It's probably an understatement to say that Miss USA, Rachel Smith, had a rough night on Monday at the Miss Universe pageant held in Mexico. Not only did the poor girl fall down hard on her bottom during the evening gown competition, but she was roundly booed all night long by the Mexican audience.
Despite the hosts' pleas during commercial breaks that the audience tone down the hostility toward Miss USA, the booing continued and nearly drowned out Smith's responses to the interview questions.
This was clearly not a personal attack against Smith (although I'm sure the 21-year-old from Tennessee was deeply hurt by the public taunts), rather it was an emotional response to Mexico's tense relations with the U.S., due largely to this country's broken immigration laws and the controversial new plan for reform.
Sadly for Smith and her family, it was her slender shoulders that were to bear the weight of the audience's wrath for her nation's government.
Despite the indignant reaction of the broadcast media ("How could the audience be so cruel?"), the treatment Smith got in Mexico is just the latest manifestation of the blazing anti-Americanism that has infected the world.
We should hardly be surprised.
But rather than reacting angrily and condemning the Mexican pageant audience, perhaps the media should take this opportunity to have a discussion about the rampant anti-Americanism that has exploded since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Instead of allowing us to exist in a national bubble without much consideration of the rest of the world, the media should help us understand why we estadounidenses have become so hated - and more importantly, what we can do to regain the respect and admiration of the rest of the world.
