How do the DU Chicanos feel about Obama using 'Si se Puede' as a slogan?

[Didereaux]

edit jitter finger stuck an s on that can

[Bonobo]

1. . Forget it, I won't even bother.

[papau]

2. Obama stole the AFL/CIO union slogan = it is a good slogan

[Didereaux]

6. more specifically I belive it was Chavez and the Farm Workers slogan

[Purveyor]

3. Translate 'Si se Puedes' for the rest of us dolts and perhaps we can comment.

[Didereaux]

4. Yes we can

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. "Yes, we can." I think Howard Dean also used it in 2004.

[marmar]

7. Does anyone use the term "Chicano" anymore?

:shrug:

[Didereaux]

8. yep, in the barrios Although the Pasty-faced ones forget things don't change once

they move on to other pretty bright shiny things.

[cboy4]

25. That's what I was going to ask....Seems like it would be

no different than calling black people "Afro"-Americans.

[knowledgeispwr]

9. Actually...

It's sí se puede.

I'm not Hispanic, but I'm pretty sure it's a general Spanish expression, not limited to Chicanos, or any particular group for that matter.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Back in the '70s it was the slogan of Chavez' Farm Workers Union.

I think that's why it's been used in political campaigns since.

[Didereaux]

11. Farm Workers own it, just as FDR owns 'New Deal'

[Der Blaue Engel]

12. According to this Wiki article, it's the intellectual property of UFW

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Si_se_puede

[Didereaux]

13. thats what I have been hinting at...it is now STOLEN!

[knowledgeispwr]

19. Well, if that's the case...

it's pretty commonly stolen all over the Spanish-speaking world (including the United States). Obama certainly isn't the first and definitely won't be the last to appropriate it.

[Didereaux]

20. see msg#18 below UFW sued and won...don't take up that legal career jsut yet.

[knowledgeispwr]

22. I saw message #18...

AeroMexico was trying to trademark the phrase, obviously for commercial purposes. That's not the same thing as Obama using it (or a loose English translation) as a campaign theme/rallying cry.

The snark you used was unnecessary.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Pass the man (or woman) a cigar

usted tiene razon...

[judaspriestess]

14. why can't he have just one universal slogan

Yes We Can?

Is he going to have the slogan in Chinese, Russian, Tagalo also?

what do I think as a Latina? LAME

[Didereaux]

16. tnx for the hdsup, jitter finger, 's' removed from can.

[sgifford]

21. The United Farm Workers used this slogan

Hi judaspriestess,

Perhaps you know this already, but for other readers, Cesar Chavez and UFW used this slogan as their rallying cry to unite (largely Latino) farmers fairly early in the union movement, so it has special significance for both Latino voters and union members. I live in Flint, so I'm reminded of Chavez and UFW every time I get on the expressway (the UAW Freeway, AKA I-475) on Chavez drive, the access road.

It's a powerful slogan with a long history, and I think it's interesting that Obama chose to use it.

[judaspriestess]

26. Hi sgifford

Thank you for the info.

I do realize its a powerful slogan. It was one used by Latinos for Latinos.

I'll give you an example I really hate when I get solicitation in the mail in Spanish from credit card companies for example. I feel like I'm being patronized. Its probably just me, I just have this thing about it.

So I personally don't care for the use of the slogan even if it were Edwards or Clinton. but like I said thats just me.

Welcome to DU :hi:

[sgifford]

27. Don't take the solicitations personally

I get them by email all the time, even though I am not Latino and don't have a Latino-sounding name, pero mi espanol is tan mal que no los entiendo. :-) I don't get them in the mail, though, I wonder if they use software that looks for names that sound Latino, or if they buy their mailing lists from places that tend to have a lot of Spanish-speaking customers, or what. We also get solicitations for family members who are long-deceased, which is sometimes startling.

At any rate, you are certainly within your rights to hate the saying. Thanks for the welcome!

[FrenchieCat]

17. !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmUUYo9o9eg&feature=PlayList&p=B03F10C0072F4762&index=3

[Didereaux]

18. Obama probably ought to obtain a legal release to use this, UFW sued and won this case...

AeroMexico's trademark application

After AeroMexico, a Mexican airline, had filed a trademark application for "Sí se puede" with the US Trademark Office, lawyers for the United Farm Workers defended the phrase as the intellectual property of the UFW. After litigation, AeroMexico agreed not to use the phrase and abandoned its trademark application.<1>


1.Arturo S. Rodriguez (1998-03-31). Statement from Arturo S. Rodriguez, President, United Farm Workers of America, Celebrating Cesar Chavez's Birthday 3/31/98-La Paz, Keene, Cal

[ellisonz]

23. They didn't sue Howard Dean to my knowledge.

[knowledgeispwr]

24. Probably because Dean didn't try to trademark the phrase

like AeroMexico did.

So, in my book, it's not a big deal. The only problem is if some see it as pandering to Spanish-speakers if Obama uses the phrase in Spanish.

[Orangepeel]

28. UFW is part of "Change to Win," which also includes the Commercial Food Workers

who endorsed Obama. So maybe the UFW feel it is all in the family