Thursday, March 3, 2011
Chicano Self-Determination: The True Mexican
Chicano Self-Determination: The True Mexican: "Note: I filled in for an administrator at a school I worked at today. The following words where on a poster that was framed for ..."
The True Mexican
Note: I filled in for an administrator at a school I worked at today. The following words where on a poster that was framed for all who entered the office to see. I made sure all the students that came into the office read it. No author was listed.
What is a Mexican?
A Mexican is light-skinned, brown-skinned and dark skinned. A Mexican has blue, green, brown and black eyes. We are not characterized by similar physical features or by a homogeneous origin. Instead we are bound together by our culture and a nationalistic pride unequal to any other. One of the reasons why our pride is so unique is because we acknowledge our indigenous roots like no other country.
Most Mexicans recognize the great achievements of indigenous groups such as the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Toltecs, Maya, and Aztecs. The most beloved and known are the Aztecs. Even though they are considered a Mexican treasure, too few Mexicans on this side of the border are aware of their achievements. The Aztecs were a great military power that allowed them to have one of the greatest empires of their time. It was also their military power that brought about their downfall.
The Aztecs demanded obedience from the other Indian groups they conquered, which created tension. When Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico in 1511, he saw the tension and quickly took advantage of it. In our world history classes we are taught that Cortes conquered Mexico. This is a fallacy because the Spaniards did not conquer the Aztecs. In reality, the surrounding Indian groups conquered the Aztecs. We’re not taught that Cortes recruited over 100,000 indian warriors in his 10 year war with the Aztecs. Most important is the fact that most Aztecs died at the hands of another Indian, not the hands of a Spaniard.
Presently there is another conquest of Mexicans. It is not in Anahuac but in the u.s. Just as Cortes deceived and tricked the Indians into killing each other off, the establishment of this country, with it’s promises of equal opportunities and it’s grossly misallocated resources, is accomplishing the same goal. To many Mexicans die at the hands of another Mexican.
Real history, our history not his story, teaches us that fighting amongst ourselves only serves to bring about our downfall.
We , as the Aztecs, are at a technological disadvantage. We are for the most part uneducated and unaware. However, the Aztecs had a numerical advantage, we too have our strength in numbers. If we utilize and focus the potential power we have, we can be the strongest force this country has ever witnessed.
We the new Aztec warriors (read Brown Berets) must learn from our ancestors’ mistakes. Before another carnal is beat down, stop and think about who the real enemy is. We have a war to fight. Not a war of guns and knives but one of minds and education. Our victories are no longer on the battlefields but they are each carnal or carnala sitting on the most powerful committees in this country.
The definition of a Mexican is in the name. A Mexi-can and will do the right thing. PAZ.
What is a Mexican?
A Mexican is light-skinned, brown-skinned and dark skinned. A Mexican has blue, green, brown and black eyes. We are not characterized by similar physical features or by a homogeneous origin. Instead we are bound together by our culture and a nationalistic pride unequal to any other. One of the reasons why our pride is so unique is because we acknowledge our indigenous roots like no other country.
Most Mexicans recognize the great achievements of indigenous groups such as the Olmecs, Zapotecs, Toltecs, Maya, and Aztecs. The most beloved and known are the Aztecs. Even though they are considered a Mexican treasure, too few Mexicans on this side of the border are aware of their achievements. The Aztecs were a great military power that allowed them to have one of the greatest empires of their time. It was also their military power that brought about their downfall.
The Aztecs demanded obedience from the other Indian groups they conquered, which created tension. When Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico in 1511, he saw the tension and quickly took advantage of it. In our world history classes we are taught that Cortes conquered Mexico. This is a fallacy because the Spaniards did not conquer the Aztecs. In reality, the surrounding Indian groups conquered the Aztecs. We’re not taught that Cortes recruited over 100,000 indian warriors in his 10 year war with the Aztecs. Most important is the fact that most Aztecs died at the hands of another Indian, not the hands of a Spaniard.
Presently there is another conquest of Mexicans. It is not in Anahuac but in the u.s. Just as Cortes deceived and tricked the Indians into killing each other off, the establishment of this country, with it’s promises of equal opportunities and it’s grossly misallocated resources, is accomplishing the same goal. To many Mexicans die at the hands of another Mexican.
Real history, our history not his story, teaches us that fighting amongst ourselves only serves to bring about our downfall.
We , as the Aztecs, are at a technological disadvantage. We are for the most part uneducated and unaware. However, the Aztecs had a numerical advantage, we too have our strength in numbers. If we utilize and focus the potential power we have, we can be the strongest force this country has ever witnessed.
We the new Aztec warriors (read Brown Berets) must learn from our ancestors’ mistakes. Before another carnal is beat down, stop and think about who the real enemy is. We have a war to fight. Not a war of guns and knives but one of minds and education. Our victories are no longer on the battlefields but they are each carnal or carnala sitting on the most powerful committees in this country.
The definition of a Mexican is in the name. A Mexi-can and will do the right thing. PAZ.
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| A Brown Beret Cadet Flying the Bandera Mexicana |
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Pinedale Brown Beret Reunion
Hello Family, Friends and Supporters.
The Fresno Brown Berets (BBNO) will be having an organizing meeting in the barrio of Pinedale on Friday, 3/4/2011 from 5pm to 6:30 pm. We will be meeting at the Pinedale community center located at 7190 N San Pablo.
The last time Fresno BBNO organized in the Pinedale community the residents always supported our work and we got a steady stream of recuits and help from that area.
At this time we have confirmed 5 soldados will attend to help in the recuitment. Please help spread the word to your network or anyone you know who lives in Pinedale.
If you have any questions you can call me at 559-916-3672 or Chris Razo at 916-3959
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| Pinedale youth at a car wash to raise money for Return to Isla Santa Catalina 7/1995 |
Gracias and Viva La Raza
Monday, February 28, 2011
TO all California Brown Berets
As newly appointed BBNO California commander, I want you all to know it is a pleasure to serve La Raza and I look forward to helping solidify the Brown Beret Movement so that we can create everlasting change in our community and inspire a new generation of leaders willing to elevate the question of Chicano self-determination.
I don’t care if your beret is brown or black, or if it sports the rifles and La Causa or the Olin and La Causa. I don’t care if you claim the national structure (BBNO), Aztlan, Autonomous, Carnalismo or Lords. I do care that we all start working in the same direction. I do know too, that if we all stop and take a look around our immediate community, the problems I see are the same ones you see. What I see is totally unacceptable in a country that claims to be modern and democratic.
First let me be clear, I will be a Brown Beret Soldado de Paz Por La Raza and will exercise any and all forms of non violent tactics. I will be a Brown Beret till the day there is not one more lost life due to gang pendejadas. I will be a Brown Beret until such time everyone in my community is given every opportunity to achieve their full potential.
With the state Chicano prison population currently at ___% and Chicano youth incarceration rate at %___, coupled with a 50% Chicano drop out rate, I would say our community is far from reaching our full potential and if something is not done, well, things might get better, but I don’t want to wait around another hundred years. Therefore, our top priority should be stopping the drain of human potential affecting La Raza.
The civil war between red/blue, norte/sureno, needs to be ended once and for all as that is where the our communidad’s greatest loss of potential is occurring. We need to take our message of Chicano/a Power to the pintos, veteranos, Cholo/a, vato loco, taggers or whoever is drawn to the vida loca pinto mentality.
Once the quetes are put away and vendettas buried, the next step is to take advantage of the existing educational resources.
It must be remembered that many schools now-a-days have Chicano teachers, counselors and staff--one of the demands of early Brown Beret organizing. The schools are also required by law to post your rights to educational access, check them out next time your are in a public school classroom. Those in the teaching field are more than happy to teach and should be honored for taking on such a noble career; not burning out in 5 years because they can’t handle “the kids who don’t want to learn.” The schools belong to the people so we need to utilize them to their fullest and for our benefit.
To many of our young gente give lame excuses for not wanting to go to school -- “it’s boring; the teachers are racist; I can’t relate, it‘s dumb,” etc, etc. Whether we like it or not, we have to get educated and that means using the school resources available to us. As, Sal Castro once said, “don’t forsake education”. You don’t have to like school, the teacher or the subject but if you want to be a Brown Beret you need to start doing what’s required to get educated and that’s graduating.
It will be the responsibility of each brown beret to help, encourage and motivate other brown berets and especially our youth, to excel and graduate from school. There is also no rule that states you can’t jump up in grades and graduate early.
Another youth population we need to reach before they go the gang route is the very young Chicanitos. They will be awestruck when you come into the neighborhood in full uniform. They are thirsty for knowledge and will be receptive to any and all positive messages. The chavalos who are older, between the ages of 11-16 years old, will confuse you with “Brown Pride” and someone will always mention they know someone in brown pride. Raza in this age group make very loyal and committed soldados but are prone to following the gangs at any time. When organizing the young make it clear to them that parental involvement is required and any informe given to them also needs to be given to the parent or guardian.
Raza youth in K-8 is another group we need to convince to like school and pursue high career goals. The transition from middle or Jr. high to high school is when many youth start making the wrong choices. They need to be set in a career path by the time they reach high school, not wanting to drop out or go into “home studies.”
Never ever talk foul when youngsters are around and complement and encourage them often. For many youth the positive reinforcement we give them might be the 1st time they have ever been given it. Once you get a unit comprised of a good cross section of the community you will be strong have the support you need to effectuate change.
IDEOLOGYOnce you become a Brown Beret and become more politically aware you will see there are three competing ideas regarding Chicano Power. One is an integrationist model, meaning those with this approach encourage education and hard work for getting ahead, and might even advocate cultural identity but the end goal is to participate in the existing political and economic order and change will eventually occur. It is also called assimilation. This approach maintains the status quo and change is very incremental at best.
Another Chicano Power ideology is based on separatism, in which the Chicano population calls for the complete dissolution from the United States and the establishment of Aztlan. The means for achieving the goal, however, is “by any means necessary,” including the use of force against the US. I would be weary of any rhetoric that espouses “revolutionary armed struggle” or other violent action. It would be asinine to try and fight the most powerful army in the world.
In a nutshell, pure Chicano Nationalism, espouses the belief that we can not clean up the world until we clean up our own yard 1st. Some Brown Berets websites I have seen recently claim that by being Chicano nationalist we are using an ideology based on the drawing of borders, which is what the “oppressor” has used to keep us divided. They also falsely claim that we are for establishing Aztlan for Mexico.
If there are any Brown Beret units that have these falsehoods listed on their websites then they are working against the Brown Beret Movement.
A simple content analysis of the philosophies of the BBNO and non-affiliated Brown Berets will reveal lots of similarities between foreign political ideologies and not Chicanismo based on El Plan Espritual De Aztlan, our blueprint for self-determination.
Finally, we need to reach the young Chicanos who are on track to finish school and go on to higher education, for it is this population who will be our nations future professionals but they will be no use to the movement if they don’t know about it. If the elementary, middle and high schools are not teaching Chicano history then the Brown Berets need to become the Chicano Studies Department.
So Brown Berets from Califas, the state of affairs for Chicanos is not all gloomy. Yes it’s been a 163 years since the last Mexican governor served in California. Our community had a chance to elect one of our own a few years ago but too many of us were star stuck by an Austrian body building actor.
There is no guarantee that a Chicano governor in California would have made a difference but had Cruz been elected I might not be a Brown Beret today because to me it would have been monumental progress. But I am not going to wait around for another Chicano to get a chance, because we might all be waiting a very long time.
So to all Brown Berets in Califas, let the sweat, sangre and spirit of the thousands who marched in the Morotoriums held not only in ELA but several other California cities, be our guiding force, for it is they who first called out Ya Basta y AZTLAN Libre.
I will do my best to help lead your units to everlasting institutions of true revolutionary change in the community. We need to first build our ranks to millions of Chicano/a Soldados de Paz por La Raza. Puro Chicano Nationalism created this revolutionary and it will be the ideology that will lead us to the next level of creating a truly free and democratic nation capable of changing the world.
Que Viva Los Brown Berets, Viva La Raza, Viva Califas y Aztlan.
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/r_201brr.pdf , actual incarcertion stats omitted intentionally. This link speaks volumes. The Chicano high school drop out rate is pretty well established at 50% or higher.
I don’t care if your beret is brown or black, or if it sports the rifles and La Causa or the Olin and La Causa. I don’t care if you claim the national structure (BBNO), Aztlan, Autonomous, Carnalismo or Lords. I do care that we all start working in the same direction. I do know too, that if we all stop and take a look around our immediate community, the problems I see are the same ones you see. What I see is totally unacceptable in a country that claims to be modern and democratic.
First let me be clear, I will be a Brown Beret Soldado de Paz Por La Raza and will exercise any and all forms of non violent tactics. I will be a Brown Beret till the day there is not one more lost life due to gang pendejadas. I will be a Brown Beret until such time everyone in my community is given every opportunity to achieve their full potential.
With the state Chicano prison population currently at ___% and Chicano youth incarceration rate at %___, coupled with a 50% Chicano drop out rate, I would say our community is far from reaching our full potential and if something is not done, well, things might get better, but I don’t want to wait around another hundred years. Therefore, our top priority should be stopping the drain of human potential affecting La Raza.
The civil war between red/blue, norte/sureno, needs to be ended once and for all as that is where the our communidad’s greatest loss of potential is occurring. We need to take our message of Chicano/a Power to the pintos, veteranos, Cholo/a, vato loco, taggers or whoever is drawn to the vida loca pinto mentality.
Once the quetes are put away and vendettas buried, the next step is to take advantage of the existing educational resources.
It must be remembered that many schools now-a-days have Chicano teachers, counselors and staff--one of the demands of early Brown Beret organizing. The schools are also required by law to post your rights to educational access, check them out next time your are in a public school classroom. Those in the teaching field are more than happy to teach and should be honored for taking on such a noble career; not burning out in 5 years because they can’t handle “the kids who don’t want to learn.” The schools belong to the people so we need to utilize them to their fullest and for our benefit.
To many of our young gente give lame excuses for not wanting to go to school -- “it’s boring; the teachers are racist; I can’t relate, it‘s dumb,” etc, etc. Whether we like it or not, we have to get educated and that means using the school resources available to us. As, Sal Castro once said, “don’t forsake education”. You don’t have to like school, the teacher or the subject but if you want to be a Brown Beret you need to start doing what’s required to get educated and that’s graduating.
It will be the responsibility of each brown beret to help, encourage and motivate other brown berets and especially our youth, to excel and graduate from school. There is also no rule that states you can’t jump up in grades and graduate early.
Another youth population we need to reach before they go the gang route is the very young Chicanitos. They will be awestruck when you come into the neighborhood in full uniform. They are thirsty for knowledge and will be receptive to any and all positive messages. The chavalos who are older, between the ages of 11-16 years old, will confuse you with “Brown Pride” and someone will always mention they know someone in brown pride. Raza in this age group make very loyal and committed soldados but are prone to following the gangs at any time. When organizing the young make it clear to them that parental involvement is required and any informe given to them also needs to be given to the parent or guardian.
Raza youth in K-8 is another group we need to convince to like school and pursue high career goals. The transition from middle or Jr. high to high school is when many youth start making the wrong choices. They need to be set in a career path by the time they reach high school, not wanting to drop out or go into “home studies.”
Never ever talk foul when youngsters are around and complement and encourage them often. For many youth the positive reinforcement we give them might be the 1st time they have ever been given it. Once you get a unit comprised of a good cross section of the community you will be strong have the support you need to effectuate change.
IDEOLOGYOnce you become a Brown Beret and become more politically aware you will see there are three competing ideas regarding Chicano Power. One is an integrationist model, meaning those with this approach encourage education and hard work for getting ahead, and might even advocate cultural identity but the end goal is to participate in the existing political and economic order and change will eventually occur. It is also called assimilation. This approach maintains the status quo and change is very incremental at best.
Another Chicano Power ideology is based on separatism, in which the Chicano population calls for the complete dissolution from the United States and the establishment of Aztlan. The means for achieving the goal, however, is “by any means necessary,” including the use of force against the US. I would be weary of any rhetoric that espouses “revolutionary armed struggle” or other violent action. It would be asinine to try and fight the most powerful army in the world.
In a nutshell, pure Chicano Nationalism, espouses the belief that we can not clean up the world until we clean up our own yard 1st. Some Brown Berets websites I have seen recently claim that by being Chicano nationalist we are using an ideology based on the drawing of borders, which is what the “oppressor” has used to keep us divided. They also falsely claim that we are for establishing Aztlan for Mexico.
If there are any Brown Beret units that have these falsehoods listed on their websites then they are working against the Brown Beret Movement.
A simple content analysis of the philosophies of the BBNO and non-affiliated Brown Berets will reveal lots of similarities between foreign political ideologies and not Chicanismo based on El Plan Espritual De Aztlan, our blueprint for self-determination.
Finally, we need to reach the young Chicanos who are on track to finish school and go on to higher education, for it is this population who will be our nations future professionals but they will be no use to the movement if they don’t know about it. If the elementary, middle and high schools are not teaching Chicano history then the Brown Berets need to become the Chicano Studies Department.
So Brown Berets from Califas, the state of affairs for Chicanos is not all gloomy. Yes it’s been a 163 years since the last Mexican governor served in California. Our community had a chance to elect one of our own a few years ago but too many of us were star stuck by an Austrian body building actor.
There is no guarantee that a Chicano governor in California would have made a difference but had Cruz been elected I might not be a Brown Beret today because to me it would have been monumental progress. But I am not going to wait around for another Chicano to get a chance, because we might all be waiting a very long time.
So to all Brown Berets in Califas, let the sweat, sangre and spirit of the thousands who marched in the Morotoriums held not only in ELA but several other California cities, be our guiding force, for it is they who first called out Ya Basta y AZTLAN Libre.
I will do my best to help lead your units to everlasting institutions of true revolutionary change in the community. We need to first build our ranks to millions of Chicano/a Soldados de Paz por La Raza. Puro Chicano Nationalism created this revolutionary and it will be the ideology that will lead us to the next level of creating a truly free and democratic nation capable of changing the world.
Que Viva Los Brown Berets, Viva La Raza, Viva Califas y Aztlan.
http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/r_201brr.pdf , actual incarcertion stats omitted intentionally. This link speaks volumes. The Chicano high school drop out rate is pretty well established at 50% or higher.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
VIVA Las Maestras
I saw a wonderful sight today at a school I worked at. 5 Chicana teachers were sitting in the school staff room in a round table discussion about ways to improve performance and motivation of their students. What a change from many of the educators I have interacted with who just write off some of their students as "bad". No student should be labeled as bad even if their performance is not up to standards or if they have some behavior (read identity) issues. I salute all the hard working Maestra/os De Aztlan. You have a hard job and are worth every cent you are paid and even more.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Inspring Greatness
Thank you to my higher power for allowing me to live another day. Today I taught a class of 1st graders. We put on our imaginary lab coats as we worked on our writing, math and science skills. We reviewed all those science words until each student was able to properly pronounce and identify the term. Probably a several week lesson plan in one day. For math I had the students use different denominations of money to pay for a $1.00 item. They'll never be short changed by the ice cream man now.
Yes a 1st grader can learn about adaptation, balance scales, levels of evaporation, photosynthesis and business. At the end of the day I asked that they write a sentence and they voted on the best one. This is what they thought was the best: The astronaut eats a pie so he or she can fly high in the sky. (pie, high, sky spelling words).
Yes a 1st grader can learn about adaptation, balance scales, levels of evaporation, photosynthesis and business. At the end of the day I asked that they write a sentence and they voted on the best one. This is what they thought was the best: The astronaut eats a pie so he or she can fly high in the sky. (pie, high, sky spelling words).
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Fresno BBNO reunion outcome
A few members from 1995-1999 phoned but didn't show. 1 member from the local autonomous BB showed up with some burritos and some sabroso salsa -- muchimas gracias. Lack of interest didn't deter me or my family. We set up the banderas in the front yard, set up two tables with Chicano and Brown Beret history and at every 15 minutes to the hour from 1-6 pm a Brown Beret leadership development workshop was held on the sidewalk in front of my house.
Every so often a bulldog gangster would stool by and I would try to reach out to him, some were receptive, but most weren't. The drug addictos that regularly roam the street stayed off of our immediate block. Not sure if they thought I was a cop? They watched us from the corner of the next block over. Several of my neighbors who I regularly associate with never knew I was a active Brown Beret before they became my neighbors. They committed their children to the Brown Berets and they all agreed to provide them transporation to any local activities we particpate in. Some said they would be willing to dress out with their children too or help in other ways. Altogether we inducted and gave the Brown Beret oath to 16 chavalos and 6 parents.
The newly inducted Brown Berets of Illinios Ave, in Fresno, Califas, Aztlan, reclaimed their street today and declared that they will use all available educational resources so that they can pursue their dreams of becoming doctors, astronaunts, mechanical engineers, attorneys and teachers. They also pledged to give at least 5 hours per week to the BBNO for the betterment of La Raza. the betterment of La Raza.
Chicano Power.
Every so often a bulldog gangster would stool by and I would try to reach out to him, some were receptive, but most weren't. The drug addictos that regularly roam the street stayed off of our immediate block. Not sure if they thought I was a cop? They watched us from the corner of the next block over. Several of my neighbors who I regularly associate with never knew I was a active Brown Beret before they became my neighbors. They committed their children to the Brown Berets and they all agreed to provide them transporation to any local activities we particpate in. Some said they would be willing to dress out with their children too or help in other ways. Altogether we inducted and gave the Brown Beret oath to 16 chavalos and 6 parents.
The newly inducted Brown Berets of Illinios Ave, in Fresno, Califas, Aztlan, reclaimed their street today and declared that they will use all available educational resources so that they can pursue their dreams of becoming doctors, astronaunts, mechanical engineers, attorneys and teachers. They also pledged to give at least 5 hours per week to the BBNO for the betterment of La Raza. the betterment of La Raza.
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