If interested, these columns are available when published at: http://www.uexpress.com/columnoftheamericas/

The following is one of the viewpoints among Chicanos. Just want to share this with Sciforums. Most of the posts in this thread are reprints of 'Column of the Americas', which are syndicated in many local newspapers.

From: XColumn@aol.com
To:
Cc:
Subject: WHERE DOGS HAVE MORE RIGHTS
Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 22:09:52 EDT


FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF AUGUST 10, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS
by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez

WHERE DOGS HAVE MORE RIGHTS

SAN ANTONIO -- "It's our brown skin they don't like," says Martha
von Ellenrieder, standing under a banner that reads "Esta es mi Tierra"
(This is my land). Her words have a chilling edge to them, though it's
something everyone in the room knows all too well. Similar words have been
expressed since the 1840s, when Mexico lost half its country to the United
States.

She was speaking at a bi-national conference held here last week to
analyze the recent immigration proposals from presidents Fox and Bush.

Mike Zepeda, a longtime human rights activist from Texas, speaks up:
"I fight because I still remember growing up, seeing the "No Dogs or
Mexicans" signs.

"In this country, dogs have more rights," retorts someone else. "The
other day, someone received three years for killing a dog. Here, you can
kill a Mexican and get away with it."

Stories flow at the conference about how the lives of Mexicans have
never mattered in this country. Yet, most of the stories are about today:
about how hundreds of Mexicans continue to die annually in Southwestern
deserts, mountains and rivers. Also, stories flow of vigilantes and agents
of the U.S. Border Patrol shooting and killing countless unarmed Mexicans
with impunity.

Then there are the new stories about the 3 million Mexicans and
Central Americans living in Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, North and
South Carolina and Florida. Organizing there is difficult, says Baldemar
Velasquez, president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. "Ranchers tell
us: 'You Meskins don't know where you are. You're in the South.'"

"We keep finding dead (Mexican) workers in the South," said
Velasquez.

With these stories, there should be widespread support for the new
proposals being tossed around. Fox campaigned to open up the border, whereas
the Bush administration is studying the feasibility of legalizing or
regularizing the undocumented status of 3 million Mexicans.

If that's all the proposals amounted to, these human rights
activists, who have fought their whole lives under the precept that "No
human being is illegal," might actually applaud them. However, they also
come amid a possible return of the infamous bracero program and the
continued militarization of the border.

Talk of an open border, however, is no longer considered to be the
domain of idealists or extremists. The issue has always been quite simple:
The United States and Canada -- with a graying population -- need labor;
Mexico -- with a younger population -- can continue to provide it.

Most humane advances in the field of immigration have come as a
result of years of prodding by immigrants themselves, their children now
grown and politically active. A new bracero program -- which is the closest
thing to slavery in the modern context -- would set back human rights a
generation. In fact, those migrants, says Carlos Arango, a human rights
activist from Chicago, "are the new slaves."

The best bracero program possible, with full labor protection, would
still treat the worker as a disposable commodity, subject to repatriation
upon completion of a contract. Such a program, which will always exclude
family members, may be how all future Mexican workers will enter the
country.

This new arrangement has another downside for Mexico. Such an
agreement would require Mexico to do the U.S. migra's bidding, requiring it
to militarize its southern border to keep Central Americans out. The better
alternative would be to bring Central America into these new proposals as
the United States has a moral obligation to do so. It was U.S. money that
illegally (behind the backs of Congress) financed the military regimes that
caused the widespread diaspora of Central Americans in the 1980s.

In this discussion, many indigenous rights activists have always
maintained that Mexicans/Central/South Americans can never be illegal and in
fact can never be immigrants because they are native to the continent. In
many cases, they are simply returning to parts of the continent where their
ancestors once lived.

At the upcoming world conference on racism, this issue may be
addressed. The subject of reparations for slavery is inextricably connected
to the colonization of the Americas. Just as African slaves were illegally
seized, so too was the American continent illegally confiscated. The passage
of time has not made that confiscation legal or moral.

Little wonder that the United States would love to avoid this issue.
Given the fact that the current administration is opting out of several
major international arms and environmental agreements, the best we can
expect from this upcoming conference is an affirmation from all countries
that there is no such thing as an illegal human being.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes
of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN:
0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley.
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com Our "Column of the Americas" is posted
every Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would
like to receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note.

Anyone wanting to know a little bit more about Mexican/Chicanos can read,
"The Labyrinth of Solitude"
by Octavio Paz
The dude is a heavyweight, but most translations are easy to read. It's basic Mexican/Chicano philosophical thought. Enjoy!!!:D :) :D

FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF AUGUST 17, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
DISCRIMINATE, AND GO TO JAIL

President Bush's unexpected support of affirmative action is still causing
major reverberations. His decision to defend a federal affirmative action
program before the Supreme Court (Adarand Constructors v. Mineta) has greatly
upset his natural allies who are intent on eliminating not discrimination,
but the programs designed to combat it.

The transportation department program sets aside 10 percent of government
moneys to "disadvantaged businesses." His allies, understandably, have not
commented about the 90 percent of the other moneys that essentially amount to
a "good ol' boy" racial quota. Despite this, the administration is reassuring
its allies that it's still solidly against affirmative action, undoubtedly
signaling its future course of action.

The subject brings to mind a question we once posed to Vicente Ximenez, an
elder and the architect of affirmative action for the Johnson administration.
"Why was it decided that someone found guilty of discriminating should pay a
fine, rather than go to prison?" It triggered a laugh attack. After regaining
his composure, he replied, "Why would they want to put themselves or their
own friends in jail?"

Absent criminalization for blatant discrimination, we're stuck with a
1960s-era initiative that has no place in a modern or ideal world ... so it's
time to start either creating that ideal world or putting forth a viable
compromise.

How about terminating affirmative action while criminalizing discrimination?
The fear of prison would certainly bring discrimination to a screeching halt
and would obviate the need for affirmative action.

Opponents of that initiative traditionally clamor for its end, without
bothering to propose alternatives. Through the use of doublespeak, its
opponents claim that it's people of color who enjoy racial privileges. (The
number of "reverse discrimination" complaints before the Equal Opportunity
Commission is minuscule, whereas virtually every study confirms that whites
run virtually all the top corporations in the country).

Only the obstinate believe that whites are being hurt by the advancement of
people of color, and are seemingly unaware that racial profiling is a fact of
life. Even the United Nations has weighed in as the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination has cited the United States for its
unequal treatment of people of color, particularly relating to the death
penalty and police brutality.

Truthfully, even this focus misses the point. Unquestionably, the affirmative
action debate needlessly sets different peoples against each other because
it's falsely framed within a racialized win/lose situation. Society benefits
when all its members are actually able to become integral members of it.

Rather than viewing affirmative action as one means to accomplish this, as a
legal remedy, it is erroneously projected as part of a racial spoils system
in which whites lose. Nowhere is this more evident than in the realm of
education. Societal priorities ensure that only a limited number of students
enter graduate school. Whites, Asians and other people of color (who are
grossly underrepresented) are continually pitted against each other for a
finite number of slots. This formula breeds competition and racial hostility.
Jointly calling for the opening of more slots would be a sounder approach to
meet this legitimate societal goal.

We've made this point before: B-2 bombers cost $2 billion each. We're
constantly told that we need many more dozens of B-2 bombers, that we need to
be prepared to fight two wars, and that we also need a missile defense shield
to "protect us" from rogue states. How many students of all colors could be
educated if we scratched one of those planes or one of those initiatives?

As a society, we've learned that if you plan for something, it will happen.
As an example, today, we have in excess of 2 million U.S. prisoners. To
accommodate this number, large-scale planning was required. It seems we
planned well for building new prisons, but never had the foresight to build
more colleges and universities.

Another way to preclude the need for affirmative action would be to create a
society in which health care and higher education are free to all. Perhaps
after the upcoming U.N. conference on racism, all nations will commit to
eradicating discrimination by criminalizing its most blatant forms.

We feel like asking Ximenez why this hasn't happened before and why we don't
spend more on health and schooling than on prisons and the military, though
we suspect he might never stop laughing.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes
of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN:
0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley.
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. If you like the
column, ask your local newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis.

FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF AUGUST 24, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
THE METHODOLOGY AND MYTHOLOGY OF THE CENSUS

(One of a continuing series on the Census)

Xochicalco, Morelos, Mexico -- The cavernous passages are pitch-black at this
ancient ceremonial center. Suddenly and dramatically, a ray of light pierces
the blackness, temporarily illuminating this underground chamber. Prayers are
said to the four directions. An elder explains to us that this is an
astronomical event, not a mystical phenomenon, that occurs twice yearly.

Xochicalco was actually a university, built long before the European arrival.
This is where the great teacher Quetzalcoatl studied ... where the finest
minds from throughout the continent gathered to exchange scientific,
astronomical and calendrical knowledge.

The ancient connectedness felt here can also be felt at Teotihuacan and Monte
Alban, also in Mexico; Tikal in Guatemala; Peru's Machu Pichu; and in the
United States Chaco Canyon (N.M.) and Aztalan (Wis.). There are approximately
40,000 such sites in Mexico alone. Though most remain unexcavated, elders
teach that none are ruins, that they all have a history and belong to all na
tive peoples of the continent.

"They tried to destroy us," said the elder at Xochicalco, "They also
attempted to destroy our knowledge, books, ceremonial centers and our
connection to the land. Yet, here we are."

Upon our return to the United States, we are jolted by Laurent Belsie's
article on race in the Christian Science Monitor: "Hispanics hold the key to
the nation's demographic identity. If large numbers of them identify
themselves as white, then white society will predominate in the U.S. " If
they forge a separate racial identity, then sometime around midcentury,
whites will become a minority, Belsie notes, adding: "Many demographers
expect Hispanics will be assimilated into white culture during the 21st
century.."

Are "Latinos/Hispanics" actually white? (About one-half checked white in the
1990 and 2000 census and almost half checked the "other" race category.)

A more incisive question is, are people of Mexican/Central American ancestry
-- who constitute approximately 75 percent of this group and whose ancestors
built many of these pyramids -- white? Are Peruvians, Puerto Ricans and
Dominicans white?

Only about 10 percent of Mexico's and Central America's population is
considered white. The rest are either indigenous or indigenous-based mestizos
or "Hispanicized Indians."

These numbers alone tell us that most "Hispanics/Latinos" aren't white, yet
as a result of faulty Census methodology, this mythology is fast becoming
dogma. For example, a recent study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse
and Alcoholism (not unlike many other studies) divides Hispanics into white
or black categories. Most of the subjects were Mexicans and counted as white.
The principal author, Fred Stinson, said they were simply following the
Census' lead.

Most "Hispanics/Latinos" have become white because the bureau combines "other
race" into the white category. "This is a clear case of ethnic cleansing,"
notes California State University at Hayward professor, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz.
"I can walk in San Francisco's Mission District and run into people all day
with classic Native American features and skin color, and not run into any
Anglos."

Despite this, we always wonder why so many within this category choose white?
Beyond Hispanicization, the answer is Americanization, says Jack Forbes,
pre-eminent native scholar. He considers most Mexicans/Central Americans
native.

The bureau, on the other hand, makes it virtually impossible for people from
Mexico, Central and South America to indicate their indigenous origins on the
form. Given the incessant pressures to assimilate, it's surprising that more
from within this category don't choose white. "Choosing white is not
permanent," say Forbes. If the children reconnect with their indigenous
roots, "in the future, they may choose native."

Attempts to whiten red-brown peoples seemingly makes no sense. A militarized
border exists to keep them out, yet red-brown peoples are given honorary
white status by the government. Actually, it makes perfect sense; both
achieve the whitening of the country -- minus indigenous consciousness. While
some may say this sounds conspiratorial, the fact is that the statistical
manipulation has been happening for decades -- and continues to happen.

It's akin to the one-drop black rule, notes Glenn Morris, a native professor
at the University of Colorado; "The more blacks, the more free labor.
Similarly, a high blood quantum for Native Americans also makes economic
sense; once they don't qualify, it's easy to take the land."

Perhaps those wishing that red-brown peoples will choose white or simply go
away were not counting on the "re-Indianization of the country," notes
Forbes. "Mexico City-Tenochtitlan is outside of the cultural framework of
Jamestown and east-to-west expansion. They're scared to death of brownness."

For those who fear brownness and the attendant indigenous consciousness, they
should be reassured that it simply means the honoring of an ancient memory
and our sacred mother earth.

Given this reality, it is incumbent upon the Census to fund an educational
campaign to reassure everyone that there's nothing wrong with acknowledging
one's native roots (or any other roots) ... and that no race is better than
any other race.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

* The Christian Science Monitor article can be found at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0814/p2s1-ussc.html
If you would like to send a comment to the editor at CSM, write to:
oped@csps.com

** The Census Bureau can be reached at: http://www.census.gov/
Comments regarding these practices can be sent to the director at:
William.G.Barron.Jr@census.gov

*** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us (or if you're receiving it by
mistake), please send us a note. If you like the column, ask your local
newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis. Thanks.

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF AUGUST 31, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
$4,000: THE PRICE OF A MEXICAN

A friend of ours over for breakfast started sobbing when we told her that a
South Texas rancher who shot an unarmed Mexican from behind was fined $4,000,
put on probation and set free. "No valemos nadaaaaa," she said. Her tearful
words need no translation.

Her reaction moved us. Actually, it shook us. We stopped to say a prayer for
the slain Eusebio de Haro and his family. It was no hyperbole when we
recently wrote that in the U.S., a dog's life is worth more than that of a
Mexican.

The Sam Blackwood trial in Brackettville, along with the countless murders
and needless deaths that have been occurring all along the U.S./Mexico border
(since before we were born) illustrates this. The only difference is that
nowadays, they're also occurring elsewhere in the southern United States --
where 3 million Mexicans/Central Americans live -- a place not normally
associated with anti-Mexicanism.

It's a wonder that this May 2000 murder and recent outrageous court decision
is even news. It's right out of a '50s western in which the gunslinger brags
about the number of cowboys he's killed -- "not counting Mexicans." The fact
is, for killing a Mexican, Blackwood was convicted simply of a misdemeanor
"dangerous conduct" charge.

The context no doubt will help explain this travesty. As reported in the San
Antonio Express-News, a rancher friend of Blackwood, testifying about
encounters other ranchers have with migrants, said: "We usually tell each
other about our woes, about our wetback problems."

One can sincerely empathize with these woeful ranchers: $4,000 is a hefty sum
to be paying for helping to exterminate wetbacks. That's the message many of
us, including ranchers, hear daily, don't we? -- from billboards to talk
radio hosts; from draconian propositions to vigilantiism. After years and
years of dehumanizing Mexicans, of a vicious anti-immigrant campaign by
people in and out of government, we see the result. This killing came at the
same time that Arizona ranchers were recruiting vigilantes nationwide to help
do the work of the "migra," or U.S. border patrol.

Despite the completely unprovoked nature of the shooting, Blackwood didn't
even stand trial for murder. According to testimony by de Haro's friend,
Javier Sanchez, they had stopped at Blackwood's ranch for a drink of water.
The rancher refused; then after they left, he tracked them down and shot de
Haro from behind. De Haro, bleeding to death, asked the rancher: "Why did you
do that? I didn't do nothing."

The dehumanization of Mexicans is so ingrained here that when migrants are
killed or found dead -- which is often -- they are rarely referred to as
Mexicans. They are called illegal aliens, or illegals or even wetbacks. (If
they're wearing suits, regardless of nationality, they're often upgraded to
Hispanics.) Usually, they aren't named. And when it involves an unjustified
killing, especially by a law enforcement officer, forget about it. If it's
vigilantes, it's usually "self-defense," and aggravated assault is about the
most serious charge one can expect. Often, they're cheered on by like-minded
demagogues.

Bob Rivard, editor of the Express-News, pondered in a column recently about
what would have happened if de Haro had killed Blackwood? That's a rhetorical
question in Texas, the death penalty capital of the world.

That's why the dog reference. Just recently, in a road-rage incident, a
northern California man was appropriately given a three-year sentence for
killing a dog. But for rage against a Mexican? Less than the price of a used
car.

For those who often ask why we use the word "dehumanization," rather than
"racism," this case provides the answer. To dehumanize (including, but not
limited to reasons of race) is to degrade, stereotype, caricaturize,
trivialize, devalue, humiliate, invisibilize, alienize, scapegoat,
criminalize and demonize. In effect, it's to make one less than human, not
simply in society and the media, but also inside of a courtroom.

That's why Blackwood isn't the sole culprit. Like a "Los Tigres Del Norte"
song, which proclaims that migrants die twice unless buried in their
homeland, de Haro was killed twice. The second time was when the grand jury
charged Blackwood with a misdemeanor.

Adding insult, the jury could have given the rancher a year. But apparently
he was needed in the free world.

To Blackman, we ask: Why did you kill him? He didn't do nothin' but walk
through "your" land. To the jury: Why did you even bother fining him? He was
just taking care of our wetback problem. To the Justice Department: Any
chance of prosecuting Blackwood on federal civil rights violations?

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

*For a Q&A regarding Column of the Americas, go to http://newswatch.sfsu.edu

Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes
of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN:
0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley.
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. If you like the
column, ask your local newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis.

FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 21, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
THE SEVENTH FLIGHT (Embargoed til 9/21)

Moral clarity.

That is what is most needed at a time when the heavy ash has still not
cleared. It's desperately needed because extremists from both ends of the
political spectrum have seemingly forgotten what it means to be human.
There's no justification whatsoever for killing thousands of civilians in war
or to promote a "just cause." This is the clearest definition of terrorism,
whether committed by organizations or states.

If having a "just cause" is a good rationale for killing noncombatants, then
the world should prepare for nonstop bloodletting, as there are thousands of
"just causes."

Regarding the investigation, the FBI has identified six flights that may have
been targeted. However, a seventh flight may be the Constitution itself since
government officials are quick to blame "lax laws" in their efforts to take
away our freedoms -- supposedly to protect our freedoms. They also want us to
align ourselves with human rights violators to protect our human rights, this
while rushing us toward an open-ended worldwide war.

More than ever, we must continue to view this crisis not through Cold War
paradigms, but through the prism that holds all life to be sacred. While one
extreme justifies the morally indefensible because of U.S. support for
Israel, the other extreme blames the entire Arab world. While one claims the
twin towers were legitimate targets because they symbolize global capitalism,
the other calls for extrajudicial assassinations and full-scale bombings.
This from syndicated columnist Ann Coulter: "We know who the homicidal
maniacs are. ... We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and
convert them to Christianity." (Been there, done that?)

One extreme says that because millions continue to suffer at the hands of
U.S. imperialism, a few thousand U.S. civilian casualties (collateral damage)
are a small price to pay. In turn, the other extreme wants to move us toward
martial law, including the closing of the Mexican (but not the Canadian)
border.

One wants us to hate Arabs, the other, Jews. One thinks that debating our
nation's policies is treason, while the other equates patriotism with
warmongering.

Most people inhabit the complex middle -- away from those extremes --
particularly those who fight daily for peace, justice and human rights. Yet,
while people are still enraged, numb and unable to ask the most basic of
questions, TV saturation threatens to drive many toward those extremes.

These are questions to ponder: Who is our enemy and will the U.S. align with,
or go after, states that practice state terror? Are we seeking to
self-defense, revenge, justice, war or peace? Will the Zapatistas and others
who fight for their dignity be branded as terrorists, and who will be doing
the branding? Can peace ever come to the Middle East, and what creates people
or societies that have no regard for life?

We should all answer these and similar questions, perhaps first in silence,
then with those closest to us, then publicly, as we can ill afford to remain
silent.

Truthfully, most people here have reacted with a great human spirit. Myrna
Tinoco, a resident and native New Yorker, told us: "Can I share with you that
race didn't exist if only for a few hours ... that people were simply helping
one another and that life was the only thing that was precious or mattered?"

We also know that this isn't an American, but rather a world crisis, as
evidenced by the worldwide outpouring of sympathy and support. In
contemplating this, we've become poignantly aware that there isn't a
universally accepted symbol that speaks to all of us as one humanity, that
celebrates the sacredness of all life, especially in times of crises. For
many here, the U.S. flag serves as that symbol. For some, it stirs pride and
a yearning for justice, while for others, it symbolizes superiority and war.
(A minority have used patriotism as a license to harass and carry out
violence, primarily against Arabs/Moslems, immigrants and other people of
color.) Not unexpectedly, for many worldwide, the U.S. flag conjures up
Yankee intervention.

Conscious of this, perhaps the time has now arrived to find that universal
symbol. Perhaps it already exists: A dove? A candle? A wreath?

Such thoughts may seem to be of the lowest priority. Yet looking for such a
symbol might actually lead us to ask whether we want to live in a safe and
just country and be good Americans? Or live in a safe and just world and be
good human beings? We think we know the answer. We hope that such a symbol
emerges from the ashes, which won't wash away anytime soon.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

* We appreciate all the mail we've received regarding this crisis. There
should not be an expectation of unanimity in how people react, except that we
should all honor those who needlessly lost their lives. Please continue to
send responses as we will continue to follow up on this. For those who have
asked how to help or info about the missing hundreds of Mexican workers in
New York, go to: Asociación Tepeyac at: http://www.tepeyac.org

** We suggest that however you feel about this, call or write your
representatives. The following two numbers will connect the caller with their
representative or senator.

United States Senate switchboard:
(202) 224-3121,
http://www.senate.gov

United States House of Representatives switchboard:
(202) 224-3121,
http://www.house.gov/


** * Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. If you like the
column, ask your local newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis.

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 14, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN

We often write about the sacredness of all life and what it means to be
human. Even though the precept that "all life is sacred" should be crystal
clear, we are often asked what we mean by this. The heroic rescue response to
the coordinated attacks in New York and Washington DC is an example of what
it means to be human during these difficult times.

We often invoke the thought that all life is sacred, particularly during
times of terror and loss of life. This precept is one of the few constants in
life that help us maintain our sanity in an insane world. It's also what
makes us human.

Holding such beliefs -- particularly in a time of crisis -- is to ask: What
can I do, how can I help? It is to be concerned primarily with life, not with
the religious affiliation, citizenship or racial background of the
perpetrators or the victims. It is selflessly giving of oneself as opposed to
attempting to score political points -- especially at a time when all the
facts aren't yet known.

Tragically, we've received a steady onslaught of press releases from a host
of organizations -- all expressing their condolences in one sentence, then
dedicating the rest of their missive to pushing their particular cause. Most
of the authors are seemingly unaware that their messages border on the
obscene, particularly at a time when most of the many thousands of bodies
have not been recovered or identified.

These messages have come from all sides of the political spectrum. For
example, within hours, an anti-immigrant group was already whipping up
anti-foreigner sentiment. At the other end of the political spectrum, a
rabidly anti-semitic group (not Palestinian) was gloating over the events of
Sept. 11, dancing on the ashes of those who had nothing to do with the Middle
East conflict.

In our view, acting as true human beings means not exploiting this situation
for political gain. Most disgraceful has been having to listen to pols use
this tragedy as a way to push for their favorite military and law enforcement
projects and to simultaneously also call for the restriction of individual
rights.

Obviously, this wasn't a natural disaster. Addressing the nation, President
Bush said, "Freedom and democracy are under attack." Agreed. As such, it will
be the duty of everyone to defend every single one of our rights and
liberties. To be cowed into surrendering our rights and liberties will have
been a victory for terrorism.

Those who appear to be more interested in the political ramifications at this
time are seemingly oblivious to the human toll and the damage to the nation's
psyche. It is estimated that thousands have lost their lives.

Personally, we have still not been able to make contact with most of our
friends in New York. Within this context, like others, we can think of little
other than their safety. The afternoon of the tragedy, our neighbors came
over to hug us, and while we visited, we heard the singing of the birds.
Crickets also filled the night air with unusually high-pitched commentary.

As we try to make sense of this tragedy, we remember the words we heard at a
recent conference in New Mexico on historical trauma where leading experts,
traditional teachers and native elders spoke of how violence begets violence
and how the world confuses revenge for justice, thereby -- as the Pope and
the Dalai Lama have reinforced -- ensuring a never-ending spiral of mindless
violence.

We do understand the right and need to respond, particularly to prevent
further loss of civilian life. That, one might say, is the job of those in
uniform, subject to civilian approval. We worry more about those who are
infuriated to the point of irrationality -- of those who are calling for
wholesale bombing of other nations and who have already begun targeting Arabs
and Muslims in this country ... and polls that reinforce this behavior.

As the medical doctors and researchers noted at the conference, trauma
imprints our brain to the extent that we can't always act with the virtues
that make us evolved human beings. Traumatized people experience the world
from a place of trauma and hurt. They often don't notice the songbirds or see
what there is to be thankful for. That we could hear those songs from our
little relatives gave us hope amid the destruction.

Like most, we wait to hear the voices of our friends and send out prayers of
guidance to those who are asking, "What can I do?" and How can I help?"

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
* Anyone wishing to share a human story about this tragedy, please feel free
to send it along.

Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes
of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN:
0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley.
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. If you like the
column, ask your local newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis.

* Like most everyone at this time, we've had to do a lot of soul searching.
This week, we follow up on the subject of moral clarity due to the fact that
others (including some readers) have spoken of the subject, yet drawn the
opposite conclusions. The events of Sept 11th are so findamental that the
nation will be grasping for meaning for a long time to come. We will do our
best to participate in this discussion and pass on critical info at the end
of the columns.

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 28, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
THE GLOBAL VILLAGE HAS ARRIVED

Moral clarity is something we thought needed no explanation. Yet apparently
it does, as some seem to be confusing political resoluteness with moral
clarity. Perhaps people need to spell out their moral positions, because
moral values may be clear, but they can also be repugnant, contradictory and
subjective.

Like everyone else, we've been struggling to make sense of Sept. 11. We
believe all life to be sacred. This precept allows us to be clear about what
happened: Nothing in the history of humanity justifies using innocent
civilians to intentionally kill thousands of other innocent civilians.
Outside of political or religious fundamentalist extremists, most people seem
to agree with this. Where people seem to differ is in how to respond -- how
to exact justice in a consistent manner.

Clearly, the Sept. 11 attacks were unprecedented; thus, the response will
also be unprecedented. An argument can be made that war isn't the best route
to peace and security -- particularly in this case, because we aren't facing
a conventional enemy. Yet that's precisely where we're heading.

The biggest problem regarding a U.S. response is the seeming lack of clarity
on virtually all fronts. The right to self-defense and self-preservation we
recognize as inviolate, particularly in preventing the further loss of life.
Yet the question is whether war against nations (for instance, Afghanistan
and its infrastructure) is the best course. Military action against clearly
defined targets and objectives is not the same as war, yet the president has
already committed us to an open-ended, secretive, worldwide war. As a result,
there's also a public expectation of great pyrotechnics live on CNN.

At the moment, the president's objective spells quagmire, with little
likelihood of success and no recipe for worldwide peace. The last thing we
need is for the war on terrorism to even remotely resemble the failed war on
drugs.

If all options have been exhausted and military action is indeed required,
then, to succeed, we need minimally to know who our enemy is and what our
objective is. If that can't be clearly enunciated, the 85 percent approval
the president enjoys will eventually deteriorate into fervent opposition.

At the moment, the president wants to punish the perpetrators, but also to
undertake something much broader, though he apparently has not called for a
total war on terrorism. Therein lies the moral dilemma. He seemingly wants
the whole world to go after terrorists that threaten U.S. interests, but not
all terrorists. The failure to go after (or at least denounce) all terrorists
sends a morally ambiguous message. As framed, we're in a lose/lose situation.

If the goal is to punish the perpetrators (assuming it's bin Laden and
company), that's a difficult task, but at least it has parameters. The
attempt to make it broader -- under the rubric of war -- but limiting it to
Arab/Muslim groups makes it appear that indeed it's a holy crusade against
Arabs/Muslims and not a war against all terrorists. (This, incidentally,
lends comfort to those who've been harassing Arabs/Muslims in the United
States.)

A campaign would be a better strategy. Truthfully, the likely reason the
president and Congress haven't formally declared war against all terrorists
and their supporters is that it would require first defining terrorism and
naming the terrorists. If agreement on this were possible, such a list would
necessarily include nations that practice state terror, which would limit the
nations that could be allies in such a war.

The current focus invites other nations -- the way Russia has already done --
to draw up their own list of terror groups (some of whom may actually be
fighting for their own freedom and liberation) for us to war against --
unfettered by any human rights constraints. There are no words in the
dictionary for the bloodbath that would ensue, except World War III.

Despite what we've written, we still have detractors who claim we're being
ambiguous. Quite the contrary. Our moral center allows us and those with
similar views to unequivocally denounce all individuals, groups and nations
that kill innocent civilians for any reason whatsoever -- in or out of a
state of war. What has puzzled us about this is, is that while we can make
this statement -- our detractors can't. Of course, they say it is because we
concern ourselves not simply with the security of the nation, but the
security and safety of the whole world and the health of the entire planet.
And in this war, we're also accused of not willing to cede our rights and
liberties. To this we plead guilty.

If the heroic worldwide response to Sept. 11 has taught us anything, it is
that we no longer live in -- nor should we act as though we live in -- an
isolated and closed village.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

* Regarding how to help or info about the missing hundreds of Mexican workers
in New York, go to: Asociación Tepeyac at: http://www.tepeyac.org

* For further information in the Unidos For America Campaign (national
multifaceted campaign in response to the Sept 11 events) contact Jose Arvelo
of the National Puerto Rican Coalition at 202-223-3915 or
jarvelo@nprcinc.org


* PUERTO RICAN LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATION FUND (PRLDEF) A N T I - B I A S
H O T L I N E 1 - 8 0 0 - 3 2 8 - 2 3 2 2

* A plea for help for the NY Janitors union - Local 32BJ of SEIU -- many of
whom have lost their jobs as a result, make a contribution of whatever size
you feel you're able, to the janitor's union relief fund. Here's how:

Checks can be made payable to the SEIU September 11th Relief Fund.
Send to: September 11th Relief Fund, 101 Avenue of the Americas, NY, NY
10013. For more info, contact the National Lawyers Guild - NYU Chapter:
lawyers-guild@forums.nyu.edu


** We suggest that however you feel about this, call or write your
representatives. The following two numbers will connect the caller with their
representative or senator.

United States Senate switchboard:
(202) 224-3121,
http://www.senate.gov

United States House of Representatives switchboard:
(202) 224-3121,
http://www.house.gov/


** * Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. If you like the
column, ask your local newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis.

Been enjoying the thread and figured it was time to say something I've been feeling for a while: Thanks for presenting the Chicano viewpoint via Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez's articles to Sciforums.

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF OCTOBER 5, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS: A NATIONAL DAY OF MOURNING
In her Apache and Mexican indigenous ways, Grandma Emma, a storyteller,
speaks of the spirits of the dead, especially those who jumped to their death
rather than die in flames inside the twin towers. "I have a strong feeling
the spirits of the ancestors took their souls before they landed. It was a
body that landed. By then, their spirits were already at peace because our
ancestors, their ancestors, were there to take them to a good place.

"To native people there's no death. We recycle ourselves. We're put in the
ground to nourish Mother Earth."

In this time of mourning and in the spirit of our ancestral ways, we think it
appropriate to share a living tradition that seemingly is from afar, yet
comes from people indigenous to this very continent.

On Nov. 2, people of Mexican ancestry, of indigenous ancestry from the south,
will celebrate "El Dia de los Muertos" (Day of the Dead). Many will celebrate
right here in the nation's largest cities, including what transplanted
Mexicans call "Manhatitlan." New York will host several celebrations and
processions, including one hosted by the American Indian Community House
(Museo del Barrio will host another one). "People of all cultures are
invited, particularly this year," says Hortencia Colorado, of the AIC House.
There are already many makeshift sidewalk altars in New York, especially in
front of fire stations, she notes.

This tradition -- particularly in its ceremonial form -- predates the arrival
of Europeans. Many people don't understand the skeletons or skulls, thinking
that they're mocking. Yet Day of the Dead is precisely when life is
celebrated and affirmed. The cycle of life and death is as natural as the
seasons changing from winter to spring. It doesn't eliminate the grieving,
but it places the deceased in a sacred space -- with us, near us, for at
least 24 hours.

With Sept. 11 in mind, perhaps we can transform Dia de los Muertos into a
national day of mourning. (There's still time.) It can be a day when all
peoples create their own altars or sacred spaces of remembrance to honor
those who lost their lives, particularly those whose bodies turned to dust,
and especially to enable the whole country to heal.

Many commentators have observed that this generation of Americans doesn't
know how to mourn because it's been insulated from massive death and
destruction. Some will mourn forever, others a few years or a few months. Dia
de los Muertos is a traditional way to honor the spirits of our loved ones
always.

For us, the dead never really die. Their spirit, their life force, lives on.
Grandma Emma: "My mother always said no one ever dies unless we forget them."

On Nov. 2, let us put up our altars, light our candles in their names, offer
flowers to represent their lives, their beauty, put out their favorite foods,
water, photographs and personal effects. Pray to God, the Creator, Great
Spirit, the universe, life itself, call out their names, and remember and
release them with love ... "and we mustn't forget to lay a path of marigold
flowers," says Grandma Emma.

She adds that children should lead the celebrations. They may not have money
to donate, but they can offer their spirit.

Whether these altars are big or small; a single candle on a doily or an
entire park; in our homes, libraries, storefronts, community centers, city
halls or state legislatures -- their beauty is that anyone can build one.
Appropriately, this year altars should go up at fire stations, and perhaps
the parades can be led by fire trucks -- in honor of those who lost their
lives trying to save the lives of thousands.

Dia de los Muertos altars are not simply for people. They can also honor an
idea, such as justice and peace.

We will dedicate ours not just to those who lost their lives Sept. 11, but to
all who have lost their lives in the Middle East this past year. The killing
of a Jewish mother and her children pains us as much as when we witness the
daily killing of young Palestinian children. That has to end.

If we celebrate this tradition nationally, perhaps the thousands of altars
will also remind us of the worldwide conflagration that looms on the horizon.
Perhaps it will spur us to heed the words of the world's peacemakers, who are
daily praying that wisdom guide all of us, particularly our political
leaders, that the perpetrators be caught, and that the world's leaders settle
all their conflicts once and for all so that we won't soon be putting up more
altars to more innocent bystanders.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

* If you need information on participating in a Dia de los Muertos event or
info regarding the setting up of an altar, write us or simply contact a local
arts/cultural organization and they should be able to direct you. If you
would like to inform us regarding what you are doing, again, feel free to
contact us.

** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. If you like the
column, ask your local newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis.

FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF OCTOBER 12, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
THE ENDING TIME

Sept 5. The Hopi Nation -- An elder here shows us Mexica and Mayan codices.
He speaks of the Hopi worldview, prophesies and cryptically warns us of
impending "martial law." He speaks of calamities and an upcoming third world
war. The roots of the Earth will dry up, and then will come "purification
time." Only those who know how to live off the land will survive.

Sept. 6. We head over to the Pueblo of Santa Ana in New Mexico to attend a
weeklong national conference on historical trauma, sponsored by the Takini
indigenous network. It draws peoples from all races and cultures. Some speak
of the genocide and slavery of millions, both in the Americas and Africa,
land theft, colonization, mass rape, forced removals and forced conversions
and separations, the Jewish Holocaust and the WWII Japanese internment. Some
also speak to the hundreds of migrants that die yearly near the U.S./Mexico
border.

No one has come to point fingers. Instead, everyone's seeking ways to
transcend these traumas that often prevent us from thinking clearly and
acting in a good way.

An elder, Leon Secatero, speaks of "the ending time." Our actions against the
Earth, our actions as we walk upon this earth, are creating devastating
consequences, he says. "We have 25 years to turn it around." The Dine elder
speaks of dreams that Earth has been shaking. He tells us not to be afraid,
nor allow fear to make us give up. Pray, have faith that we can change our
ways, he tells us.

He will gather with other elders in Canada in 2002 to pray for peace and the
Earth's healing. "We have the opportunity to bring total peace into our
midst." If we respect one another and honor Mother Earth, then indigenous
peoples can help lead the way to the "beginning time." Otherwise, "there's no
return. Start making arrangements to go back into the Earth."

Sept. 11. The nation wakes up to a dreamlike state of terror.

Amid chaos, the president declares an open-ended (third?) worldwide war with
undefined enemies. He's now found his purpose. He announces the creation of
the "Office of Homeland Security." The name causes our minds to drift back to
Hopiland where the elder keeps warning us of "martial law."

Its creation and name also seem redundant. Don't we already pour trillions of
dollars into "national defense"? Perhaps it points to the historical
mispriorities of the Armed Services and the intelligence community. To
achieve security, we're told, we'll have to cooperate with human rights
butchers. Our security will be dependant upon someone else's terror and
insecurity.

With the nation shell-shocked, Attorney General John Ashcroft gives notice to
Congress that he wants new extraordinary surveillance, arrest and detention
powers by week's end. Congress balks. Even without these new powers, 600
suspects are rounded up and held as "material witnesses." (Most are still
detained, yet are not linked to Sept. 11). Hundreds of Arabs, Muslims and
Southeast Asians are also targeted by vigilantes.

We're warned that we must be prepared to give up our rights and freedoms.
This makes no sense. If we willingly surrender them, what then will we be
defending?

Presidential spokesman Ari Fleischer tells Americans that they "need to watch
what they say" and Ashcroft again makes new demands. Many call for the
closing of borders, which brings to mind that all these years the
government's been patrolling the wrong border -- going after people who
simply want to work, while granting unfettered access to those whom would
harm this naiton.

Oct 5. A Florida man dies of anthrax. More than a thousand people are also
tested for the deadly bacteria.

October 7. The bombing begins in Afghanistan. Mourning time is over, and
"unintended damage" has now become part of our lexicon. The United States
goes after the Taliban and declares that Osama bin Laden is not the sole
target while notifying the United Nations that the campaign may spill over
into other nations.

Ominously, bin Laden warns that Americans will never again feel safe.
Meanwhile, fighter jets and the National Guard patrol airports and stadiums,
and the entire nation is in a heightened state of alert.

Oct 8. Tom Ridge is sworn in as the head of Homeland Security. Feelings of
fear, revenge, anxiety, justice and pride blur as our ability to trust our
neighbors has been shattered. Our untouchable refuge is no more.

Oct 10. Noting that we have "found our calling," the president releases a
list of the world's most wanted terrorists. All appear to be Arab/Muslims.
(TV program to follow.) Government officials encourage the media to
self-censor itself.

In acknowledging the extreme state of trauma we're all living in, Nadine
Tafoya, L.I.S.W, an organizer for the national trauma conference, advises all
of us in our relations with each other to step back, hear what others are
saying and respond "from the heart not the head."

Another elder's advice: Be respectful, but don't lose your voice.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE


** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. If you like the
column, ask your local newspaper to carry it and run it on a weekly basis.

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF OCTOBER 19, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
HEAR MY SONG

NOTE: This week's column is a 1st person piece by Roberto Rodriguez.

As I was listening to the reactions to Sept 11 of some world-renowned poets
and storytellers at the annual Guadalupe book fair in San Antonio, I was
inspired to ask myself: What's the most human response I can offer?

Fight against injustice? Donate that which is most precious -- blood -- the
sustenance of life? Never forget those who are suffering? Relearn to trust my
neighbors? Speak the truth?

I wondered about the most human thing I've ever done. Twenty years ago, I
gave some friends from Guatemala who had been tortured, a story I had
written, "The Song of the Quetzal," that their people would one day be free.
Maybe there's something else. Three years ago, having regained my singing
voice after 29 years, I began to sing Agustin Lara boleros for elders at
rest homes and senior centers.

An elder once told me that all song is prayer. Is that what's needed now?
Prayer? Maybe, yet in reality, the most human thing any of us can do at this
time is honestly share our most innermost thoughts.

At once, I feel fortunate to have witnessed in my lifetime what I thought I'd
never see: people of all races, cultures and religions giving selflessly of
themselves in a country where individualism is venerated. Yet, at the same
time, I've also been repulsed by those who harass people who look Arab, who
equate freedom of speech with anti-Americanism, and I also feel sad for those
who appear not to have human hearts.
Perhaps the best result of all this is a complete repudiation of the many
faces of extremism and fanaticism.

At the book fair, poet Naomi Nye noted that she'd been disappointed that as
human beings our answer to problems is still violence.

How did we let it get this far?

Truthfully, in the eyes of the apparent perpetrators, the acts of Sept. 11
were in response to a dehumanized situation. For many peoples in the Middle
East, U.S. troops on Holy Land are propping up corrupt and tyrannical
regimes, and the daily killing of Palestinians is both sacrilegious and
intolerable.

Nevertheless, in the history of struggles for freedom and liberation,
civilians have always been off-limits, precisely because it is tyrannical
regimes that hold little regard for human life.

That's what traditionally has separated those who view human beings as
politically expendable from those who hold all life to be sacred. In this
case, the apparent perpetrators -- self-styled avengers for the downtrodden
against infidels -- could not distinguish between janitors/restaurant workers
and global capitalists, nor did they care to. Perhaps they and others with
similar causes are no longer interested in distinguishing themselves from
perceived tyrants.

The bombing of Afghanistan has proved one thing: There can not be a fair
fight. "Slingshots" don't count as anti-aircraft artillery. Military
imbalance is why insurgents resort to unconventional warfare yet that doesn't
explain the breakdown of the warrior ethos that spares noncombatants. Perhaps
we've arrived at a point where technology and warped theologies have rendered
that ethos obsolete.

That breakdown, along with the knowledge that this country is no longer
insulated and that cruise missiles don't protect us from suicidal bombers or
anthrax, is causing extreme anxiety in the United States. I have close
friends from Central America who note that that breakdown took place a long
time ago in their societies. That's why they're here.

Native peoples also make the same argument. This from a friend, Lorena
Montoya who comments about the reality she lives: "And how about the many
'disappeared,' how many women raped, mutilated, children forced to witness
the torture of their father or mother, children left orphaned? These are the
very images that I, my loved ones and many others that I know endured for
years during the war in El Salvador."

It's precious human beings like Lorena -- that have survived these barbaric
forms of dehumanization -- who will be able to guide this country to a new
ethos. Fundamental to it is holding all life to be sacred and rejecting
extremism of any sort at home or abroad, but particularly the kind that
exploits hatreds and prejudices. Such extremism is obsessed with "purity,"
believing that its adherents alone hold the truth and that all others are
infidels.

Yet such a rejection is not enough. We need to personalize it even further.
As novelist Sandra Cisneros noted: "Forgive someone ... and become peace
itself."

I would add this: Open up for yourself and for others not just your heart,
but your arts -- sing, paint, write, dance or play an instrument. Your voice
is your heart. Don't ever let it be taken from you. And as a friend reminded
me, always "Remember to see the beauty within yourself and the beauty that
surrounds you."


COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE


Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). He is
co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 --
Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley. Gonzales is the author
of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes of Mexico" and We can
be reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. IF YOU LIKE THE
COLUMN, PLEASE CALL/WRITE YOUR LOCAL EDITOR AND HAVE THEM CARRY IT ON A
WEEKLY BASIS.

Column of the Americas
Universal Press Syndicate
Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
October 26, 2001

HOMICIDE, SUICIDE OR GENOCIDE?

"Why" do they hate America? To some, that may seem like the primary question
of the day, yet as in any crime against humanity, "Who" is culpable for Sept.
11 still matters. However, there's another question that's even more
important to answer: "What" kind of society could produce individuals who
would willingly take their own lives and the lives of thousands of civilians?

We've often asked this question of young gang members: When they pick up a
gun with the intent to kill, are they engaging in homicidal or suicidal
behavior? Perhaps both, yet some theorize that this form of violence actually
could be the cumulative effect of hundreds of years of genocidal behavior.

If a people and their culture are humiliated, are exploited for their labor,
and are viewed and treated as less than human by all of society's
institutions -- are they apt to value life less? The answer seems obvious,
but the root question is, Why are they being devalued and why do we tolerate
their dehumanization? Answering these questions can guide us toward creating
a society where all life is regarded as sacred. As with the perpetrators of
acts of terror, these issues do not absolve anyone of individual
responsibility, yet they allow us to see why things happen.

In a similar vein, as a society we haven't addressed the "what" question.

We also haven't answered, What is terrorism? When the U.S. government was
financing the wars in Central America and Africa in the 1980s, why did Oliver
North use the adage "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter?"
Despite North's relativism, the killing of tens of thousands of civilians and
the displacement of millions is wrong, no matter who perpetrates it.

So when is the use of force not terrorism? Most might agree that in a
struggle against tyranny and oppression, force is permissible as long as it
doesn't target civilians. A mission whose specific goal is to capture those
who murder thousands of civilians -- that too would be permissible.

Yet who defines terrorism, tyranny and oppression? The United Nations? The
world's major religions? If indeed Osama is the intellectual and financial
author behind Sept. 11, what level of force is acceptable in his pursuit?
Whatever's necessary -- even if it means the complete destruction of another
nation's infrastructure? The U.S. government has justified the bombing of
Afghanistan by implicating the Taliban, never mind the deaths of innocent
civilians and the resulting millions of terrorized, uprooted and starving
refugees. It brings to mind the words a California high school student, Rocio
Loya, sent us: "I just hate that collateral damage thing."

If Osama's network has dispersed throughout the region, will Iraq, Syria,
Iran, Lebanon or Pakistan be targeted next and will similar force be used?
This possibility is broached by Shirley Hill de Witt, a former diplomat who
served on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights: "I hope I am reading others
correctly when I detect a growing alienation toward the concept of war
against ... whom?"

Part of the problem with this open-ended war is that it has been justified
behind closed doors and is being prosecuted in secrecy. If people are being
warred against on our behalf, then a full and open debate should take place
in Congress where the evidence is presented, the enemy precisely identified,
and the objectives and parameters clearly enunciated. In this era when entire
societies can be decimated in weeks, the least we should know is, Why? One
lesson we're learning is that there appears to be no relationship between the
U.S. bombings in Afghanistan and the escalating terrorism and fear gripping
the United States.

Regarding the "what" question. In times of peace, prosperity and
independence, no rational people would ever think of killing themselves and
thousands of civilians. In times of war, oppression and dehumanization,
normalcy goes out the door. In effect, the self-styled avengers put forth an
inhuman response to an intolerable situation (U.S. troops on Muslim holy land
and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict) to further their cause.

Lacking shields that could protect all of us from suicidal killers with
nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, for our survival it's incumbent
upon us to act preventively and with wisdom. As a community of nations, we
need to learn to communicate with our adversaries, and to create a society
that humanizes entire peoples and that respects the institutions that have
been put in place to resolve our problems nonviolently.

We should all be reassured that there are few things more sacred in a free
and democratic society than the right to ask questions of our own government.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

* Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes
of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN:
0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley.
Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com If you would like to
receive it electronically direct from us, send us a note. IF YOU LIKE THE
COLUMN, ASK YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER TO CARRY IT AND RUN IT ON A WEEKLY BASIS.

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF NOVEMBER 2, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
WE SEE GODZILLA, THEY SEE KING KONG

Terrorism. Trauma. Fear. Anger. Revenge. Hate. Evil. Anthrax. Homeland
security. Censorship. War. These words have dominated the news lately.
Ironically, these are the antitheses of the words heard immediately after
Sept. 11: courage, heroism, unity, kindness, neighborliness, selflessness and
love.

Why do we seem less secure and less confident today now that we're bombing
Afghanistan to dust? We recently asked trauma expert Bessel Van de Kolk of
Boston University what he thought about the trauma that the nation has been
experiencing. "The nation is not experiencing trauma," he responded. "Tens of
thousands of people have been traumatized. The rest of us are simply acting
as though we've been traumatized.

"Those who fled for their lives, who were injured or who lost loved ones, the
firemen and the rescue workers. ... Those are the ones who've been
traumatized. I'm very fearful that if not treated, they're in danger of
developing horrendous Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." He warned that if they
aren't treated, they're at a high risk of traumatizing (through neglect and
abuse) loved ones in the future. They're also at risk of becoming alcoholics.

Tens of thousands were clinically traumatized on Sept. 11, not tens of
millions. So then what are we feeling or experiencing? Frayed nerves? Fear?
He believes we're suffering from an addiction to victimization -- fueled by a
sensationalist media that is feeding a public "that's hooked on trauma and
that doesn't want to have no news."

"The chances of getting hurt by people we love are much greater than by some
terrorist. Every two minutes women are beaten by their husbands; every few
minutes a child is molested." The chances of most Americans being hurt by
terrorist action are minuscule in comparison. "I'm much more concerned about
drunk drivers."

Perhaps what's afflicting America is not clinical, but cultural and political
trauma. Perhaps in Osama bin Laden, we're seeing Godzilla, whereas his
supporters are seeing King Kong. As a result, many have turned to sc
apegoating, going so far as calling for massive deportations of all aliens.
"We all have the capacity for terrorism in our souls," notes Van de Kolk.
"Those who've been harassing Arabs/Muslims are terrorists who've been
inspired by terrorists."

As the president has noted, we're in a different kind of war. Since the Civil
War, no U.S. war has been fought on U.S. soil. And since Vietnam, we've
fought proxy wars or have bombed other nations long-distance, which has
insulated us from death and destruction. That's now changed as this nation's
enemies have struck back with unconventional weapons. The result is extreme
fear, perhaps the most powerful emotion known to humankind.

The fear and anxiety gripping the nation are unfolding as our elected and
appointed leaders appear to be cowering, confused at best, having abandoned
their offices. Their most courageous act has been to encourage us to ...
shop? We have the most powerful weapons in the history of humanity -- having
spent trillions of dollars for national defense -- yet we don't feel secure.
Why? Because they weren't designed to defend us at home. Neither can they
stop fear. So, we ask, who is winning this war? A better question is what war
are we engaged in?

A war to ensure U.S. security, against terrorism, to overthrow the Taliban
and install freedom-fighters in Afghanistan? A war to protect our freedoms?
(Then why did Congress just roll over and pass the USA Patriotic Act that
curtails our basic privacy rights and chills our freedom of speech?) The war
we really need to wage is the one against fear, a fear so great that many
people would readily sacrifice the Constitution.

Whatever we're feeling, terrorism is something that the people of the Middle
East, Third World countries and, to a lesser extent, Europe have been living
with for generations, yet they've not eradicated it. In that sense, Americans
are now indeed culturally traumatized, afraid to travel, open their mail,
shop at malls and leave their homes. We are close to being paralyzed by fear.
Interestingly, many people of color who've lived with racial intimidation and
violence and fear of law enforcement -- including dragnet immigration raids
-- already know this experience.

As Van de Kolk suggests, what we're in dire need of at this time, is strong
leadership that takes us out of this gripping fear, while reassuring us that
our rights and freedoms remain sacrosanct during these most difficult times.

Where's Godzilla' nemesis, Gamera, now that we need him?


COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE


** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com IF YOU LIKE OUR
COLUMN, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL EDITOR AND UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE AND
HAVE THEM CARRY IT AND RUN IT ON A WEEKLY BASIS.

Nov. Column of the Americas Update

* COLUMN SUBSCRIPTION UPDATE
* Support for Cecilio Xilo Camarillo
* Universidad Nahuatl
* Help for New York Workers
* Cihuatlatokan Xicanas de Aztlan
* Electronic Publication of THE X IN LA RAZA & CODEX TAMUANCHAN: ON BECOMING
HUMAN by Roberto Rodriguez
* Emergency Grants for Women activists
* DOUG KENENTIO COLUMN
* Aztlanahuac Update

*** UPDATING OUR FILES:
Because our mailing list is several years old, we are updating it. If you
would like to continue receiving Column of the Americas, please reply and let
us know. (You only need to reply and receive confirmation once) After Nov.
16, only those who have replied will continue to receive our weekly column.
This is necessary to ensure that no one who doesn't want it is receiving it.
Also, if you change addresses, please notify us so we can continue to have
updated files. If you do not wish to continue receiving the column, no need
to reply. IF YOU STOP RECEIVING IT BY MISTAKE AFTER NOV 16, PLEASE LET US
KNOW. ALSO, FEEL FREE TO FORWARD OUR COLUMN. WE SEND OUT OUR "COLUMN OF THE
AMERICAS" WITH HOPES THAT IF YOU LIKE IT, TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTACT YOUR
LOCAL EDITOR TO CARRY AND RUN IT ON A WEEKLY BASIS. (Newspapers should
contact Universal Press Syndicate at 1-800-255-6734) . Thank you. Roberto &
Patrisia.


Support Still Needed for Cecilio Xilo Camarillo

Dear readers of Column of the Americas & Supporters of The Aztlanahauc
Project:

This message was sent to us from a good friend of ours who is raising some
money for a special friend, internationally reknowned poet, Cecilio "Xilo"
Garcia Camarillo. Please assist if possible. Cecilio -- who is courageously
battling cancer -- has been a literary force since the days of Floricanto of
the 1970s... and for us, he has been the editor of the poetry section of our
forthcoming books on the Aztlanahuac Project.

Please offer what you can to this soldado of flower and song.

Sinceramente

Roberto Rodriguez & Patrisia Gonzales
Column of the Americas & The Aztlanahuac Project
210-734-3050

Here's how you can help…

His treatment is cost-prohibitive, so please:

Send your contribution to:
the Cecilio Garcia Camarillo Cancer Fund
Account # 0021544317.
P.O. Box 81883
Albuquerque, NM 87198-1883

Additionally, please support, participate or attend the following activities…

A Radio Tribute is being organized for him on:
Nov. 12, 2001 NEXT MONDAY, Nov 12 at 8:00 PM NM time. For those outside of
the listeing area, you cn catch it on the web at KUNM.org

The Homenaje (tribute-fundraiser) for Cecilio is Nov. 17, 2001 at the
Continuing Education at UNM 7:00 pm to 10:00 there will be music, dance,
poetry (of course), a silent art auction and a raffle (including some of
Cecilio's artwork).

* The treatment in Juarez is substantially more than what was originally
expected, thus the need to continue to raise money.

Send Prayers too!!!!!!!!! And if there's any other way you can contribute or
if you have questions, please please feel free to contact Roberta Rael at
(505) 268-1898 or by e-mail roberta_rael@hotmail.com

UNIVERSIAD NAHUATL

Dear Friends, here is a list of our 2002 courses. Hope you can come!

Martha Ramirez
Universidad Nahuatl
Ocotepec, Morelos

2002
February 22-23 visit to Ixcateopan, on Kuauhtemok's birthday danza
celebration. $250.

March, Spring Break. One week. Indigenous-Chicano Mural Course. Martha
Ramirez, Judith Baca.$500

Indigenous Music Course. Michael Heralda, Martin Espino. Nahuatl University.
$500.

June 20- July 28. Spanish and Nahuatl language for chicanos the whole
month. Conversation with small groups and individual attention. $1200.

June 20-27 First Intensive Nahuatl Culture Course. Music, Philosophy,
Mural painting, Painting on codices, Mask making, Theatre in the myths,
others. Visit to Xochicalco on solstice.$500

July 21-28. Second Intensive Nahuatl Culture Course. Medicine, Calendar
Systems, Critical History, Kalpulli Political Org, and others. Visit to
Xochicalco on zenith.$500

The week cost of $500 includes course, meals and housing. The month cost is
1200 dollars, which includes one intensive week course and three weeks of 5
hours of language, housing and meals only during the intensive week, but use
of kitchen during the rest of the month.

For those interested, please contact Martha Ramirez ASAP,
e-mail: mascaronun@terra.com.mx
Tel. 01152 (73) 82 13 80.

HELP FOR NEW YORK WORKERS

The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees
International Union is urgently soliciting
contributions for their relief fund for the victims
of the New York disaster. HERE Local 100 is
desperately raising money for the families of the at
least 48 members of the union who were victims, and
for workers among the 800 who escaped, and the
surviving 220 members from Windows on the World who
were not at work that day, whose jobs no longer
exist. The fund is being structured as a tax-exempt
fund under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue
Code. The name and address of the fund is: HERE New
York Assistance Fund, c/o HERE LOCAL 100, 321 W. 44
St. 5th fl, New York , New York 10036. For more
information please call (212) 541-4226 ext. 242.

* Also, the Asociacion Tepeyac De New York is working to assist those who
lost loved ones on Sept 11, particularly Mexican workers, many of whom are
not showing up in statistics. Their website is :
http://www.tepeyac.org/pfev.htm

Cihuatlatokan Xicanas de Aztlan

Invites you to create a national Xicana Indigena Network and Assembly to
further our work as Xicana Indigena women in Aztlan. A national meeting will
be held to create a coordinating committee to facilitate the planning and
organizing of the next national gathering of Xicanas Indigenas. The next
national gathering will be held in Spring 2002.

If you are interested, contact:

Tel. (714) 758-1990

All Women from Tribal Nations are Welcome!!

Rosalia Gonzalez: Xicanista@aol.com
Lupe Lopez: Lopez@1212@aol.com


Press Release Nov 4, 2001

AztecaNet is proud to announce the electronic publication of:

THE X IN LA RAZA &
CODEX TAMUANCHAN: ON BECOMING HUMAN
By Roberto Rodriguez

In one sense, The X in La Raza (an anti-book) and Codex Tamuanchan: On
Becomimg Human are about a personal journey the author has taken to
rehumanize himself -- after almost being killed by ELA Sheriff's deputies in
1979. But beyond that journey, it's an effort to understand the dehumanized
society we live in.

About The X in La Raza:

"The X in La Raza is about identity. But it is not a discussion in the same
vein as was customary in the 1960s and 1970s. One of the primary focuses of
this work is examining how government, corporate America and the media have,
in effect, conspired to impose upon us an identity. Yet, this is not about
what we should call ourselves, or even about who we are. It is about coming
to the realization that who we are is essentially our spirits... and our
spirits have no names."

"The X wins over H every time"
Dorinda Moreno


About Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human

"Codex Tamuanchan is not intentionally a followup to the X in La Raza, though
one can interpret it as such. This book examines the issue of dehumanization,
positing that virtually all human beings -- to one degree or another -- have
been dehumanized by the violent and violating society we live in. This book
posits that historically, peoples who have been violated or brutalized (in
the United States) have not only had their identities thrashed, but even more
so, their humanity taken from them." But the author further argues "that the
brutalizers are just as dehumanized because they have come to believe that
their actions are normal. And many of them also pass on their beliefs to
their children."

"It sings and soars from all four directions"
Catherine Davids
Flint, Mich.

The electronic books are available at http://www.mexica.net/literat/roberto/

* Rodriguez co-writes the nationally syndicated Column of the Americas
through Universal Press Syndicate (www.uexpress.com) He is the author of:
"Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN 0-927534-69-X paper ISBN
0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). He is also the co-author of
"Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored" (ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic
Studies Library Publications Unit, UC Berkeley.

** The success of the publication of these books may mean the future
publication of similar electronic books by other authors.

*** Aztec Net is owned by Mario Araujo and can be reached at:
mario@azteca.net
Azteca Net is committed to promoting Raza writers and products. Please
contact AztecaNet for all your internet needs at:
http://www.azteca.net/aztec/index.shtml

Roberto Rodriguez can be reached at: PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201, or
by phone at 210-734-3050 or RR2001RR@aol.com

*** If you are interested in printed versions of the above books, please
reply to: RR2001RR@aol.com

Emergency grants, ThirdWave Foundation (12/1)

Emergency grants, ThirdWave Foundation (12/1)
DUE DATE: not specified
AMOUNT: not specified

PURPOSE: Third Wave is offering emergency grants to young women-led groups
who are organizing in response to the events following Sept. 11. We are
offering funding for individuals, organizations, and
coalitions not limited to but including those who are working within
the anti-war movement, promoting racial justice, and providing
support to the communities both directly and indirectly effected by the
attacks.

*Third Wave also offers scholarships to young women activists
pursuing advanced education. Due dates for these opportunities are Oct. 1
and April 1.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Contact third Wave if you are interested in this
emergency funding.

212.388.1898
info@thirdwavefoundation.org
www.thirdwavefoundation.org

New York to Iroquois: Casinos for Land
©by Doug George-Kanentiio

On October 24 the New York State Legislature passed a law which would have
pro gambling Iroquois pay heavy taxes in order to pay the state’s mounting
bills rising from the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center.

The law as endorsed by Governor George Pataki would create 6 new casinos
within the state to be equally divided between the Niagara-Buffalo region and
the Catskills Mountain resort area.

All six casinos would be "owned" by Native agencies but would be subject to
US federal laws, various State regulations and have to pay a 25% profit tax
to Albany.

The tax, thinly disguised as ‘revenue sharing’ would, according to Gov.
Pataki, be used to help the State recover from the heavy financial burdens
resulting from the World Trade Center disaster. Pataki is also seeking $54
billion in aid from the US federal government.

Some New York gambling proponents have estimated the State’s take from the
six casinos could amount to as much as a billion dollars a year.

The tax would be in direct conflict with a long standing policy of the
Haudenosaunee Confederacy which adamantly opposes New York regulations,
including the imposition of taxes, of any kind.

But since the proposed casino compacts would be made with those Native
agencies which are not members of the Confederacy the lure of gambling wealth
may well persuade those governments to agree to the State’s terms.

Those entities considering the State’s offer (and which are not
Haudenosaunee) include the Oneida Indian Nation of New York, the St. Regis
Mohawk Tribal Council, the Seneca Indian Nation (including Cattaraugus and
Allegheny) and the Stockbridge Munsees of Wisconsin.

While the first three are ethnic Iroquois the Stockbridge Munsee are of
Algonquin ancestry with a pending land claim for territory they claimed was
taken from them when they lived in central New York State.

The Haudenosaunee has long opposed casino gambling as an activity which
violates traditional law and will ultimately lead to the loss of Iroquois
sovereignty. Haudenosaunee leaders also maintain gambling will result in the
surrender of its aboriginal lands as territory is exchanged for casino
compacts.

US Senator Charles Schumer affirmed the Haudenosaunee suspicions October 25th
when he insisted all gambling compacts must be part of a land claims
settlement deal in which the Iroquois will be compelled to abandon their
claims to most of what is now New York State.

In August representatives of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council, an agency
created by New York State in 1892 to replace the traditional Mohawk Nation
Council of Chiefs, met in secret with New York State officials to offer a
land claims settlement deal favorable to the State if the governor would
agree to allow the Tribe to open a casino in the Catskills.

This offer is opposed by the Mohawk Nation Council (a member of the
Haudenosaunee) and the Canadian based Mohawk Council of Akwesasne which are
also parties to the pending land claim against New York.

Currently, there are two casinos in the State, one operated by the Oneida
Indian Nation and the other by the St. Regis Tribal Council. Both entities
have been dismissed by the Haudenosaunee as illegitimate colonial style
governments imposed upon the Iroquois by the US in an effort to undermine and
destroy the Confederacy.

The Seneca Indian Nation is also a separate agency having split with the
Confederacy in 1848 over land issues.

Governor Pataki was able to convince the state legislature that the casino
bill would bring jobs and an infusion of cash into two economically depressed
regions while also giving him the leverage to resolve the land claims issue
which would otherwise cost the State billions of dollars. The compacts, once
put into place, would in effect have the Iroquois pay for their own land
claims settlements.

By forging deals with the weakest political and legal links among the
Iroquois the governor will not only extricate the State from land claims
litigation but will also have secured firm imposition of New York
jurisdiction over Indian territory, a power long coveted by Albany.

Aztlanahuac Update

Since we began work on the Aztlanahuac origins/migrations project, we have
dedicated several years to research, travel, interviews and the compilation
of much work. It's a huge endeavor which has been done without any funds of
any kind. The only support has been from donatinos and from speaking
engagements that have allowed us to present our work and to conduct
interviews on different parts of the continent.

We will soon complete the process of putting two books together (it's a
monumental task). The books include research, interviews, photography,
poetry, essays, stories, songs, artwork, maps. In effect, it is flor y canto
in the best tradition as our objective is to bring forth the stories of our
peoples with the message that we all -- regardless of race, culture, creed --
belong here. And indeed, it's an awesome story that will not disappoint….
Particularly in these most difficult times.

(Separately, Carmona Productions and filmmaker Jesus Trevino have
independently put together a film project that is currently being edited and
scheduled for release in several months.)

Because it is a very long process and we continue to do the tedious work of
interviews/transcriptions and editing, the best way to help is to invite us
to present our research before your group.

Also, if anyone needs the 1847 Disturnell Map -- with the "Antigua Residencia
de los Antiguas" site in Utah, please send an $18 donation to:

Aztlanahuac
PO BOX 100726
San Antonio TX 78201

210-734-3050
Aztlanahuac@aol.com

Thanks

Sinceramente

Roberto Rodriguez & Patrisia Gonzales
-------------------------------
* Final reminder: If you have not requested for us to update your files to
continue receiving our weekly Column of the Americas, please do so now and
we will do so, effective Nov 16.

Im not near as well versed as you are on the Latino, or Chicono issues, but I will say this.

You wont find a harder working group anywhere!

The family units are close and warm.

I live around alot of them.

As far as business goes, they sure can make one go(Business) when given the chance!

I give them a A+.......

A lesson may be learned from them on hard work and effort!

Just an observation of mine!


Bjl:)

Originally posted by Bobby Lee
Re: A Complement........
Bjl:)

Thanks for your post, there are a few more columns from them, that I'll post after Thanksgiving.

I must admit have not read your post completely. Im going to try to though......thanks Rond....


bjl:)

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF NOVEMBER 9, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
A Tea for the World or un Te Para el Mundo

This week's column is by Patrisia Gonzales

I have to write about the fear and violence, but where do I begin? I'd rather
give you tea, "un te para el mundo," a medicinal tea for the world gathered
from swamp roots and mountains, from cracked earthen bowls of land, a tea of
flowers and fruit leaves that talk to us in the spirit language of the
plants.

I wish I had a magical tea that held all the spiritual truths to sip and
swallow and cleanse our innards, but all I have are words and simple remedies
that I learned from my elders.

There are teas for rage in the liver, teas for fear, or "susto." There are
teas for the kidneys where fear resides, teas to build the blood, but first
it must be cleansed. There are teas for grief and for where all struggles and
most ailments begin -- the gut. Lately, my mama went looking for holy water
for a spirit tea, but all the church doors were closed. Susto, fear, trauma.
Many grandmothers of the medicine ways say diabetes is caused by susto, and
breast cancer is susto in the heart. Gangs and youth apathy are the result of
susto, too. Those who live in fear and anger will live with more pain.
Recently, a medical doctor reported how stress hormones and trauma are
connected to diabetes and the ability of the pancreas to produce insulin.
Susto can take the sweetness of life.

How simple life would be if we could cure the living with a tea, if we had a
tea for the hate and rage that festers in the Middle East, or for any justice
steeped in revenge and violence that all cultures of intolerance breed?

A tea can heal emotions but, like other medicines, won't change the root
ailment if we don't treat the spiritual pains and illusions that bring
imbalance to the body. Spirit affects matter; matter affects spirit. Herbs
reinforce our body's natural ability to heal. Our bodies want to heal, but
our minds get in the way.

I've wondered if a country or a community has a liver or a kidney, the way
the Earth has rain forests as her lungs and swamps as kidneys. Can a country
have "bilis" -- a curandera's diagnosis for rage that afflicts the liver and
stomach and stagnates blood? Are the elders our heart and the children our
kidneys, carrying and filtering all our fears?

If I were minister of teas, I'd give "un te de ruda" to President Bush for
deep spiritual cleansing. For all the villains, I wish upon them the tea my
great-grandpa, el curandero Bonifacio, gave to my grandpa to stop drinking.
He got so sick, he never touched the stuff again. In keeping with my
grandma's signature remedy of a good purge or enema, a strong tea of cascara
sagrada with a dash of comino and clavo for the world's leaders. No one who
is constipated should be making important decisions for all of us.

I'd issue the principle of teas for the people:
-- You must connect with the spirit of the plants and earth around you.
-- You must want to heal.
-- You must face yourself.
-- You must want to stop hurting yourself and others.
-- You must slow down.

I'd encourage everyone to consume dandelion weeds from their yards as a tonic
for their health, boldo to build the blood and yerba buena to digest life
better. For the anger, fear and sorrow of those directly affected by Sept.
11, there are hundreds of herbs, but "un te de estafiate" is a good start.
I'd give a tea of magnolia, passionflower and a touch of chile and honey for
those with broken hearts and those who rage so much, their heart stops a
beat. (In my culture, we don't just stop to smell the flowers; we drink and
eat them, too.) A tea of sea salt for all the tears we've lost, a tea of
baking soda to cleanse our insides of pollutants. My husband suggests taking
in the vapors of a menudo, steaming with chile and oregano for rude, abrupt
awakenings.

A recipe for nerves, grief and the battle weary: one part lemon balm, one
part skullcap, one part borage. Say your prayers and sip your tea. Stop to
smell the herbs, and reduce your intake of news. To cut the edge during the
day while worrying about opening letters, breathing or flying, take
passionflower, and a stronger dose of it at night for a good rest. Remember,
you can't always read the tea leaves to find an antidote to healing (though
it may help with diagnosis.)

And finally my husband and I suggest, for a synergistic decoction against
fear and delusion, add the strongest medicine of all -- the tea of love.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). We can be
reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone at
210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com


***Support Still Needed for Cecilio (Xilo) Garcia~Camarillo

(Excuse the long message, but it is urgent and for a very special friend,
writer, editor and flor y canto warrior.)

ESPEJOS DE AZTLAN, a 22 year tradition at KUNM is honoring its founder
Cecilio Garcia~Camarillo with a one hour special tribute on Nov. 12, 2001 at
8:00 p.m. This radio tribute will include voices from across the country as
well as local scholars and artists that will share historical analysis of
the Chicano literary and art movement and the many contributions that
Cecilio has made. Please join us on Espejos de Aztlan NOVEMBER 12, AT 8:00
at 89.9 KUNM or listen on the Web at KUNM.org. If time permits calls will
be taken on the air for the listening audience to participate.

The Raices Collective of KUNM and the Montanita Coop are sponsoring an
Homenaje for Cecilio Garcia~Camarillo on Nov. 17, 2001 at the Continuing
Education Building (1634 University SE) at 7:00 to 10:00 PM. Please join
us for a wonder filled evening of Music, Dance, Poetry (of course), a silent
art auction and a raffle (including some of Cecilio's artwork).
Contributions for the Cecilio Garcia~ Camarillo Cancer Fund will be accepted
at the door. We ask that you join us at the events and that you continue to
send in your
contributions to the Cecilio Garcia~Camarillo Cancer Fund and your prayers
too.

Send your contribution to:
the Cecilio Garcia Camarillo Cancer Fund
Account # 0021544317.
P.O. Box 81883
Albuquerque, NM 87198-1883

If there is any other way you can contribute or if you have questions,
please feel free to contact Roberta Rael at (505) 268-1898 or by e-mail

FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF NOVEMBER 30, 2001

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
BIRDS DON'T BELONG IN CAGES

Editor's Note: This week's Column of the Americas is a first-person essay by
Roberto Rodriguez.

Growing up in Los Angeles, I never paid too much attention to birds, except
perhaps to the occasional one that fell victim to a BB gun. Years removed
from that concrete city, I now know why they don't belong in cages. I also
now know why high-flying eagles and condors are revered and why their
feathers are sacred.

I once lost my voice for some 29 years, and I fear losing it again.
Metaphorical cages are sprouting up everywhere in the form of new laws and
executive directives, intent on silencing voices, not on stopping terrorism.
Yet the cages I fear most are not the government-inspired ones, but the ones
we ourselves are constructing from fear and hysteria -- ones that equate
dissent with disloyalty.

Overnight, we've gone from a nation to a "homeland," from national security
to homeland security, and from a nation of laws to governance by polls and
military justice. To stomp out "evil," we're being asked to sacrifice our
right to know, question, debate and express ourselves freely. In effect,
we're being asked to don political burkas.

And our body politic? It's acquiescing to the president's seeming effort to
consolidate all state power, this while he wages an undeclared and undefined
war. The extraordinary decrees have essentially gone unchallenged because
they're purportedly temporary and target only "aliens."

Yet they actually make it easier to spy on anyone, to ethnically profile and
round up people by the thousands, to detain people indefinitely and in secret
(purportedly to protect their rights) without charges and then try them in
kangaroo courts. Such moves conjure up images of banana republics. It also
reads like subterfuge. We seem to have forgotten that our system of checks
and balances was designed to prevent the rise of emperors, dictators and
other kinds of strongmen.

It can't happen here. Yet something is happening here. The legislative and
judicial branches of government -- including the free press -- have
capitulated and are abandoning their constitutional responsibilities. The
president has yet to tell us what kind of post-terrorism world he envisions.
As he seeks to widen the war -- simply because he can -- Congress should ask:
We are waging this war to build what in its place?

While President Bush hasn't commented on this, Laura Bush has somewhat. She
recently spoke of a post-Taliban Afghanistan where women will be treated as
equals. The only thing is, the president, the opposition and the other Middle
East-U.S. coalition partners (Kuwait & Saudi Arabaia) have not been informed
of this. (Meanwhile, the most powerful military in the world continues its
punitive expedition. It has routed the reactionary and badly undermatched
Taliban, yet Osama, the leading Sept. 11 suspect, remains free.)

A world without terrorism can still leave tyranny, exploitation and
oppression intact. That's why the president should speak to what kind of
post-terrorism world he envisions. It would be interesting to see if it
includes democracy, human rights and equality for all men and women of the
region, or simply more U.S.-friendly governments? Prior to Sept. 11, the
United States walked away from the world conference in South Africa to combat
racial oppression and other forms of oppressions. Then the president
proceeded to form a coalition, not to combat those oppressions but to
prosecute our current war. Something seems incongruent here, or at least
disconnected.

Despite the president's high approval numbers, something tells me most U.S.
citizens would opt not to have our freedoms dependent upon other people's
oppression. Perhaps the time has come for each of us to ask what kind of
nation and world we all want to live in?

No doubt, most of us want to live in a just society free of fear, where we
can pursue happiness and enjoy our rights and freedoms peacefully. (I suspect
most people worldwide also want this.) In pursuit of this, no doubt we can
put up with waiting in huge lines, taking Cipro for domestic anthrax, or
wearing bright yellow, Level A HazMat suits for trips to the mall. But the
one thing most will not tolerate is donning political burkas.

It can't happen here, but I keep wondering how people in other societies have
lost their freedoms and how governments are able to persecute one sector at a
time? The truth is, it begins with people willingly giving up their rights
and voices -- then distancing themselves from the isolated groups.

I now know why the iridescent green quetzal -- the ultimate symbol of freedom
-- cannot live in captivity ... though I still haven't learned why the caged
bird sings.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). He is
also the author of The X in La Raza and Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human
(available in electronic editions at: http://www.mexica.net/literat/roberto/
We can be reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone
at 210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO
SEE OUR COLUMN IN YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, PLEASE CALL/WRITE YOUR LOCAL EDITOR.

* Due to the computer in the shop, last week's column (this one) was sent late.
RR & PG. This week's column should be sent today (Nov 30).

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF NOVEMBER 23, 2001

COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
THE GRATEFUL EARTH

Editor's note: This week's Column of the Americas is a first-person essay by
Patrisia Gonzales.

My life has changed along rolling country roads, as I've walked the "llano."
Sometimes I've been healed on the plainest of earth, while walking on family
pasture, fallow yet alive. As I've walked earth and prairie, I've made
decisions that changed me: that phone call that led to marriage,
reconciliation, healing my femaleness.

Around Thanksgiving, I've twice been transformed by the heart of the Earth:
One time led to marriage; the other saved my marriage when I faced sorrow so
heavy my feet hurt. The land had lost her color, yet there were patches of
green, and not all the herbs had turned bitter. It was her time of "tiempo
muerto," when the Earth returns inside of herself to rest. I celebrate not
the Thanksgiving of the Pilgrims, but a time of reflection about life's
bounty and generosity. Perhaps that led to this harvest.

"Sometimes your heart has to break -- open," my spiritual Auntie Nancy had
told me. Another of my elders told me, "What if I told you it was your life
forcing you to move forward and working through your husband?" So my
spiritual upheaval wasn't just the doings of humans, but my life wanting me
to finally free myself of some fundamental sufferings that had become my life
itself.

I looked upon the Earth's quiet, certain vastness and breathed in her calm.
And in that moment, I stopped living in a place of loss and what wasn't. I
started living with gratitude. I had my family, I had this land where my
grandpa planted his beans and berries, and I had my health. Often in our
burdens, we cannot see the gifts that surround us. And yet it is in
appreciating our lives that our lives change. I had to commit to honoring and
upholding the beauty in my life instead of waiting for it to come from some
exterior source. A few days later, Roberto and I decided to dare the
impermanence of love and happiness and make good on our vow ... until death
do us part. A grateful Earth is a powerful energy.

My ancestors believed the heart was the seat of our intelligence. It was our
"house." For too long, I had not honored my own house, that place in which I
believe Great Spirit resides. I decided to allow appreciation to live in my
house. It is the deepest prayer; it is a strong medicine that attracts
goodness. In this process, I've learned to appreciate everything, to
appreciate the sorrows along with the joy. To not be swayed by failure, nor
success. From decades of spiritual struggle, I've also learned to recognize
when I'm praying from my heart or from my head.

The curandera (or healer) Dona Enriqueta says that the earth and the plants
feel everything that we do. Like all mothers, Mother Earth takes and absorbs
our ills. In fact, I've lost three grandmothers, my grandmas Chenta and
Carmen and the grandmother tree that we mourned when we moved from New
Mexico. Often I would go sit under her when I was angry, just like I did with
my grannies. All my "stuff" would melt away. I felt like I was sitting right
next to my Abuela Carmen. Somehow, the Earth as my mother and grandmother has
helped me honor my life. In meeting her sacredness, I have touched my own.

My husband and I don't celebrate Thanksgiving Pilgrim-style, because for
native peoples across the continent it is not remembered in the same way.
We've been taught to give thanks each day, not just one designated day. We
give thanks daily for another bit of life, for our friends and family, for
the miracle that our love prevailed. Last year, we fasted with other native
peoples for the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, then feasted in their honor.
This year, some friends are battling cancer, and Roberto is grateful that he
and an estranged friend reconciled as she lost her mother to the disease. My
Aunt Jerry has stomach cancer. We all prayed around her. Her faith is
humbling.

Again, I walked the prairie and looked for weeds that carry medicinal
properties, weeds with thorny flowers and hairy leaves, grasses whose names I
don't even know. Let my gratefulness grow strong as a weed, I prayed, let it
spread like a weed -- even when others don't know its beauty.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). He is
also the author of The X in La Raza and Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human
(available in electronic editions at: http://www.mexica.net/literat/roberto/
We can be reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone
at 210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO
SEE OUR COLUMN IN YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, PLEASE CALL/WRITE YOUR EDITOR.

FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
FOR RELEASE: WEEK OF DECEMBER 7, 2001
COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez
THE DETAINEES

We've always heard that when governments turn on their own citizens, the
first thing they do is come after the poets, writers and artists. When they
successfully eliminate or rein them in, there's no need to go after the guns.

In Chile, during Gen. Pinochet's dirty war in the 1970s, guitarist Victor
Jarra was "disappeared," and then his body was found with his hands cut off.
It's a haunting image that reminds us of the extremes that terrorist
governments will go to in order to silence the poets.

We're not sure why we're having these recollections, as we live in a
different time and place, though these definitely are unsettling times.
Abroad, in its hunt for Osama bin Laden, the U.S. military has destroyed the
retrograde Taliban and the infrastructure of the Afghan nation. Perhaps Iraq
is next, while Colombia and North Korea have also been named.

At home, the government is primarily pursuing Arabs. It recently announced
that it wants to voluntarily bring in another 5,000 Arab/Muslim men ... so it
can put together an intelligence mosaic. The government has already detained
1,200 other Arabs, secretly and indefinitely, without charges. Well, maybe
not average Arabs, just Muslims. Not all of them either. Just the ones who
come from radical countries. Nor is the government after citizens. Just the
aliens.

Something's troubling about this. Most of the detainees were swept up prior
to the new anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act being enacted and prior to the
president issuing extraordinary executive directives.

When the United States begins bombing or invading the Palestinian
territories, Iraq, Colombia and North Korea, will we also be detaining 5,000
Palestinians, Iraqis, Colombians and North Koreans? And how will we find the
Colombians and Koreans -- by sifting through the huge Mexican, Central and
South American and Asian populations? Fortunately, there are only 20 million
aliens among us. Inconvenient? Sure, but there are only another 30 million to
50 million who might look like aliens. The rest of us won't be
inconvenienced.

We now have a glimpse of how Japanese citizens and noncitizens alike were
swept up and sent to "internment" camps here during World War II. We the
People did not come to their defense. In fact, we helped send them away
because it was determined that they didn't deserve to be protected by U.S.
laws. A decade before and a decade after, millions of Mexicans -- U.S.
citizens and noncitizens -- were similarly rounded up, but rather than being
incarcerated, were deported.

In grammar school, we were all told it would never happen again. And yet, it
is happening again. And it's not the government but ourselves who are giving
government the green light and a big cheer.

What's next on the agenda: an enemies list, an approved reading list and a
book-burning campaign? Will we then also see the banning of any humor not
approved by the U.S. government?

Abroad, we are waging an undefined and open-ended war, and we've authorized
the use of assassinations against political leaders. On top of this, we've
turned to certified rapists and human-rights butchers (the Northern Alliance)
to help us accomplish our means, and we've also turned the United Nations
into an instrument of war.

At home, immigrants are being blamed for terrorism. We're seeing the tight
control of information, a governmental office of propaganda, secret
detentions without charges and proposed military tribunals. We're also seeing
the legalization of ethnic profiling, special retroactive laws and the
proposed violation of attorney/client privilege. In our book, the government
has the right to propose anything. It's the responsibility of We the People
to prevent anything that threatens innocent lives and our basic rights,
freedoms and liberties.

Whether bin Laden is caught or not, he's already won because he has indeed
managed to change "our way of life." It doesn't matter how many regimes we
crush and how many U.S.-friendly governments we install. The moment We the
People -- along with an impotent Congress and a self-censoring media --
acceded to the curtailing of our own rights was the day bin Laden won and our
way of life changed.

Meanwhile, while we are being encouraged to shop, the head of homeland
security has issued another alert. The confluence of Ramadan, Hanukkah and
Christmas, he warns, beckons danger. We remember a time when it signaled
peace, love and goodwill to all.

COPYRIGHT 2001 UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE

** Gonzales is the author of the forthcoming "The Mud People: Anonymous
Heroes of Mexico" and co-author of "Gonzales/Rodriguez: Uncut & Uncensored"
(ISBN: 0-918520-22-3 -- Ethnic Studies Library Publications Unit, UC
Berkeley. Rodriguez is the author of Justice: A Question of Race (Cloth- ISBN
0-927534-69-X paper ISBN 0-927534-68-1 -- Bilingual Review Press). He is
also the author of The X in La Raza and Codex Tamuanchan: On Becoming Human
(available in electronic editions at: http://www.mexica.net/literat/roberto/
We can be reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or by phone
at 210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com "Column of the Americas" is posted every
Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO
SEE OUR COLUMN IN YOUR LOCAL NEWSPAPER, PLEASE CALL/WRITE YOUR LOCAL EDITOR.

Bravo!

Thanks for posting an article that should be on the front page of every paper
in this ridiculously paniced, 'it can't happen here' nation.

Take care.

Originally posted by Chagur
Bravo!

Thanks for posting an article that should be on the front page of every paper
in this ridiculously paniced, 'it can't happen here' nation.

Take care.

Your welcome Chagur!

One of the scary things is that some people have already been killed just for looking foreign. With turbans wrapped around their heads, Sikhs and Hindus are targets. And for a Chicano, who remembers my brother telling me that during the Iranian hostage situation, mobs at Fresno State would fight and chase Iranians &/or Chicano/Mexicans (because we look so much alike), and I sure don't want that to happen again. As a mixed race people, I've noticed that Chicano/Mexicans look like; Armenians, Arabs, Iranians, Greeks, Pakistanis, Indians, Italians, Israelis, etc., so I hope that the only chasing going on, is for the American Dream & the only fighting, is against evil & terrorism. But that may be a little too idealistic? Or simplistic, for such a complex world we find ourselves in? We'll see, I guess???

Just remember, the world was a lot less complex when the KKK was doing its thing.

It isn't the world, it's the people that don't change.

And yes, it is idealistic - but that's you; otherwise you wouldn't be posting those articles.

Take care ;)

If interested, these columns are available when published at: http://www.uexpress.com/columnoftheamericas/

Hope that they bring you an interesting, different viewpoint.