, San Antonio, TX
33. Mary Gomez, El Paso, TX
34. Arturo Gomez, El Paso, TX
35. Seney Gomez-Sowles, El Paso, TX
36. Gustavo Lozano-Verastegui, Cd. Juarez, Chih., MX
37. Claudia Lozano-Verastegui, Cd. Juarez, Chih.,MX
38. Omar Islas, Dallas, TX
39. Alberto Ramirez III, Dallas, TX
40. Nora Sandoval, Dallas, TX
41. Patricia Tellez, Dallas, TX
42. Alex Toedtli, Dallas, TX
43. Carlos A. Gonzalez, Fort Worth, TX
44. Ana Docasar, Fort Worth, TX
45. Carlos Navarro, Fort Worth, TX
50. Valerie Hope, Dallas, TX
51. Carlos Arroyo, Allen, TX
52. Francisco Reyes, Tuscaloosa AL
53. Jorge Castillo, M.Sc., Huntsville AL
54. Javier Lopez, Huntsville AL
55. Jean Pierre Mourre, Lima-Peru
56. Melissa Gothie, Morristown, NJ
57. Nadine Salemi, Dover, NJ
58. Carrianne Salemi, Newark, NJ
59. Quetcy Ortiz, Parsippany, NJ
60. Lucy Torres, Dover, NJ
61. Lillian Castro, Lawrence, Ma.
62. Delma Gomez, Queens, N.Y.
63. Brenda Morales, Bronx, NY
64.Licette Mercado, Bronx, NY
65. Olga Alcaraz, Queens, NY
66. Jennifer Calderon, Queens, NY
67. Clarisa Linares, Brooklyn, NY
68. Giovanni Restrepo, Union City, NJ
69. Jessica Colon, Mahwah, NJ

[33girl]

ummmmm......

you DO know who "Dame Edna" is, don't you?

[amycat412]

Does not belong in this forum. Moving to chit chat...

[Rudey]

Originally posted by essenceofomega
Finally, I would like to point out that Dame Edna would have NEVER written such blatantly offensive material about African-Americans or Jews, for obvious reasons.

What are those obvious reasons??

-Rudey

[essenceofomega]

Thanks for moving, thats why I put ot=Off Topic. Anyway, no I dont know who Dame Edna is an to be really honest, and trying really hard not to be rude, I dont care. I am a LATINA, and I found the statements to be offensive.

[KSig RC]

Originally posted by essenceofomega
Thanks for moving, thats why I put ot=Off Topic. Anyway, no I dont know who Dame Edna is an to be really honest, and trying really hard not to be rude, I dont care. I am a LATINA, and I found the statements to be offensive.

Hey it's really awesome that she owns three ivy-league degrees (PS - you know that's an athletics conference, right?)

Also sweet - she works at a major firm . . . I don't know what this firm does, but I bet it's major.

This response is absolute garbage - this is WAAAAAAAAY up there with any other piece of internet spam I get every day. Rudey was on the right track, and I'll take it to the next level - this is ridiculous.

Although I will apologize - it must be true, because I read it on the internet.

[33girl]

"Dame Edna" is not an actual person. She is a character created by British comic Barry Humphries. In other words, this is kind of like writing a letter to a character on Saturday Night Live and criticizing them for their behavior.

[xo_kathy]

OK, I do know who Dame Edna is and I can appreciate the satiracal nature of "her" response. The Man of LaMancha thing was pretty funny. However, I do have to agree with essenceofomega on the "help" and "leaf blower" part. I mean, come on. Is that really nessecary? Especially in an issue that celebrates Salma Hyack who notes that she was once told by a Holloywood producer that she would never be a leading lady because every time she opened her mouth poeple would be reminded of their maid.

I guess I'm saying, don't jump on the bandwagon of boycotting Vanity Fair if you don't want, but don't belittle essenceofomega for being offended. I think Dame Edna's response was a little bit much in some of its humor...just my opinion

[cuaphi]

facetious

adj : cleverly amusing in tone; "a bantering tone"; "facetious remarks"; "tongue-in-cheek advice" [syn: bantering, tongue-in-cheek]

[texas*princess]

yep.. I definately agree with xo_kathy. I think sterotyping all Spanish-speaking people as "the help" or the "leaf blower" is way out of line.


As far as boycotting Vanity Fair, I never even read it anyway. I find Fortune and PCWorld more interesting.

[SSS1365]

I agree that it is offensive, and maybe it's just supposed to be funny... but it's not. It wouldn't be appropriate to stereotype African Americans, so why do people think it's okay to stereotype hispanics? I have never read Vanity Fair anyway though, so I've got the boycotting thing covered!

[cash78mere]

good lord

people are so quick to scream racism

i always read the dame edna columns and think they are generally pretty funny and TONGUE IN CHEEK.

[essenceofomega]

Thanks xo_kathy and others who can see why I was offended. For all others, you will never understand how I feel untill you have walked a mile in MY shoes or any other hispanics shoes for that matter. What it is for others to think that all you can be is a maid or THE HELP. I never said boycott Vanity Fair, hell I could care less about the magazine, I just put this out there so that others can read it. And NO, its not about being quick to scream racism, but to destroy the stereotypes that exist. Have a nice day.

[cuaphi]

I'm sorry, I guess I had a different perception of the joke "she" was attempting to make. I saw it as a tongue in cheek reflection of those in a rarified socio-economic class being so wrapped up in their self absorbed world that a snobbery and cultural insensitivity is developed. I saw it as the writer taking a jab at certain people who may actually think this way from under the guise of a character that is being played.

Now, I'm not sure it was actually funny... but that's another discussion.

[AXJules]

I'd agree with most of you, this is a parody, satire type thing. She/He's making fun of people who are really snooty and have narrowminded views.

I wouldn't be so quick to say that someone would NEVER make a joke about african americans or jews like that. I can think of plenty of satirical articles in magazines that play off of racial/religious stereotypes to make something funny. Whether or not its funny is another topic, but when something is parodying something or someone else, I don't think anyone's safe.

And not to bitch, but why do people always back up a complaint with "until you've walked a mile in my shoes...."???? I'm sorry but we all have problems, everybody has stuff to deal with in their life, regardless of what race or ethnicity you are.