Log In

Home
    - Create Journal
    - Update
    - Download

LiveJournal
    - News
    - Paid Accounts
    - Contributors

Customize
    - Customize Journal
    - Create Style
    - Edit Style

Find Users
    - Random!
    - By Region
    - By Interest
    - Search

Edit ...
    - Personal Info &
      Settings
    - Your Friends
    - Old Entries
    - Your Pictures
    - Your Password

Developer Area

Need Help?
    - Lost Password?
    - Freq. Asked
      Questions
    - Support Area



estoy sin nombre ([info]persona) wrote in [info]unfunnybusiness,
@ 2009-10-26 10:32:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Current mood:*thud*
Current music:Kidneythieves - Before I'm Dead
Entry tags:another reason to hate people, colorblindness, oh for god's sake, politics, wtf, wtf?, yet anothoer reason to hate people

every the article uses the word 'Spanish', take a drink
Hotel owner tells Hispanic workers to change names.

TAOS, N.M. – Larry Whitten marched into this northern New Mexico town in late July on a mission: resurrect a failing hotel.

The tough-talking former Marine immediately laid down some new rules. Among them, he forbade the Hispanic workers at the run-down, Southwestern adobe-style hotel from speaking Spanish in his presence (he thought they'd be talking about him), and ordered some to Anglicize their names.

No more Martin (Mahr-TEEN). It was plain-old Martin. No more Marcos. Now it would be Mark.

Whitten's management style had worked for him as he's turned around other distressed hotels he bought in recent years across the country.

The 63-year-old Texan, however, wasn't prepared for what followed.

Sit on your hands while reading the article, least you bruise yourself facepalming: believe it or not, it gets even worse.

Bonus: The article is also badly written. It's just the cherry on the fail pile.


(Post a new comment)


[info]rosehiptea
2009-10-26 05:02 pm UTC (link)
I was just coming over here to post this. I can't believe anyone from Texas really is that clueless about Hispanic culture; I think he's being disingenuous. And is a massive jerk.

We have an English-only policy at my workplace, which pisses me off, but everyone is allowed to use their name at least.

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]persona
2009-10-26 05:17 pm UTC (link)
Yes, I'm inclined to agree. You'd have to live in a bubble to really think that way.

What kind of work do you do?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]rosehiptea, 2009-10-26 06:16 pm UTC

[info]cyndra_falin
2009-10-26 05:47 pm UTC (link)
I would hope for the same thing, since we're everywhere here in Texas. I have yet to meet such a person here and I hope to never run into someone like that.

(Reply to this)(Parent)


mockygogo
2009-10-26 06:22 pm UTC (link)
Count me also as someone who was going to post it here if it wasn't already... which it was... because it's just that failtastic.

And I don't know of a worse recommendation to a tourist destination than "we treat our employees like crap."



(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]kittikattie
2009-10-26 07:16 pm UTC (link)
I can't believe anyone from Texas really is that clueless about Hispanic culture;

You've never been to Texas, have you? There are huge swatches of suburbs and cities that only see Latino culture as invaders from the south. I actually know people who turn up their nose as Mexican food...and they have lived in Texas their entire lives.

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]rosehiptea, 2009-10-26 07:29 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]fern_on_fen, 2009-10-26 07:40 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-26 09:01 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kittikattie, 2009-10-27 02:17 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-27 08:57 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]kittikattie, 2009-10-27 09:05 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-28 02:48 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]shinga, 2009-10-26 10:03 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]honorh, 2009-10-27 02:03 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]kefanii, 2009-10-27 06:36 am UTC
(no subject) - tetradecimal, 2009-10-27 03:48 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-27 08:57 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]finchbird, 2009-10-27 12:43 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]finchbird, 2009-10-27 03:33 am UTC

[info]greenygal
2009-10-26 05:10 pm UTC (link)
I was even less impressed after reading this article (requires subscription, but you can get a free trial pass) which among other things establishes that he insisted employees show up ten minutes early for their shifts (was he paying them for that?) and has this totally sensible quote:

"This mountain lady who wanted to hear the truth, she asks me, 'When you told Martín his name was gonna change, did you ask him how he felt about that?' " Whitten said.
"I said 'Lady, I'm not running a nursery.' When the Marine Corps teaches you to hit the dirt because there's a grenade, you don't say, 'Hey fellas, you wanna hit the dirt or you wanna get your ass blown up?'"

(Reply to this)(Thread)


[info]spacelogic
2009-10-26 05:21 pm UTC (link)
...yeah, trying to force a hotel worker to disown his cultural identity is exactly the same as training a soldier to survive grenade attacks! If you use a Spanish pronunciation of your Spanish name, the terrorists have won!

¿Qué joder?

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]persona, 2009-10-26 05:26 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-26 05:54 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]brennalarose, 2009-10-26 06:03 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-26 07:33 pm UTC
(no subject) - tetradecimal, 2009-10-27 03:52 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]fern_on_fen, 2009-10-26 07:42 pm UTC

[info]honorh
2009-10-27 02:07 am UTC (link)
YOU CAN'T RUN A BUSINESS LIKE YOU'RE IN A WAR ZONE, DUMBASS! Failure to comprehend, sweet Rassilon . . .

(Reply to this)(Parent)


[info]ahiru
2009-10-26 05:33 pm UTC (link)
Whitten says it's a routine practice at his hotels to change first names of employees who work the front desk phones or deal directly with guests if their names are difficult to understand or pronounce.

Difficult-to-pronounce names like....Marco. Yeah, sorry, no. FAIL. Try again please.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]persona, 2009-10-26 05:39 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]adevyish, 2009-10-26 09:44 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2009-10-27 02:26 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hitchhiker42, 2009-11-04 06:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]eleutheria, 2009-11-04 10:59 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]hitchhiker42, 2009-11-08 02:57 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]lydiabell, 2009-10-27 06:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ilinana, 2009-10-26 07:20 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]bolboreta, 2009-10-27 01:13 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]atreyu, 2009-10-27 03:23 am UTC

[info]cyndra_falin
2009-10-26 05:42 pm UTC (link)
I just saw this and I was on my way here to see if it was posted. I wish the crazy would stop coming from my state. *headdesk*

(Reply to this)


[info]the__ivorytower
2009-10-26 05:55 pm UTC (link)
Oh, but he didn't mean it, so it's okay!

Mrrrrgh.

(Reply to this)


[info]frequentmouse
2009-10-26 06:03 pm UTC (link)
Taos? He wanted to white-wash Taos?

People go to Taos to be absolutely elsewhere without needing a passport!

Hey, let's destroy the primary draw of the place for what? To make people who don't know where they're going more comfortble when they get there?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]persona, 2009-10-26 06:07 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-26 06:11 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]silmaril, 2009-10-27 10:04 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]persona, 2009-10-28 04:36 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]witty, 2009-10-26 11:59 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]quantumreality, 2009-10-28 02:39 am UTC

[info]brennalarose
2009-10-26 06:18 pm UTC (link)
Is he serious? Is he that much of a twit? He pulled this shit, in a town that still has Spanish names for the streets?

Oh, shit, he's from my home state, too.

(Reply to this)


[info]zing_och
2009-10-26 07:10 pm UTC (link)
Martin (Mahr-TEEN)

... that's not how you pronounce it in English? Oops.

*is so completely clueless wrt pronunciation*

*didn't even know how to spell it, dammit*

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]fern_on_fen, 2009-10-26 07:46 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]chibikaijuu, 2009-10-27 12:51 am UTC

[info]kittikattie
2009-10-26 07:23 pm UTC (link)
Oh, TEXAS. Y'all gotta stop this shit.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]felinephoenix, 2009-10-26 09:13 pm UTC

[info]also_not_a_pipe
2009-10-26 07:27 pm UTC (link)
Since Larry Whitten thinks there's no problem with changing other people's names, I've taken the liberty of doing him the same favor. From now on, all his mail may be addressed to Mr. Massive Douchepickle.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-26 07:31 pm UTC
(no subject) - ariadne484, 2009-10-26 08:09 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]queencallipygos, 2009-10-26 09:52 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sisterelwood, 2009-10-27 11:10 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]sneer, 2009-10-27 03:30 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]quantumreality, 2009-10-28 02:41 am UTC

[info]damnedfallacy
2009-10-26 08:10 pm UTC (link)
In Taos?!? Seriously? Now, if he'd shown up at work saying he'd had an abuduction experience and been told that everyone had to change their names to "Celestia" or "Qxplzr," that would be a Taos story. And way the fuck less offensive to boot.

At least I know where I'm NOT staying the next time I'm there.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]eisoj5, 2009-10-27 12:55 am UTC

[info]shinysandals
2009-10-26 08:46 pm UTC (link)
"It has nothing to do with racism. I'm not doing it for any reason other than for the satisfaction of my guests, because people calling from all over America don't know the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish anything."

...WHAT IS THIS I DON'T EVEN--

You're in fucking Taos. What sheltered little snowflakes does this guy think he'll be catering to? Heaven forbid someone might, y'know, learn about "the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish anything."

Dammit, where are those cookies I made last night; I need another one.

(Reply to this)


[info]tachikoma01
2009-10-26 09:02 pm UTC (link)
Oh, happy days! He's one of those "all life must be exactly like my life in the military!" types that makes other veterans squirm and uncomfortably whisper to the guy next to them "... We're not all like that guy. Really."

Some people never leave high school. Others never leave boot camp.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]alienist, 2009-10-26 09:18 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]goddessleila, 2009-10-27 04:47 pm UTC

[info]felinephoenix
2009-10-26 09:14 pm UTC (link)
Oh, it was in Texas? I'm so surprised.

I hate my home state.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-27 12:45 am UTC

[info]frequentmouse
2009-10-26 10:25 pm UTC (link)
The comment threads all over are pretty dire, although one commentor in the NY Daily News of all papers points out that New Mexico is 45% hispanic and 20% Anglo (30% Native American). The rest of the commentors tend to insist on labelling all Hispanics as illegal aliens.

I've sprained my head what with the eyerolling.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]cyndra_falin, 2009-10-27 12:43 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-27 01:29 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]chibikaijuu, 2009-10-27 05:22 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]mary_mac, 2009-10-27 12:36 pm UTC

[info]staroverthebay
2009-10-27 01:43 am UTC (link)
So... why didn't he go a step further and just fire the Hispanics for being Hispanic?

(Reply to this)


[info]innocentsmith
2009-10-27 03:30 am UTC (link)
The writing on the article is definitely ... interesting. Plopped in the middle of the article:

The hotel sits along narrow, two-lane Paseo del Pueblo, where souped-up lowriders radiate a just-waxed gleam in the soft sunshine as they cruise past centuries-old adobe buildings. One recent afternoon, a woman slowly rode her fat-tire bicycle along a cracked sidewalk, oversized purple butterfly wings on her back and a breeze blowing her long, blonde dreadlocks.

Uh. And the relevance of this is...? Was the writer trying to pad their word count, or are they contemplating writing a Taos-based update of Cannery Row, or WTF?

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]persona, 2009-10-27 04:18 am UTC

[info]iris
2009-10-27 11:50 am UTC (link)
...I'm kind of wondering how stupid you have to be to pull that shit in Taos, of all places.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]iris, 2009-10-27 11:54 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]frequentmouse, 2009-10-28 02:52 am UTC

[info]cyndra_falin
2009-10-27 09:06 pm UTC (link)
All this reminds me to get the recipe from my mother for menudo. Mmmmm its about that time of year too!

(Reply to this)

  
   
Privacy Policy - COPPA
Legal Disclaimer - Site Map