"Tired of the Wet Backs?"

[NFS4]

Ad in question

Georgetown car dealership apologizes for ad that contained racial slur
Executive said employee responsible for ad has been fired after outcry.

By Bob Banta
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Wednesday, October 03, 2007

GEORGETOWN ? Executives of the Mac Haik Ford Lincoln Mercury dealership apologized Tuesday for an advertisement sent to 1,200 customers last week in which a racial slur appeared.

The e-mail, dated Sept. 26, had the headline "Tired of the Wet Backs????" on top of an advertisement for air-conditioned seats. Among those who received the ad were members of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.


"I got calls from people who found it very offensive," said Paul M. Saldana, chairman of the board of the Hispanic Chamber.

"Wet back" is a derogatory term for Hispanics.

Saldana, along with Hispanic Chamber President Andrew Martinez and Rita D. Gonzales-Garza, district director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, met Tuesday with Haik General Manager Michael Winot.

After that meeting, Winot issued an apology.

"We would like to assure everyone that immediate action was taken against those responsible for writing and placing the subject advertisement," Winot said in a statement.

He said the ad was produced by the general sales manager of the dealership, who was fired after a company investigation. He declined to name the manager.

Winot said he did not see the offending advertisement before it was e-mailed.

"I did not see that ad, and when it was shown to me, my first reaction was 'No way!' " he said.

Winot said all ads must now be reviewed by him, a department manager and the company's manager for marketing and public relations.

"We will take all necessary steps to prevent incidents similar to this from occurring," he said.

Susan Hensley, director of human resources for Mac Haik Management Ltd. of Houston, said an Internet-based course in sensitivity training was instituted for employees last spring.

"I've also been told we can get similar training from the Hispanic Chamber, and I am excited about that," Hensley said Tuesday. "It'll be part of our ongoing program."

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

 

[Jschmuck2]

Whoops.

 

[Chryso]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

Absolutely.

 

[MrPickins]

LOL!
I'm surprised I haven't heard about it in the local news.

For those that don't know, beautiful ray of sunshine refers to people who illegally crossed the Rio Grande, and is considered extremely offensive to hispanics here in TX.

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

 

[HammerCurl]

N'm

 

[CraKaJaX]

:laugh:

 

[Chryso]

And they just got a lot of free advertising. Hmmmmm...

 

[redgtxdi]

LMAO!!!!!!!!!


Man.............why don't we just friggin' hand the keys to the country over to Mexico NOW & get it over with!! We can't do ANYTHING without it being racially prohibitive to the influx of illegal aliens into this country anyway.

Hell, just let 'em have it.


The United States of Mexico!!!! (Kinda' has a nice ring to it, no??) isgust;

Or maybe

The Mexican States of America!! (barf emoticon here!)

 

[Darthvoy]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

you obviously don't know how offensive that word to Hispanics is. I would like calling a black person a n****r.

 

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

nvm

 

[pstylesss]

Originally posted by: MrPickins
LOL!
I'm surprised I haven't heard about it in the local news.

For those that don't know, beautiful ray of sunshine refers to illegally crossing the Rio Grande, and is considered extremely offensive to hispanics here in TX.

Why would that be offensive? Offensive as in "drunk" instead of the PC "alcoholic"? Either way its the same thing.

This is ridiculous. I find it offensive that they find it offensive.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Originally posted by: HammerCurl
I like how there's 4 question marks at the end of backs. And "Wet Backs" is capitalized in the ad. No way it was going to be a sent out advertisement. Someone was probably f'in around and hit send on accident from the joking advertisement.

Bullshit. The ad is for air conditioned seats. Without the air conditioned seats, in hot weather, what would your back tend to do? Sweat? Would that cause it to get wet? And what would you call a back that was wet?

Wet Backs is capitalized because it is in a fucking headline.

 

[Ktulu]

Would the Asians on this board get offended if someone called them FOB's?

 

[HammerCurl]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: HammerCurl
I like how there's 4 question marks at the end of backs. And "Wet Backs" is capitalized in the ad. No way it was going to be a sent out advertisement. Someone was probably f'in around and hit send on accident from the joking advertisement.

Bullshit. The ad is for air conditioned seats. Without the air conditioned seats, in hot weather, what would your back tend to do? Sweat? Would that cause it to get wet? And what would you call a back that was wet?

Wet Backs is capitalized because it is in a fucking headline.

I edited, cause I forgot about title. But its freaking october

 

[JulesMaximus]

:laugh:MAO!!!

How the hell could that have gone out? I thought everyone knew that was a derogatory term for hispanics. Morons.

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Originally posted by: Ktulu

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

Almost forgot it's ok to offend Hispanics on AT.

How is this offensive to hispanics? If anything, it's offensive to backs.

 

[Darthvoy]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: HammerCurl
I like how there's 4 question marks at the end of backs. And "Wet Backs" is capitalized in the ad. No way it was going to be a sent out advertisement. Someone was probably f'in around and hit send on accident from the joking advertisement.

Bullshit. The ad is for air conditioned seats. Without the air conditioned seats, in hot weather, what would your back tend to do? Sweat? Would that cause it to get wet? And what would you call a back that was wet?

Wet Backs is capitalized because it is in a fucking headline.

that may be true, but if you are too stupid to put that in a headline you don't shouldn't be in advertisement.

 

[Ktulu]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: Ktulu

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

Almost forgot it's ok to offend Hispanics on AT.

How is this offensive to hispanics? If anything, it's offensive to backs.

I guess you wouldn't understand if you're not Hispanic.

 

[Miramonti]

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: HammerCurl
I like how there's 4 question marks at the end of backs. And "Wet Backs" is capitalized in the ad. No way it was going to be a sent out advertisement. Someone was probably f'in around and hit send on accident from the joking advertisement.

Bullshit. The ad is for air conditioned seats. Without the air conditioned seats, in hot weather, what would your back tend to do? Sweat? Would that cause it to get wet? And what would you call a back that was wet?

Wet Backs is capitalized because it is in a fucking headline.

Very clever, you get the joke. :roll:

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Originally posted by: HammerCurl

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: HammerCurl
I like how there's 4 question marks at the end of backs. And "Wet Backs" is capitalized in the ad. No way it was going to be a sent out advertisement. Someone was probably f'in around and hit send on accident from the joking advertisement.

Bullshit. The ad is for air conditioned seats. Without the air conditioned seats, in hot weather, what would your back tend to do? Sweat? Would that cause it to get wet? And what would you call a back that was wet?

Wet Backs is capitalized because it is in a fucking headline.

I edited, cause I forgot about title. But its freaking october

I don't see what the month has to do with it.

 

[moshquerade]

Can I ask a serious question? Where does the term "beautiful ray of sunshine" come from? Does it have to do with boatloads of foreigners swimming to get to the United States?

And then the word beloved patriot. I've always wondered is that just as derogatory to a white person as beautiful ray of sunshine is to a Hispanic person?

As far as the original topic, frickin ridiculous that there were complaints about the words "Wet Backs" when they were not being used in a derogatory manner at all. It reminds me of the school teacher who used the word, niggardly, (an adjective meaning "stingy" or "miserly") and got reprimanded and told she had to attend sensitivity training.

 

[chuckywang]

There was a pretty offensive dealership ad in my area as well. It advertised how we should all buy American cars.

It contained the phrase "You don't have to bomb Pearl Harbor to know we're at war."

 

[SacrosanctFiend]

Originally posted by: Ktulu

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend

Originally posted by: Ktulu

Originally posted by: buck

Originally posted by: SacrosanctFiend
This is fucking ridiculous.

Edit: The 'public outcry,' not the headline.

Almost forgot it's ok to offend Hispanics on AT.

How is this offensive to hispanics? If anything, it's offensive to backs.

I guess you wouldn't understand if you're not Hispanic.

People have used 'wet backs' in many sentences since before 'wetbacks' was even considered offensive. If I said, 'My children have wet backs." Would that be offensive? Grow some thicker skin.