Many ELA Artists, Community Members, Activists and Students have left their 3 day weekend barbecue plans behind to join others working to end the border militarization and racist, colonial laws that have been adopted by Arizona through a Senate Bill called SB1070. Many states and cities in the US have joined in boycotting this unconstitutional law, through public criticism in the press and by ceasing all their state and city business with Arizona. Many local artists speak out publicly through music and exhibit. (More to come, of course.)
This racist law attacks not only the migrant, indigenous and humans of hue, but also the principles of freedom and democracy which this country was founded on. In the face of Arizona’s police state oppression towards the marginalize and poor people there, the victim Arizona community is asking for support through peaceful protests and boycotts of these unjust laws which legalize business and home raids; detain citizens based on physical appearance; expel those who cannot immediately produce or refuse to carry documents regarding their citizenship; sanctify sweeps and patrolling of sacred Native American lands near the border without permission; and disregard the American constitutional right to pursuit of happiness (through a peaceful and safe environment) . Denial of these rights affect us all.
Maybe it’s my imagination, maybe I’m being to thin skinned, but has anybody else felt or experienced a certain anti Mexican vibe, including that stink look from older white people on the street, or the almost palpable rudeness or indignation emanating from our white brothers and sisters, especially when a brown skinned carnal like myself finds himself in suburban white majority areas?
Since the boycott Arizona drive and the backlash against our jente in Arizona, including the Sheriff Joe, Gov Brewer, attacks it seems there is a general attitude of animosity against all of us Brown People across this land.
But maybe I’m just using my Chicano antennae a little bit more these days.
Boycott Arizona!
D.Q.,
I agree the gavachos have been giving me the evil-eye since SB1070. The rise in facism is obvious, Tea-Party and minute-men hate groups are on the rise, we must be very careful around gavachos.
Get a grip Oscar, or Che or Humberto or whatever handle you feel like using today.
Being an agent provocatuer (a vieja metiche), takes some serious sophistication to pull off successfully.
Unfortunately your shape shifting hasn’t reached that stage of adroitness yet, but your attempts are very entertaining, kind of like watching an old Three Stooges Movie in fact.
DQ, you have to find a better group of white people, we’re not all of the same. And, I’d hate to go here, but in Southern California most white people are assholes. I know us Northern Californians are a bunch of wusses and hay stackers, but you really have to venture up here on occasion to keep your sanity, because white people in LA will drive you nuts. Visit San Francisco for a weekend. You won’t get those dirty looks because in San Francisco there isn’t a 3 mile radius without minorities. I’m telling you, you can walk through the nicest areas, Marina district, etc, and you won’t get dirty looks. You always see Latinos, blacks, Asians, everybody hanging out at Fisherman’s wharf, Golden Gate Park, The Haight, all of the popular spots in the city’s northern, nicer areas. The Mission District, SF’s original barrio, has been gentrified heavily but most of the whites are cool there, too. Music scene, arts, those types. And I mean real musicians and artists, not the kind that just told their parents they are so that they could get money for a loft in the city. They moved there with much more intention of becoming part of the original Chicano community that lived there beforehand. Carlos Santana has talked about this culture in the Mission (I’m yet to hear a Chicano celebrity give kudos to LA’s gentrifiers) ..You can walk up and down 24th street in SF and see the mutual respect between whites and Latinos. Even in a lot of Northern California towns like Modesto, Fresno, Salinas, etc, white people who live in town with the Chicanos are cool with them. Most of the whites there are wannabe Chicanos. The cops are assholes but they come in from other areas for the most part. Seems to me that whites who live amongst Chicanos in LA tend to draw a line in the sand and be more of the rebel, skinhead type. That’s what I see in places like Venice and Orange County. The only white people I like in LA tend to be the starving actors, and of course I’m biased. But the truth is, they’re losers and outcasts in their cities of origin, and they come to LA as visitors, and tend to have more respect for the city’s long time residents, including Latinos. They’re there because they really have nowhere else to go, unlike the gentrifuckers, who are there to “LA it”.
Rob, I didn’t mean to come off like I’m suspicious and wary of white people (some of my best friends are white to use the old tiresome cliche), I was only commenting on my experiences lately with white people (and especially older white people)in certain surburban areas of the country (outside of LA more than in LA proper), I was just asking if anyone else has had this recent uptick in shitty looks and cold stares, I was not being scientific just asking.
By the way I’m very familiar with the SF Mission District as my nephew, his wife and newborn child reside there in a great old Victorian. He digs it there and wouldn’t live anywhere else. But, I must say I have gotten lots of silent pissy stares in places like Rocklin, Auburn, Lake Tahoe and parts of Sacramento.
Noticed the stink eye in Pasadena and from those geckos who take the blue line just till the Staples Center but then it could be in response to that travieso kid of mine!
Sacramento proper isn’t like that, DQ. It’s more like Frisco. Sacramento is a complete different place than its suburbs.
When Arizona was booming— before their construction craze collapse in 2008 and their housing prices plunged—Mexicans coming over to help build housing in Arizona, using their skills and being paid low wages with no medical benefits—seemed to be fine with everyone there. Puros users & abuses.
“Get a grip Oscar, or Che or Humberto or whatever handle you feel like using today.”
Don Q,a little paranoid no? Funny that you think that I am one person behind all these handles.
I guess you don’t want to believe that not every brown person is in lock step with liberal America’s identity politics.
Sad actually… but for the record, I am an outsider of the eastside, living south of you all, in the middle of getting my BS, thanking God I never had any interest in taking a useless chicano studies class (keeping me from wallowing in self imposed perpetual victimhood) and actually focusing on knowledge that I can use to compete with the indians and the chinese in getting a job.
So go ahead and dismiss a little “civil discourse” as pinche “vieja metiche” shapeshifter. Yeah, that’s a good way to support your opinions you write about.
I can’t speak for Oscar or Humberto, but if you think we are all one in the same, I can only be so honored.
…but to answer your question, Yeah, you must be pretty thin skinned.