By and large, beauty contests are such an embarrassing anachronism that it's hard to get even the slightest bit excited about them – unless, of course, Miss USA falls over and everyone gets to boo her, in which case beauty contests are kinda fun.
We're referring to Monday's Miss Universe competition, of course. Where usually a Miss Universe competition is an excuse for the world's most dumbly pretty bubbleheads to trot up and down a walkway and pretend that they've ever had a single thought that wasn't exclusively about themselves in an attempt to win a big piece of ribbon, this year things were different. That's because this year Rachel Smith, America's contestant in Miss Universe, fell over and was then booed relentlessly when she had to try and address the Mexican audience. The Miss Universe booing incident is now being played off as a political matter, based on the USA's draconian immigration policy – but that's missing the real point here.
The real point, should you need telling, is that booing people who are prettier than you is probably the best thing in all the world.
There must have been a point in time where a beauty queen was a genuinely aspirational thing to become. Not any more, though – the majority of women have either realised that beauty contests are nothing more than outmoded efforts to undermine female accomplishments in an ultimately patriarchal society, or they've worked out that they can totally get a bunch more money if they fuck blokes on the internet for a living. That has left the beauty queen talent pool so shallow that even drunk nymphomaniac drug abusers like Miss USA Tara Conner can have a real shot at winning. Or, alternatively, people who can't walk down a simple piece of floor without falling over like a ninny, like Miss USA Rachel Smith.
Rachel Smith represented the USA in Monday's Miss Universe contest. Obviously the biggest news about Miss Universe was that it was won by yet another Earth girl – Miss Japan Riyo Mori – following last year's win by Puerto Rico's Zuleyka Rivera Mendoza. But while we'd usually be taking this time to pass on our commiserations to all the other planets in the universe who have been cruelly shut out of the Miss Universe title again, this year we've decided it'd be much more fun to look at all the abuse that Miss USA Rachel Smith got from the crowd of Mexicans she was trying to impress.
Rachel Smith's Miss Universe woes were twofold on Monday; not only did she fall over in front of everyone, but she also attempted to give a speech to an auditorium of angrily booing Mexicans. The treatment of Miss USA has kicked off a huge debate in America about whether Smith was booed because she's an idiot who can't even stand up properly or because she represents a country with strongly anti-Mexican immigration policy. Miss Universe co-owner Donald Trump thinks he knows the answer:
"I don't think they are booing because of Rachel. They are booing because of the immigration policy."
Following his statement Donald Trump then went into a 45-minute-long abusive rant about Rosie O'Donnell because there was a camera there and that's what he just assumes people wants to hear these days.
But, for all the ensuing arguments and self-exploration that the Miss Universe booing of Miss USA has started, perhaps the people of Mexico are onto something with this method of protest. We can't be alone in thinking that all international disputes would be better solved if pretty girls in bikinis from each country walked up and down a catwalk until everything was sorted out. Also, we think that Rosie O'Donnell would probably be more in favour of the Iraq War if this was the case.
Read more:
Boos For Miss USA Aimed At US Govt – ABC
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Finally the event is over and we have a winner…
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At what point in your life were you brainwashed? Why weren’t the other
contestants booed I’m sure they were prettier than everyone in the audience.
We are about to grant amnesty to all those ugly people and they boo. Maybe the
soccer players were prettier than the fans in Mexico City when the chanted
OSAMA. Wake up
You’re a fuckin loser dude!! Commenting on such a stupid event!!
This is old news. Show me a mexican that pays taxes and I’ll listen to his argument. Otherwise, go rake my lawn and plant my pagonias.
Riyo Mori is smokin hot, go Asian!
What a cruel person you are, you so-called writer. Just because you can type and put some
words together, doesn’t mean you should use them in order to put down another person,
especially a person who is trying to do something in this world.
There is absolutely no excuse for being lousy to people and that fact is lost on this writer,
and those crummy Mexicans in the audience.
We should not let those Mex’s into our country at all, let them wallow in their own feces.
The writer of this article is as anti-american as those in the Mexican audience booing Miss Universe. Regarding “bubble headedness” the writer should look in the mirror.
Ugly women,nasty men and shity beer,what would you expect form a bunch of low life third world idiots.fuck i say
Don’t mistake me for being anti-U.S., and I understand that a lot of Mexico is unfriendly to the U.S., but the problem wasn’t just political. The contest was in Mexico, but it was obvious that the show was a U.S. production. Ms. Mexico was excluded from the final five, yet Ms. USA, who had fallen on stage and was nowhere near as good looking as Ms. Mexico was advanced.
The Mexican crowd saw a problem with the judges. Anyone who watched had to be scratching their heads… or booing.
“Draconian immigration policy”? What planet are you from? The US has the most liberal immigration policy of any nation on this planet! We accept more legal immigrants and tolerate more illegal immigrants than any other nation.
You want draconian, look at f**king Mexico’s immigration laws.
Well, I for one was happy to read this. I’m SICK of Bush and his gang getting their own corrupt way in everything. I live in Okinawa where Americans are about as popular as a dead cat in a wedding. Why? Individual Americans are fine. Their politics is reminiscent of the 3rd Reich. In my opinion, the animosity has less to do with immigration policy than Herr Bush and his gang running over everything. Why does the “World Bank” have to have an American at the top?
Americans invaded Iraq. Let’s not forget that. They started this war on what has since proved to be a pack of lies.
I’m happy they didn’t win the beauty contest. There is no beauty there.
John Davis
Obviously you have no concept of U.S. immigration policy nor what illegal immigration has done to the U.S.
It is clear that you hate the U.S.
Your article is funny. I suspect you’re not intending this to be some grand discussion of US immigration policy, or foreign policy generally. It’s just meant be funny, and the responses make it even more amusing. Beauty contests and the U.S. are both ridiculous.
This article is perfect example of the bias in our media today. They try to make it appear that we are in the wrong about our immigration policy. They talk about all these poor mexican families. What they don’t tell you is the 33,000 gang mexican gang members that are illegally in the country, the California prisons that are bursting with illegal immigrants that have committed crimes or the fact the mexico promotes these people to come to our country so that they don’t have to provide social services for them. Instead we can pick up the bill! America is a country of laws and yet we provide get out of jail cards for people who aren’t event citizens of this country? Your are anti-American. If you like Mexico then go live there! Wake up America!!!!!
its sad that people are still so ethnocentric. we believe that we as americans are so much higher than everyone including mexicans…and then we wonder why people around the world hate us so much…..
Your obvious lack of knowledge, about the problems illegal immigaration are causing in the United States, is appaling. Please get a clue before you write anymore about things you obviously know nothing about.
Isn’t Rachel Smith part Mexican? I know she’s mixed, but don’t know what of.
At any rate, “USA’s draconian immigration policy”,”strongly anti-Mexican immigration policy”???! Huh? What the heck are they talking about? They’re practically our special guests here in America. Sure, now that we’ve moaned and groaned about illegals they are doing some sort of token border patrol but it’s no where near where it should be.
What about Mexicans immigration policy? Could I goto Mexico illegally and collect welfare, vote, deal drugs and demand citizenship? I don’t think so. Maybe we should have booed Miss Mexico for their draconian immigration policy.
The author, Stuart Heritage, seemed to miss his own point about the Miss Universe pagent. He shows contempt for the pagent, the contestants (especially Miss USA), Donald Trump, and the USA. For some reason thought he showed no contempt for the country that hosted the event, Mexico, or the people that payed money to be in the audience, mostly Mexicans. Mr. Heritage seems to have a problem with the objectification of women yet he feels no compashion for the women being objectified.
I have always felt that the Mexicans in the USA are just here to earn a decent living and provide for there families and I have absolutly nothing against that. I have also believed that imigration is good for the USA, historically spikes in imigration have caused spikes in the economy. But this isn’t so for Mexican imagrants because they use and abuse our system and our generosity. I know why President Bush wants to keep the status quo but why is it that liberals want to maiintain Illegal imigration. Do they truly believe we should open our borders to anyone that wants to come into the USA. Is there a single country in the world that does that, I don’t think so? Since this debate has started I have been shocked at the hateful comments of Mexicans and it is they that have formed my new opinion. Screw them they are ungreatful America haters and all illegals should be tossed out and required to come back legally. Or maybe they should clean up there own house first. If it wasn’t for the rampant corruption in Mexico it wouldn’t be a third world country anymore. That says something about the Mexican people and it isn’t good. I was in Mexico once and had to bribe the immigration officer to get in the country because he ripped up my perfectly good visa and demanded a bribe. I had to bribe a cop to leave me and my wife alone when all we were doing was having a meal in the same restuarant that these DRUNK police officers decided to come into. The owner also gave them a case of beer so that they would leave. Then I had to bribe another immigration officer to let me out of Mexico. They have made their country a shit hole and I think they should have to live in it.
“we as americans are so much higher than everyone including mexicans” – Proves the War on (some) Drugs isn’t working…
16 angry comments in 4 hours? Not bad Hecklerspray, keep up the good work. In fact, have a gold star.
I aggree with Paul – I’m not anti-american, but don’t you think it’s fishy how the USA alwyas happens to run in the top 5 ?? out of how many other women?? PLEASE!!! and they saw how the AMreICAN pageant, put our USA lady in the top 5 after she tripped yet MISS MEXICO didn’t make it and she walked without falling. So, if they booed because it’s political, then i say, why not? i don’t blame them.
Typical liberal ranting is all i got out of this little piece of crap article.And as far as the guy from Okinowa is concerned, you really should do a little checking of history in lets say the last 60 years. You do know that the Japanese have a history as some of the most brutal and racist people to ever walk this planet. I think all you have to do is look at what they did throughout asia and the south pacific prior to ww2. Brutal to say the least.As far as your histrionics about the Bush administration are concerned the “lies you speak of were accepted as factual by the world and the united nations. Do your homework and try to operate withsome intellect and not so much on emotions. People will take you allittle more seriosly
Great article/column, especially for its ability to bring out so much political rancor from so many of your readers! I agree with “Paul” that the audience was booing the judges’ decision to allow a less pretty (and pretty clumsy) Miss USA into the finals while excluding Miss Mexico. I also agree with Julia Goulia that your column was very funny; I laughed out loud a few times. It’s too bad so many of your readers can’t recognize sarcasm & satire. In the mean time, Keep Up The Good Work!
Oh my Stuart! How long have you felt this badly about yourself?
Props for not being afraid of keeping critical blog responses up, but — dude, check out the immigration policies of *other* countries before calling US policy “draconian”. Check out, for instance, Mexico’s immigration policy. Ours is plenty friendly.
Thx,
bkd
… my husband is a mexican and he pays taxes. He does what all you lazy ass americans won’t do.. he actually does the hard work. he has to do more than sit on his ass all day starin at a computer.
You must be an illegal you ignorant stupid fuck!
Facts must not matter to the febal/Liberal minded writers and media. US Citizens are not anti mexican, ….they are anti-ILEGAL immigration!! I don’t care what color or country you came from, …if you came willingly and legaly, …WELCOME!!
But for Latinos to call Americans “racist”, …take a step back and see who REALLY is RACIST. ..Fact – The majority of illegal aliens, …LATINO. They think they are above EVERYBODY else so much to the point, …that they can ruin and leave their country, …without “waiting in-line” like the other immigrants from around the world, and have the gaul to make demands to a country they entered ilegaly???
If you tried to write a fact, …you would probably cripple yourself!!
oh one other thing… if you want to get technical every one here in america is an immigrant except for the native americans.. so me being cherokee, choctaw, and chippewa… that’s means this is my native land… not yours so you all should go back to where you came from.. you stole the land from my people. and my people say mexicans are welcome here…. If only it worked that way eh….
I t was cruel on part of the audience in mexico, you can expect the same in 2008 on part of the american audience towards the Mexican queen, it will be wrong.
I say that booing Miss U.S.A. is nothing less than an act of war, booing our representative in a world pageant is an insult that should not be tolerated. In the spirit of our great ancestors, I say we invade Mexico immediately. It is about time we took over all that fabulous beach front property. The middle east is just too far away to colonize, and besides, they are running out of oil. We start with Mexico, and work our way south.
Jerry, you sound uneducated, Mexicans do pay taxes, read the Times article, published April 2006 page 43, they pay taxes even if they use a fraudulent social security number. The U.S. Government gets to keep all that money, billions, without having to pay the contributors any benefits. Get it? Free money for uncle Sam. I too think the boos were political, because in California our government is deporting the parents and leaving the children without parents in many cases. That has to be very painful for the Mexican families involved, no matter what country they are from. It’s too bad it had to happen to the Mexican people. Our government has to fix this problem, we are Christians after all and this matter is “morally,” wrong. We cannot continue to split families apart. I also think Miss Mexico was really gorgeous, and Miss Korea was stunning!
F**k the american world point of view. 90% of them are followers jumping off a cliff, lead by designated dumb-koffs. F**K ‘em if they can’t speak for themselves and F**k ‘em if they can’t recognize when a problem slaps ‘em upside the cranium.
Paul, if you think the USA has a “Draconian immigration policy” you are about as disconnected from reality as it is possible to get. Seriously. I am an Independent, and hate most ideology and ploitics, but the US Congress is about to pass what effectively is another amnesty bill. What other nation is *that* loose with its immigration standards? I fully support immmigration, but why can;t we get, say, some doctors and scientists from India instead of millions of unskilled workers?
>>rae said “oh one other thing… if you want to get technical every one here in america is an immigrant except for the native americans”
Where do you people get this crap from? That’s the point of view of an eight year old. **ALL** of huanity started in Africa, probably somewhere near what is now Ethiopia. Your ancestors came from Asia, dummy.
Soif you really want to get technical, everyone born here is a native. Why are you so bigoted?
>>rae said “He does what all you lazy ass americans won’t do.. ”
No, he does unskilled work for illegal wages. You’re happy your husband is being exploited? You’re happy you husband has no ambition?
>> rae said “not yours so you all should go back to where you came from..”
I came from California. Why are you so full of hate? Why are you so bigoted?
Paul said: We can’t be alone in thinking that all international disputes would be better solved if pretty girls in bikinis from each country walked up and down a catwalk”
Well, OK, I’m with you on that one.
Booooooo!
“john chaves Says:
May 31st, 2007 at 5:39 pm
I t was cruel on part of the audience in mexico, you can expect the same in 2008 on part of the american audience towards the Mexican queen, it will be wrong.”
Not possible. Miss Mexico probably lives in the United States.
Fortunately Mossman nobody will take you seriously:-).
First the Don is in charge need I say more about things being fixed. He would fix the contest but you can imagine what the girl would have to do for the win;-).
And to all of you up on the mount I think that you need to come down the altitude has deprived your brain of oxygen, this is a beauty contest not life and death. It’s like sports in this country parents taking there kids games seriously and violently lashing out at there kids and others. Competition is the mothers milk of disaster not of freedom. Cheers
Did you actually watch the pagent. I feel they were booing because Miss USA should not have been inthe final 5. Miss Mexico, and a few others, scored much higher in the swimsuit competition. i think the audience felt Miss USA shold not have been in the final 5 and that is why they booed her when she walked up to the mike to anser her Final Question. People are reading too much into this. These are pagent people not politicos!!!
“oh one other thing… if you want to get technical every one here in america is an immigrant except for the native americans..so me being cherokee, choctaw, and chippewa… that’s means this is my native land… not yours so you all should go back to where you came from.. you stole the land from my people. and my people say mexicans are welcome here…. ”
Here we go… the evil white man is to blame for everything. Your comment is so typical. And who did you take the land from? The roaming buffalo and animals of the Great Plains? Why don’t you pack up your things, purchase a life preserver, and head back over the Bering Strait to where you originally came from? Then after you do, we can all go back to our native homelands, allow the animals to reclaim their land, and live in peace as they had done for tens of thousands of years undisturbed without the threat of being hunted. That would be true justice. haha..
Lets not forget that there are millions of illegal ALIENS from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America you dumb fucks! For the record, I am an illegal immigrant who obtained two master degrees with your taxes! I LOVE IT!
Wait a minute — cruel Mexicans boo Miss USA, and we blame Miss USA? Ridiculous
Rae said, “oh one other thing… if you want to get technical every one here in america is an immigrant except for the native americans.. so me being cherokee, choctaw, and chippewa… that’s means this is my native land… not yours so you all should go back to where you came from.. you stole the land from my people.”
I’m tired of this bone-headed argument. If you think this is true, show me the legal documents published by the various tribes. The records where some tribes made deals SELLING their land (fairly or unfairly) are available if you look them up.
Of course, if you want us to leave, we’ll go as soon as you agree to give the land back to Kennewick Man’s descendents — Oh, I’m sorry, your ancestors seem to have KILLED THEM ALL.
It has been said the measure of a country can be summed up by this: The number of people who want out versus the number of people who want in.
So you sent your email via smoke signal Chochise?
SHOW ME A MEXICAN THAT WILL GO TO WAR FOR THE U.S. AND I’LL SAY LET HIM/HER SYAY, IF NOT STAY THE FUCK OUT
Todd is right on!! I say the US immigration laws aren’t Draconian(harsh) enough! Try immigrating to Mexico illegally. Let me know how that works out for you.
And rae i do agree with your comment. The British, German, Scot, Spanish, French, and Dutch who took your land are as well immigrants. We cannot change the past but prevent the same for the future. Besides one thing we all did do was establish this nationalism America contains. The real argument should be that the Mexicans do not support our country and send our money back to their native countries and continue to hate the American culture that allows them freedoms, healthcare, and jobs that though might not pay well still pay better than their jobs in their native countries do. So preserve the future and work with the past. We need a stronger stance on immigration immediately.
I think “Stuart Heritage” is a nom de plume. I wouldn’t be at all suprised if he’s really Mexican or Arabic. Stuart
go back to where you came from, and flush it next time, you traitor!
Yeah, seriously, stick to humor. If you want to throw in little current event “tidbits” like the remark about “draconian immigration policies” then at least do some research to ensure you’re at least somewhat credible.
The reason Congress is finally trying to reform the immigration system now is because it is too open and liberal, not because it’s overly-strict. We have one of the highest immigration rates in the world, and we granted amnesty to all the current illegal immigrants in ’86, for goodness’ sake.
Leave off the political commentary and analysis unless you plan to exert some effort in the future, please, because, unfortunately, a lot of people are ignorant enough to take remarks like that seriously. But it’s your site, so whatever.
TLS has a very compelling argument. Very well put, shows off his moral fortitude and superior intellect.
While I agree with Rae that not all Mexicans should be lumped into a single sterotype, I also am forced to note that in making her objection she is doing exactly the same.
Bigotry is everywhere, and the sooner everybody learns to put aside prejudice, the better. Of course that will never happen because it seems that people with insecurities will never get past their own hangups and the blame game that focusses on others as scapegoats for their failures instead of focussing inward and getting on with their own lives. A rational argument you may think, but hell, I’m prejudiced against the likes of the TLS’ too.
I had a nice laugh reading all this…nobody hates anybody…for chrissakes…grow up guys…this is just a beauty contest
it doesn’t matter who won or who did not win…do i feel sorry for miss usa ? …sure
Every contestant in this pageant has spent months preparing for this one moment and it must be heart breaking for the losers…but thats all in the game..
Like everybody else watching this show we expect to be entertained …so sit back and enjoy the show…
Of course the Mexican booed. What a bunch of ignorant ingrates. If they hate Americans, why sneak into the country. They make people hate them.
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