Absolutly Silly

Michelle Malkin's crowd is going absolutly berserk over this ad.

For those of you who may not be sure what you're looking at, it shows a map of North and Central America drawn as though the Gadsden Purchase and the land ceded by the the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had remained part of Mexico. The text is "In An Absolut World". As far as I can tell, the attachment of the term reconquista to this is simply something wingnut commentators have dreamed up.

Over on Malkin's site, and many another spot, people are swearing never to drink Absolut again--and some of them have discovered to their horror just how many alcohol brands are owned by Absolut's overlords--and some of them are getting pretty hot under the collar about all this.

One of her readers writes:

Absolut -

I run a bar in Pt. Richmond, California - where the Kaiser Liberty Ships were built during WWII. After seeing your ad Campaign where you show a western map of the United States in which California is part of Mexico again, I’ve decided to do the following…

1) Never carry Absolut. Ever.
2) Lower the price of Ketel One vodka to $2 a shot indefinitely to build loyalty.
3) Print a copy of your ad and put it above the Ketel One drink special.
4) Tell all my friends and family what Absolut thinks of the United States of America and our right to enforce border laws.

I am on the front line of illegal immigration and its effects. Where are you? Oh yes, Sweden.
Good riddance.

Sincerely,

Matthew Rogers
Pt. Richmond, Ca.

Huh. I looked at the ad, and my first reaction was laughter. I thought it was cute. Some notes:

1. This is obviously a fantasy, not a blueprint for land appropriation.

2. I am also a resident of New Spain, in fact I am a neighbor of Mr. Roger's, and I don't feel that I'm on the 'front lines' of anything. Border control is an ongoing concern for the U.S., and for California, but this is not about border control.

3. This is also not about illegal immigration.

4. Oh, lighten up, amigo.

5. PS, my grandmother worked at Point Richmond during the war. I see your bar and raise you.

Now, Michelle asks what Absolut drinkers would feel about this ad:



Some differences, Michelle:

1. A number of powerful nations are, and have been, working for years to make something like this a reality. Mexico has no intention of trying to take back Texas and Alta California.

2. No, crazies on the radio in LA don't count as "Mexico". They also don't have an army.

3. No, illegal border-jumpers trying to find work don't count as an invasion. Even the tiny percentage of them who are really bad dudes don't count as an invasion.

4. As a Jew, the Absolut Palestine map scares the hell out of me. As an Anglo Alta-Californian, the Absolut Mexico map makes me chuckle. That's the difference.