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Fiesta theme could get out of hand

To the Editorial Board:

Regarding your editorial about this year’s Winter Carnival theme, I would like to clarify that the majority of people who oppose the fiesta theme have nothing but sincere gratitude for all the hard work undertaken by the Winter Carnival Committee. The Winter Carnival is the centerpiece to the many wonderful events that make our village such an amazing, vibrant place to live and visit. It is for this very reason that many of us are concerned about this year’s theme.

At a time where the leader of our country is comparing Mexican immigrants to rapists, criminals and snakes, the timing of this theme seems inappropriate. You mention that we support two Mexican restaurants in town; however, this does not mean that we are equipped to appropriately celebrate someone else’s culture in a very public way. It’s true that there have been many fiesta and Cinco De Mayo-themed parties, but these were private events in a controlled setting. It’s also true we have had other ethnic Carnival themes: Aloha and Celtic, to name a few. Here I would argue that our national government was not actively working to deport people of Hawaiian and Celtic origin at the time. Also, at least in the case of Celtic, I imagine many villagers have Irish or Scottish roots.

I completely agree that the majority of people in Saranac Lake are not racist and would never do anything intentionally hurtful. However, in the age of instantaneous social media, it only takes one video of drunken parade revelers to go viral and give the false impression that our town is a racist backwater. I love our town and do not want to see it known for something negative. You say that you have not heard of any problems related to these themes, but recently the president of University of Louisville and his staff apologized for dressing in stereotypical Mexican costume. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/10/30/college-president-wore-stereotypical-mexican-costume-for-halloween/?utm_term=.3d00d8929be4 — this being one of many similar incidents easily found in the national news) I sincerely doubt that these people meant to be insensitive, but as a nation, we are still learning what is hurtful to our minorities. I’m sure not everyone was on board with changing the Saranac Lake High School team name from the Redskins to the Red Storm, but luckily, forward thinking prevailed.

Again, while I completely agree that the vast majority of Saranac Lakers are good people with only the best intentions, keep in mind that Winter Carnival attracts people from all over the North Country and far beyond. It is not only our community’s actions that we have to be concerned about. We also need to be totally honest about the amount of drinking and debauchery that occurs on parade day and how easily things could go wrong.

Recently ROOST has been actively working to make our community more inclusive and attractive to tourists of all races, creeds and ethnicities. Making our village welcoming is an economic necessity if we want to attract tourists from large metro areas. This theme has the potential to send the wrong message to tourists and embarrass our community. It may go off without a hitch, but I sincerely hope the Carnival Committee is ready to deal with the backlash and bad publicity if it doesn’t. Why not choose a theme like last year’s that does not put us at risk and can be enjoyed by everyone?

Kelly Hofschneider lives in Saranac Lake.

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