My Dad was job hunting. He got a lead that MAAP was
looking for a controller/CPA type guy. Now Dad is never
one to sweat the details, so it wasn’t until he got in the door
that he found out that MAAP stood for “Mexican American
Alcohol Prevention.” He quickly shifted into politically-correct
mode, and proceeded full-steam ahead.
The interview went on for a while, and Dad seemed to be
doing pretty well when the topic turned to nomenclature.
The MAAP guy stated that their clientele should be referred
to as “Hispanic. Dad ventured that when he grew up in Southern
California, half of his classmates were Mexican American, and
that they were very proud of the fact that their families were
from Mexico. Further, they were insulted to be called “Hispanic”
and preferred to be called “Mexican American.”
The MAAP guy tried to show my poor cracker-ass father the
light. He countered that there was a time when those folks liked
to be called “Mexican American,” but now they would rather
be called “Hispanic.” Things change, and it was important to be
sensitive….blah blah… “Mexican” = BAD…blah blah….
”Hispanic” = GOOD…blah.
“Well,” said my father, “I couldn’t help noticing that you didn’t
change your organization’s name to “HAAP.”
The interviewer was not amused.
Dad got a job elsewhere.