Category Archives: Latinos

The little things

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Hello all,

I’ve been gone for awhile… So many things I’ve wanted to say in these months left me without the will to say anything. I rejoin you to release something that has been bothering me a bit, and that’s Halloween costumes. Not specifically the costumes, but particularly someone’s reaction to my stating their costume was racially offensive.

She wanted to be a chola – to her it was just a word used to reference Mexican gangbangers in Cali and other parts of the West Coast. In reality, chola is an ethnic slur. Similar to the word nigger, but specifically about Mexican people of poverty. Eventually these gangbangers adopted the word as their own, similar to the common colloquialism of nigga. Blacks adopted this word and took back ownership of it as did Mexicans for cholo/a.

However, just because of the adoption of the word, doesn’t mean it is no longer racially offensive. There is a still a history behind the word, one many do not know, and do not care to learn.

She turned the conversation into a mockery. Refused to see the offensiveness in her actions. Refused to believe that anyone would be hurt by it. I sent articles where people were stating their hurt and offense regarding this costume. Rihanna was a chola for Halloween too. I have the same problem with it when it comes to her as well.

My greatest issue is that people fail to realize that the “little things” are actually big things because they further perpetuate others’ ignorance to the offensiveness of such actions.

 

notjustmythoughts

Not surprised…

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I am not surprised when I read an article about the negative conduct of courts. I am not surprised when I learn about another conviction overturned. I am not surprised when that conviction took 10+ or even 20+ years to get overturned. I am not surprised.

I am not surprised to learn that people are “paid off” by lower sentencing or even absolution of their records for testimony. I am not surprised people take these deals for their own benefit, knowing damn well they are hurting someone undeserving of their wrath.

I am not surprised that the character of these witnesses were never challenged by defense attorneys. I am not surprised when the jury “of peers” convicts based on weak evidence and weaker testimony.

I am not surprised that most of the times it happens to minorities from poor communities who couldn’t afford a lawyer that actually gave a shit. I am not surprised their lawyer didn’t give a shit. Not to defend the corruption, but even in the most astute and caring lawyers – it’s hard to give a shit when you’re a legal aid paid by the state and have 100+ active case.

I am not surprised there isn’t more awareness of the injustices of the system.

I am not surprised,
notjustmythoughts

Article the spurred this brief writing:

Christian Fernandez, 13

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Daily News article: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/boy-13-accused-killing-2-year-old-brother-youngest-florida-inmate-awaiting-trial-article-1.1161131?pgno=2

Christian Fernandez has seen and endured a full life of pain and destruction in his 13 years of life. Born to a 12 year old mother, a victim of sexual assault, and a drug addicted grandmother he had little chance to start his life “normal.” His mother was a child. She couldn’t protect herself. She couldn’t protect him. Instead, he had a life of sexual and violent assault against him. Adults who were to protect him hurt him. He didn’t know a life of love, of emotion, of care. That became all to apparent when he sexually assaulted his younger brother and killed his 2 year old brother. He doesn’t express emotion when asked about things regarding emotion, he says, “you have to suck it up and get over it.” He has lived, in 13 years, only a life of pain and hurt. No one protected him. No one showed him that’s what you’re supposed to do – protect your family. He, instead, was shown how to hurt his family. How to take advantage of them, how to beat them, how to assault them, how to show no mercy, and no love.

Now, at 13, he faces the potential of life behind bars. Someone like him should not be on the streets. He doesn’t know how to care about anyone, not even himself. Prison however, will do nothing for him except harden him more. At 13, you should be given a chance at life – a life he never had a real chance at.

sad for this boy (and his victims),
notjustmythoughts

OF COURSE they wouldn’t

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Have you read the news today – The NY Daily News, The NY Post, or The NY Times specifically? I ask because there is an article in each of these, which I’ve linked the Daily News article, (NY Daily News: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/ups-drivers-caught-delivering-30-pounds-marijuana-article-1.1138992) regarding 3 men who were arrested in a Marijuana bust. 30lbs of Marijuana to be exact. These men were all in their 50s. Other than their age and where they live characteristics of the men are not given. Therein lies my issue.

I have an issue with race not being noted in this article. Truthfully, I don’t really care what color or ethnic background a person is if they commit a crime. BUT the media LOVES to let us know when an individual is Black or Brown when they commit crimes – drug crimes or (and maybe especially) violent crimes. No where in this article is there a mention of race. Because of this my natural reaction is to assume they are not minorities. If they were, the article would read something like:

3 Black men were arrested in a cartel attempt of drug smuggling through celebrated shipping company UPS.

It’s just another way to downplay “their” presence in the drug game and criminal world while touting us as criminals and violent and prone to animalistic behaviors.

notjustmythoughts

Caste System

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When you think of the Caste System largely you think of India, but today, think of Mexico.

Mexico has long been considered to be a non diverse country. Meaning, people there consider themselves to be of largely the same background, mostly of mixed race of European and Natives. However, this isn’t exactly truth. Yes, a lot of Mexicans are of mixed race, but there is still a large number of indigenous people. There are also blacks. Mexico was not sheltered and they experienced their own waves of immigration into the country which brought slaves and different European backgrounds. In a docu-series Black in Latin America, there was an episode exposing the truths of blacks in Mexico. While I knew there had to be (simply because I believe every country has their share of black, native, and European mix) I didn’t really know anything about it. While watching this episode on blacks in Mexico, I was surprised at the discrimination. I am not sure why I was even surprised. If you think about the Black community here there is an onslaught of discrimination against them and they American. So American in fact, that they helped build this wonderful country. Though much of it was through slavery under unfortunate circumstances, if it wasn’t for the Black community our country wouldn’t have made the progress it did early on (think about the cotton/textile industry, the tobacco industry, etc.). I am not praising slavery AT ALL. I am simply saying, that African Americans helped shape America and they are discriminated. So why did the discrimination of Black Mexicans surprise me? I am not sure. I guess maybe because I just like to hope things are better than they really are, which I am continually reminded of the fact that no, things are not better…they are just as I believe them to be (discriminatory, harsh, unforgiving, destructive, racist, etc).

I’ve digressed from the point of this post… the point is that there are unofficial caste systems all around the world (even here in America). And I wanted to shed light on one of them – Mexico. Check out the link below. It is from globalpost.com and and talks about some of the injustices in Mexico faced by the black and indigenous community. The article specifically highlights 3 YouTube videos that have gone viral showcasing the upper “white” class of Mexicans berating other Mexicans. It seems that with money, people believe they can treat others without it anyway they want. The sad reality is, this is mostly true. The saying Money, Power, Respect isn’t just a moniker used in rap songs. This is tried and tested in the workings of government and policy. Money buys you the power (over people, power to buy government [hello, this is EXACTLY what lobbyists are]). Money buys you the respect (albeit respect garnered in fear of repercussions). Money is the highest caste system of all.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/120309/social-gaps-on-youtube

notjustmythoughts

Ain’t this some sh*t

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Colorlines.com never fails me… please check this artilce out. It is worth the read. Essentially this is another day in the life of systematic racism in the form of government policy… think, Jim Crow. It seems he’s been resurrected (and not just in the incarcerated sense like the 2010 book THE NEW JIM CROW, by Michelle Alexander)…
http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/03/voter_id_card.html

I just don’t understand (although sadly I do) how this can happen in 2012….

notjustmythoughts

Quietly done

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So, I’m a little late in the game (don’t know how I missed this one), but it was recently brought to my attention that STD funding was drastically cut in NYC (the state and other states as well.) The first link I’ve provided is from an article in the Daily News Sept 2011. The second link I’ve provided is from an article on stdtestexpress.com posted Feb 2012. This article pertains to Illinois, but I believe the implications and correlations of budget cuts to STD testing in IL can be used directionally when looking at other states (like NY) that have cut STD funding. Before I even read the article about IL or even researched the information, I thought to myself, what the ****!!! It seems to me that the most important resources a state and city can offer are the first to be cut (public education/free healthcare). I can understand that free STD testing can become a huge expense and burden on a city and state budget, but it is the JOB of the government to protect those that cannot protect themselves and in this case that relates to STD testing. Many clinics (I have found due to calling 311, the department of health, and about 25 clinics in the 5 boroughs) offer SOME free testing and all still offer HIV testing. This is good and all, but some is quite frankly not good enough. I also thought to myself, well if it isn’t free, what does this mean for people who can’t afford the “low-cost” of testing? As we know, “low-cost” (and really anything pertaining to money and spending) is relative. What is low-cost to me, might not be affordable to you. This makes me wonder what this will do to the rise of STDs in NYC (and other places who suffered similar cuts). If IL is any indication of what is to come, seems like we will have a lot more people running around in oblivion to their STD status…

In short, the disparity in income inequality continues…

 notjustmythoughts

http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-09-06/local/30143550_1_std-cases-chlamydia-or-gonorrhea-rapid-hiv-testing

http://www.stdtestexpress.com/std-news/county-cuts-programs-and-watches-std-rates-rise-800706866/

Welcome to Life?

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An exerpt from the article on: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/michelle-ugenti-arizona-rep-justifies-tuition-hike_n_1304731.html

“An Arizona House committee passed a bill last week that would require every student at a public college in the state, regardless of economic status, to pay a minimum of $2,000 in tuition.
As Think Progress noted, nearly 100 Arizona students attended the committee hearing to speak out against the bill, HB 2675, expressing concern that it would make it more difficult for many students to afford college. Rep. Michelle Ugenti (R-Scottsdale) responded bluntly in favor of the new measure: ‘Welcome to life.’”

I read this article a day after reading an article in TIME Magazine’s latest issue regarding Latinos (in Arizona) potentially “electing” president. (proper sourcing to come) In this article TIME was detailing the potential force behind the Latino vote and this potential is greatest in states like Arizona. Arizona is largely a Republican State with an abundance in the Latino population. The population of Latinos here feel they are Republicans on paper but that the Republicans don’t want them (their vote) and that they aren’t Democrats on paper, but that the Democrats do want them (this is a paraphrase of a statement by a Latino community member in Arizona).

Now, I’m not a political person. I vote yes. I believe it is important. If I want to voice my opinions well I better cast my ballot vote… so of course I follow things going on politically, but I don’t consider myself to be a largely political person. (Though I admit from my blog people often consider me political. But to me, this is just human nature. It goes beyond politics… it’s.. well this is something that should be ingrained in every human…I talk about things that are rights and equality based and that shouldn’t be political. It shouldn’t be up to a Republican or Democrat…it should…well it should just be.)

I digressed… now after reading the article in TIME and reading the article from Huffington Post I think to myself… well isn’t this pushing the Latino voter further to the fringes? The statement, “welcome to life” was made by a Republican representative. These are the sort of things that push people away. I won’t openly admit if I am Democratic or Republican because to be honest I don’t believe I fit neatly into either box. The vote should be based on who is the better person for the job, not necessarily by party. BUT what I will say is, if the Republicans are out-casting a HUGE number of voters it sure doesn’t look good for them.

Furthermore, on the equality side…really, welcome to life? Who says that, besides a mother to a child? The fact of the matter is $2000 a semester is unaffordable for some people and yet people believe there is equal opportunity for everyone. What gets me is, sure the opportunity is there, but how could it be equal when it’s out of the reach of many people?

notjustmythoughts.

Stop and Frisk

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from 2007, but look at the %s for the races... the difference is vast.Interesting that even in this sketch it's white and black...

It does not surprise most New Yorkers that the NYPD are often malicious, aggressive, brash, and racist both as an individuals and in the tactics they implement to “fight” crime. This can be seen in Abner Louima, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, and many others who were forcibly killed or tortured in the name of “defense” and “crime” fighting. These are the extreme [and common] scenerios. However, there are other tactics used that aren’t as aggressive or overtly racial that overlooked. They get overlooked probably because there are such extreme cases that exist on a more frequent basis than ever necessary, but they shouldn’t be. All unfairness, inequality, and racial tactics of anyone ESPECIALLY the police should be looked at and encite reaction and outrage from the community. One of the most recent police procedures to seep into the media is the “stop and frisk” method. This is not a new tactic used by any means, but the number of stop and frisks are on the rise. The problem being, minorities are being targeted at an alarming rate. NYPD says it’s an important tool in fighting crime. I don’t believe this to be true. Sure there is a chance cops might stop and frisk someone who has a gun and actually be fighting crime, but most people stopped only recieve a summons for small amounts of marijuana or they recieve nothing at all because they were law abiding citizens. I see this is as an Apartheid policy creating an atmosphere of a second class citizen and subjecting them to unfair searches warrented only by the color of their skin, the neighborhood, or their clothing. It’s shameful and disgraceful. The police are their to respect, protect, and serve… I’m not sure who those things apply to, but I can tell you that doesn’t apply to my community…

To read the article about stop and frisk, click the link or copy and paste into your web broswer: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Stop-and-Frisk-Police-Arrest-Color-Civil-Rights-139275573.html

notjustmythoughts

p.s. if you Google Image “stop and frisk” most pictures show white cops frisking black men and minorities… tells me something, what about you?