Hotel owner tells ‘Spanish’ employees to change their names and ‘speak only English.’
Hotel owner tells ‘Spanish’ employees to change their names and ‘speak only English.’
The AP reports that in Taos, NM, hotel owner Larry Whitten is under fire for his treatment of his Hispanic employees:
After he arrived, Whitten met with the employees. He says he immediately noticed that they were hostile to his management style and worried they might start talking about him in Spanish.
“Because of that, I asked the people in my presence to speak only English because I do not understand Spanish,” Whitten says. “I’ve been working 24 years in Texas and we have a lot of Spanish people there. I’ve never had to ask anyone to speak only English in front of me because I’ve never had a reason to.” [...]
Then Whitten told some employees he was changing their Spanish first names. Whitten says it’s a routine practice at his hotels to change first names of employees who work the front desk phones or deal directly with guests if their names are difficult to understand or pronounce.
“It has nothing to do with racism. I’m not doing it for any reason other than for the satisfaction of my guests, because people calling from all over America don’t know the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish anything,” Whitten says.
Whitten eventually fired many Hispanic several employees for being “hostile and insubordinate.” He further angered the local community when he referred to people in the town as “mountain people” and “potheads who escaped society” during interviews with the press. Watch a video of an August protest against Whitten (which includes one employee named Marcos revealing that he was fired when he refused to change his name to “Mark” or “Bill”):
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Ah, the ignorant racist…uniquely American.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:44 pmYour hick customers can’t pronounce “Marcos”? Or “Jose”?
Your typical disgusting, uber-paranoid, xenophobic, dittohead arsehat.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:46 pmIs “Marcos” really hard to pronounce? even for English speakers?
October 26th, 2009 at 12:46 pmWith all the people out of work why does this bozo even have a job. I would think people skills would be a prerequisite in that job
October 26th, 2009 at 12:48 pmSounds like quite an astute businessman — I bet he’ll get loads of guests with that kind of “big-tent” attitude…why, I bet he’d be a great addition to the membership of the US Chamber of Commerce…
/sarc
October 26th, 2009 at 12:48 pmAnyone want to bet that Faux and Lou Dobbs will turn this guy into a hero this week?
October 26th, 2009 at 12:49 pmThe retard lived in Texas for 24 years, and never learned a bit of Spanish.
That stupidhead is right out of central casting.
He is emblematic of the hostility within the repiggie ranks toward learning another language and learning about another culture.
The hotel owners should know that there are many wonderful people who are culturally flexible that are looking for jobs, many with management skills who are Spanish-speaking or who are comfortable enough around Spanish-speaking people.
Fire the dinosaur, and hire someone who actually lives in the 21st century.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pmTechnically, it has nothing to do with racism…because “Hispanic” isn’t a race. It has everything to do with bigotry, though.
And, really…Marcos sounds scary and foreign?
October 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pmThis dope moved into Taos from Texas and made one serious mistake.
He assumed that the local Hispanics, Indians, and Genizaros are the same people as the Tex-Mex population he’s dealt with in TakesUs. He’s more than a little bit wrong. He may be beginning to recognize that; he made a couple of ‘walk back’ comments, softer comments, in the AP piece than he made in the original ABQ Journal story this summer.
Even the “hippies” and dopers around Taos are a harder nosed bunch than you might find in places like Austin. Taos is a beautiful place, but it isn’t easy to scratch out a living there.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:52 pm“Whitten says. “I’ve been working 24 years in Texas…”
Wouldn’t it be easier for Mr. Whitten to change his name to Lorenzo?
This man is soooo out of touch with reality.
“It has nothing to do with racism. I’m not doing it for any reason other than for the satisfaction of my guests, because people calling from all over America don’t know the Spanish accents or the Spanish culture or Spanish anything,” Whitten says.
BS! It has everything to do with racism and control. Here is old Lorenzo Whitten plunked down in the middle of New MEXICO and he doesn’t know how to handle it.
Hey Lorenzo, people come from all over American to ENJOY American’s Mexican/Hispanic culture in Taos, New MEXICO!
Lorenzo, pack your bags and ask Jesus nicely to put them in the back of your pickup truck with the gun rack and the Texas plates and head back to Houston.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:53 pmThe irony here is that new age wannabes most likely stay at this hotel in their search for ‘enlightenment’ or whatever they spin it to be today.
Taos was a very spiritual place in the late ’60’s, but we weren’t staying at hotels, the mescaline was in the desert!
Hotel chains make a ton of money by hiring Latinos to clean rooms under ‘block rates’, where they don’t even earn minimum wage.
Whitten should just STFU & be thankful he’s got a job, because if he keeps talking like this he may very well be in an unemployment line in Santa Fe before he knows what hit him.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:54 pmWhitten says.
““I’ve been working 24 years in Texas, etc…”
Therein lies much of the problem.
Northern New Mexico has a Spanish culture that goes back well over 400 years, and a Native culture that goes back several millennia.
We don’t take well to Texicans who come in and try to change that.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:54 pmThis guy is in for a heap of trouble.
i can remember my mom telling me that when her family came over from scotland,the person at ellis island changed my granddad’s last name from smythe to smith,because he couldn’t understannd his thick brogue.that,s understandable.this is simply racism at it’s purest.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:55 pmProblem is, evangenital, is that this hick OWNS the hotel…
October 26th, 2009 at 12:55 pmMr Whitten (Lorenzo) has a problem with “these people” doing things the way they have always done them, but then proudly proclaims that he’s been doing the same thing for 40 years and it works for him.
Um…how’s it working for you NOW, Lorenzo?
October 26th, 2009 at 12:57 pmRacism isn’t always exclusive to just race but can be applied to culture and ethnicity.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:57 pmTaos? Hmmm, there are lots of really, really deep canyons around those parts.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:58 pmkwsmith says:
“i can remember my mom telling me that when her family came over from scotland,the person at ellis island changed my granddad’s last name from smythe to smith”
Great-grampa Johannsson went thru Ellis Island and was told:
October 26th, 2009 at 12:59 pm“We’ve had too many Johnsons and Johannssons today, pick something different!
EnnuiDivine says:
Technically, it has nothing to do with racism…because “Hispanic” isn’t a race. It has everything to do with bigotry, though.
Then let’s call it “Ethnic-ism”.
October 26th, 2009 at 12:59 pmOh, wow — Frank Burns lives!
October 26th, 2009 at 1:00 pmYeah…but for census purposes, Hispanic isn’t a race. Admittedly, it’s easier to call this jackass a “racist” than an “anti-Hispanic bigot”, but I’m all about semantics.
Also,
“Wait a minute. There’s a New Mexico? Smithers, why didn’t you inform me of this?”
October 26th, 2009 at 1:00 pmMy mom’s family name was changed from Kuhn to Coon. Yeah, that was helpful.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pmHe said he barely even knows how to turn on a computer?
From then on in the interview, I knew he was not telling the truth.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pmDave N says:
“Problem is, evangenital, is that this hick OWNS the hotel…”
For the moment…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pmLook closely folks, this guy is a dinosaur, and his type are heading for extinction.
As a Texan myself I am shocked that this guy was THIS dumb. Sorry, if you are from Texas you speak at least some Spanish, that is the way it is. I just don’t come across this breed of idiot in Austin and Houston in my everyday life, they’re a dying breed.
Once the majority of legal, eligible Hispanic voters in Texas are registered guys like this will not know what hit him. No wonder Republicans hate ACORN, they know their base is screwed if everyone is registered to vote.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pmHey, if English was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for the “Spanish” folks.
/snark & sarc
October 26th, 2009 at 1:02 pm@ 7. evangenital says: The retard lived in Texas for 24 years, and never learned a bit of Spanish. That stupidhead is right out of central casting. He is emblematic of the hostility within the repiggie ranks toward learning another language and learning about another culture.
The hotel owners should know that there are many wonderful people who are culturally flexible that are looking for jobs, many with management skills who are Spanish-speaking or who are comfortable enough around Spanish-speaking people.
Fire the dinosaur, and hire someone who actually lives in the 21st century. October 26th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
I agree, for the most part, evangenital, but…
There are people in this state (NM) who’ve lived here almost all their lives who don’t speak Spanish in either a proper form or in the colloquial. I’m one of them; over the years I’ve found that I’m really mediocre in Latin, Russian, and Chinese, but I’ve never tried to learn Spanish. So, while you can blast away at the dope, I won’t, not for not knowing the Taoseno variant of Spanish.
As for the owners, Whitten’s it. He owns, or has owned, several hotels. That’s what he does; buys hotels that are failing, brings them up to snuff, and sells them or turns the management over to a subordinate while he goes out and looks for a new one. But yes, in human relations, he’s a dinosaur.
If it’s any consolation, or perhaps explanatory, he was a Marine. The Marines are kind of like Germans for personnel management and human relations, except the Marines are supposed to be on our side (snicker).
October 26th, 2009 at 1:02 pmSo, if Markos Moulitsas, founder of dailyKos, were working there, Mr. Whitten would make him change his name?
October 26th, 2009 at 1:03 pmOf all the times I’ve stayed at motels, I don’t think I’ve ever been concerned about what the front desk worker’s name was or how it was pronounced. I just wanted him or her to understand what I wanted and how to get it for me. In fact, I stayed in a motel this past week and the front desk guy was a white, twenty some year old who mumbled and was less intelligible than any “foreigner” I’ve ever encountered at a hotel. But I got my room and that’s all that mattered. This hotel owner is trying to justify his own prejudices and bigotry.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:03 pmMy mom’s family name was Stoner, which never caused any problems until the last 20 years or so…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:04 pm:)
Senor Whitten es persona fanatica.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:05 pmSenor Whitten es el stupido.
Loco in la cabasa.
tony and lido
I’m canceling the weekend trip to Taos. This year we’ll spend Halloween at home.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:05 pmMr. Whitten invested his money into this hotel and he has the right to drive the business into the ground and lose all his money as quickly as possible. When Whitten slinks out of town with the workers will have the last laugh.
Much like the right wing politicians who don’t get it, I’d bet this guy is a Fox News viewer who believes the hateful rhetoric is working.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:07 pmI would suggest to Larry Whitten that if employees were hostile to his management style WHEN HE FIRST MET THEM, something is wrong with his management style.
I would also suggest to him that if hearing people speak Spanish and not understanding what they say bothers him, perhaps he should learn Spanish (how could he live in Texas for as long as he did and not learn any?). After all, how is he going to feel when Spanish-speaking tourists come and check into his hotel? Is he going to kick them out unless they speak English?
Yeah — I don’t think he’s getting off to a good start in Taos…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:07 pmNew Mexico…cleaner than Old Mexico…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:07 pmFrom the Article:
Whitten grew subdued as a two-hour interview with The Associated Press progressed. He said he was sorry for the misunderstanding and insisted he has never been against any culture.
“What kind of fool or idiot or poor businessman would I be to orchestrate this whole crazy thing that’s costed me a lot of time, money and aggravation?” Whitten said.
Looks like he didn’t think things through. From what I can tell, he learnt his lesson and will not try to change things like he has in previous hotels. Let’s hope this case can help as an example for other people…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:08 pmdietrich, I don’t speak Spanish and I’ve never lived in Texas but I could figure that out. :)
October 26th, 2009 at 1:08 pmHopefully your holiday won’t end on a blue note, Harold…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:08 pmI’m sure guest arriving from California, New York, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, etc. have never come across hispanic people in their lives.
ARE YOU INSANE !!!!
What’s next? Perhaps he should run for mayor and try to get “Taos” changed to “Troy”. How can this man sleep at night knowing he’s in “New Mexico”. OMG, the nightmares.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:10 pmDifferent topic. We are not talking about the census.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:11 pm@32. Harold Melvin says: I’m canceling the weekend trip to Taos. This year we’ll spend Halloween at home. October 26th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Aw, come on, Harold. The Land of Entrapment Tourist Bureau needs you to come on over and spend some dollars and contribute to our hotel occupancy statistics. Just grab yer significant other and say, “Come on, Maw, we’re going to Taos for a weekend at La Casa de Pendejo Whitten.”
OT – Looks like the lurking VDTroll is with us.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pmTechnically we’re all different shades of the same race based on how close to the equator our ancestors lived. The biases are all ignorance and stupidity.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pmZimzone says:
New Mexico…cleaner than Old Mexico…
Oh, no, you di’nt!!!
/sad to say, it’s probably true.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pmMmmmm, I wonder if this guy is a Conservative?
papa frita -idiot; twit; dimwitt
perejil – stupid person; idiot; twit.
baboso – dimwit; twit
boludo – as$hole; jerk
burro – dullard; numbskill; thick-headed person; simpleton
caca – poop; excrement
chimar – fcuk; screw.
culo – as$; butt.
dobolu – as$hole; jerk
durano – dumb person.
estar mal de la azotea – be off one’s rocker; be nuts; be crazy.
gilipollas -idiot; as$; as$hole
mamoncete – bastard; little bastard; little fcuk.
soplapollas – prick; dick; cock; wanker
I bet he hears these alot….LOL.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:13 pmExpect to see this xenophobe on Beck or Hannity either tonight or tomorrow. They’ll attempt to make him the next “Joe the Plumber”, which was probably what he was aiming for anyway.
They’ll play the “how dare people criticize this brave Marine who served his country” line, and Beck may actually get weepy from the Vicks Vapo-Rub he’ll conveniently have under his eyes.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:13 pmAs if you didn’t already know, it’s an epidemic:
Hispanic woman given citation for “not speaking English”
DALLAS — The woman who exposed a Dallas police practice of issuing tickets for failing to speak English is now speaking out for herself.
Dallas police Chief David Kunkle apologized Friday for the ticket that was issued to Ernestina Mondragon. Kunkle admitted that 38 similar tickets had been issued in the past three years.
Now, Mondragon and Hispanic leaders are demanding change.
LINK
Local TV and radio news outlets are failing to report that she did communicate in English the need for her daughter to get out of the car and run to school.
Fascist pigs.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:13 pmHas this ding-dong Whitten contacted the President to ask him to change his name? I can’t imagine the problem he must have with Barack Huessein Obama. What and stupidly foolish man.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:13 pmHe owns a hotel in New Mexico?
October 26th, 2009 at 1:16 pmOh the irony.
@ 35. Zimzone says: New Mexico…cleaner than Old Mexico… October 26th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Just make sure your immunizations for hantavirus and the plague (bubonic) are up to date. And bring your passport if you’re driving from Texas. You don’t need a passport here, but TX may secede at any time and when you’re carvaning back to Houston with El Pendejo Whitten, you’ll need it.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:17 pmWow…
talk about your angry white guy!
Odds? Rushpublican?
…redneck…hillbilly…hick…whatever.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:18 pmAnd Columbus name was really Columbo
October 26th, 2009 at 1:20 pmMr. Whitten will be looking very foolish about 40 years from now, when white, English speaking Americans are the minority…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:20 pm“I’ve been working 24 years in Texas and we have a lot of Spanish people there. I’ve never had to ask anyone to speak only English in front of me because I’ve never had a reason to.”
I guess Lorenzo was sick that day in grammar school when they explained that Tejas and New Mexico where Mexico and that Spanish IS the native language. Or maybe his still pissed about the loss at the Alamo.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:21 pmI bet saying Tejas would just confuse the bejeebes out of this guy.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:21 pmThere’s actually a valid reason for the use of pseudonyms among people who work with the public — and that is so employees don’t get tracked down and harassed by disgruntled customers when they’re not on the job, especially important in this day and age when anybody can be googled.
It’s not all that unusual for companies to do this with their customer service representatives, tech support representatives, and the like. The employee is known by his/her real name by the employer for payroll, benefits, taxes, social security, and other administrative purposes, but is issued a pseudonym for dealing with customers (complete with business cards and name badge).
The pseudonym is usually something completely different from a the employee’s real name (not just an anglicized version of it) and is something that’s bland, common, and simple to remember.
The difference is that when it’s done to protect an employee’s identity and done for ALL employees having customer contact, it’s a good thing. When it’s done merely to disguise one’s ethnicity, it’s bigotry.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:21 pmMarcos is so hard to say, they really need to rename the town outside Austin Tejas of San Marcos to Saint Mark
October 26th, 2009 at 1:23 pmSounds like a charmer, but what exactly is the point of this post? I’m sure there are racist jerks all over the country. And?
October 26th, 2009 at 1:24 pmIf Whitten has such a problem with foreign names, how did he ever manage to wrap his mouth around “Taos”?
October 26th, 2009 at 1:25 pmthis low class hotel owner…..oozes with texas style “christian compassionate” values…maybe next he’ll run for a gop seat.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pm@ 43. Luis Chapulin M says: “Zimzone says: New Mexico…cleaner than Old Mexico…” Oh, no, you di’nt!!! /sad to say, it’s probably true. October 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
Nah, not true. Down around Sunland Park and the Bootheel, we share some dirt with Chihuahua, and some of our folks think of that state as being part of Old Mexico. That whole area, Chihuahua-Far West TX-Southern NM, is grungy in a weather beaten kind of way.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pmmissmolly says:
“It’s not all that unusual for companies to do this with their customer service representatives, tech support representatives, and the like. The employee is known by his/her real name by the employer for payroll, benefits, taxes, social security, and other administrative purposes, but is issued a pseudonym for dealing with customers (complete with business cards and name badge).”
Particularly common with customer service via telephone.
They never give their last names.
I asked “Jim” from the credit card company what his last name was..
October 26th, 2009 at 1:28 pmHe replied: “Ahh… Morrison…”
I laughed and said “Oh, good one!”
He gave a sheepish chuckle…
@ 51. Xisithrus says: And Columbus name was really Columbo
October 26th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Colon, actually, but the pun is a little too obvious to be putting on someone’s name tag.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:30 pmAs a business owner myself, I also have certain policies that may create hostility.
Each and every employee must address me as ‘El Presidente’, and when requesting time off, must bow down to me and never make eye contact.
Every third Tuesday is Hooter appreciation day, where all female employees must dress in orange shorts and white shirts, and are required to flirt with the customers.
All new hirees must legally change their name to Gern Blanstein.
(Okay, obviously these are not true, but they are as ridiculous as Mr. Whitten’s managerial polices. And that is why he so definitely deserves my patented MUCKING FORON! award.)
October 26th, 2009 at 1:32 pmAs a hotel executive myself I see some people like Larry Whitten in the industry. Whats really sad is the hispanics are the ones doing 95% of the work in hotels like housekeeping,banquets,kitchen..next time you stay in a hotel, look at all the “brown” people doing all the grunt work!!
October 26th, 2009 at 1:33 pmI think the 9-12′ers, birthers, and tenth-ers have just identified the host hotel for their next conventions…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:33 pmYes it has EVERYTHING to do with bigotry and if the company that owns this hotel is smart they will fire his ignorant ass
October 26th, 2009 at 1:36 pmhotelal says:
As a hotel executive myself I see some people like Larry Whitten in the industry. Whats really sad is the hispanics are the ones doing 95% of the work in hotels like housekeeping,banquets,kitchen..next time you stay in a hotel, look at all the “brown” people doing all the grunt work!!
From your experience: are the hispanics doing those jobs because the white people don’t want to do them (and therefore those jobs are available for anyone), or are the white people unable to work there because the hispanics are taking over those jobs (and therefore the white people are left unemployed)? Or is it a case of “six of the one, half a dozen of the other”?
October 26th, 2009 at 1:38 pmThis sounds like a civil rights issue and he may have problems with the EEOC. I hope they close him down.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:38 pmEugeneDebs says:
Yes it has EVERYTHING to do with bigotry and if the company that owns this hotel is smart they will fire his ignorant ass
… HE owns this hotel.
The AP reports that in Taos, NM, hotel owner Larry Whitten is under fire for his treatment of his Hispanic employees:
October 26th, 2009 at 1:39 pmThis comment has been voted down. Click to read.
I stayed at a Whitten House in Big Springs, TX. Plopped conveniently in a Truck Stop parking lot with dozens of charcoalers lining the sidewalk, Sudafed wrappers littering the landscape, he clearly ran a klassy place. Thank god for the short Murrican nametag worn by the swarthy mideasterner running the front desk. He got the books to look good enough to unload it on Super 8. Meh.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:41 pmKinda confusing sentence…
October 26th, 2009 at 1:43 pmI think he’s kin to John Bolton.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:43 pmEugeneDebs says
October 26th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Yes it has EVERYTHING to do with bigotry and if the company that owns this hotel is smart they will fire his ignorant ass
_____________________________________________________________
Unfortunately, the “company” that owns this hotel is none other than Larry Whitten himself.
Which means that, unless he does something to break the law, the only thing to do is take your business elsewhere. And because it seems he’s starting to get negative publicity on a national level, that will probably be happening.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:44 pm@ 52. EnnuiDivine says: Mr. Whitten will be looking very foolish about 40 years from now, when white, English speaking Americans are the minority… October 26th, 2009 at 1:20 pm
He already looks like a dope here in Northern NM, where Anglos are only a plurality, as is the case in NM generally. The preferred term here is Anglo; there happen to be a respectable number of Hispanics here who are descendants of Spanish colonialists, who are, hence, European or Caucasian, certainly as much so as most “white” Americans.
Anglo, if it’s taken to mean Anglo-Saxon, isn’t entirely accurate, although there are a few of us around too. In this area the word probably stems from the Spanish ‘Anglaise’, for English speaker, or the French Anglterre or England(er), and was corrupted to Anglo. Anglo-American fur traders and trappers were in contact with French-Canadians and the Spanish in the Taos area in the early 1800s.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:46 pmLuis
You are right. I dont know how I misread that. I somehow thought he was trying to blame the changing names thing on corporate policy but he said HIS hotels. Man, I need more coffee
October 26th, 2009 at 1:46 pmBackup you weak appologist. It is NOT alright to tell people to change their names it is DEMEANING. It is also NONE OF HIS BUSINESS what language they speak. IF HE doesnt like it HE can learn spanish. Its much easier to learn than English. The guy is PURE BIGOT and YOU are making silly appologies for him.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:49 pmSad but true Miss Molly
October 26th, 2009 at 1:49 pmI’ve only been in a few locations that really felt magical, and Taos is one of them. And for a hard-core atheist like me to even think that way, you know the place has a a vibe.
I think Mr. Whitten may have encountered the hostile to invaders energy and mistakenly attributed it to the employees. Hopefully the spirits will attend to him and move him on out.
And yes, muy pendejo.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:50 pmI just thought of something. If he had employed a few people with hearing and/or speech problems, that talked in sign language, would he fire them if they didn’t start talking English while in his presence?
October 26th, 2009 at 1:51 pmOilfieldguy says:
“He got the books to look good enough to unload it on Super 8.”
Pretty much.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:51 pmI worked in Los Angeles for Equity Office Properties [the largest office landlord and owner in the USA] and it is standard practice to require latino janitors and employees to speak only English when in the office buildings or in the presence of tenants. I thought it was racist, but even today that rule is in place and enforced by management.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:53 pm@ 66. EugeneDebs says: Yes it has EVERYTHING to do with bigotry and if the company that owns this hotel is smart they will fire his ignorant ass October 26th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Hi, Eugene. He is the owner. I suppose he could fire himself, or just give up. Maybe his wife could take over and fire him.
Mutiny, that’s the ticket…
Anyway, he is the owner; he buys hotels, owns several, is in the process of going about rebuilding this particular business in a not very smart way. He’s had picket lines out front ever since he decided that being an arsehole was the way to go.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:54 pmbackup says:
It’s reasonable for the owner to request that people speak English around him.
The practice of changing difficult names to facilitate customer service is reasonable, but it only seems appropriate if those who’s names will be changed agree.
It the employees are speaking directly to him, it would be appropriate to ask them to speak English. Otherwise, why is that appropriate?
People’s names are what they are and it’s not at all reasonable to ask them to change, sorry. How often do you have a conversation with a hotel staff member that requires you to use their first name, anyway?
Dell technical support (or their contractor, more likely) was doing this for awhile with their Indian call-takers. Hearing, “Hi, my name is Frank” in a thick South Asian accent was amusing, but silly. I was pleased that they acknowledged the fact that the person helping me was many thousands of miles away–and, dude, you’re not in Kansas, you’re in frickin’ New Mexico!
October 26th, 2009 at 1:57 pmMadnla
They can claim it is a business necessity for them to speak English WHEN in the presence of customers. They get on thin ice when they demand they speak only English OUTSIDE the presence of customers or even potential customers.
October 26th, 2009 at 1:58 pmVirtual pebble. GOOD I hope he goes broke
October 26th, 2009 at 2:00 pmLarry Whitten, president of the Taos chapter of “Bigots R Us”…
October 26th, 2009 at 2:06 pmMr. Whitten attributes his success to his unwavering business model of doing things the same way for decades. Unfortunately I know of several people missing body parts who insist they had been doing things “this way for years.” Hopefully money is the only thing he will lose in his evolutionary education. Demanding quality work is fine, but leave genetic recombinant theory to those qualified to perform it.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:06 pm@ 70. backup says: It’s reasonable for the owner to request that people speak English around him. The practice of changing difficult names to facilitate customer service is reasonable, but it only seems appropriate if those who’s names will be changed agree. Describing the locals as “Mountain people’ or ‘potheads’ isn’t very enlightened or good for business; but doesn’t really rise to the level of requiring community action. Whitten should realize that even if he insists on English only in his presence, his employees will still talk behind his back. And you can’t arbitrarily change someone’s name unless they agree. October 26th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Don’t get into what you don’t know about, backup.
Taos was also known as “Hippie Haven” in the late 60s and 70s. There are plenty of people there who don’t mind being called ‘mountain people’ or ‘potheads’. Go google ‘commune new mexico’ or ‘new buffalo’.
A fair amount of the film “Easy Rider” was shot around Taos and Dennis Hopper has lived there on and off since then. He just curated a showing of the artwork of several friends of his at galleries around town; the place was home to D.H. Lawrence and has been an ‘art colony’ since the 1920s.
And idiots have been trying to arbitrarily change shit from time immemorial.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:09 pmI predict that later today the racist trolls will be all OVER this thread
October 26th, 2009 at 2:10 pmThere are usually ways that the employees can fight this crap, both in the courts and with labor action. Work slowdowns, covert actions within the jobsite which hamper business practice and actual sabotage of the infrastructure are possibilities. Not that I’m advocating for this, but, I’m sure that Mr. Whitten has experienced some of this in his other establishments. When the place starts looking shabby and unkempt and business drops off he’ll get his just desserts. The employees don’t risk all that much, since they’ll probably be fired for breaking his idiotic work rules, anyway.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:18 pmSomehow I’m guessing that if investigated, his proclaimed string of hotels will show up to be a series of failed business ventures.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:19 pm“Mr Whitten, I’m told you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?”
WHITTEN: You mean Jim? Yes of course!”
October 26th, 2009 at 2:22 pmBy forcing us to change their names, it literally dis-empowers us by taking away our right to define who we are…whether it’s in the classroom or in cases like these…Slaveholders constantly did this to the slaves who came over in the Middle Passage. Those immigration officials at Ellis Island did this. How about we learn to appreciate the identities of everyone in this country, no matter how discomforted we might be…Our inconvenience is a small price to pay when it comes to formulating and fostering our identities.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:25 pm44.Buckie Boy says:
A really long list, almost longer than my usual repertory :D
This guy also deserves some other epithets, that you’re free to add to your list and use at will:
Cabrón – B@stard
Hijoputa, hideputa – SOB, moddafokkah
Cateto – Redneck, dumb as a rock
Fascista – Fascist
and, of course, nazi.
BTW, if these people knew two languages at academic level, they wouldn’t be in your filthy hotel cleaning the turds that keep droping all around that horseass.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:25 pmOh, yeah.
When I first came to the US a lot of Americans had a hard time understanding me and constantly mispronounced my name—because my name was English and actual English is what I spoke.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:26 pm1) Body Language in Interview is Priceless.
2) I love that he, in critiquing the previous workers, denounced them for wanting to not change. But in the interview he repeated comes back to he’s done the same thing for 40 years, he’s the same way, same person……
October 26th, 2009 at 2:27 pm#94 The TV series “Roots” comes to mind.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:27 pmVirtual Pebble. You’re right. I don’t know the culture of Taos. The thread does seem to indicate that Whitten’s characterizations were inappropriate.
I personally dig potheads and mountain people.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:29 pmI guarantee you that the vast majority of Taoseños think this Whitten fellow is an idiot. The population here is close to 70% Hispanic and that’s why I moved here 10 years ago, to get away from Anglo hell back East. This guy won’t be here a year from now, you can count on it.
Visit my blog for the real Taos, just like the sign says at one shop at Taos Pueblo: “REAL INDIAN STUFF!”
October 26th, 2009 at 2:32 pmhotelal says:
As a hotel executive myself I see some people like Larry Whitten in the industry. Whats really sad is the hispanics are the ones doing 95% of the work in hotels like housekeeping,banquets,kitchen..next time you stay in a hotel, look at all the “brown” people doing all the grunt work!!
From your experience: are the hispanics doing those jobs because the white people don’t want to do them (and therefore those jobs are available for anyone), or are the white people unable to work there because the hispanics are taking over those jobs (and therefore the white people are left unemployed)? Or is it a case of “six of the one, half a dozen of the other”?
In my opinion it is the blacks and whites that don’t to do this kind of work.I remember during katrina when alot of Lousiana residents come to Houston, we offered housekepping jobs and they lasted 1 day or flat our quit!!housekeeping is a very hard job and only pays minimum wage, they must clean an average of 18-25 rooms a day amd must be up to standard.I guess some people would rather revieve a govt. handout rather than doing a honest living!
October 26th, 2009 at 2:35 pmPlenty of Taos blogs and Twitter people to follow to get the lowdown on this and other stories. Mine is http://www.farrfeed.com/ and @taosjohn. There’s plenty of life out here, even if it’s too damn cold!
October 26th, 2009 at 2:38 pmMassah Reynolds wants to change Kunta’s name to Tobey. But he’s enlightened. He saw the movie about Malcolm the tenth.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:39 pmWhat does this man do with guests that have names that are difficult to pronounce? Maybe he makes up nicknames for them… Let me try one:
Heckuva job, Whitte-y!
October 26th, 2009 at 2:41 pmbackup says:
“… and mountain people.”
We also appreciate people who dress colorfully.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:47 pmC’mon in the coffee shop, just off the old plaza. You’ll feel right at home.
5th Estate says:
“Mr Whitten, I’m told you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?”
WHITTEN: You mean Jim? Yes of course!”
Well, Jim was his brother, but close enough. :)
October 26th, 2009 at 3:13 pmWhile an awful lot of the nativist jackasses go on about ‘why don’t they learn English!” and invoke their sainted Elllis Island immigrants who, gosh darn it, assimilated right away, the real fact, as epitomized by this guy, is that they don’t want them to learn English, but to forget Spanish.
They can frame the former as ‘those shiftless, lazy so-and-so’s’ (even while they toil at backbreaking jobs for low pay)–but the truth is as this guy lays out: I’m ignorant and these people should accommodate my ignorance!
These hispanics can do things he can’t. So what’s the answer? Learn? Acquire a skill? Improve oneself?
October 26th, 2009 at 3:46 pmNaw. that’s for peasants. Cut them down to my level!
After all, it’s MY country!
@ 100. backup says: Virtual Pebble. You’re right. I don’t know the culture of Taos. The thread does seem to indicate that Whitten’s characterizations were inappropriate. I personally dig potheads and mountain people. October 26th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
I personally prefer potsherds and mountain doodah, but digging ’shards on anything but your own property is a no-no, and bluegrass can be done anywhere a fiddle will fit in and does not require a shovel (except for swamping out the barn, in some cases).
Whitten isn’t just making inappropriate characterizations. He deals in cultural and ethnic stereotypes; he’s a stout parishioner at The Church of Our Lady of the Presumptuous Assumption.
I wouldn’t call anyone a mountain person or a pothead without finding out first whether they are or not, and then it wouldn’t be relevant because we’d probably be on a first name basis. Calling someone a mountain person or a pothead simply because they appear to have roots in the local counter-culture is presumptive, prejudicial, and that is not my bag. OTOH, that’s part of Whitten’s problem; he just assumes and he ends up being run out of town or dumped on because he doesn’t have the common courtesy to deal with people as individuals, as they come before him.
October 26th, 2009 at 3:47 pmReservation for Whitten?
October 26th, 2009 at 3:48 pmLet me see… hmm..
Sorry sir, there appears to be no room at the inn.
Try the corrales down the street…
Larry Whitten has the secrets of success?
October 26th, 2009 at 4:25 pmThe guy’s days as a hotel owner are over.
It’s all about “Public Relations”, Larry.
Appears to be a good candidate for the Darwin award.
Larry Whitten needs to change his name to something more American. Perhaps Crazy Horse.
October 26th, 2009 at 5:37 pmWhat’s the name of the hotel? I want to make sure that I avoid staying there.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:14 pmThe owner of the hotel has ever right to require employees to speak english. How many jobs have I seen listed in the newpaper that say Spanish is required preferred? Lots.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:28 pm“It has nothing to do with racism”- Whitten.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:35 pmIs this jerk for real? Does he expect anyone other than other racists like himself to accept this ridiculous statement? I’m sure he’d be thrilled if he went to France & was forced to change his name to Blanchette. Or Niaiseux, since he’s apparently a nitwhit.
Name the hotel!!
October 26th, 2009 at 6:40 pmDoc Rock —
Looked it up… it’s called the Whitten Inn.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:47 pmMr Duke
Why are you so PROUD to be so STUPID? He has can do no such thing without a business necessity. THAT is the reason jobs are listed as having bilingualism a necessity. MY GOD you are stupid
October 26th, 2009 at 7:00 pm@ 113. Mr.Duke says: The owner of the hotel has ever right to require employees to speak english. How many jobs have I seen listed in the newpaper that say Spanish is required preferred? Lots. October 26th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
How about proofreading before you post a comment, Mr. Duke?
Which newspaper? You subscribe to The Taos News, Mr. Duke? If you did, you’d probably find out in very short order that tourism is the mainstay of business in Taos, that many of the people in the hospitality biz in Taos are bi-lingual and some are tri-lingual, speaking a Puebloan language, as well as the local Spanish dialect and English. The problem isn’t speaking English to Mr. Whitten’s face and that of the customers. People in the town have a great deal of experience in customer service.
Native Spanish speakers in NM are used to speaking English only to Anglos and Gavachos, going right back to the days when they got ’swats’ from teachers and principals for speaking Spanish once to often in school.
The issue is Mr. Whitten behaving like a fracking Texan. All hat, no cattle, and a loud unpleasent noise.
October 26th, 2009 at 7:10 pm@ 119, taking my own advice after the fact, I should have written ‘unpleasant’…
October 26th, 2009 at 7:13 pm@120, and I let a too or two slip by as a to too…
October 26th, 2009 at 7:15 pmMr.Duke says:
The owner of the hotel has ever right to require employees to speak english. How many jobs have I seen listed in the newpaper that say Spanish is required preferred? Lots.
I’m afraid I have to disagree with you there, Mr. Duke. He can require them to conduct business in English with English-speaking customers. But he cannot ban them from speaking Spanish just because he’s afraid they might be talking about him. If he’s that insecure, perhaps he should invest in some Rosetta Stone, or Berlitz, or one of those language lessons. He can afford it.
Besides, if he took the time to learn some Spanish (OMG, learning something!), perhaps he could work with his staff more efficiently.
On a personal note, I’d like to say that I find it disgusting when people try to defend business owners as if they have some kind of constitutional right to be kings and dictators. That’s so, I don’t know, un-American, I guess.
October 26th, 2009 at 10:12 pmthis reminds me of an incident with holiday inn some years ago where they told an african american woman who was at the front desk that she could not wear dreadlocks as it was not company policy, and they relented only when rev. jesse jackson got involved
October 27th, 2009 at 12:38 am