evawhite on April 11th, 2008
It is a Vodka advertisement that has recently raised American hackles, prompting the ultimate withdrawal of the advert and an apology from the Vodka Company to boot! If you look at the Yahoo questions on this issue, you will see just how many hackles! Lots of people pissed off enough to say they will boycott the drink until an apology is published etc, etc. The American sensibility is so important that the ad has been pulled and not a trace of it can be found anywhere except a Brisbane news site which is where I got the photo from! The ad, which says “In an Absolut world” goes on to show a map with the entire mid western area of the US including California shown to be part of Mexico.
This incident has brought back into focus some long forgotten bit of history, that states such as Texas and California which are now almost symbolic of the United States of America were actually part of Mexico in the past. In the mid nineteenth century, the United States annexed Texas and thereafter hatched a plan to purchase the areas that form present day California and New Mexico for the sum of $30 million! Such unabashedly imperialistic action would shock the world today. In fact it was just such an attempt at invading and annexing of Kuwait by Iraq that caused the Gulf War. The war that resulted from this annexation was the Mexican War (1846–48). At the end of the war and as a result of a treaty, Mexico ceded to the U.S. nearly all of present New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, Texas, and Colorado for princely sum of $15,000,000!
In light of this I don’t think it is unreasonable for many Mexicans to think about these south western American areas as an erstwhile part of Mexico or feel some territorial kinship. Further the Americans are at pains to keep Mexicans out of areas which Mexicans have some reason to believe should have been theirs. And if a company decided to gain some advertising mileage for their product from this historical perception, so be it I say! This commercial meant to target the Mexican consumer audience, and anyone taking umbrage at this I do understand, but have no sympathy for! Take it with a pinch of salt and a dash of humor for heaven’s sake! What do you all think?
evawhite on March 27th, 2008
As I told you in my last post, I would be telling you all about strange and weird existing American laws, so here goes:
In Baltimore, Maryland, it is illegal to take a lion to the movies. I don’t think I have seen too many lions sitting outside movie halls waiting for their owners to finish their movie, have you?
In Oxford, Ohio, it is unlawful for a woman to appear in public while unshaven. This includes legs and face. Hmm I think the feminists might have something to say about this one, and the bearded lady too.
In the grand city of Ottumwa, Iowa, it is illegal for any man, within the corporate city limits, to wink at any female with whom he is “unacquainted.” I wonder if the lawmakers took a leaf out of the Saudi Arabian law books.
Wyoming prohibits fat people (defined as 100 pounds overweight) from swinging on swings or using other playground or park equipment. Not very politically correct!
Single women in California are prohibited from entering a place of business where men can be observed standing before mirrors, exhibiting themselves in a semi-naked state while lifting weights. LOL! No unisex gyms then.
Some Appalachia towns have ordinances requiring a person to take a bath the night before coming into town, and to carry on their person a signed statement by two reliable witnesses. People must really not be bathing very much if the law required them to do so!
Here’s a really funny one about pets: pets are prohibited from “snarling” or “growling” at police, mail, or pizza delivery persons. At Anglo-American common law, the offending pet would be dressed up like a human and publicly executed. Any animal rights activists listening?
There is a whole bunch of weird ones from Louisiana: If you bite someone with natural teeth, that is assault, but if you do that while wearing dentures, that is aggravated assault. This is the first time I heard of dentures being a weapon. Then you can’t gargle in public or catch lizards at night. If a couple is shopping for a bed you can’t test it out by having sex on it. I suppose some people need to have it spelt out! It is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot the teller with a water gun- I wonder what is worse the robbery or adding insult to injury by indicating that you fooled the teller into thinking you had a real gun! For some reason you are also not allowed to wear an alligator costume. This one totally escapes me!
And there are some really great laws pertaining to alcohol consumption: You can’t use the word “refreshing” to portray alcohol; apparently you can call it energizing or bracing or whatever! In Ohio, the law states that it is illegal to get a fish drunk and in Fairbanks, Alaska, it is against the law to give a moose any kind of alcohol. It beats me why anyone would want to! Pennsylvania law prohibits a man from buying alcohol without a note of permission from his wife. No need for his to join the Alcoholics Anonymous then!
Hope you enjoyed those bizarre laws as much as I enjoyed compiling them for you.
