Students at the University of Oregon were asked to attend the taping of the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” wearing “their best fiesta wear.” The bit was tied to the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and students complied by wearing….sombreros:
Andrew Seistrup said he was asked by “Ellen” staff members to remove his sombrero and fake mustache to, in Seistrup’s words, “avoid stepping on any toes.” Seistrup was one of four people interviewed on air during the segment as a finalist for the tickets.
During the broadcast, a few sombreros could be seen in the crowd behind the main contestants for the tickets.
When asked about the sombreros at the event, “Ellen” staff declined to comment
This is how absurd it’s gotten. ANYTHING that relates to an ethnic group is considered offensive by the PC-obsessed:
Cory Kirshner-Lira, a graduate student in education, was concerned that people would interpret the sombreros and other costumes in a way that “reduced Mexican culture to stereotypes.”
“I don’t think it would ever be okay for me to dress as a white person,” Kirshner-Lira said. “But today it’s okay to dress as a Mexican.”
Uhhh, how do you dress “as a white person”? Wear a cowboy hat? Mexicans have made western dress almost a national costume, Stetsons, boots, pearl-button shirts, huge belt buckles and all. Does that reduce white culture to a stereotype? Maybe if you came dressed in a business suit that would be considered dressing “as a white person.” But wouldn’t that be demeaning to all the ethnic minorities who are successful businessmen? These people just make no damn sense.
One kid with his head where the sun shines, unlike Kirshner-Lira (wouldn’t you know he/she would have a hyphenated name; so progressive, you know):
“As a Latino, I don’t see how it’s degrading,” said Allan Benavidas, who attended the event dressed in a foam taco costume.
“It’s just fun,” he said.
There’s at least one sane person at the University of Oregon, it seems.
