TKC salutes Mary Sanchez!!!

Later on today I may go to yet another meeting about the whole Semler controversy, if it doesn't get in the way of my nap . . . But lately I've been thinking about the voices in the mainstream media who have spoken out regarding this subject.

Nearly every columnist at The Star has filed an article about the controversy and Minuteman/Immigration opinions have dominated the talk radio airwaves.

Yet, for all of the talk and wasted words there have been few instances of media types advocating for the local Latino Community or, god forbid, on behalf of immigrants (undocumented or otherwise). The exception which points out the rule has been a very brave column by Barbra Shelly where she equates illegal immigration with jaywalking.

Nevertheless, TKC has always been a big fan of people speaking up for themselves. While there have been several Latino reporters doing some great work on the story, Latino commentators are few and far between. Sadly, Mary Sanchez is probably the most prominent Latina opinion-maker in Kansas City and her writing on the subject has been uninspired to say the least.

Let me prove my point . . .

As I've noted previously, throughout this entire controversy talk radio hosts have been on a rampage and have thrown one insult after the next toward Local Latinos and the National Council of La Raza. As is their right, they've used divisive rhetoric and taken calls from every suburban d-bag in the greater KC area who can't help but assert that Mayor Funkhouser is the greatest guy they can't vote for despite the fact that he's a self-proclaimed liberal with a barefoot wife that practices some strange form of voodoo or ritual communication with the spirit world.

Meanwhile Mary Sanchez has turned in a grand total of two milquetoast columns which do nothing more than apologize for brown people with opinions.

In her first piece (heh) the Pitch noted that she was "calm and thoughtful" which doesn't really do anyone any good but only helps to feed the columnist's ego.

A few weeks later, Sanchez spoke up a little bit more with all the excitement of a freshman term paper and wished for "calmer, better-informed voices" despite the fact that her colleagues were either vehemently singing the praises of the Minutemen or defending Mayor Funky with every keystroke.

Put simply, this hasn't been a debate which has relied on subtlety and in her role as one of the most prominent local Latina opinion columnists she has put the Latino community at a disadvantage with her mousy writing.



At this point, folks might argue one of two things:

1. 71 percent of Kansas City Hispanics don’t think Francis Semler should removed from the Park Board. This is just disinformation. Really, if this might mean that Mayor Funky's poll numbers could be higher than originally reported, I'll concede that but this poll is the furthest thing from the truth I've ever seen reported. My expertise: I've done community reporting in Latino neighborhoods for almost ten years. I've been to more than half a dozen community meetings at which people have spoken out against this appointment and my name has a lot more vowels than any of the white people who might prize this manufactured stat.

Really, I don't know where they dug up the Puerto Ricans who answered this question but I've talked with at least a dozen influential Latinos from big organizations (non-profit and businesses) around the City and they are ALL pretty peeved about the Semler appointment. Let's be clear: The Latino Leadership couldn't have made so many bold moves in this situation without a lot of consensus on their side. Are their dissenting opinions? Of course, but the impetus is on those people to make their voices heard and not supporters of the Minutemen or Mayor Funkhouser to actively seek them out and falsely proclaim them as any more authentic than those who disagree with bigoted rhetoric . . . In fact, the Mayor has already tried to use this divide and conquer tactic and it didn't do him much good and created a lot of problems for the people in question . . . In the end, Mayor Funky has resorted to bringing his Hispanic neighbor to meetings geared toward the Latino community and that is a better indication of his level of support among a segment of Kansas City voters who previously endorsed him with record numbers. Really, if there were many prominent opponents to the Semler debate in the Latino Community they've had more than ample time to make their voices heard . . . But that hasn't happened and if it did, these folks wouldn't have much credibility for long. What's more likely: Only white people are promoting this poll and those same people don't know much else about KC's Latino Community.

2. On the subject of representation some folks might say: "Mary Sanchez achieved her position (heh) through her own merit and she should not be beholden to any group simply because they share her same ethnicity."

Ah, if only we lived in a world that was so fair, cute and cuddly. The fact is, Mary Sanchez is the Star's window dressing when it comes to the Latino Community. There's nothing captivating about her writing and she is most likely the least provocative columnist in The Star's stable . . . Mind you, being a columnist in and of itself dictates that you must revel in controversy at least at some level and not simply plead for well reasoned (i.e. boring) ideas to prevail. Throughout the course of my (failed) writing career I've come into contact with Latinos who have slaved away in the news business for years without a substantial reward and people who were simply shut out of media because of their complexion. Because of the long history of Latinos being denied access to the mainstream media, Sanchez has an obligation to at least quote people from the Latino community rather than simply reacting like a coward (or a damsel in distress) when things get rough. If she wants to quote Latino dissenters, fine . . . Give them a chance to state their opinion but the fact is that for all intents and purposes Sanchez is a gatekeeper at The Star when the rest of the staff seems to be engaged in advocacy either for light rail or Mayor Funky.



Still, I know how hard it is to be caught in the middle (I once dated two fat woman at the same time).

Therefore I have to note that Sanchez has done an excellent job staying above the fray. While other minority columnists at The Star like Steve Penn and Lewis Diuguid have endured a bevy of pot shots while advocating for causes in the African-American community . . . Mary "Dirty" Sanchez is careful to shy away from controversy, urge Latinos to keep their voices down and revel in her token status. Sure, that's not a very inspiring strategy but it goes a long way toward keeping a writer clean of any controversy, well stocked in smart business suits and utterly forgettable in the minds of folks who really care about the Semler debate.