The Nose: How To Know When To Stop Talking
Tacos, moon bases and the art of shutting up.
I was appalled by the now famous taco comment by East Haven mayor Joe Maturo. The mayor had two jobs to do when the story broke last Tuesday about the arrests of four policemen. He had to assure the world that he was taking it seriously and that East Haven was not a hotbed of both casual and systematic prejudice against Latinos. He did not merely fail to do either. He accomplished the polar opposite of each. The impact was worsened by the moment itself. A Latino reporter was asking a serious question about Latino issues.
On the other hand, I can't go along with calls for Maturo's resignation or removal. The people of East Haven elected this guy -- by 25 votes. They should have to live with him.
In 2013, they can get rid of him. For now, the city needs to do what it apparently has struggled to do in the past. Have a real conversation about race and ethnicity. There's no point in yanking he Maturo faction out of those talks.
Leave your comments below, e-mail colin@wnpr.org or Tweet us @wnprcolin.
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You're absolutely correct,
You're absolutely correct, pskahill. Maturo is a very bigoted person and it is widely known. He's also dumb. If East Haven has progressed from its days as a racist hotbed it is not evident at all. Those that say there is no racism are racist themselves and don't see anything wrong with their attitudes. It's disgusting. Maturo is a joke.
E-mail from Elizabeth
Colin, there's never enough time for The Nose! We need two days!
Elizabeth
Sent from my iPhone
E-mail from Josh
I think you guys have it wrong. I don't think the taco comment is a failure of the internal editor. I think Mayor Maturo's internal editor worked just fine.
His internal editor said, "Sure, if you make the comment about tacos, it will be funny." His internal editor is, at best, completely oblivious to the concerns of Hispanic members of his community. At worst, his internal editor is racist--not only because it belittled Hispanic people, but because it sought to draw attention away from the real issue, the arrest of East Hartford police officers for violating the civil rights of Hispanic people in East Haven. The mayor's failure to adequately apologize isn't a failure of articulateness. It is a triumph of his internal--that is, deep in his bones--insensitivity and racism.
The solution here is not for the Mayor to watch less reality tv. The solution is not for the mayor to learn to keep quiet about what he'd really like to say. The solution is for him learn to listen to and affirm the concerns of Hispanic people in his community, and then to govern in a way that is accountable to those concerns.
E-mail from Jim
Hey,
Did it occur to anyone that the taco comment was not a misstatement? He made a racist comment because he is a RACIST. I'd bet anything that he was fully on board with his Police department's 'policy'.
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