WHERE LIES OUR TRUE FIGHT? With people of different skin tones? With people who use different word sounds to express their dreams, their pain, their hope, their hunger? Or with those who move hugely and cloaked over with flag and legal document, drawing blood worldwide?
MAPA: “WE ARE TAKING THE BRUNT of the attacks and suffering the immediate consequences of this misguided policy, therefore, our call is urgent to take to the streets on September 5th, the Labor Day weekend, and October 12th, not to ask but demand that President Obama stop the attacks on immigrants and that he fulfill his promise of immigration reform, that which we heard during the presidential campaign, but has recently been forgotten.”
FROM THE “SWINE” FLU’S declining fervor to 2009’s May Day marches for worker rights and immigrant solidarity; from the tragic killing of Luis Ramirez to legislative movement on immigration, these are tumultuous times. But it is precisely such conflict and challenge that provides the best opportunities to make lasting change.
QUESTIONS OF APPROPRIATION and Tokenism are areas one must approach carefully. Human beings are involved and there is nuance, to be sure. Good can be done with methods that are not optimally beneficial to all parties involved. Furthermore, that cost must be weighed by each person. And yet, shapes of Whiteness move behind and around us, often invisible. They must be named.
SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE A SIDE. Life contains as much nuance as there are sizes of raindrops. But in la lucha para justícia, there is no nuance but only making a decision on whether you will stand with the entrenched powers that be, or the people suffering in the wake of those powers.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WORKERS DAY! Happy May Day! This day is one of my favorites of the year, and not just because it marks the (3rd) anniversary of this Unapologetic Blog, but because of the positive energies that blaze through our streets.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW WORK by Shepard Fairey? You know, he’s the cat what did the famous and iconic Obama HOPE poster. I guess the high of being Everyone’s Favorite Poster Guy has worn off and someone’s looking for another hit….
MAY DAY MARCH in NYC: Trillions for bank bailouts just gives money to the same bankers whose policies are gutting the economy. WE need to control the financial system, not leave it in the hands of a pack of billionaires.
MADE IN L.A. IS AN EMMY-WINNING DOCUMENTARY about three Latina immigrant mujeres who organize and fight for labor protections in the US. I’ve reviewed the film and provided information here to help you spread the word about the May Day screenings, if you care to.
NO GROUP OF PEOPLE IS “ALL BAD,” por supuesto! But some groups feel the need to defend themselves from the charge. And some would never dream of explaining a damn thing to anyone.
WE KNEW THAT THERE WOULD BE a faction of people so wed to their own racist thought patterns they would be incapable of dealing with the fact that a non-white person was president of the US. I guess I thought they’d be a bit more honest about it.
LA SANTA MUERTE is threatening Jesus Christ. Those who champion Mister Christ are lashing back. Or perhaps we might say the Mexican Oligarchy is acting like terrorists and destroying symbols that are dear to groups of people who frustrate them. However you word it, the People are under seige on more than one front.
RIGHT WING EXTREMIST THINKERS are imploding. Bomb Shelter Beck cries hot nuclear tears of Armageddon, Hannity has jettisoned Colmes for the like of guest lunatics like Michelle Bachman, and right wing gun nuts are making a run on weaponry for no reason other than that the party that invented pre-emptive war is out of power. Time for some TeaBagging to relieve the stress.
WE CAN IGNORE MEXICO’S STRUGGLE for a tiny bit longer, maybe. But the truth is, all these injustices we rail against are connected. No border can separate them. Once we join hands in fighting the crooked elites who trick and rule and exploit us, they have no hope of winning.
NO MATTER WHAT your position on immigration law happens to be; no matter how many generations your family has been rooted in this soil, these kinds of abuses are unacceptable. Treating our fellow humans in these ways simply is not, as they say, American.
House of Nezua
the XOLAGRAFIK theater!
