Here’s what we know: That when Yunel Escobar decided to take the field wearing a disparaging term written in Spanish on his eye black, he did something stupid.
Here’s what we don’t know: Exactly how stupid.
We start with the linguistics of slang. What does ‘Tu ere maricon’ mean?
“It is derogatory, but it’s not necessarily homophobic,” said Maria Cristina Cuervo, a professor of Spanish at the University of Toronto.
Yes, it can mean ‘You are a faggot’. But according to Cuervo, context is everything. The word is a derivation of the proper name Maria del Carmen. The diminutive form of that name has morphed into an effeminizing epithet that has a clear gender component, but not necessarily a sexual one.
“I would take it as, ‘You are like a girl. You’re weak’,” Cuervo said. “I don’t curse much, so I don’t know the appropriate level in English. It has to be something like ‘wuss’.”
In Spanish-speaking families, according to Cuervo, parents might refer to a 7-year-old boy who’s crying as a maricon, as in ‘Don’t be such a baby’. You might say the same thing in the same situation to a female child.
“If anything, it’s sexism against women,” Cuervo said wryly. Overall, she didn’t seem predisposed to be shocked by the use of the word: “It’s trash talking.”
She also noted a point of grammar. The word (and the insult) is made stronger if maricon is used as a noun. It isn’t in this case, because there is no un modifying it (as in un maricon).
Given all that, the use of the word ‘faggot’ as a catch-all translation would seem an oversimplification.
It’s possible that Escobar meant ‘maricon’ in its inter-familial form. Not at all likely, but possible.
Given that he isn’t walking into a time warp that takes him back to 1890 after every game and that he should have some instinct for survival, it seems quite possible that Escobar meant the word in its de-sexualized context, as a generic goof.
If so, it will be up to him to articulate that to a skeptical audience on Tuesday afternoon.
There’s also the question of why he did it. Was this the terms of a losing bet? Was the insult directed at someone specific? There is even the very slim possibility that, as part of some elaborate clubhouse prank, he didn’t realize what was written on the strips. Again, unlikely, but possible.
In order to explain the word, Escobar is going to have to explain the context in which it was used. Any hedging on that score is going to undermine his presumable ‘I was just kidding’ excuses.
Given what’s at stake, we’ve never had a non-sports-related sports controversy quite like it in the city. Homophobic scandals (presumptive) don’t generally come freighted with so much grey area.
Having not yet gotten any explanation from the source, it’s too early for torches and pitchforks (though a great many already have them out). Escobar’s odd decision still lands in a large range — anything from tone-deaf to hate speech.
Two things need to be explained: What did he mean? Why did he do it?
Then there’s the thorny issue of the Jays response.
If Escobar is convincing that he meant this in non-homophobic fun — an apology on general principles, the promise to toss his Sharpies, and a short suspension.
But it what Escobar intended falls on the dark side of the spectrum, there is no way the Jays can keep faith with a cosmopolitan fan-base while keeping their shortstop too.
No comments:
Post a Comment