Ads promoting Panama as a tourist destination without black people are one thing…

October 23, 2016

schweinhund — “Casco” has several meanings, one of which is “city center” or “quarter” — as in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It can also mean “helmet.” If you want to get into Nazi connotations you might look up the history of just why the US government promoted the October 1941 coup that removed Arnulfo Arias as president, or inquire about the more recent history, nature and views of “Wild Bill,” the most infamous of the gringo white supremacists to colonize Panama in the 21st century. If you are a foreigner promoting Nazi beliefs or lifestyles, the immigration laws do provide for authorities to issue a “take him away” order. Preaching racial, ethnic, religious or political hatreds is a deportable offense in Panama. Facebook and Instagram graphic purportedly promoting the Casco Viejo.

And then there’s this

An indignant reader tipped us off about this thing he found on Facebook. The pretense that Panama has no racism is dishonest or ignorant. White people — let alone “Aryans” — are a minority here. The US obsession about race is not a part of our culture but attaching foreign racial symbolism to perhaps the most famous neighborhood in our capital is bound to offend. If the truth is to be told, once upon a time there was a wall around the Casco Viejo, with a moat and drawbridges. They pulled the bridges up at night and forbade the presence of black people other than domestic servants in the neighborhood after hours. But that was way before Der Führer, when there was slavery in Panama.