As someone who is proud to be identified as a Mexican, I was baffled to hear the commotion surrounding state Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton, a Latina who made reference to Gov. Susana Martinez as “the Mexican on the fourth floor.”
Former Gov. Richardson, who grew up in Mexico, often expresses pride in his Mexican heritage. So where is the foul? I’d like to believe Gov. Martinez is proud of her Mexican heritage, though I wonder, given how she treats some Mexicans.
As the latest hullabaloo was unfolding, I was listening to experts give testimony to the Legislative Education Study Committee that Rep. Stapleton serves on. The experts pointed out the governor’s failure to follow existing Indian and Hispanic laws. Stapleton, a Democrat, grilled a Republican official about compliance with the laws.
Yes, bigotry and irresponsibility are alive in our state today, and I don’t defend either. But with more context you can decide who committed more egregious acts.
Rep. Stapleton is a Black Latina from the Caribbean who speaks Spanish better than I do. She’s a member of numerous national and state Hispanic organizations. She says identifying people by their nationality is not a slur. She explains: “In the isles it’s common practice to identify people with their origins, Panamanian, Cuban, Puerto Rican.” Given her track record as a champion for the disenfranchised, I’d give her the benefit of the doubt.
Of course, there is a thin line regarding slurs. If a white guy called me a Mexican, it might be a different story. But if a Latina calls another Latina a Mexican, I’d say there is no foul. But once the uproar ensued, she immediately called a press conference to apologize for any misunderstanding.
The controversy actually began earlier this year when the governor targeted the Albuquerque Public Schools, making them out to look like reckless money managers as a way to justify slashing education budgets to the lowest levels ever.Â
Stapleton, who works for APS, then came under attack in October by Channel 13 reporter Larry Barker, accusing her of “bilking,” “cheating taxpayers” and violating APS policy for being on salary at the same time drawing per diem as a lawmaker. The problem is, according to Superintendent Winston Brooks, the APS communication office gave Barker documents signed by two previous superintendents that gave her permission to serve in the Legislature and receive her APS salary.
Republicans began to pile on: After Barker’s report, Rep. Jimmy Hall attacked Stapleton. That was followed in December by baiting on the part of Sen. Vernon Asbill, who questioned why she was at the LESC meeting instead of being at work. Rep. Nora Espinoza then implied she was corrupt, which set off Stapleton’s comment that said: “You are carrying the water for Mexican on the fourth floor.”
None of these people have called a press conference to apologize for their vicious treatment of a colleague. And when will Channel 13, which ignited this inflammatory response, call its press conference to apologize to Rep. Stapleton for shoddy journalism? Why is no outrage over the unwarranted trashing of a Black Latina woman? Stapleton was responding to Espinosa’s accusations, but did she intend to disparage the governor for helping make her life miserable for months? Maybe, but, how would you have handled all this? Perhaps, if she really wanted to be mean to the governor, perhaps, since it’s politics, she could have taken from the Republican slur book and said: “… the ‘anchor baby’ on the fourth floor.” Or, since the governor is violating laws, could she have said: “… the ‘illegal’ on the fourth floor.” Â
So based on their actions, you decide where the bigotry and/or irresponsibility happened here. This seems to me was mostly a political play – and Stapleton got out-politicked. Right now the governor and the Republicans are licking their chops; they slammed a Democrat who also just happens to be the majority whip in the House of Representatives.
José Armas, a freelance writer, can be reached at armas@swcp.com
