Burro Hall

It's funny how racial slurs and just plain offensive language don't cross borders with all their baggage intact. We've mentioned the country's beloved national golliwog Memin Pinguin before, and there's a packaged snackfood here called the Negrito, whose corporate mascot is a wild-afro'd, well, negrito. (Negritos are made by a company called - this is true - Bimbo, and if you're wondering why we haven't included a picture of the package, go ahead and do an image search for "negrito and bimbo," though we wouldn't recommend doing it at work.)

So it probably shouldn't surprise us that the Caucasian, Mexican rapper calling himself Nigga is not only riding a nationwide wave of popularity unhindered by his name, (current hit video is here) but, as you can see from this full-page ad in a family newspaper, Sears is perfectly comfortable pimpin' (can I say that?) his album with an in-house appearance - at Christmastime. 'Cuz it just ain't Christmas without ya Nigga - ya feelin' me?

This sort of thing cuts both ways, of course. Y'know, good luck finding Spic 'N Span on the shelves here, and Beaners coffee has a way to go before it overtakes Starbucks. On the other hand, Mexicans routinely refer to their border-crossing compatriots as "wetbacks" (mojados), even in polite company.

Anyway, here's a close up of Sears's Santa givin' big ups to his Nigga, throwing up what we believe is the sign of the Long Beach Crips. Gz up, ho-ho-hoes down!

# 11/30/2007