"I'm not a racist. Some of my nieces are dark-skinned prietas.." PR rep insults First Family..

[HipChick]

Sorry Latinos, but we're DEFINITELY still racist..

Heidi Wys Toro, adviser (and Chief of Staff) to Jenniffer González, Puerto Rico's Speaker of the House felt it was A-Ok to tweet the following messages at President Barack Obama out to the entire interwebs.

Oh, and that was just the beginning, because after being called out for her less-than-subliminal racism, she quickly fell back on the age-old, "But some of my fave people/friends/family are dark-skinned," trope. The most hilarious part? She used the term "prieta"--considered by a LOT of Puerto Ricans to be a derogatory term--to describe her own beloved dark-skinned nieces.

The worst part is that her boss, Gonzalez, didn't think her tweet was offensive enough to warrant an apology even though she was clearly inferring that President Obama and First Lady Michelle are "monkeys" (note the oh-so-subtle "double banana" reference) OR the fact that Wys Toro is an INSANE birther

"The Speaker of the House must take action against her assistant," said Sonia Pacheco, a candidate for Puerto Rico's House of Representatives, according to El Nuevo Dia "This is not the first time that people linked to Jenniffer González have made racist comments on social networks."

New York Representative Melissa Mark Viverito took it one step further, releasing the following statement:

Heidi Wys' comments against the President are vile and disgusting, and represent the height of ignorance I am sickened by the continued racist attacks from prominent political figures in Puerto Rico.

http://articles.mamaslatinas.com/in_the_news/104785/sorry_l

[NYC_SKP]

1. Assistant to PR Speaker of House. Oh no you did-unt!

[JI7]

4. is this her with Romney

[Smilo]

17. Yes - she invited them

to the do-nut shop, but Mitt didn't know what she was talking about and passed.

[lunatica]

2. When it comes to language use by individual countries I tend to use the grain of salt philosophy

Being bi-lingual has it's advantages. You learn that some words may be acceptable in some countries and insults in others. I don't know enough about the vernacular in Puerto Rico to know what to believe about this story.

[JI7]

5. she is being criticized by others in Puerto Rico

she is a Romney supporter.

[lunatica]

10. Thank for that little bit of information

It does add to my understanding.

[doohnibor]

6. Sounds like she's talking out her backside

And by that, I mean the American use of the word "backside", not the British vulgarity.

[lunatica]

8. How is the American use of backside different from the British?

I'm sorry but in my 64 years as an American backside means ass in the good old US of A. Please enlighten me.

[JI7]

12. i think among the Brits the term is more negative, like in a bad way

while in the US it just means butt, ass etc

[lunatica]

13. Awe comeon! So Romney said 10 Downing street is an ass?

rather than an asshole?

[Smilo]

18. No - it's just the same in Britain.

Talking out of your arse dear - Romney is talking out of his arse/butt/derriere/ass.

[HipChick]

11. They are calling for her resignation...and not the first time she has sent tweets about Obama..

It is not the first time that Wys has sent tweets about Obama.

In response to a July 30 tweet by a Puerto Rico online newspaper, Wys urged reporters to follow an investigation to probe the authenticity of Obama’s birth certificate.

Wys, who is white, also said in another tweet that she is not racist and that her favorite nieces are black,(is that like "some of my best friends are black" kind of comment?) but added that she does not support Obama.

“I fight Obama with all the strength in my heart and passion as a descendant of germans!!” she wrote on July 30.

On June 18, she sent another tweet to Obama in response to a general invitation to have dinner with the President.

“Wah! Wah! I feel like vomiting! Dinner with a guy borned in Kenya and claims he was borned in Hawaii!” she wrote, with some misspellings.

[lunatica]

14. Thanks for the history lesson on this woman!

I'm definitely making up my mind about her very quickly! Just the birther thing pretty much clinches it.

LOL!

This is why I love DUers!

[JI7]

15. she sounds like a fucking dumbass, and so proud of her german heritage ?

does she know most germans today would be disgusted by her .

[HipChick]

3. This is a picture of her...

[img][/img]

[img][/img]

[thelordofhell]

7. OMG!! It's Chris Farley!!

[JI7]

9. Farley is a bit prettier

[Pool Hall Ace]

20. Why yes, he is.

[Kalidurga]

21. The resemblance is uncanny...

she is like his evil twin...

[riverbendviewgal]

16. She looks like Rush to me

That is RUsh Limbaugh....think so?

[d_r]

19. I don't know a way to say this delicately

but I suspect this racist lady has no idea of how racists in the other 50 states would look upon her. They wouldn't call you "white," honey.

[Liberal_in_LA]

22. wow

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. Full on funny, (Sarcasm fully engaged)

now prieta is one of those strange terms. It can be, depending on the situation, also a term of endearment (at least in Mexico).

But racism is not dead, and in places like Mexico, yes Mexico, it is even more endemic since nobody speaks about it. I suspect Puerto Rico might have a few close issues to that.

And having this *(&^** is really bringing it out, isn't it?