And the update to the story is???????????
Did she receive an apology?
How has the Mexican press handled the story?
Most importantly, what was her reaction!?!?

The difference is that Menchu fit the profile of a beggar first, and was removed because of such – a problem that I am certain 5 star hotels in Mexico have a huge problem with.

In other words, they weren’t singling out a certain ‘group’, they were singling out a certain category of people (beggars) and Menchu happened to share many first approximation qualities with that category of people. I strongly believe that if they knew Menchu was not a beggar they would not have kicked her out.

Lets use white people as an example, since statistical discrimination against white people is less politically charged. When I was growing up in Compton white people were so rare in the city that when there was one everybody assumed they were there to buy drugs. Why? Because based on every bodies prior experience, that is one of the main reasons why white people ever go to Compton (not so much now, but certainly in the late 80’s and the 90’s). Now granted, not all white people that go to Compton go there to buy drugs, but enough of them do to cause others to form statistical opinions that point in that direction. That is not an example of racism towards whites, that is an example of statistical discrimination, or “statistical differentiation” as others like to refer to it.

Human beings are rational creatures and as such, whether we like to admit it or not, based on our experiences we form generalities, or “statistical differentiation”, based on many different characteristics – race, sex, and sexual orientation being just three.

Whether Menchu intended to or not, she fit the profile of a beggar to enough of a degree that she was mistaken as one.

Btw, I am not saying that “statistical differentiation” is good, I am just saying it is not the same as being racist.

Thanks to the internet, and to blogs such as this, our “Dirty little secrets” in Latin America are making more news, and that’s as it should be.
We have a history of being our own worst enemies; we really don’t need the USA to teach us anything about racism and discrimination.
I grew up surrounded by it, and now living in the USA, I’m still surrounded by it, except that now it’s a two-pronged attack coming from Latinos and Anglos.
HP; I don’t buy your analysis of the situation. I’ve heard that story before. You can substitute an indigenous face for a black face in Latin America, but it doesn’t address our malaise, and often our self-loathing. After all, it could be a safe bet that the very people who “escorted” Rigoberta off the premises are indigenous themselves; not unlike have black bouncers outside of clubs in Latin America to keep the “negritos” out.

GUYS! it didn’t happen! So you can stop freaking out.
see this:
http://www.latina.com/latina/entertainment/entertainment.jsp?genre=ourstars&article=rigoberta07

I agree with HP. This is definitely an indicent of statistical discrimination.

Can I give two personal examples? I live in a part of New York City called Queens, where about half of the people living there were foreign born. We have a lot of ethnic diversity because immigrants from various corners of the world come to Queens to start their new lives.

I’m Latino. Once in a while, a white or black person will ask me for directions on the street, but before doing so, they ask me if I speak English. I was born in this country, and English is my first language. But when they stop me in the street, all they see is Latino, and they assume I may not speak English.

According to the people screaming racism over the incident involving Sra. Menchu, I should be offended that someone ask if I speak English, but I’m not because I know this is Queens, and even I’ve asked many Asian and Latino strangers in Queens if they spoke English before asking a question they won’t understand. Is it racist to assume that the national origin of a random Latino walking down the street in Queens, where most Latinos are foreign born? I think not.

Here’s that second example. I have a white friend. He didn’t make the best decisions in life, and now can only afford to live in a black neighborhood. At first, he was afraid he would receive harrassment from his new black neighbors because of his skin color. What he didn’t expect was receiving harrassment from the police because of the color of his skin. My white friend also understands the cops stop him as he’s coming home from work because most white people only go to a black neighborhood to buy drugs.

Some cops get used to seeing him, so they stop asking him what he’s doing in the area at night and ask him for ID. But sometimes cops get transferred to other precincts and are replaced by new cops who will eventually make the same mistake about my white friends that their colleagues made.

It can get irritating at times, he tells me. But he knows it’s not the cops’ fault that he is racially profiled, it’s the fault of all the white people who only go to black neighborhoods to buy drugs.

Well I think that’s at the heart of the issue. Fine it didn’t happen but people’s reactions were so strong because it could have happen and the fact that Menchu is an indigenous woman plays a huge part.