Today is the 4th of July. And while most everybody gets super excited, heats up their grills, sets off their fireworks, and fill their hearts with patriotism, I can't help but feel the opposite.
I feel no affinity to this country, other than its pop culture, and various sub-cultures. LMAO, I know! just being honest!!! I was uprooted from my home as a kid and brought here 20 years ago. I was not born here... but even if I was, why would I celebrate the independence of a nation, who -- while speaking of the equality of "all men," (really meaning all white, land owning men) and the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness -- were enslaving Africans and slaughtering Native American people and culture? The very same "savages" who had welcomed them on their land, helped them grow crops, and saved them from starvation. That's how the US shows gratitude, I guess... Thanks for helping us survive, here's some small pox for your troubles! And P.S. - We're taking your land too! Thanks!
Below you'll find an excerpt from a speech made by Frederick Douglass, in Rochester, NY. Although his words were spoken over 150 years ago, I feel they are still true today. African Americans are still oppressed, though there is no formal institution of slavery... and many immigrants experience what is dubbed "modern day slavery": working on plantations; picking our tomatoes, oranges, watermelons, etc. Without rights and without pay.
I'm totally feeling Douglass' words right about now!
Frederick Douglass, 5 July 1852
"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"
"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.
There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour.
Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the old world, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival."
Entire Speech: http://afgen.com/douglas.html
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
the hurt...
I was partaking in my daily activity of perusing Facebook -- you know stalking people, reading survey results, trying to decide if I should take a survey... and if so, which one??? -- When I happened upon a note on my friend's profile. The note was beautifully written and it really touched me, as it spoke words and thoughts that I've been working so hard to articulate.
It basically dealt with issues of misplaced anger and pain. I have been dealing with a situation like that for over a year now, and it has not been fun. In fact it's been absolutely horrible.
It's exactly what I want to say.
Hurting me isn't going to make your pain go away. It only masks it with bitterness. I know I made mistakes, I have taken responsibility for my actions. But I'm not responsible for all your anguish, nor can I make the hurting stop.
I really do hope that you can work through your pain, and end it at its source. I've got a lot of love for you, your smile, and your cackle. I wish you the best.
Love... gonzalo.
It basically dealt with issues of misplaced anger and pain. I have been dealing with a situation like that for over a year now, and it has not been fun. In fact it's been absolutely horrible.
It's exactly what I want to say.
Hurting me isn't going to make your pain go away. It only masks it with bitterness. I know I made mistakes, I have taken responsibility for my actions. But I'm not responsible for all your anguish, nor can I make the hurting stop.
I really do hope that you can work through your pain, and end it at its source. I've got a lot of love for you, your smile, and your cackle. I wish you the best.
Love... gonzalo.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
what is the problem with Michael Jackson?
I haven't seen Three Kings in a hella long time. But this scene always stuck out in my mind. If only people of color could go around smacking white people over the head with clipboards to make them understand the depth of Internalized Racism*.
Now I do not know how Internalized Racism affected Michael Jackson**. Judging from the evolution of his physical appearance I can only imagine it was a great weight in his heart.
As a teenager I got teased a lot about my nose. I got called a big nosed freak, Pinocchio, Dumbo, among many other names. I was born with Incan*** features (see previous entries for Pocahontas references LOL). Growing up all I wanted was to get a nose job - and as the clip states, "chop up my face." I hated myself, I hated my culture... I hated being different. I hated being not white. I wanted a cute little nose, blue eyes, and blondish-brown hair.
I don't hate myself as much these days... but I still feel a lot of self hatred. I find myself being overly proud of myself and culture, to make up for it. Kinda like when you're queer, but don't want people to find out, so you act extra straight!
The secret is out... LMAO.
*Internalized Racism as defined by Colours of Resistance: The poison of racism seeping into the psyches of people of color, until people of color believe about themselves what whites believe about them -- that they are inferior to whites. Also, the acceptance by persons of color of Eurocentric values and standards.
**RIP MJ
***The Incas were the largest civilization in Pre-Columbian America. Their territory made up what is now: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and parts of Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. Runa Simi, or Quechuan, is the widest spoken indigenous language in the world today.
Now I do not know how Internalized Racism affected Michael Jackson**. Judging from the evolution of his physical appearance I can only imagine it was a great weight in his heart.
As a teenager I got teased a lot about my nose. I got called a big nosed freak, Pinocchio, Dumbo, among many other names. I was born with Incan*** features (see previous entries for Pocahontas references LOL). Growing up all I wanted was to get a nose job - and as the clip states, "chop up my face." I hated myself, I hated my culture... I hated being different. I hated being not white. I wanted a cute little nose, blue eyes, and blondish-brown hair.
I don't hate myself as much these days... but I still feel a lot of self hatred. I find myself being overly proud of myself and culture, to make up for it. Kinda like when you're queer, but don't want people to find out, so you act extra straight!
The secret is out... LMAO.
*Internalized Racism as defined by Colours of Resistance: The poison of racism seeping into the psyches of people of color, until people of color believe about themselves what whites believe about them -- that they are inferior to whites. Also, the acceptance by persons of color of Eurocentric values and standards.
**RIP MJ
***The Incas were the largest civilization in Pre-Columbian America. Their territory made up what is now: Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and parts of Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. Runa Simi, or Quechuan, is the widest spoken indigenous language in the world today.
Friday, June 26, 2009
get a leg up... but keep your head down.
One of my earliest memories in the United States is one of my sister and I learning to rifle twirl. This woman whose office my family cleaned at night got us into it. She was really into it, so why not I guess? Right?
For months we practiced, and we got pretty good at it. She even took my family to a rifle twirling competition somewhere in rural Pennsylvania. Thinking about it now it was a truly an awful sight. Thousands of people, in army suits (not the uniforms, but you know the suits that soldiers wear when they're not in uniform), twirling these rifles with synchronized HUA's*, scary shit. Fortunately, our involvement in the rifle twirling didn't go beyond practicing at this office, while my parent's swept the hallways.
When I started high school, I remember my adviser consistently suggested I join JROTC. For those who do not know what JROTC is, it is a federal program sponsored by the US Army. It stands for: Junior Reserves Officers Training Corps. It is an elective course in most high schools in the US, and in some states you can get phys ed credit by being in JROTC. My parents would pressure me constantly to join JROTC as well. Many recent immigrant parents are pressured by school officials to get their kids in JROTC. It's ridiculous! It's a path to gaining acceptance in a place that hates you, it's a path to citizenship, a path to success and education. (What they do not tell you is that the requirements to qualify for free college tuition, job training and citizenship are REALLY REALLY hard to meet, and few soldiers actually gain access to this main selling point for joining in the first place).
I went to two different high schools and at both schools the demographic make up of JROTC would be largely people of color, specifically Latinos. School counselors and teachers would practically funnel all the Latino immigrants to JROTC, it's hella crazy. This should come as no surprise.
In an ealier blog entry, I briefly mentioned US soldiers, and how the army is mostly made up of underprivileged folks who have little or no opportunities. A recent Pew study showed that the US military has approximately 60 thousand immigrants enlisted, half of those being non-citizens. Interesting! Undocumented and documented immigrants in the US are demonized, they are constantly under threat of deportation, face daily intimidation, can't vote, can't access many social services, but they're good enough to join the military! That's just great! GOOOOOOOOOOOOO USA! HUUUAAAAAAA!
In fact, the US military has a long history of recruiting undocumented immigrants. They even go into Mexico to recruit soldiers. Someone should tell ICE** about these people!!! FOR REALS! Could you imagine ICE raids on military bases?? OMG!
Latinos (documented and undocumented) along with African Americans make up the largest percentage of casualties in combat.
Most Latino and African American communities in the US are impoverished... you know, racism and classism at work (I will not get hella deep into this, these alone can make up tons of blog entries). And so for these communities, joining the army is a way to advance... to get a leg up. Of course, it's all lies.
In chess, the pawns are usually the first to go. The front lines. So little value is put on the pawn that they are normally sacrificed to keep the more powerful pieces alive, your rooks, bishops, queens and kings. I guess that's where we come in, just pawns in a high stakes game of chess.
*HUA is a military grunt. It's an acronym for Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged. If you've ever seen a large group of soldiers do this, it's seriouly horrific.
**ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it is a federal law enforcement agency created in 2003 as part of the Department of Homeland Security. Even though a budding young agency, they have already been subject of many human rights abuse complaints, with nearly 100 inmate deaths at ICE detention centers.
For months we practiced, and we got pretty good at it. She even took my family to a rifle twirling competition somewhere in rural Pennsylvania. Thinking about it now it was a truly an awful sight. Thousands of people, in army suits (not the uniforms, but you know the suits that soldiers wear when they're not in uniform), twirling these rifles with synchronized HUA's*, scary shit. Fortunately, our involvement in the rifle twirling didn't go beyond practicing at this office, while my parent's swept the hallways.
When I started high school, I remember my adviser consistently suggested I join JROTC. For those who do not know what JROTC is, it is a federal program sponsored by the US Army. It stands for: Junior Reserves Officers Training Corps. It is an elective course in most high schools in the US, and in some states you can get phys ed credit by being in JROTC. My parents would pressure me constantly to join JROTC as well. Many recent immigrant parents are pressured by school officials to get their kids in JROTC. It's ridiculous! It's a path to gaining acceptance in a place that hates you, it's a path to citizenship, a path to success and education. (What they do not tell you is that the requirements to qualify for free college tuition, job training and citizenship are REALLY REALLY hard to meet, and few soldiers actually gain access to this main selling point for joining in the first place).
I went to two different high schools and at both schools the demographic make up of JROTC would be largely people of color, specifically Latinos. School counselors and teachers would practically funnel all the Latino immigrants to JROTC, it's hella crazy. This should come as no surprise.
In an ealier blog entry, I briefly mentioned US soldiers, and how the army is mostly made up of underprivileged folks who have little or no opportunities. A recent Pew study showed that the US military has approximately 60 thousand immigrants enlisted, half of those being non-citizens. Interesting! Undocumented and documented immigrants in the US are demonized, they are constantly under threat of deportation, face daily intimidation, can't vote, can't access many social services, but they're good enough to join the military! That's just great! GOOOOOOOOOOOOO USA! HUUUAAAAAAA!
In fact, the US military has a long history of recruiting undocumented immigrants. They even go into Mexico to recruit soldiers. Someone should tell ICE** about these people!!! FOR REALS! Could you imagine ICE raids on military bases?? OMG!
Latinos (documented and undocumented) along with African Americans make up the largest percentage of casualties in combat.
Most Latino and African American communities in the US are impoverished... you know, racism and classism at work (I will not get hella deep into this, these alone can make up tons of blog entries). And so for these communities, joining the army is a way to advance... to get a leg up. Of course, it's all lies.
In chess, the pawns are usually the first to go. The front lines. So little value is put on the pawn that they are normally sacrificed to keep the more powerful pieces alive, your rooks, bishops, queens and kings. I guess that's where we come in, just pawns in a high stakes game of chess.
*HUA is a military grunt. It's an acronym for Heard, Understood, and Acknowledged. If you've ever seen a large group of soldiers do this, it's seriouly horrific.
**ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, it is a federal law enforcement agency created in 2003 as part of the Department of Homeland Security. Even though a budding young agency, they have already been subject of many human rights abuse complaints, with nearly 100 inmate deaths at ICE detention centers.
xylophobia
I LOVE THE SIMPSONS!!! When I still owned a television, it was by far my favoritest show. (I know I've been Facebooking tons about Degrassi, but sadly I never had The N). Anyways, so tonight, I was unable to watch the newest Degrassi episodes, so I settled with watching the Simpsons. Randomly, I chose the "Welcome to Homerica" episode. Amazingly enough it totally dealt with immigration.
Although completely satirical, I feel it summarizes (very briefly) and caricatures the behavior displayed by many in the US towards immigrants. It's kinda hilarious!
"Very well then, Springfield will ban all immigrants and xylophones!!!"
LMAO
Although completely satirical, I feel it summarizes (very briefly) and caricatures the behavior displayed by many in the US towards immigrants. It's kinda hilarious!
"Very well then, Springfield will ban all immigrants and xylophones!!!"
LMAO
go back to where YOU came from!
I used to work for this annual documentary film festival in Silver Spring, MD. A couple of years ago, while working there, I watched a really interesting documentary. I chose it because it dealt with Latin American politics, Bolivian, in particular. Being an Andean native and a history/politics nerd, it only seemed logical.
Now, I haven't said much about the Iranian elections and the response that is rippling in the US media, blogosphere, twitter, whatever. I don't know much about Iranian politics and so I don't feel comfortable expressing an opinion. However, the way the media is reacting and portraying what is taking place there at the moment is really interesting... it reminds me a little of the aforementioned documentary.
It's called "Our Brand is Crisis." It's about Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's* presidential campaign, and this team of US political consultants hired to win this particular election in 2002. And while I'm not saying that the US had anything to do with the elections in Iran, I believe US media, and the clowns who call themselves political experts on US news programs are having a huge impact in shaping the general collective response. It's also a blatant reminder of how much power the US has in shaping the global political landscape. How the US uses crisis to its benefit. How it creates it, packages it, and sells it.
The most recent example I can think of this meddling - besides the War in Iraq, where the US invaded a country, very intentionally removed a government from power and is in the process (over half a decade now) of building a "democracy" that suits its needs - is the Palestinian elections in 2006. Fully orchestrated by the US, with them controlling every aspect of Mahmoud Abbas' ** campaign. The result, as unexpected as it was (Hamas winning a majority of parliamentary seats), still served US interests as these political consultants, the media, and others shaped the outcome to continue legitimizing the collective punishment of Palestinians. Instead of recognizing the will of the Palestinian people and their democratic process.
Other examples that come to mind are Venezuela and how for over a decade the US has tried to remove Hugo Chavez from power, including but not limited to: a failed coup d'etat, organizing an oil worker strike to force an economic collapse, very unfavorable media coverage from the start (although I do feel that these days he's become a caricature of himself), substantial financial aid to opposition parties, and orchestrating recall elections.
Another example is Chile, and Washington's efforts to keep Salvador Allende*** from getting elected. When they failed, they had him assassinated in a violent military coup. Followed by decades of repressive dictatorship, wholly sponsored by the US.
On the topic of Iran, in 1953, the US also orchestrated the toppling of a democratically elected government there. At the request of United Fruit Company, the US sunk Guatemala's democracy, inciting a 50 year civil war. The list goes on and on.
Most of these horrific events either: go unnoticed by the US public (through cover ups, ignorace, or intentionally tacked on to the very end of a news story), or they are branded in a way that invokes some Pavlovian response (serving the interest of the government and/or private sector). Like the documentary states, the brand is crisis and they have to own it.
We are taught that this country is a place of good, a place of freedom. And also that being this free has a high price, payed for by soldiers... most of whom come from impoverished backgrounds, systematically disenfranchised, then given the military as their only option for survival. How ironic!
I feel the complete opposite about the US. I feel it is a place imprisoned by its own self-righteousness. You know when you tell a small lie to someone... and then somehow you have to keep lying to keep the small lie from getting out. And the whole situation snowballs to where you are just living out this whole HUGE lie, because you are afraid of people finding the truth. And discovering that you've been lying all along. To me, it's kinda like that... LOL. (Though this is no laughing matter!)
It's interesting how this self-serving meddling applies to immigration. A large number of immigrants in the US come from nations that were torn apart by wars. Most of them started and/or instigated by the US. A lot of these countries are also unstable or unable to provide basic needs to their population, due in large part to US meddling in the economies and politics of that country, not to mention the lingering legacy of colonialism. As a result, people migrate to "greener pastures," in hopes of a life with dignity. Only to end up here, to work the jobs that no one else will take, making far below minimum wage, denied many social benefits, then told to "go back to where you came from."
I wish the Europeans that established this nation would go back to where THEY came from. I wish the elected officials of this country and the media would stop being the hypocrites they are. I wish...
I'm excited and inspired by the many individuals and groups who are creating their own media! Either on the web, radio, TV, or print. We need more voices out there. We need something to counter the Big 5.****
In a couple of weeks I'll be heading to the Allied Media Conference***** in Detroit. For a minute I didn't think I had any reason to go. I'm revisiting my initial assumptions...
*Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada was twice elected Bolivia's president. He served as president between 1993-1997 and again from 2002-2003. The latter being the subject of the film. He was forced to resign after a series of popular uprisings.
**Mahmoud Abbas is the Western backed unofficial president of the Palestinian National Authority.
***Salvador Allende was the democratically elected president of Chile from 1970-1973.
****The Big 5 is a common reference to the media conglomerates in the US: Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, News Corp, and General Electric (who owns NBC).
***** http://www.alliedmediaconference.org/
PS- For more thoughts on the US role in Iran and the Middle East (past and present): Iran had a Democracy before We Took it Away.
Now, I haven't said much about the Iranian elections and the response that is rippling in the US media, blogosphere, twitter, whatever. I don't know much about Iranian politics and so I don't feel comfortable expressing an opinion. However, the way the media is reacting and portraying what is taking place there at the moment is really interesting... it reminds me a little of the aforementioned documentary.
It's called "Our Brand is Crisis." It's about Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada's* presidential campaign, and this team of US political consultants hired to win this particular election in 2002. And while I'm not saying that the US had anything to do with the elections in Iran, I believe US media, and the clowns who call themselves political experts on US news programs are having a huge impact in shaping the general collective response. It's also a blatant reminder of how much power the US has in shaping the global political landscape. How the US uses crisis to its benefit. How it creates it, packages it, and sells it.
The most recent example I can think of this meddling - besides the War in Iraq, where the US invaded a country, very intentionally removed a government from power and is in the process (over half a decade now) of building a "democracy" that suits its needs - is the Palestinian elections in 2006. Fully orchestrated by the US, with them controlling every aspect of Mahmoud Abbas' ** campaign. The result, as unexpected as it was (Hamas winning a majority of parliamentary seats), still served US interests as these political consultants, the media, and others shaped the outcome to continue legitimizing the collective punishment of Palestinians. Instead of recognizing the will of the Palestinian people and their democratic process.
Other examples that come to mind are Venezuela and how for over a decade the US has tried to remove Hugo Chavez from power, including but not limited to: a failed coup d'etat, organizing an oil worker strike to force an economic collapse, very unfavorable media coverage from the start (although I do feel that these days he's become a caricature of himself), substantial financial aid to opposition parties, and orchestrating recall elections.
Another example is Chile, and Washington's efforts to keep Salvador Allende*** from getting elected. When they failed, they had him assassinated in a violent military coup. Followed by decades of repressive dictatorship, wholly sponsored by the US.
On the topic of Iran, in 1953, the US also orchestrated the toppling of a democratically elected government there. At the request of United Fruit Company, the US sunk Guatemala's democracy, inciting a 50 year civil war. The list goes on and on.
Most of these horrific events either: go unnoticed by the US public (through cover ups, ignorace, or intentionally tacked on to the very end of a news story), or they are branded in a way that invokes some Pavlovian response (serving the interest of the government and/or private sector). Like the documentary states, the brand is crisis and they have to own it.
We are taught that this country is a place of good, a place of freedom. And also that being this free has a high price, payed for by soldiers... most of whom come from impoverished backgrounds, systematically disenfranchised, then given the military as their only option for survival. How ironic!
I feel the complete opposite about the US. I feel it is a place imprisoned by its own self-righteousness. You know when you tell a small lie to someone... and then somehow you have to keep lying to keep the small lie from getting out. And the whole situation snowballs to where you are just living out this whole HUGE lie, because you are afraid of people finding the truth. And discovering that you've been lying all along. To me, it's kinda like that... LOL. (Though this is no laughing matter!)
It's interesting how this self-serving meddling applies to immigration. A large number of immigrants in the US come from nations that were torn apart by wars. Most of them started and/or instigated by the US. A lot of these countries are also unstable or unable to provide basic needs to their population, due in large part to US meddling in the economies and politics of that country, not to mention the lingering legacy of colonialism. As a result, people migrate to "greener pastures," in hopes of a life with dignity. Only to end up here, to work the jobs that no one else will take, making far below minimum wage, denied many social benefits, then told to "go back to where you came from."
I wish the Europeans that established this nation would go back to where THEY came from. I wish the elected officials of this country and the media would stop being the hypocrites they are. I wish...
I'm excited and inspired by the many individuals and groups who are creating their own media! Either on the web, radio, TV, or print. We need more voices out there. We need something to counter the Big 5.****
In a couple of weeks I'll be heading to the Allied Media Conference***** in Detroit. For a minute I didn't think I had any reason to go. I'm revisiting my initial assumptions...
*Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada was twice elected Bolivia's president. He served as president between 1993-1997 and again from 2002-2003. The latter being the subject of the film. He was forced to resign after a series of popular uprisings.
**Mahmoud Abbas is the Western backed unofficial president of the Palestinian National Authority.
***Salvador Allende was the democratically elected president of Chile from 1970-1973.
****The Big 5 is a common reference to the media conglomerates in the US: Disney, Viacom, Time Warner, News Corp, and General Electric (who owns NBC).
***** http://www.alliedmediaconference.org/
PS- For more thoughts on the US role in Iran and the Middle East (past and present): Iran had a Democracy before We Took it Away.
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