Ah! The News From South Carolina! It's Not Good, But It Is Stupid!

The South. It's not the heat, it's the stupidity.

We're having one of the railroad tracks in Smallville being repaired this week and there all kinds of detours to get from side of town to the other. I overheard a conversation between two men talking about the best way to go around the construction and one man said, plain as day, not in a whisper, matter-of-factly, "I'd go down Chestnut Street because then you don't have to go into any of the black neighborhoods. I don't go in there."

Yes. It still exists in The South; only, the funny thing is it's not just racism against "The Blacks." When I first moved to Smallville and got a job, I told nearly everyone about Carlos and our relationship. In fact, he would even come by my job sometimes and wait for me, talking to my co-workers. Which surprised me the day I heard one of my co-workers saying hateful things about Mexicans.

"Carlos is from Mexico," I said.

"What?"

Carlos. He's from Mexico."

Well, he's one of the 'good' ones."

This was from an older Black woman, whom I sure grew up hearing the same thing about Black people; the 'good' ones and the ones not so good. Which is why, while this story sickens me, it, sadly, does not surprise me:

Like a lot of restaurants, Taco Cid, a Mexican restaurant, located on Charleston Highway in West Columbia sells t-shirts with their logo on them. It's free advertising, you know, and what business these days can't use a little help in that area?

But, um, Taco Cid's shirts depict an old style box trap, with Tacos as bait, and the caption, "How to catch an illegal immigrant.”  If the shirt’s meaning isn’t clear enough, the letters are colored with the red, white and green of the Mexican flag.

There used to be four Taco Cids in South Carolina, but now there's only this one, and, well, if this is their idea of marketing, I cannot imagine they'll be around much longer.

After a local news story about the shirts appeared, Taco Cid updated its website to respond to the controversy:

”Our t-shirts were created as a witty and comical statement regarding ILLEGAL immigrants. There are NO racial nor hate remarks towards any specific ethnic group.”

Except it's aimed directly at the Latino community. I mean, would the Taco under the trap mean any other immigrant other than Hispanic? Unless, maybe I’m missing something and Tacos are really big in, say, Canada? Whatever the restaurant may have intended, the shirts’ racist imagery is an offensive swipe at all Latinos.

The website continues:

“As most taxpaying Americans, we do believe ILLEGAL immigrants are taxing the system we support and live under, thereby, causing us to work harder and pay more taxes in support of their illegal activities which our government has simply chosen to look the other way.”

Taco Cid’s statement also asks, “Is it racist to disagree with those who are not supporting the American system?”  Well, not so much, but these shirts are not a political statement. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but when you use racist imagery to convey your point, that’s when you cross the line.

Now, from the stupid and racist, to the just plain dumb news of our state--in fact, this next story happened right here, in my neck of the woods:

We have a Cheeto Bandito in custody.

Kershaw County deputies took 19-year-old Austin Lee Westfall Presler into custody, charging him with second-degree burglary.

See, on January 6th, officers say a man was delivering fuel to the Cassatt Country Store when he noticed the front glass of the store had been shattered. Responding officers determined that the suspect went into the store and stole beer, cigarettes, snacks, and energy drinks. Surveillance video showed the suspect left in a white car.

Deputies, though, say Presler made a mistake: he broke open a bag of Cheetos on the floor of the store. A foot search by officers led them to a nearby home. When they arrived, they found fresh Cheetos on the front porch of the home, and a white car in the front.

According to officers, they then found Presler in a room in the home with the stolen items. Presler has been released on a $10,000 bond.

Like I said, it's not the heat, it's the stupidity.

Oh. Almost forgot the day last week when a truck carrying turkey Gizzards spilled its load at the main intersection downtown. 
Gizzards.All.Over.The.Place.
Then two cars skidded in the turkey parts and crashed into one another.
It was a like a scene out of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World.

Taco Cid
Cheeto Bandito