My hat is off to this seller

[rjpb]

5X guide for Headline #63! I guess a highly topical "Illegal Mexican Immigrant" cover garners some serious interest. Time to put those old issues of Border Patrol on ebay.

 

Smart marketing on the sellers part.

[Comicdey]

 

did good didn't he.

[Timulty]

He could have done without the dirogatory language name for Mexicans. I know, it was in there but that auction would have got pulled if said N or S. I wonder if I could get away with selling books that refer to white people as "Honky" or "Gringo".

With the exception of that, it was incredibly smart marketing. I think there is something to be said for tying in current events to the books of yesteryear. At least, in a marketing sense.

[bye-migration]

Uh dont you have a TV ? White people are referred in that way all the time in movies and such. Be it "honky" Cracker" or "Gringo". Dont know why you have your panties in a bundle he wasnt calling anyone a wetback just mentioning they reference it. Maybe he noted it so"sensitive types" dont get shocked and offended when they read the book.

[Timulty]

Maybe, I am Mexican-American and find the term offensive. I know, he wansn't calling anyone a name but just mentioning it is bad enough. I could look at it like he was giving a warning but I don't see it as that way. And I haven't seen Grinigo and Honky used in reference to white people on TV. But then again, perhaps I don't watch the shows you do. As far as movies, sorry but pretty much anything goes based on rating. To me, cussing and racial slurs in the same boat. I just think, he could have done without it. It wasn't necessary to the auction.

[Comicdey]

He could have done without the dirogatory language name for Mexicans. I know, it was in there but that auction would have got pulled if said N or S. I wonder if I could get away with selling books that refer to white people as "Honky" or "Gringo".

With the exception of that, it was incredibly smart marketing. I think there is something to be said for tying in current events to the books of yesteryear. At least, in a marketing sense.

 

I didn't read his description, just was commenting on the price that he received. I agree that derogatory language is not acceptable.

[bye-migration]

Well IMHO this country is in dire need of people who need to get thicker skins and not be so damn sesnitive to "words". If we are playing the sensitive person game then maybe I should be offended by you typing out the words "Honky" We are off topic but thats my 2 cents. Also maybe we should all burn our "offensive" to women, minorities and otherwordly creatures golden age books. I mean I bet you have a couple in your collection that are kind of.... offensive

[skybolt]

Well IMHO this country is in dire need of people who need to get thicker skins and not be so damn sesnitive to "words". If we are playing the sensitive person game then maybe I should be offended by you typing out the words "Honky" We are off topic but thats my 2 cents. Also maybe we should all burn our "offensive" to women, minorities and otherwordly creatures golden age books. I mean I bet you have a couple in your collection that are kind of.... offensive

 

[Comicdey]

Well IMHO this country is in dire need of people who need to get thicker skins and not be so damn sesnitive to "words". If we are playing the sensitive person game then maybe I should be offended by you typing out the words "Honky" We are off topic but thats my 2 cents. Also maybe we should all burn our "offensive" to women, minorities and otherwordly creatures golden age books. I mean I bet you have a couple in your collection that are kind of.... offensive

 

I still haven't read how inflammatory the thing really is.....now I'm curious. Ya damn maggot.

 

There's no way your getting near my comics that objectify women or slur other races. I may not agree, but they are historically important and very cool.

[bye-migration]

Here is his "offensive" description

 

This is a Jan-Feb 1954 issue of Headline Comics that features the US Boarder Patrol and illegal Mexican workers in boats and on the back of a truck. I found this book to be rather timely when you think of current events. Inside, this book refers to Mexicans as "Wetbacks". This is a pre-code issue. Condition is gd with some spine wear,edge tears and edge bumping. Book will display well. It is an overall solid book that has a well attached cover. This is a hard to find issue. shipping will be 2.95 in the US. Insurance is optional.

 

Pretty damn nasty to mention a word thats printed in a comic book from the 50's. If the guy had said.."This is a Jan-Feb 1954 issue of Headline Comics that features the US Boarder Patrol and Wetbacks in boats and on the back of a truck." then Timulty has a legit beef but thats not what went down...

[Timulty]

Hey, I just think he could have not said W that's all. And yeah, I am severly disappoint how many of my GA Captain Marvel comic books perpetuate stereotypes. My issue is not that word is in there. If it had been N that sucker would have been pulled. And ebay would have been right to do so. And by the way, thanks for helping that word find even more footing the the American lexicon, Ghastly. I sooooo appreciate it.

[bye-migration]

Its just a word that has no power unless you give it power. Not too mention you said "honkey" and I thought that was gone and dead with the Jeffersons and Sanford & Son my bad.

[Timulty]

Well, to be honest, "Honkey" was the only racial slur I could come up with that was in English. Sorry, about that. I am not prone to insulting a person's race.

[Sal]

i'm going to have to agree with Timulty here. the issue is not whether a person with no stake in the game can see the offense, it's if the individual in the sights of the derogatory term takes offense.

 

i have these arguments all the time with Redskins fans. it's a racist term. the team should change it. i'm not going to sign any petitions or stand outside FedEx stadium, but at the least there should be a dialogue about it.

 

seller would have easily been able to get his point across without using said word

[CKB]

i'm going to have to agree with Timulty here. the issue is not whether a person with no stake in the game can see the offense, it's if the individual in the sights of the derogatory term takes offense.

 

i have these arguments all the time with Redskins fans. it's a racist term. the team should change it. i'm not going to sign any petitions or stand outside FedEx stadium, but at the least there should be a dialogue about it.

 

seller would have easily been able to get his point across without using said word

 

The word was used in the book, it is not obscene, it was described as a selling point for its topicality. Why not use it? I would use any term found in a particular book to describe it to a buyer, regardless of whether or not it is offensive to someone else, or even offensive to ME.

 

You guys who are offended are on a cartoon jihad. Get offended, get over it, and exercise your right to boycott the seller completely or ignore the auction. There is no right not to be offended.

[Timulty]

Again, you miss the point. Even using a slur in passing is as bad as using it in a conversation. And with the current Illegal Immigrant situation, it only places the blame on one group and not others who are also part of the problem.

[CKB]

Again, you miss the point. Even using a slur in passing is as bad as using it in a conversation. And with the current Illegal Immigrant situation, it only places the blame on one group and not others who are also part of the problem.

 

It was not used as a slur in the listing, even in 'passing'. It was used as a slur in the book. Your problem should be with the book, not the listing - and that's fine. Why shouldn't a seller be able to accurately describe an item he is selling? I would posit that the political incorrectness of the book was its main selling point. Maybe your problem lies with the bidders as well.

 

Your point on the "N-word" is very on topic, and in my opinion it would have been wrong to pull a description describing a book that used the "N-word". If we cannot discuss these things in an abstract, or even historical way, we have PC run amok.

And I do think you are correct about it being pulled immediately in any context. If I had an "All-Negro" comic to sell, I would certainly have to look over the eBay situation before listing it. And that's unfortunate. And that's not even the N-word we are talking about.

 

As an aside, some of the largest collectors of the stereotypical characatures of African-Americans that were commonplace in the 30's and 40's are African-Americans themselves.

 

I try to save my energy for being offended when offense was intended or implied (in passing, as you say). I think it's clear there was no intent or implication in the context it was used.

 

[Timulty]

Nope, the seller did an excellent job of selling his book. Using the slur even descriptively demeans all of the people, who immigrated from Mexico or were absorbed by the US from annexation and helped build this country.

[CKB]

Using the slur even descriptively demeans all of the people, who immigrated from Mexico or were absorbed by the US from annexation and helped build this country.

 

I think this attidude is counter-productive to the cause you are expousing. If you forget history, it is doomed to be repeated. And wiping the fact that the use of this term was commonplace at one time, and the history of the word itslef, is revisionism. The demeaning nature of the term is not lessened by its use in a historical context. You cannot change the comic book published in 1950.

 

(Sorry I tried to sneak an edit in on my previous reply - didn't know you were looking. And I'm not touching immigration, cause my posts would be pulled as fast as the N-word )

[Timulty]

Hey, I know they used it in the book. Anyone who collects those issues knows it. So, tell me was it necessary to repeat it? It's like vicariously using the word and not expecting anybody who sees it to not think it is Okay to use it. If you saw the N word used in the same context, ebay would yank the auction. People can espouse equality all they want but ebay obviously doesn't believe it. Nor does anybody else, apparently. This is how racism exists. It feeds on attitudes and breeds in ignorance.