Wednesday, May 12, 2010

"Mayor's Mom Says She 'Hates' Alamo"

Nice lady.
SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro was recently profiled in the New York Times, which referenced him as the next national Hispanic leader and perhaps president.

"It's been a very promising response," said Castro. "It's a very flattering article."

But comments he didn't make could draw some strong opinions. His mother, Rosie Castro, had strong words when asked about her memories of the Alamo, a symbol of Texas independence.

"They used to take us there when we were school children," Perez [sic] told the Times. "They told us how glorious that battle was. When I grew up, I learned that the 'heroes' of the Alamo were a bunch of drunks and crooks and slaveholding imperialists who conquered land that didn't belong to them. But as a little girl I got the message (that) we were losers. I can truly say that I hate that place and everything it stands for."
(from KSAT-12)

In fairness to the mayor, her son, he responded with this:
"I'm sure that a lot of people disagree with it," said Castro, when asked about his mother's comments. "I ... have a different perspective from what she does. I think that the struggles that the state of Texas went through at the Alamo and other places were necessary for the great state that we have today and all of us should be proud of it." [ellipsis in original]
Is this a generational difference of attitudes, or is the mayor just saying this because he knows he will be up for re-election several more times and his mother knows she won't?

You decide. Especially the next time we vote for mayor.

1 comment:

Dave said...

I think a lot of it has to do with the generation. My mother-in-law has some deeply ingrained beliefs that stem from her youth on San Antonio's west side where it was simply a given that white folks needed only their white skin to be successful.

I don't hold that against her, and she doesn't hold the fact that I didn't go to Stanford against me.