Homie dolls cause controversy across the nation

Junior Dane Warren went to Marsh to buy groceries. On his way out, however, he was not only carrying his newly purchased food items, but also a small plastic Homie. \nMove over gumballs, key chains and plastic bracelets -- vending machines at stores and restaurants are now home to a new trend. Sporting bandanas, baggy pants, dark glasses and bulging muscles, Homies are one inch figurines that represent Latino characters from the barrio.\nAmong others, there's "Ice Block," a rapper with boxer-exposing pants, shades and a chunky necklace; "Bouncy"' a well-endowed and seductively dressed female; and "Wino"' a shady-looking character clutching a bottle in a brown paper bag. \nAt first, Warren was surprised the toys were being sold.\n"I noticed them and I was like, 'Wow, this is kind of racist,' because the characters were kind of stereotypical," Warren said. "I thought it was pretty funny, but I thought that some people could take offense to them." \nNevertheless, he spent 50 cents to start a collection that now totals almost 40 Homies, purchased with the help of his roommate, junior Alex Overhiser. Though Warren himself is not Latino, he understands they might be seen as insulting to that ethnic group.\n"They do show (Homies) in kind of stereotypical roles," Warren said. "A lot of times minorities are sensitive to that kind of thing because they want to break free from it, so I can see where they could take offense to them."\nThis is exactly the type of criticism Homies received from Latinos and non-Latinos alike after they hit the scene in 1998. The idea started as a cartoon drawn by L.A.-based Latino artist David Gonzales. They later became T-shirts and finally plastic toys, now sold nationwide. Each Homie has a name and distinct personality and there are over 100, including a priest, chef and policeman.\nGonzales maintains the characters are based on real people from the community in which he grew up and are simply a reflection of his experiences. His brother, Robert, after whom the priest Homie, el Padrecito, was modeled, echoes the artist's intentions.\n"At the time David created the Homies, there was nothing radical about his work," Gonzales said. "The Homies were caricatures of individuals -- family, friends, personalities we grew up with. The negative connotations to the Homies came later when they were exposed to 'mainstream' society."\nLatino groups and other activists were quick to voice their disapproval upon the release of the characters. They believed Gonzales' depictions were emphasizing the negative stereotypes of Latino youths. \nDirector of IU's Latino Cultural Center Lillian Casillas said she has mixed feelings about Homies.\n"People, by looking at them, might just assume that these are Latinos, period," Casillas said. "So while one side of me respects that maybe this is a reflection of this individual's life…the other part of me thinks there could be people who don't understand that."\nSurprisingly, though, a shelf across from her desk is home to a large neighborhood of grinning, shade-sporting Homies.\n"I have no clue why they started giving them to me," she laughed, explaining the Homies were all gifts from her students. She now finds her collection amusing and has even bought one or two herself. \nCasillas blames senior Edward Vargas for starting the colony of characters that make their home in her office.\n"I just saw them and thought I'd give her one," Vargas said. "I guess it was more of a joke than her actually liking them."\nBut the idea he began last spring took hold, and other Latino students followed suit, resulting in the sizeable collection Casillas owns today.\nVargas said he enjoys the Homies characters and was drawn to them partly because of their resemblance to people in his own life.\nLike Gonzales, Vargas grew up in an urban, primarily Latino neighborhood, and affirms the characters do have realistic resonance. Even here at IU there are similarities. For instance, Vargas has a friend nicknamed "Gato" (which means "cat" in Spanish), who bears a resemblance to the Homie by the same name.\nOther IU Latinos agree the characters depicted in the Homies share some degree of legitimacy.\n"They're funny," freshman Alonso Mejia said. "I've seen people like this, you know? There's always truth to stereotypes -- always some truth." \nOn the other hand, the message Homies give about Latino culture may be detrimental. The toys have caused some Latino activists to call for Homies with a more positive image, such as teachers or doctors. While Vargas likes the humanness of the characters, he agreed their message is slightly unconstructive. \n"I would like to see more positive things come out of the Homies -- like for instance having the bioengineer or the politician or the President Homie," Vargas said. "(Right now) there aren't the mainstream professional jobs that we really do, they just have the gang bangers. I don't like that about it; it's kind of like the Barbie without the white-collar job. I feel it reflects our image in America."\nThis gang-banging image of Latinos is certainly present in society. In 1999, a year after the Homies were released in L.A., L.A. Police Department Detective P.J. Morris discovered the toys and found them to be negative images that glorified a gang lifestyle. With the backing of the police department, he led a fight to remove the Homies from stores in the area. \n"It's scary that kids are playing with these," Detective Morris said in a Los Angeles Times article. "We're trying to fight and teach kids to stay away from gangs and we have to contend with this as well?" \nA local Deputy District Attorney quoted in the same article went as far as to say: "We're thinking of putting (the Homies) up in court and saying: 'If you're dressed like these guys, you're violating probation.'"\nMorris' efforts caused many stores in California to remove the Homies from their merchandise. But here in Bloomington, the Homies are available at Marsh grocery stores as well as the local Dollar Store.\nBob Washer is the director of merchandising at Folz, the vending company that supplies Marsh with its Homies. He said Folz has tested the toys, which are one of their most popular items nationwide, and many of their clients do not find them controversial.\nWasher said he does not condone gang violence and doesn't believe the toys are associated with gangs.\n"If you go on to Gonzales's Web site, he says that they are people that he grew up with and are not attributed to gangs," Washer said. \nThe Web site, www.homies.tv, explains the context of the Homies and includes biographical information about each of the 111 characters. Many of the Homies have positive personas, like Willie G, an ex-gangster and handicapped youth counselor who rolls around in his Lowrider wheelchair.\n"I don't push gangs," Gonzales said in a New York Times article about the toys. "I keep my Homie characters violence-free and drug-free." \nHere in Bloomington, students and professors agree the connection of Homies to gang violence by the LAPD was a bit of a stretch.\n"I think it's taking it a little extreme," Warren said. "The LAPD saying that they are gang-related is kind of even worse than the Homies themselves, because it's saying the people that are in them are automatically associated with gangs. And Hispanics aren't all in gangs."\nVargas agreed.\n"If we gave an Anglo kid a PlayStation with 'Grand Theft Auto,' does that make them a thug or a car thief? These are just pieces of plastic, versus something like a video game where you can visually see yourself killing somebody, stealing people's cars and creating havoc."\nGonzales' brother, Robert, said he hopes for a future animated film for the Homies, in which the "voice of the voiceless could be told for the first time." \nFor now, however, the Gonzales' are concerned with the understanding of the Homies evoked by communities.\n"Because the Homies primarily reflect urban Chicano life, I wouldn't want the wrong attitude formed," Robert Gonzales said. "Once a film is done … we will all, including the students at Indiana University, become more familiar with the urban Chicano experience"