Editorial: Enough with the Slurs!

There is a part of human nature that compels us to rebel against what we are asked to do. It only takes someone asking us not to do something to guarantee that the forbidden action is carried out even more often than before. This is a problem when the said action is considered by the doer as fun, harmless and culturally justified, regardless of the harm it may cause to others.

This is exactly the situation Mexican soccer finds itself in as fans continue to scream “¡Ehhh, puto!” ‒ “faggot” ‒ when visiting goalies do a goal kick. The Mexican Soccer Federation is trying to eradicate the habit and avoid FIFA penalties charged as part of the organization’s anti-discrimination campaign, which includes homophobia.

The Mexican Federation launched a campaign to ban the chant after being fined, but the audience reacted by yelling it louder than ever during the match against Canada. The Federation risks further fines, as well as being forced to close stadiums during Tri matches and even losing the chance to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

It is believed that the chant originated decades ago as “¡Ehhh, pum! ‒ “boom,”‒ a battle cry yelled during the kickoff at children’s football games in Mexico. It seems to have caught on among soccer fans, and the word change has been attributed to the Atlas club as an insult against goalie Oswaldo Sánchez. From Guadalajara it went out in the world ‒ hardly a cause for pride.

But repeating the chant is still an insult to gay people. The fact that it has become widespread and represents much more than its original meaning speaks volumes about the generalized homophobia prevalent in Mexican society.

In this case, there is an inability to acknowledge that the value of a word is as important to the person uttering it as it is to the listener. If, objectively, it is an insult ‒ as in this case, ‒ trying to defend it is just foolish.

Mexican fans cannot blame Peña-Nieto, the PRI, corruption, the Mexican Federation, “La Gaviota” or drug cartels for this problem. The solution is in the mirror. The power lies in the hands of the fans. It is their choice to let the image of their country’s fútbol to be joyful fans doing the wave and the tune of “Cielito lindo” instead of an odious slur.