Lost In Translation: Obama Called a "Little Black Man"

Here's a little-noticed news item from AP:

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — The foreign relations minister in Honduras' interim government says he has sent a letter to Barack Obama apologizing for a racial comment he made about the U.S. president.

In a TV interview, Ortez said Obama "is a little black man who doesn't know where Tegucigalpa is located."

This is a good example of terrible reporting. "Little black man" sounds horrible in English, as it should. In Spanish, however, speakers liberally sprinkle such diminutives throughout their conversations. Little black man, "negrito" in Spanish is a common term of endearment among people of all skin shades.

In this case, the Honduran Foreign Minister was not using it as a term of endearment, but neither was this a "racial comment." If our president were Oriental, Ortez would have called him a "Chinito." They have a myriad of words for white people, from "fulo" to "rabi-blanco" (white-tail, or more vulgarly, white-ass), and they use all of these politically-incorrect words in routine conversation, with no racial bias intended and no offense taken.

Yes, the foreign minister was speaking contemptuously of our president, but it was not racial. Little things like this, where I have personal insight, are what lead me to conclude that much of our press is ignorant. They may be educated, but they lack the real-world experience to put what they report in proper context; and without context, their reportage is just a bunch of words.

I thought this would be a huge story, what with Honduras being in the news and now adding in a racial controversy. Anyway, I'm pleasantly surprised it has gone largely unnoticed.

Google-AP - Honduras
El Tiempo - Cisma
El Tiempo - Se Excusa