Fast riposte to Speedy blow

Electronic Telegraph ^ | April 9, 2002 | By David Rennie in Washington

[Map Kernow]

CARTOON Network, the children's television giant, is under fire from the powerful Hispanic-American lobby after removing Speedy Gonzalez from its regular programming, amid fears that the cartoon mouse fostered negative images of Mexicans.

Instead of approving its sensitivity to ethnic slurs, Hispanic American groups and media have accused the station of misunderstanding Speedy. They say the fastest mouse in Mexico is a positive role model, famed for outwitting his North American nemesis, "Gringo" cat.

Laurie Goldberg, a Cartoon Network spokesman, denied yesterday that Speedy was banned, but said the station "thinks twice" before putting the cartoons on, partly because they depicted smoking, drinking and violence.

[Map Kernow]

Proof once again, that "political correctness" and "sensitivity" were invented and are maintained for the benefit of guilty white bourgeois liberals, not minorities or people of color.

[Political Junkie Too]

not minorities or people of color.

Nor people of technicolor, either.

-PJ

[RabidBartender]

Speedy Gonzalez, he likes my see-ster.

[Bogey78O]

'They say the fastest mouse in Mexico is a positive role model, famed for outwitting his North American nemesis, "Gringo" cat'

Gringo? Now I'm offended /sarcasm

[Map Kernow]

Laurie Goldberg, a Cartoon Network spokesman, denied yesterday that Speedy was banned, but said the station "thinks twice" before putting the cartoons on, partly because they depicted smoking, drinking and violence.

Talk about turning on a politically correct dime! Why didn't she add something like, "...and we feel that gay and lesbian Mexican mice characters are under-represented in the cartoons..."?

[patton]

Wait - I thought the Taco Bell dog was offensive?

Did I miss something?

[Political Junkie Too]

Yeah!!! And what about Spuds Mackenzie? Are all Americans beer-drinking party dogs? Oh, wait...

-PJ

[Ten Megaton Solution]

Laurie Goldberg, a Cartoon Network spokesman, denied yesterday that Speedy was banned, but said the station "thinks twice" before putting the cartoons on, partly because they depicted smoking, drinking and violence.

My nearly three year old loves Tom and Jerry. Is it violence? Oh, yeah.

The Cartoon Network's premier primetime show is The Powerpuff Girls, in which three created superhero kindergarten girls battle various monsters. No violence there, oh, no! (And well worth watching...)

And up late last night, I caught Quickdraw McGraw (after episodes of original black-and-white Popeye - no violence there, eh?). Quickdraw was never a favorite of mine (or anyone else, I bet), but dang if it doesn't include a Mexican jackass as QD's side kick.

I hear Warner Brothers will no longer release many of the WWII 'toons depicting Japs and Nazis in Stereotype. What a loss for American culture.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

That 'gringo' cat is mostly black.

[Map Kernow]

I'd like to see them bring back "Careless the Mexican Hairless," featured on the old "Dick Tracy" cartoon series, which also featured a sombrero'd Mexican detective (whose name escapes me), and the inimitable law enforcement officer, "Joe Jitsu." ("Excuse please!" *WHAM!!* "So sorry!" *BAM!*)

[Map Kernow]

That 'gringo' cat is mostly black.

But he sounds like he's from New York---maybe he belongs to Charlie Rangel...

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

But he sounds like he's from New York...

Oh my gosh, you're right!

[Map Kernow]

episodes of original black-and-white Popeye

My all time favorite cartoons---produced in a upper floor studio run by Max and Dave Fleischer off New York's Times Square in the 1930's---the building's there to this day. I could've killed Ted Turner when he had them "colorized," the jerk. Actually, I could've killed him for a lot of other things, too...

[maxwell]

Bwahaha... Pretty soon the only thing left to show will be that gawd-awful Captain Planet or whatever the hell it was...

[Argus]

QuickDraw McGraw was also a favorite of mine, especially his apparently slow but actually perceptive Mexican burro sidekick Babalooie ("I'll do the thinnin' around here, Baba-boy").

Am now waiting for the Cartoon Network to ban Pepe LePew because his sleazy continental lover routine is insulting to the French.

[Political Junkie Too]

And up late last night, I caught Quickdraw McGraw (after episodes of original black-and-white Popeye - no violence there, eh?). Quickdraw was never a favorite of mine (or anyone else, I bet), but dang if it doesn't include a Mexican jackass as QD's side kick.

Shhhh...

It's a secret, but did you know that Quickdraw is really El Kabong?

-PJ

[Map Kernow]

Am now waiting for the Cartoon Network to ban Pepe LePew because his sleazy continental lover routine is insulting to the French.

Pepe Le Pew, another fine creation of the late, great Chuck Jones. I was watching Pepe with my daughter the other day, who's taking French in school. Of course she recognizes that the "French" used in those cartoons is phoney, but she was especially confused by the use of the word "Avec!" (French for "with") when the human characters want to shoo a cat or Pepe away. I told her I thought it was a joking reference to the Yiddish word "Avek!" which means the same thing as English "Away!" and which can mean "Scram!" Chuck Jones wasn't Jewish of course, but I think that his collaborator Michael Maltese was.

[Bogey78O]

Then I guess that boosts the value of my vintage cassette of Donald Duck in "Spirit of '43"

[Bogey78O]

We're the Planeteers, you can be one too. Cuz saving our planet is the thing to do. Looting and polluting is not the way. Hear what Captain Planet has to say.

I haven't seen the cartoon in at least 5-6 years but the theme is still in my head. I cheated and looked up the exact lyrics since I couldn't remember the exact words for it. But dang if I can't get the beat out of it.

[lawdude]

"Am now waiting for the Cartoon Network to ban Pepe LePew because his sleazy continental lover routine is insulting to the French."

It has been scientifically PROVEN that -

you can't insult the french!