Another entry in the "Now THIS Is Political Correctness" file.
It seems that the Oakland Police Department had scheduled a series of sobriety checkpoints around the city for Cinco de Mayo and, as usual, let everyone know they would be on the job to prevent people from driving drunk after the partying was done. The purpose of the sobriety checkpoints is to deter drunk driving and minimize the number of people killed or injured in preventable automobile accidents. It seems pedantic to have to explain all this, but that's the loony times in which we live.
We also have to emphasize that, given that Cinco De Mayo is a Hispanic/Latino/Chicano/etc. "holiday" (or as the Director always reiterates at this time of year, a Corona marketing ploy to erode the livers of Hispanics, Latinos, Chicanos, etc. ), that particular demographic is logically more likely to be drinking inordinately and therefore merits advance public disclosure by the Oakland PD that there will be heightened watchouts for drunk drivers. Because the latter is seeking to safeguard their lives and safety as well.
You can see where this is headed:
“Oakland Police has posted on their Twitter account they’re going to put out Extra Patrols for you drunk Mexicans on Cinco de Mayo,” said a post on the Facebook page Oakland Latinos United. “How does it feel. As a Mexican Chicano I wonder if OPD will be posting DUI PSAs for every ethnic & culturally based holiday?”
I would imagine that yes, they would, actually. Although I'm not sure there's any other "ethnic & culturally based holiday" in which getting shit-faced is such a central, integral part of the occasion.
But no matter. The counter-racists bleated, and you can guess what happened next:
A warning about drunk-driving checkpoints during the Cinco de Mayo holiday got the Oakland Police Department in hot water.
The lengthy warning, titled “Fiesta Time or Jail Times,” about driving while intoxicated made many references to such drinks as tequila and margaritas, and many people complained it was offensive.
“In the United States, Cinco de Mayo has become synonymous with festive fiestas and salty margaritas,” the warning said. “Historically, the fifth of May commemorates Mexico’s 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War, but present-day celebrations often lead to drunk driving—and there’s no victory in that.”
Criticism about the warning prompted the Oakland Police Department to issue an apology and then cancel the checkpoints. [emphasis added]
Because "safe zones" for Hispanic/Latino/Chicano/etc. racist "special snowflakes" are more important than avoiding this....
Exit quote from Jazz Shaw: "Next we’ll have cops apologizing for investigating theft if the perpetrator wasn’t making $15 an hour."
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