Rubén Gets No Respect

Sun Jan 11, 2004 2:43 am

???? But there's nothing offensive about being Mexican, or being called Mexican... is there? Maybe a little inaccurate as regards Rubén, since I have no reason to believe he was born in Mexico, but not offensive. And Al has introduced Rubén in concert as "the Mexican." If he was offended by that, I daresay he could have persuaded Al to stop doing it.

Mad Genius · Post by **Mad Genius** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 2:48 am

I'm not offended by being called Mexican, in fact I'm proud to be Mexican American. It's that post that left me with an awful taste in my mouth. As for Al calling Ruben a Mexican, well, that's just part of Al's humor. I didn't think he meant it in a racist way.

Manda · Post by **Manda** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 2:50 am

I wouldent want anything to happen to Ruben but I keep wondering what he said to a passager to make people think he's a terrorist? Thats kind of odd. And I really love that pic of Al its really cool.

Because if said something in like a sarcastic way about a bomb or something then they might have taken the wrong way and wanted to check him out.

Post by **weirdallie27** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 2:50 am

Orthography Enthusiast @ Jan 10 2004, 07:43 PM wrote: And Al has introduced Rubén in concert as "the Mexican." If he was offended by that, I daresay he could have persuaded Al to stop doing it.

Yes- I think that's the only reason that Greg used the phrase "our Mexican." It's not a diss towards Mexicans. It would be like if Al introduced Jim as, "and that's the Canadian."

~Allison

ThewEiRdOne27 · Post by **ThewEiRdOne27** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 2:53 am

Orthography Enthusiast @ Jan 10 2004, 07:43 PM wrote: ???? But there's nothing offensive about being Mexican, or being called Mexican... is there? Maybe a little inaccurate as regards Rubén, since I have no reason to believe he was born in Mexico, but not offensive. And Al has introduced Rubén in concert as "the Mexican." If he was offended by that, I daresay he could have persuaded Al to stop doing it.

It may come off as an ownership type of comment (or seeing Mexicans lower than the rest). It's best just to let this part of the topic die.

Anyway, poor Ruben. He probably had to live on Starbucks and McDonalds while he was kept in the airport.

Post by **weirdallie27** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 2:53 am

Mad Genius @ Jan 10 2004, 07:24 PM wrote: As for Ruben Valentierra, I'm sure there was a miscommunication at the airport.

Who's Ruben Valentierra?

~Allison

squishsquashgirl · Post by **squishsquashgirl** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 3:48 am

That's just Ruben's luck! Out of all people to be left in the airport, it just had to be Ruben- the butt of everyone's jokes and Bermuda's favorite crustacean.

Post by **Bruce the Duck** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 5:57 am

Mad Genius, in case you don't realize, it's been a running joke ever since Ruben entered the band that he is the butt of ALL the jokes. In a previous concert tour, Al would say, "I'd like you all to meet the "Bad Hair Band." This is the guitar player. That's the bass player. That's the drummer. And that's the Mexican over there." It's not a diss on Mexicans or even on Ruben, it's just an ongoing joke that Ruben is in on and probably really enjoys. After all, for being the newest member of the band, he gets more attention than probably any other member of the band.

There have been countless other instances of the band using Ruben as the butt of jokes throughout the years. Here's just a few:

- In the Disney special, "There's No Going Home," there was a skit where Al told Ruben that he had to wear the cone bra for LAS because he's the new guy. Ruben acted worried that it would be embarresing and everyone would laugh at him. After Al assured him that noone would laugh at him and that it was all in fun, Ruben danced off happily while the rest of the band laughed behind his back.

- In the "Headline News" video, Ruben was made to dress as the female piano player from Crash Test Dummies, complete with blonde wig.

- During the TWS performance of OMM, Al introduced the song with a little story, but Ruben kept overshadowing him with his keyboard playing. Eventually, Al pulled out a fake gun and shot Ruben.

- When Ruben finally appeared in an album's booklet, he was stabbed in the back, lying face down on the floor!

So you see, it's not a diss on Mexicans at all. It's just an ongoing gag and it's all in good fun.

Post by **scottidog** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 8:59 am

It's pretty sad that after all these years, poor Rubén is still the new guy.

Post by **Bruce the Duck** » Sun Jan 11, 2004 9:04 am

Yeah. Imagine if they ever added a new band member. It would totally ruin the Ruben jokes!