Racist Video Enrages Laredo

Laredo residents are bristling over an angry video a transplant to the city posted on YouTube over the weekend. “Why Sara Hates Laredo” has received over 100,000 views, and Sara Walls, the Colorado native behind the rant, is leaving the city due to the backlash, her husband told the Laredo Morning Times.

Walls, who moved to Laredo a year and a half after her husband was transferred there, spends eight minutes spewing vile about assorted aspects of life in the border town, including its Spanish-speaking residents, “bad drivers,” superstitions, “illegal Mexicans,” sippy cups, and menudo. “Laredo just sucks, especially if you’re a white person and you don’t know Spanish,” she says in the clip. “I have a list of, just like, bad stuff about Laredo, that’s how much I hate it.”

A story (subscription only) appeared above the fold in the Tuesday Laredo Morning Times addressing the clip and the outrage it has provoked. The original video was posted Saturday night, but Walls quickly removed it after she realized how offensive it was, JJ Velasquez wrote in the Morning Times. But, the damage was done, as several copies of it sprung up in its place.

Sara’s husband, Michael Walls, contacted the paper and apologized on his wife’s behalf: “She’s scared for her life after doing a stupid act, and she’s leaving,” he said.

The video has spawned a number of video responses on YouTube. Even Laredo Mayor Raul Salinas jumped into the fray, appearing on KGNS-TV News on Monday to condemn the clip, which he said crossed the line of racism: “The city of Laredo has been offended … it’s a great city of good people, hardworking people, rich in history and culture,” he said.

Salinas praises Laredo for its progressive nature and bilingual heritage. “As long as I am mayor of this city, I am going to defend this city and I am going to promote this city, because Laredo es número uno,” he said.