Not at the baseball game, Carlos
We're certain yesterday's game wasn't in Philly, right? Because surely a celebrity wouldn't get booed while professing the need for civil rights on, um, Civil Rights Day, would he? [The Nation- warning, left extremist alert]
Thank God that Commissioner Selig was stupid enough to choose the Civil Rights Game to honor, among others, the great musician Carlos Santana. Santana was supposed to be the Latino stand-in, a smiling symbol of baseball’s diversity. And maybe, he would even play a song!
But Bud picked the wrong Latino. Carlos Santana took the microphone and said that he was representing all immigrants. Then Santana added, "The people of Arizona, and the people of Atlanta, Georgia, you should be ashamed of yourselves." In a perfect display of Gov. Nathan Deal’s Georgia, the cheers quickly turned to boos. Yes, Carlos Santana was booed on Civil Rights Day in Atlanta for talking about Civil Rights.
OK, step one in the game day speaker guide: Don't tell the fans to be ashamed of themselves.
Step two: No politics.
Santana was speaking about Georgia's recently passed House Bill 87, which basically says that police officers can demand to see immigration papers from people they suspect to be "undocumented." Racial profiling, yo. That portion of the bill likely reads more Draconian than it is, but Georgia and Arizona are the only two states to have passed that sort of legislation. Before getting too C-SPAN on you, we'll just leave it at "Atlantians booed Carlos Santana."
And to think we got shit for booing Beyonce.
Santana, of course, should have kept his mouth shut.
13 Responses
He absolutely should have kept his mouth shut. I’ll leave my political beliefs out of it so it doesn’t turn into a pissing match but he of all people should be thankful for the LEGAL opportunity he’s been blessed with in this country. He needs a tall glass of STFU, just smile at the camera and play your shitty music.
I guess you could say Santana’s speech wasn’t so “Smooth”……amirite?
The rules to legally become naturalized are really not that hard to meet. So once that happens, carry ID. It’s that simple really(I always have ID on me at all times). Otherwise you’re welcome to vacation here with a passport and then go the hell home when you’re done. I know, I’m a horrible person to expect others to follow the rules. I should be flogged by Inez Sainz any minute now for my ignorance.
heyyyyyyyyo. i was waiting for the rob thomas reference
Yeah, keep the politics out of it. That’s why the MLB has the “Civil Rights Day” in the first place, right? To tell all us poor stoopid shlubs to keep the politics out of it and be dumb happy consumer sheep.
Baa-aa-aa-aa… Baa-aa-aa-aa…
I applause Carlos for being an unwavering bastard and keeping to his principles despite their unpopulairity at a partickulur venue, and I think he himself expected he’d get booed. At least they didn’t boo the other Carlos. Did they?
Good for Santana. It takes people who are willing to speak the truth, even in hostile scenarios. Thats what the southern black bus tours had to do in the south too. Sadly, it feels like we have more racists from the 1950s in this country today than then.
God bless America. It’s the land where you can state your opinions freely, whether they’re intelligent or stupid. In this case, it’s the latter. There are immigration laws in place for a reason and *everyone* has to follow them.
I agree that immigration laws should be followed, but I do not agree with being stopped in the street for no reason other than being of brown skin color. That my friends is racial profiling.
“Sadly, it feels like we have more racists from the 1950s in this country today than then.”
I don’t know. Talk about an overreaction. I was going to say that it was dumb for you to say that, but you know what, it is.
Racism exists, but to think it is on the same level as it was in the 50’s, you must be delusional. Racism isn’t institutional anymore. There are legal protections. Many more people are integrated now. Come on. Be objective.
@Nick Yeah, alright, its an overreaction. I’m just so sick of the constant attempts in the last few years to be so nasty towards hispanics…it is infuriating.
Someone mentioned the bus tours in the 50s. Can that person show me where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. or Rosa Parks got up in front of anyone and called them racist? They sought to change things without insult. Their method worked. Santana’s method is much more similar to that of Malcolm X, which galvanized both sides of the argument, making it even more difficult for middle ground to be found.
Beyond that, documentation of citizenship isn’t a difficult thing to produce, unless you’re illegal.
It’s not being nasty to Latinos to expect them to be citizens of this country or here on legal visas if they’re living here. It’s treating them like everyone DAMN else.
That being said, I’m hoping these stops are being made based upon reasonable suspicion of other criminal activity before they’re being asked to show ID, just like everyone DAMN else.
Maybe I don’t get out enough, but I honestly hand’t heard or read a damn thing about Santana having been booed over what he had said. Now, if that happened in Philly, there would’ve been the usual over the top hue and cry and vociferous condemnation of our fans from every Philly hating columnist and talking head from coast to coast. Highly annoying. As for commenting on the topic that got Carlos booed in the first place, thanks but no thanks. I come here to talk sports, not politics and it’s related crapola.
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