# Is it just me or has there been a "backlash" against Cinco De Mayo? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2018, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687 "2018-05-06T05:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/21 "2018-05-06T21:37:49Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Cinco de Mayo is celebrated in Denver. I am in Denver, so I celebrated. With New Mexican food. (Yum.) > > If you overthink this you will miss the party. I don’t believe you, because there is no good New Mexican food in Denver. The good New Mexican food stops at about Taos or maybe further south in Las Vegas if you’re on I-25. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/22 "2018-05-06T22:10:39Z")
Yes, public awareness of the fact that it’s essentially an invented commercial holiday for the purposes of selling alcohol, is starting to increase, and people are starting to see through it, which is a good thing IMO since I always thought the self-destructive ways in which Americans “celebrate” that holiday were fucked up. I kind of feel the same way about St. Patrick’s Day, except there are Irish-Americans or people of remote Irish ancestry in America who do enjoy celebrating that holiday, even if they don’t understand anything about it. (Years ago I went to an “Irish pub” in America on St. Patrick’s Day with a friend of mine who was dressed almost head-to-toe in orange clothes, completely by accident; he was totally unaware of the implications of it and so was everyone else in that bar, which was packed.) ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/23 "2018-05-06T23:03:56Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > Yes, public awareness of the fact that it’s essentially an invented commercial holiday for the purposes of selling alcohol, is starting to increase, and people are starting to see through it, which is a good thing IMO since I always thought the self-destructive ways in which Americans “celebrate” that holiday were fucked up. I kind of feel the same way about St. Patrick’s Day, except there are Irish-Americans or people of remote Irish ancestry in America who do enjoy celebrating that holiday, even if they don’t understand anything about it. (Years ago I went to an “Irish pub” in America on St. Patrick’s Day with a friend of mine who was dressed almost head-to-toe in orange clothes, completely by accident; he was totally unaware of the implications of it and so was everyone else in that bar, which was packed.) You are aware of how incredibly racist that sounds to claim it’s a holiday invented by corporations which it actually has a long legit history right? Just because corporations jumped on it doesn’t mean it’s not a real holiday to the actual people who celebrate it which is my entire point. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/24 "2018-05-06T23:13:46Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > You are aware of how incredibly racist that sounds to claim it’s a holiday invented by corporations which it actually has a long legit history right? Just because corporations jumped on it doesn’t mean it’s not a real holiday to the actual people who celebrate it which is my entire point. Yep, it was a big deal in San Jose. Going back as far as I can remember. Mind you, yes, it has been commercialized, no surprise there. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/25 "2018-05-06T23:43:41Z")
Alright, I retract that claim. It is not an “invented commercial holiday”, it’s a legit holiday, I get that. But it has been commercialized to the max. But then again, what holiday hasn’t? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/26 "2018-05-06T23:54:15Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > Alright, I retract that claim. It is not an “invented commercial holiday”, it’s a legit holiday, I get that. But it has been commercialized to the max. > > But then again, what holiday hasn’t? [Saint Patrick’s Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day) Seriously, you thought it was an invented commercial holiday? :dubious: C’mon. It’s been celebrated in the US for about almost [400 years](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day_in_the_United_States)! ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/27 "2018-05-06T23:55:19Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > Alright, I retract that claim. It is not an “invented commercial holiday”, it’s a legit holiday, I get that. But it has been commercialized to the max. > > But then again, what holiday hasn’t? Lots of them - MLK Day springs to mind first. So far commercialism has seemed to pass that one by. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/28 "2018-05-07T00:11:33Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > [Saint Patrick’s Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day) > > Seriously, you thought it was an invented commercial holiday? :dubious: C’mon. It’s been celebrated in the US for about almost [400 years](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick%27s_Day_in_the_United_States)! No, I know it’s a real holiday, I was just comparing it to Cinco De Mayo: > [@Jacquernagy](#): > > … I always thought the self-destructive ways in which Americans “celebrate” that holiday were fucked up. I kind of feel the same way about St. Patrick’s Day… It’s hard for me to criticize American drinking culture without sounding judgmental, so…I just want to make it clear I don’t mean it to be. It has its place, I just think people take it too far, but that’s their own choice. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/29 "2018-05-07T00:33:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > We need to appropriate some Canadian holiday and completely bastardize it. Isn’t that what we Americans are best at? Maybe even build a Canadian themed hotel in Las Vegas so we can get the full, authentic Canadian experience while still basking in 100 deg heat. Vegas has already [appropriated](https://www.nhl.com/goldenknights) their national sport. Do we need to do more? Require everyone at the games to eat poutine? Speak in broken French? ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/30 "2018-05-07T17:00:42Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > Seems like everybody saw that “Adam Ruins Everything” sketch but I literally cannot even discuss Cinco De Mayo without somebody (usually white/American) going WELL ACTUALLY CINCO DE MAYO IS AN AMERICAN HOLIDAY NOT CELEBRATED IN REAL MEXICO. As others said, this is just the fashion with some people, to seek some kind of public display of virtue by vicarious hypersensitivity over ‘insults’ to other cultures by the Basically Bad Culture (their own, mainstream American culture). OTOH I know as Irish American some people in my family’s older generation who actively detested American-style St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, including by other Irish, as not genuine.\* Just to note, it’s not entirely a new SJW-white guilt type thing to be against the adapted versions of ethnic holidays. But that’s mainly the reason you hear people talking down 5 d’M IMO,: it’s what they hear from the news/entertainment/‘comedy’ talking heads they think are cool and it makes them cool to repeat whatever those people say. Nobody much is saying that about Americanized St P’s day and anyway Irish are ‘white’. More of the cool kids are tearing down Americanized 5d’M day. \*I don’t really care: I’m not much of a drinker for the purely modern commercial celebration, ‘proud’ I guess of Irish heritage but not that I’d dress up and march, and somewhat religious but it’s not a major Catholic holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/31 "2018-05-07T17:18:28Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > As others said, this is just the fashion with some people, to seek some kind of public display of virtue by vicarious hypersensitivity over ‘insults’ to other cultures by the Basically Bad Culture (their own, mainstream American culture). Well, hey, Cinco de Mayo is doing better lately than Columbus Day. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/32 "2018-05-07T18:03:32Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Lots of them - MLK Day springs to mind first. So far commercialism has seemed to pass that one by. Give it a couple generations, and it’ll either be as commercialized as Presidents’ Day (was Washington’s Birthday) or as forgotten as Arbor Day. It’s a bit counter-productive to commercialize the birthday of a man who was alive in living memory. That would tend to _decrease_ sales, not boost them. You can break down holidays into three categories: Celebrations, Remembrances, and Hallmark. Christmas is a Celebration, for the vast majority, something with a feast and gatherings and pleasant ritual. Ditto Easter, unless you’re so Christian it’s a Remembrance of an execution. MLK Day is a Remembrance, and Arbor Day is a Hallmark Holiday _sans la carte_. My point is, Celebrations mutate as new kinds of fun are created and become traditional, and are commercialized as people capitalize on the fun. Remembrances and Hallmark holidays remain stable longer, are only commercialized by The Big X-Day Sale At Mattress Center, and are only remembered to the extent there’s a group pushing them. Trying to stop people from celebrating at a Celebration is idiotic. Trying to stop a Celebration from remaining fun (that is, _changing_) is idiotic. If you want something sober and minimally-commercialized, pick a person and start a Remembrance for them, but don’t be surprised if nobody else gives a damn. ---
**Author:** ![CharmaChameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@CharmaChameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CharmaChameleon)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/33 "2018-05-07T20:59:23Z")
Apropos of nothing, one Karl Marx was born on 5 May 1818. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/34 "2018-05-08T07:04:11Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Ditto Easter, unless you’re so Christian it’s a Remembrance of an execution. Pst!: resurrection. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/35 "2018-05-08T12:50:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > We need to appropriate some Canadian holiday and completely bastardize it. Isn’t that what we Americans are best at? Maybe even build a Canadian themed hotel in Las Vegas so we can get the full, authentic Canadian experience while still basking in 100 deg heat. You could take Canada Day as a warm-up for July 4th. Make it a sort of hoser’s independence day. “We broke away form the British Empire, but took all the worst parts with us! WooHoo!” ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2018, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/36 "2018-05-08T13:06:13Z")
If Guy Fawkes day , November 5th, wasnt so close to Thanksgiving I’d bet it would become a big day. ---
**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:** [May 8, 2018, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/37 "2018-05-08T13:46:45Z")
They saw the sketch, and they believe it. And so they want to spread this information. You, if you want to help, can spread the information that it is false. Making up these excuses for why these people are actually horrible when they are clearly trying to be helpful seems counterproductive to me. Using concepts like “virtue signaling” which is a misuse of a legitimate concept as an attack on people who try to do the right thing, only makes it seem like you think trying to be good is a bad thing. It’s like when people yell at you for “white knighting” because you stood up for someone. It’s the right thing to do, so let them. This is an issue of people helpful getting bad information. So give them good information, and you solve the problem. Maybe also tell off this Adam who is so bad with research, as I’ve seen a lot lately. He just goes with whatever interpretation is the most provocative, and doesn’t care about truth. Let’s call him fake news. ---
**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/38 "2018-05-10T12:34:10Z")
> [@Jacquernagy](#): > > It’s hard for me to criticize American drinking culture without sounding judgmental, so…I just want to make it clear I don’t mean it to be. It has its place, I just think people take it too far, but that’s their own choice. Yes, it is hard to criticize people without sounding judgmental. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/39 "2018-05-10T14:53:07Z")
> [@skyr](#): > > I think this kind of stuff comes from the Social Justice Warriors - they usually are white people who think they are the saviors of People of Color. Oddly enough, every post I’ve seen on Facebook on this in my feed (which, honestly was only three, I think), came from a Mexican source, not white SJWs. One from a local Mexican craft brewery started with: “We have received a ton of inquiries about 5 de mayo, yet we have never embraced it as people would expect because we have mixed feelings about this “holiday” and think of it as one of the most misunderstood celebrations in the US.” and went on as a thoughtful post of what the story behind 5 May was and ending with the statement that they wholeheartedly support it as a day of Mexican culture, but there will not be sombreros and fake mustaches at the party. Paletas, though, yes. And my Mexican friends had similar posts: basically, have fun, celebrate, but also be aware of the history of cinco de mayo and its meaning in the culture. ---
**Author:** ![nachtmusick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ac91a4/32.png) [@nachtmusick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nachtmusick)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687/40 "2018-05-10T14:59:28Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > You are aware of how incredibly racist that sounds to claim it’s a holiday invented by corporations which it actually has a long legit history right? Just because corporations jumped on it doesn’t mean it’s not a real holiday to the actual people who celebrate it which is my entire point. Sweet. The Southern Poverty Law Center tweeted this: _Most of the festivities surrounding #CincodeMayo in the US are textbook examples of cultural appropriation, relegating the history and culture of Mexican people to novelty items. Mexican culture cannot be reduced to tacos, oversized sombreros and piñatas._ This is so out of touch with Mexican-American culture in California that I question if they have ever spoken to a Mexican-American. Or an American. How Left do you have to be to find fault with Americans celebrating Mexican culture? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-just-me-or-has-there-been-a-backlash-against-cinco-de-mayo/813687.md?page=3)