I AM THE FORCE

The man in charge of opinion-making for the Journal Sentinel must resign immediately. O. Ricardo Pimentel, made an admission today that makes him unqualified to speak for a progressive newspaper. In a heartwarming column about his mother's tamales, I was shocked to read the following sentence:

"Mine was a very traditional household. I remember arguing strenuously and passionately that tamale-making was girls' work."
Ricardo Pimintel, December 21, 2005

If someone like Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez had ever made such an appalling sexist comment, Editor Pimintel would have used his bully pulpit to demand his resignation and proceed to educate us all in the dangers of gender differentiation. And I'm not talking about just one editorial here -- we would be reading about this Republican conspiracy to keep women down for a very long time.

A person in Ricardo's position has a particular responsibility to be above reproach, since those of us who read newspapers are forced to glance at his weak editorial page nearly every day (although it has almost reached "Family Circle" status for me.)
How can people of good conscience allow this guy to continue to spout his many forms of prejudice into our homes, where it might even be read by impressionable children or people from West Allis?

If Ricardo doesn't resign or his publisher doesn't immediately fire him, we should combine the Belling protesters, CRG Network, and Alderman Junior McGee into an unstoppable movement for reform at the Journal Sentinel. But, Ricardo, please save us the trouble and just resign. It's all very disappointing, the good people of Wisconsin deserve so much better.

For the complete offensive column, go to:
http://www.jsonline.com/entree/cooking/dec05/379247.asp