Quick, which is funnier? Brown racism or black racism?

As the sun rose today the morning radio waves came alive with laughter over this:

The “regrettable” and “insensitive” remarks were issued in the form of a warning during a media briefing on August 26th as the result of their recent discovery of a cannabis grow consisting of more than 14,000 plants in the Pike National Forest. The Forest Service officials said that they believed illegal immigrants were being brought to Colorado by Latin American drug cartels to cultivate the massive illegal marijuana crops. They then warned forest visitors to beware of campers who eat tortillas, drink Tecate beer and play Spanish music because they could be armed marijuana growers. Oops!

Oh, no; it’s no rumor. It really happened. It’s in the real newspapers too.

Why else would there be Mexicans in the mountains? SURELY, they’re all there to guard pot plantations!

As tempted as I am to try and be funny about this, I’m going to resist because my point is that making jokes and having fun with this is the most pedestrian approach. Hell, if that’s the track morning radio took than you know I’m right.

Somebody has to point out that this shit just isn’t funny. It’s not just that it happened – but that, in telling the story, the tellers let the humor far outweigh the outrage.

(Add to that, I’m FROM Colorado. I call Denver my home. This is the most embarrassing thing since Amendment 2.)

This makes me wonder why racism against Hispanics seems to be so much more acceptable and tolerated than other types of racism.

What if the Forestry Service had said to look for watermelon seeds, fried chicken wrappers, Newport cigarette buts, malt liquor bottles and to listen for Snoop Dog music? Oh, yeah, THAT would be an outrage! And predictably, so. I guarantee it would be the top story in most news media and the lead on Hardball with Chris Matthews.

But tortilla wrappers? Oh, yeah, he-he. I guess that’s considered funny.

Is it because people are less afraid of “Mexicans” than the “Angry Black Man”? Is it because the African American community is more likely to raise a stink over racist events because they’ve listened to it longer and have had enough? Justice shouldn’t depend on the principle of the squeaky wheel scaring white people into packing grease into their mouths.

Is it because conservatives have used peoples’ tendency to scapegoat illegal immigration for their economic woes as a catalyst to allow overt racism against Hispanics to flow freely into the public dialogue?

I don’t know. It’s irrelevant, besides. Racism is racism and, it’s seldom funny.