Freedom and tacos for all--still running my mouth on El Paso issues
Have you ever recommended a really good friend for a job, and you spend hours talking them up to your supervisor and your colleagues, investing your time and your reputation in their future because you love them and you believe in them and you want them to succeed...and because you know that in truth they really are awesome and the right person for the job...and then they show up to the interview in jeans, chewing gum, and their cell phone keeps going off every 5 minute--and they actually answer it at least twice?!
That's how El Paso is lately. The cool ass city I love and wish I could move back to and live the artist's life from, and that I want everyone I know to visit, to treat as more than just a blip on the line of I-10 on the way to L.A., to fall in love with its food, its people, its mountains, its way of carving a life and culture out on the border under blazing sunsets, its landscape dotted with tall italian cypress trees that move the eye from one side of the city to the other, up to the star on the mountain that lets me know I'm home...THAT city...well, to borrow a twangy Central Texas phrase, it just can't seem to show up for the big dance.
This time local iconic restaurant chain Chico's Tacos is in the hot seat for refusing service to a group of gay men because two of them kissed eachother. Oh the horror! And hey, guess what, a rookie cop showed up and backed the restaurant's security guards, telling the patrons that homosexual activity was illegal in Texas. (It's not. Technically the law is still on the books, but it was ruled unconsitutional, hence, it's not illegal and not enforceable.) Now, of course, everyone is up in arms. Most of the media attention is thankfully of the 'WTF? Are you SERIOUS?' sort, but there are some people out there being just a little too 'Oh come on, it's El Paso, we're not trying to hurt anybody, we're just trying to sell tacos here, what's the big deal?' The big deal, of course, is equal rights--you know, civil rights for all? (PBS really needs to be airing Chicano! and We Shall Overcome on an annual basis.)
My op-ed is here. You can find links to the back story and other opinions at this Google Alerts search.
P.S. There is a very VERY big part of me that wants to write out the satirical take on what corrective sensitivity training at Chico's would look like. I've been laughing my ass off about it--to myself, alone in my house--all night. It would be the greatest Saturday Night Live skit ever. Of course, only El Pasoans would get it, but it would be awesome...and completely inappropriate. Ok, just one line...imagine everyone gathered in the dining room, a big touchy feely corporate banner hanging over the counter, and the trainer finally comes to the end of his presentation and asks if there are any questions. One person raises a hand, then points to the guy next to him, and says, 'So, what you're telling me is that I can't call this mamón on the deep fryer a joto anymore?'
