Gringo Mask Lets Nervous Arizonans Whiten Up
Joe Keohane/AOL News
Foes of Arizona's stringent new immigration law -- which requires police to check the paperwork of anyone believed to be an illegal immigrant during traffic stops, arrests or detentions -- claim that it's essentially an open invitation for the authorities to harass the, let's say, swarthier citizens of the Grand Canyon State.
For those legal Arizonans worried that their skin tone may now result in their being routinely pestered by local law enforcement (as well as those unwilling or unable to spring for a skin-whitening procedure a la Sammy Sosa or the late King of Pop), Zubi, a Hispanic ad agency based out of Miami, has offered a solution: the Gringo Mask.
"Our agency mantra is 'Erasing Stereotypes,' so as soon as this law was passed, we knew we had to do something to communicate just how ridiculous we thought it was," said the firm's COO, Joe Zubizarreta.
There is a male and a female version, both possessing a degree of whiteness that can only be described as "Scandinavian" (incidentally, not a part of America). The concept behind them is a simple one: Download and print out a mask from the website, cut it out, place it over your face -- and off you go, a walking protest.
Zubizarreta advises that users take their Gringo Mask everywhere, just in case. "If you're Hispanic, and live in Arizona, keep the mask nearby at all times," he said. "You never know..."
That said, wearing your Gringo Mask, like texting, is not recommended while driving. It may keep you from being racially profiled, but it probably won't prevent you from sideswiping that mail truck.
This Arizona immigrant law sure is getting a lot of people riled up. Every letter in the Odessa American this week was about it and we're hundreds of at least 1,000 miles from Arizona. Of course, we have a similar racial makeup. That said, these gringo masks are a great idea. If you strap one of these on and wear long sleeves and jeans you can pass for white and avoid being profiled. Of course, the cops could still be suspicious if your name is written in Old English on your back windshield and theres six Longhorn logos on your truck.
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