Popular Mexican comic book, “Memin Pinguin” was recently pulled from the shelves of Wal-Mart due to complaints of racism:

“We understand that Memin is a popular figure in Mexico,” the company said in a statement. “However, given the sensitivity to the negative image Memin can portray to some, we felt that it was best to no longer carry the item in our stores. We apologize to those customers who may have been offended by the book’s images.”

This is not the first time Memin stirred up controversy: this is the same character that was put on Mexican stamps in 2005 and subsequently protested against by many in Mexico and the U.S., including President Bush.

There are defenders of Memin, many have argued that people in the U.S. simply don’t understand the cultural significance of the character for Mexicans.

But for some reason I’m reminded of the joke an anti-racist Chicano activist told me was a good way to understand race relations in Mexico: A Mexican returns from the U.S.. People ask him how his trip was. He replies fine, except the ‘goddamn racists and pinche blacks’ were tough to deal with.

“Cultural significance” can also mean reinforcing racism. I think now is the time for all of us Chican@s and Mexican@s to start thinking about our assumptions of what racism can mean.