Rod Wheeler Sure Knows the Difference Between Hispanics and Chinese

Race vs. Ethnicity on Fox News

Posted by Laura Martinez on 11.14.07 @ 02:56 PM

Laura Martinez

Do you know who Rod Wheeler is? Well, I didn't ... until this week, when Fox News invited the former homicide detective to face off with Mayra Nieves, a local Spanish-language radio executive about the infamous Chandler rapist, a suspect sought out for the rape of several teenage girls in the Phoenix area who has brought about -- in addition to the understandable panic and manhunt -- a heated debate about racial profiling.

The issue at stake is the local police's description of the suspect (still at large) as a "Hispanic male" and the outcry of the local Hispanic community about what that means exactly. Ms. Nieves, the VP-of programming for KMYL (1190 AM) and also a guest on this week's Hannity and Colmes show on Fox News, came out to denounce one simple issue: what exactly do cops mean by looking for a "Hispanic male"?

"By saying [the suspect] is Hispanic looking you are not really telling me what he looks like, because Hispanics can be white, brown, dark skinned. ... I am just requesting an accurate description," she said, citing the very nature of radio to demand better details about the looks of the individual.

Ms. Nieves has raised some hell down in Arizona, mostly because she insists the cops' definition of the suspect is nothing but racial profiling, while the local community has accused her of dividing the audience and deviating the focus of the investigation.

So that's the difference?!

Mr. Wheeler, for his part, seems to have no problem explaining the whole thing. "The police department has made a tremendous investigation and actually narrowed down the suspect as being a Hispanic male. Not a black male, not a Chinese male-- with his eyes like this -- but a Hispanic male," he said, as he made a gesture pulling back his eyes.

Pressed further by Ms. Nieves, Mr. Wheeler -- who has his own website -- attempted to get out of the mess by simply saying Hispanics are basically "almond color" individuals.

Oh... are we? Is this what the so-called mainstream media have come down to, explaining race, ethnicity and, worse, color, in such simplistic terms?

I'm not sure what Mr. Wheeler had in mind with such an explanation, but I'd be very curious to see what he would declare in the (very hypothetical) situation of being attacked or robbed by, say, Hispanic TV dames Cristina Saralegui, Charytín, Maria Celeste Arrarás or Lili Estefan. Would Mr. Wheeler be able to ascertain then that these Hispanic women are actually not almond-colored or "Hispanic-looking" but rather tall, blond, light-skinned and "very European looking"?

Perhaps he will... in which case we'll have Fox News to thank for such a revealing bit of information.

~ ~ ~
Read more from Laura daily at Mi Blog Es Tu Blog.

13 Comments

By Raymond Poli | Washington, DC November 15, 2007 08:43:29 am:

Good God, have we become this hyper-sensitive!? Can't we simply resolve to accept that in the great melting pot that is America, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish one's genetic heritage by looks alone, and understand that soneone's attempt to do so it nearly impossible at best, despite their best efforts. And given the time constraints of modern society, this kind of generalization, while dispensed more quickly, risks being inaccurate. Mistake made, enough said! We're all learning here! My grandparents immigrated to the USA from Italy, via France, Germany and Wales. I'm still waiting for the little box on the census form that covers my heritage with the political correctness asked for by today's immigrants! I suspect it will be a long wait, but I'll survive. Get over it!

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By toddlintown | Plainfield, IL November 15, 2007 09:07:35 am:

Ms. Nieves, who I bet makes a big thing about her Hispanic heritage (after all, she works for a Spanish-language radio station) is offended?

You can't have it both ways, being "Hispanic" when it works in your favor, and calling racism when it doesn't.

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By Sarah | Toronto, ON November 15, 2007 09:13:33 am:

Ok wake up and smell the coffee........we in North America have been using color in very simplistic terms for years to describe race and ethnicity...get over it.

S.L. Toronto Canada

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By Robert | Middleton, WI November 15, 2007 09:40:23 am:

The government, media and advertising industry continues to perpetrate the myth of race. This is a country of many ethnic groups, but there is no such thing as race except for the human race.

Any attempt to define race is arbitrary, non-scientific, and a means to divide us socially and politically. There is no genetic criteria on which to define "race" as we use the term. The most common marker is skin tone. But as we all can intuit, mankind is made up of a continuous spectrum of skin tones.

Ultimately, physical descriptions of criminal suspects must be devoid of speculation on ethnicity and accurately portray observed attributes.

Mr. Wheeler's performance and assertions are laughable at best. The downside of this display of ignorance and misinformation is that it perpetuates the long-held racial divide that is a division of ethnicity, economic and social class.

Bob Hoot, Middleton, WI

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By Conchita | Brooklyn, NY November 15, 2007 09:42:48 am:

I guess the hardly revealing fact here is that as a quick description over the airwaves "Hispanic" has a very specific set of visual characteristics for law enforcement, and possibly also verbal when available. That specific set is what cops are being taught to look for & recognize. As a journalist or a person involved in the running of a newsmedia channel, an Hispanic one at that, I think it's a valid question to pose. Also, let's not forget that witnesses, for example, make mistaken assumptions quite often.

Hey, why doesn't Univision or Telemundo send someone undercover to police academies all over the US and do some hard nosed reporting on it. Like I think NBC dateline has done on many an occasion on many a topic. Then we might really know, and maybe even see, what they really mean.

I suspect "Arab or Middle Eastern" descriptions may have similar issues. For example, one of my college roomates and other kids around the University were Iranian. However, they were very different looking ones, and between each other, from what many Americans may assume. Profiling is nothing new. Many a dark complexed person who has traveled from South America into Miami and other key entry ports, has been separated indiscriminately and search for drugs.

It is precisely because it has become pervasive in society, why the issue continues to be raised. If it was sporadic then maybe I would buy the hyper-sensitive part. New Jersey for example, had a major rehaul over it and this has surfaced all over the states. WHy? Becasue increasingly the country, and the courts, are more open to hear, and perhaps redefine, what had been a routine practice.

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By rong | New York, NY November 15, 2007 09:46:43 am:

Eactly! Why today's American's are so hyper sensitive!! The profiling is based on statistics. It's like: Chinese or Asiam American has the highest percentage of carrying Hepatitis B. Or, gay populations has high risk of AIDS. If someone takes such statement as racial (or anything) discrimination, no one can say/do anything. But whatever we say/do, it's agaist certain population. How a society can survive if they can accept the "FACTS?"

Wake up, people!

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By Brian | chicago, IL November 15, 2007 09:54:03 am:

The problem here is more that Fox News is like dealing with naughty little boys. You have to work extra hard to ingrain understanding in their simple little heads, because they are slow and uninterested. You might not need to work so hard on other networks, where the hosts act a little more mature. It would be nice to ignore them, but when they dominate the media market, and much of the political sphere, you have to say something.

I have no problem with calling Fox, or the Police, out for being racist. I have no problem with saying that a man of Hispanic origin committed a crime. However if you want a community to be on the look out, then you better arm them something a little more useful. Or are you just trying to get every woman to scowl at every "Almond Male" that they see and run away?

I know what racial profiling is like in my community. I am also aware of the impacts of Police Brutality, which is running rampant right now. If you don't challenge these abuses, then you can expect them to spread. That makes us less safe as it puts more and more people in very dangerous situations. When they get desperate, civility goes out the window.

I know it's hard to admit, but we don't live in a Black, White, and Almond people world. Everyone has a lot to adjust to now, even the Police. If the comments on this post are any indication, please proceed with the traditional "this is Amurica" and "go home we hate yous immigrants" ___________________ (here)

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By Gerry | Milton, MA November 15, 2007 10:36:47 am:

It's a lose/lose for this guy. Let's get past the b.s. and admit that we pretty much can guess what Wheeler meant. If we use common sense, which also is no longer safe or politically correct to do, we might safely assume that what Wheeler meant, seeing as we are talking about Phoenix, Arizona, is possibly a Mexican or Mexican American suspect, meaning Mexican-looking in, yes, the stereotypical sense. And yes, I am aware that there are caucasian-looking Mexicans as well, though side by side, I probably wouldn't confuse them with a South Boston Irishman. But you can't say things like that anymore without offending someone. So what we can assume Wheeler meant was that the suspect is likely not a caucasian, not a black or African American whichever you prefer, not Chinese or Asian/Asian American whichever you prefer, or whatever. We all get an idea of how he was trying to narrow down the field of suspects. This is about trying to find a criminal. Saying "we're looking for a male" just to keep the language safe doesn't cut it, and is profoundly idiotic. Unfortunately, saying that we're looking for a Mexican or a Mexican American doesn't cut it, either. Somebody gets offended. Meanwhile, while we debate who we might be offending and how, teenage girls in Phoenix are looking over their shoulders everywhere, in fear that they may be the next victim, by whoever this evil and cruel character is. All while we're picking fly dookie out of pepper over what somebody meant when they were trying to describe a dangerous criminal suspect. What nonsense. But at least it gives Ms. Martinez something to write about, and me too, for that matter, so I guess all is not lost, except for some poor girl's right not to be sexually violated. How insane it has all become. GH, Boston, MA

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By joyceleesyd | SAN FRANCISCO, CA November 15, 2007 12:19:49 pm:

Recently there was a discussion on what 'Asian' profile meant, in one of the Asian community newspapers. They are currently lumping Asia and Sub-continent into one heap... agreed with previous comments that perhaps best to get over the political correctness and name the suspected origins as per (Chinese, Latino, Anglo, Black, etc)

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By Uphadis | PALM DESERT, CA November 15, 2007 02:02:53 pm:

Wow, the ignorance that runs rampant even in today's world still manages to astound me.... I suppose it's customary for those types of (how would you like me to put this Sarah, Rob, and Raymond?) caramel, coffee, almond, cotton-candy colored people such as yourselves to not only use the lowest forms of clichés, but also make excuses for stupidity in saying that using color to equal ethnicity is A-OK. So does that mean that since we've been doing it for so long it's perfectly fine to continue doing so instead of moving forward and attempting to become just a tad more intelligent?

Well then, if we're going to "keep things simple" so we don't get so "hypersensitive" let's just bring back those convenient little drinking fountains for "whites" and "everyone else", and while we're at it, why not let those obnoxious little nazi's (yes, I left that lowercase on purpose) teach a few lessons in propaganda at our local elementary schools? We'll call the course 1984 just for kicks. I bet I can sew a great swastika! Wait, I'm "caramel latte" colored so I'll probably have to wear another symbol.... Maybe I'll incorporate the Star of David with a big fist holding up the middle finger. Yeah, that sounds good.

Sounds like good 'ol fashioned fun to me y'all!

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By Lidia | New York, NY November 15, 2007 02:32:16 pm:

The big mistake to start with it's caused by the fact that being "Hispanic" is not an ethnicity...Hispanic is anyone that was BORN in a Spanish speaking country and SPEAKS Spanish.
Utilizing a term to group common language people to physically describe the group is the mistake. You are including in this profile the Caucasian Jewish Argentines, those with Japanese ascendant born in Peru, as well as the Dominicans with African roots and so forth...

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By Adrian | Sacramento, CA November 16, 2007 08:49:04 pm:

I used to be with the California Highway Patrol and one thing we were taught was cultural and race sensitivity. For being a cop and african-american at that, it's shocking how short sighted Mr. Wheeler is. Shame on Mr. Wheeler. - Adrian Perez, Sacramento, CA.

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By ironmule | vernon, AL April 27, 2008 10:26:24 am:

Ms. Martinez has been educated in a unionized government system which teaches a new religon founded in a secular theology of politically correct cultural diversity. The new religion is called "relativism." Ms. Martinez' article here is inspired by this new religion. Devotees of relativism are careful to hold NO STRONG OPINION about anyone or anything EXCEPT THose CULTURAL INFIDELS WHO DARE HAVE STRONG OPINIONS about what is right, wrong, good and evil. The new culutural synonym for relativism is "anarchy" Make us an ad, Adman!

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