Chinga tu Madre KC Star!

Of course I’m pleased that The Star is reporting on issues that affect local Latinos. However, if I ever see any of their clever ass headline writers out on the street I’m gonna dish out an old school Chicano beatdown.

Today the Star reports on the new Roland Park Price Chopper and the effort to cater to Hispanics. While I don’t see the big deal, there are some people happy with the corporate recognition of a rapidly growing consumer market. Still, there have been Mexicans shopping in that area for years. That’s why a few people with Latino envy often refer to the place as “El Choppo.”

At any rate, The Star trumpets this move to capitalize on Latino dollars with a really stupid, condescending and obnoxious headline:

¡Viva! new Price Chopper

This is the latest example of the business community recognizing the growing numbers and spending power of the Hispanic community. Nearly 90,000 Hispanics lived in the metropolitan area in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and many grocery stores have added ethnic food items to cater to the market

At 73,000 square feet, the new Roeland Park store at 4950 Roe Ave. is about 15,000 square feet larger than the old location next door. It boasts wide aisles, large vestibules to better control temperatures, high ceilings with skylights, and garage doors that open in nice weather to create a farmers’ market atmosphere.

Yes, things are changing and I have a headline I’d like to share with the staff of The Star in regard to the changes that lie ahead in the media game:

Fuck you. Fuck you KC Star.

Fuck you and your lily white editorial board. Fuck you and the couple of token Latino employees on staff. Fuck you Lewis Diuguid and Steve Penn for letting this kind of stuff slide when you are all to quick to point out the slightest of racial insensitivity when it comes to Black people. But most of all, Fuck you KC Star and that glass house you are building. I can only celebrate as your demographic continues to die off and corporate control of information withers away. High speed bandwidth and RSS feeds are more rapidly distributing news as your empire crumbles. I’ve seen pagers that carry more headlines than the morning paper. It won’t be too soon till you’re gone, just like the acres of forests you’ve cut down in order to distribute your rag. Hide behind your registration system for now, the era of the professional journalist is coming to an end.

Still don’t understand why I’m pissed? Think about it. Do you think Black people would stand for this headline:

Right on, Brotha! Locals get on down to Atlanta to commemorate the Voting Rights Act.

Or how about:

Me so sorry! Asian students lose out thanks to affirmative action.

The Star would not dare run these kinds of headlines but when Latinos are under discussion it’s okay for this city’s local rag to put on a Spanish accent while belting out gritos at the top of their lungs. Sadly, not even Mexican American Veterans are spared from this bigoted treatment.

I’m glad the staffers at the KC Star are brushing up on their Spanish. I can only hope that learning the language will one day lead to a respect for the culture and the people who speak it.