The Curious Case of the Crapping Minuteman

A couple of weeks ago, I received a fascinating envelope with the claim that a Minuteman Project member sent a racist letter to Wahoo's Fish Tacos founder Wing Lam AND took a shit in a Wahoo's trash can. The envelope carried a letter purportedly written by Minuteman Project member Brian Gilmore, and a Post-It note.

"I work at Wahoos," read the note. "My boss was going to throw [Gilmore's letter] out. This Brian Gilmore pendejo really took a crap in our trash area and wiped with our aprons. Can you do something? This is not fair." The Post-It was signed with the initials, "A.V."

Here is the text of the letter supposedly written by Gilmore in its entirety:

From the desk of Brian Gilmore

Attenion Wing Lam and Manager of Wahoos:

My name is Brian Gilmore. I am the acting president of the Minutemen- Operation Generation- Costa Mesa Chapter. Last Thursday, November 13th, 2008, I took a shit in the trash enclosure of your business [Gustavo note: the original Wahoo's on 1862 Placentia Avenue in Costa Mesa]. I then wiped my filthy white ass with your dirty aprons and cleaning rags. How do you like that? We have nothing against you, Wing Lam, although your name is a bit too foreign. What WE are protesting is your back-line. Your food prep and kitchen help. Can they be any more Mexican? Are they even legal? Don't get me wrong. I love your food and ate at the restaurant today. We just wanted to let yu know that We know that we made absolutely sure that you know that WE know you hire MEXICANS!!!

Too good to be true, right? Well, at least from one side of the story, it is.

But first, my initial reaction: bullshit (pardon the pun). It's the "Minuteman Project," not "The Minutemen"--that was a great Southern California punk band. And the Minuteman Project doesn't have a Costa Mesa chapter, although Brian Gilmore is the head of Operation: Generation, a movement created to desperately bring down the median age of Minuteman Project members. Add to that the lack of official stationary and that the letter was typed on a typewriter, and I felt something was up.

I sent an email to Gilmore asking whether he wrote such an offending letter to Wahoo's and Lam. His response:

I would like to thank you for contacting me and giving me an opportunity to respond to these claims being made before writing your article. I have read your articles in the past and would like to complement you on (some) of your work. :)Fair enough, although Know Nothings also love to engage in dirty tricks against Aztlanistas.

We placed a call to the supposedly victimized Wahoo's, but that location is closed until December 20th for renovations. We then placed a call to Wahoo's corporate headquarters but have yet to receive a response.

We'll take Gilmore at his word (although we're not handing over the original letter) but wonder why Wahoo's ain't talking. So, to whomever sent me the letter: come on. Yes, I'm an Aztlanista, but I'm also a reporter. Contrary to what the haters out there think (especially those of the Mater Dei, Know Nothing, GOP, and the Armenian genocide-denying persuasion), but the Weekly has certain reportorial standards that we must meet before publishing anything. You really thought I would just print the letter as is, without doing a bit of investigating? You, good sir, are the true pendejo and make us Aztlanistas look lame.