# How racist was the Speedy Gonzales character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [October 20, 2020, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371 "2020-10-20T00:23:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/21 "2020-10-21T00:49:44Z")
This is actually one of the big things cited with people taking things too far. Speedy was pulled off the air for being racist, and Latinos (including Mexicans and Mexican Americans) complained. He still was representation, after all. How many other cartoons featured someone like them as not only the protagonist, but the one who outwitted the bad guy? The main solution has been to just try to stop relying on racist tropes in the newer cartoons. He’s still “the fastest mouse in all Mexico” (and usually even outside that country), and he has the accent. But the humor lacks any feeling of “Ha ha! It’s a smart, fast Mexican! It’s that so whacky!” Still, it remains a lesson to actually check with the minority in question before assuming how they feel or what resolution they would desire. Though it has led to some not realizing that there can be a difference between what, say, Asian Americans feel and what Asians feel who lack the cultural context. I am not aware of any attempt to keep Pepe Le Pew, since the problem isn’t just ethnic stereotyping but normalizing stalker behavior. The humor was in “look at how bad this cat feels.” I’m not aware of many kids who found them funny anyways. And I can’t say I’ve seen Foghorn Leghorn show up in quite a while–I’m not sure the stereotype he depicts still exists, really. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/22 "2020-10-21T00:54:39Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Still, it remains a lesson to actually check with the minority in question before assuming how they feel or what resolution they would desire. But what do you do when some members of “the minority in question” feel very differently than others? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/23 "2020-10-21T00:56:03Z")
That will always be the case. But they can hash it out among themselves without us telling them which side is right. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/24 "2020-10-21T01:52:50Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Speedy Gonzales wears a sombrero (few modern Mexicans do), has a bad accent and IIRC a catchy or annoying song. _“I’m here, I’m there, I’m everywhere. So beware.”_ Wrong mouse. That’s from the Hanna-Barbera Pixie & Dixie cartoon _Mark of the Mouse_. > **[Pixie and Dixie — Mark of the Mouse](https://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/03/pixie-and-dixie-mark-of-mouse.html?m=1)** > > Produced and Directed by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. Credits : Animation – Carlo Vinci; Layout – Bick Bickenbach; Backgrounds – Sam Clayberg... ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/25 "2020-10-21T02:04:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > any Mexican or other Hispanic person getting called “Speedy Gonzalez” or “Frito Bandito” as if their actual names didn’t matter. What cartoon character actually has a real first name? There’s Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn. Ok, maybe Sylvester, but he doesn’t have a last name. What are their “actual names.” Would it be better if Speedy was called Francisco Gonzalez? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/26 "2020-10-21T02:35:20Z")
How many people do you refer to as Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck? It’s the behavior of people that matters here, not the name of a cartoon character, and people were using these names to refer to Mexicans, directly to them expecting them to answer, because they did not see them as humans worthy of having a real name. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/27 "2020-10-21T02:40:59Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > not the name of a cartoon character, Thanks for clarifying that the name of the cartoon character doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/28 "2020-10-21T02:48:57Z")
You’re welcome Droopy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/29 "2020-10-21T03:54:27Z")
It has been quite a few years since I’ve watched mouse cartoons. I had completely forgotten that a Zorro mouse ever existed. However, for verisimilitude, Speedy Gonzalez could be renamed. I suggest Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Speedy Ruiz Picasso y Gonzalez de Muchissima Rapidez. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/30 "2020-10-21T04:32:24Z")
Any thoughts on the Frito Bandito? I remember I was the envy of my classmates back in the day when I had a Frito Bandito pencil eraser. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/31 "2020-10-21T10:49:27Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > What cartoon character actually has a real first name? There’s Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn. Ok, maybe Sylvester, but he doesn’t have a last name. What are their “actual names.” Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Betty Boop, Elmer Fudd, Michigan J. Frog, Pepe Le Pew, Ralf Wolf, Sam Sheepdog, Roger and Jessica Rabbit… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/32 "2020-10-21T13:17:33Z")
I suppose the nicest thing we could say was that Speedy (and the rest of the supporting cast) wasn’t intended in a mean-spirited way. Yes, stereotypes are exaggerated. But the same is true in editorial cartoons. Consider Trump’s hair or Obama’s ears as drawn these last 15 years. To modern sensibilities it’s hugely tone-deaf. But it’s certainly not racist in the same way that, say, some modern website calling for all non-white American citizens to be stripped of citizenship and “deported” (to where?) or worse is racist. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/33 "2020-10-21T15:10:29Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I remember I was the envy of my classmates back in the day when I had a Frito Bandito pencil eraser. I had one, too. What cereal did that come in? I never wanted to actually erase anything with it, because then it would erode away. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/34 "2020-10-21T15:36:31Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Betty Boop, Elmer Fudd, Michigan J. Frog, Pepe Le Pew, Ralf Wolf, Sam Sheepdog, Roger and Jessica Rabbit… Olive Oyl. ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/35 "2020-10-21T16:06:12Z")
George, Jane, Judy, Elroy, Astro, and Rosie Betty, Veronica, Archie, Reggie, et al. Josie and the Pussycats (Melody, and Valerie) ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/36 "2020-10-21T16:13:26Z")
Tom and Jerry Felix the cat ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/37 "2020-10-21T17:59:00Z")
As someone who grew up on the East Coast, I never knew about the Mexicans-are-lazy stereotype, so his being fast never registered as a contrast to anything. His friends were slow, but it’s hot in Mexico, so I thought it was just a heat thing – we move pretty slowly in NYC when it’s 100 degrees. So, for what it’s worth, it never struck me as racist, since we had different racist stereotypes on the East Coast in the 1970s. I understand that the cartoons were pulled from Cartoon Network and then restored when actual Hispanics complained. I think they have a warning in about some negative stereotypes when they’re run now or something. Anyway, I do think that those cartoons portrayed Mexicans in a racist way, due to the biases of the Hollywood writers at the time. But, it seems that the positive of a Mexican protagonist defeating all enemies made them a net positive, from the point of view of many Mexicans and other Latinos. ETA: Popeye T. Sailorman ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/38 "2020-10-21T18:18:53Z")
I suppose it might be the different eras we grew up in, but I grew up on the East Coast, far removed from Mexico, and was VERY familiar with the “lazy Mexican” stereotype. It was baked into not only cartoons, but also in songs (_Manana_ – [Mañana (Is Soon Enough for Me) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma%C3%B1ana_(Is_Soon_Enough_for_Me)) ), magazine cartoons, television sketches (many of which came from California), and so on. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/39 "2020-10-21T19:02:20Z")
I guess. As racist little kids, other racist jokes and stereotypes seemed much more common for different groups, at least in Brooklyn and Queens. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2020, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371/40 "2020-10-21T19:09:00Z")
But that’s almost entirely a function of the fact that there were very few widely recognized Mexican characters in American media at the time, and has almost nothing to do with how the character was actually being portrayed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-racist-was-the-speedy-gonzales-character/923371.md?page=3)