Skimming through my twitter feed last week, having settled into a comfortable disposition for a little bathroom reading, an article from LA TACO put a hard stop to my scrolling thumbs. ‘THIS IS BIGGER THAN CARNITAS:’ How an ‘All Lives Matter’ post by El Momo underscores deep-rooted anti-Blackness, read the title. Say what? Beyond troubling, I found the possibility that one of LA’s best and most beloved taco slingers was propagating racism extremely disappointing on a personal level. I mean I’d thrown down my share of tacos from El Momo and my experience had consistently been nothing short of superb; each visit akin to stopping by a neighbor’s house to score a plate from an oversupplied family party. While most customers definitely tended to be of Mexican descent, I witnessed people of all shades and socio-economic backgrounds get temporarily adopted by the Momo family, first with a welcoming smile then with steaming chunks of freshly chopped pork. Standing in line the only apparent distinguishing factor between customers was whether they ordered in English or Spanish, and even then that distinction quickly dematerialized once even the bro-iest of frat bros (likely wandered over from USC) managed to utter a mangled “con todo” as the capstone to his order. For me, and so far as I could tell everyone else, a trip to Carnitas El Momo had as much to do with the folksiness as it did with the food. “What could I have missed? Could I have been so blind?” I thought to myself. So of course, I clicked the link, but no sooner had I finished the article than I was viscerally pissed off. It turned out my commode-ious setting could not have been more appropriate because I had just finished reading a load of shit.
So, let’s get a little contextual background. The article centers around the actions of one Juan Carlos Acosta, alias Billy, who along with other members of the family and a crew of carnita mercenaries operate Carnitas El Momo. In the article Billy is accused of perpetuating ignorance, anti-Blackness and racism. The evidence for these crimes breaks down into three main sins which are (i) defending the “good” cops, (ii) requesting people include #BrownLivesMatter in their posts, and (iii) the use of #AllLivesMatter on more than one occasion, doubling down on the justification for its usage via callow battles in the comments. Also, bringing up the attacks on Hispanics by young black individuals as the story quotes was unfortunate given the timing and arguably displayed poor taste.
All right, this is certain, Billy committed some major faux-pas here, particularly in the light of recent events. Put another way, the dude fucked up. For many, the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis policeman Derek Chauvin was the final blow in a sustained barrage of mistreatment and egregious disparities the black community has been contending with since the 17th century. There is simply no excuse for this kind of inequality in the richest and most powerful country in the history of the world. And regardless of one’s personal views and agenda, the days and weeks following the chorus of black voices telling the powers that be that enough is enough should have, in my mind, not have come with any pork-barrel addendums. The floor and the focus were theirs; it was all hands on deck for black lives and not a time to ride coattails. Throughout history the black community has carried a massively disproportionate burden on its shoulders. But against a system that has continuously tried to push them down, they rise. And as they’ve risen, they have always brought the rest of us up with them. The civil rights movement not only ended segregation and banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin, it helped pave the way for every individual seen as ‘the other’ to live a life with dignity and respect. In this vein the article brings up valid points regarding police brutality and the importance of supporting our black friends, family and neighbors in their fight especially during this crucial time.
Now the central point of the story is that anti-blackness is a common sentiment among Latino communities. There’s truth in this assertion as racial discrimination among segments of the larger Latino population against blacks certainly exists. In fact, discrimination against dark-skinned individuals in general has a long and sordid history within the culture as it does in many parts of the world. As with all discriminatory behavior based on racial and ethnic identity, it should not be tolerated. However, where I start to take contention with the narrative of the article is how it chooses to paint Billy, and by association Carnitas El Momo, as the embodiment of this behavior. As previously established, the guy made some boneheaded mistakes, but to conflate his actions with the perpetuation of anti-blackness and racism is not only an absurd non sequitur, but unprofessional, irresponsible and borderline dangerous for a publication with LA TACO’s reach to run with. First off, let those allegations sink in for a while. Did it not register with anyone, particularly the editors, how lofty those accusations were? Compounding the disappointment, the author acknowledges that the subject did not know the origins of All Lives Matter, cites his clarifications and apologies, and yet still continues to pen what is tantamount to a takedown. Now I’m not a religious man, but like Jules Winnfield there’s this passage I’ve memorized from the Good Book that sort of fits this occasion. Chances are you know it too. It’s John 8:7 which in modern-speak would translate to “Let the person who is without sin cast the first stone.” The writer…she heedlessly hurled a damn boulder.
The assumptions and accusations that the article’s author draws from a string of ignorant acts on social media are either indicative of a malfunction in her racism detector, frontal lobe, or are intentionally and carelessly pernicious. Either way the article is demonstrative of the imprecision, bad faith argumentation, hypocrisy, foolish opinion piece(s) and defenestration on social media that is antithetical to the long form conversations that are necessary to bring about constructive change and reform. Hypocritical because the author fails to grant the empathy the subject is implicitly accused of lacking. From what I gather Billy is a proud East LA resident who serves his community and has worked his ass off to earn a living and bring honor to his clan. He’s clearly not a PR professional, he’s a cook from the hood, proud of it and so of course he’s going to speak in the patois he’s accustomed to. However, to twist and weaponize his words in a feckless piece that drags the business that bears his father's name through the mud—now that’s “wack. [sic]” Remember, there are actual racists in our country. So, ask yourself, do you really think this guy is one of those racists? Actually, let’s lessen the threshold for guilt. After reading the article, do you come to the same conclusion as the author and believe that Carnitas El Momo is indeed perpetuating racism? Because if the answer is anything less than a clear and resounding “YES” then this article amounts to nothing more than a glorified Yelp review.
Minorities have a long history of struggle in our country and the fight for progress is something that unites us all. It should be noted that Black and Brown people in particular have a long history of working together to fight for equality and against white supremacy. The Chicano Movement for example, which had its origins in Los Angeles, was directly influenced by the Black Power movement. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Blacks and Latinos collaborated and formed a united front against racism and discrimination. It’s important to remember this history as recent events stoke the flames of hatred and attempt to divide us. We must not falter and allow for them to succeed in doing so. But this article was not a groundbreaking piece highlighting the cultural fissures and gaps between minorities. This was the product of someone fishing hard for a story and choosing to make an example out of a business by accusing them of felonies and high crimes when the evidence shows nothing more than proof of being ignorant in public. Let us never hold back on calling out real offenders, and let’s not strengthen the adversary by unnecessarily making enemies out of allies.
