News With Nezua vids first appear Monday mornings at La Frontera Times. Wednesdays they show up at UMX, as well as in a dim setting at The XOLAGRAFIK Theater. For those who desire closed captioning or can’t view this player, check back later for links to YouTube.

News With Nezua vids first appear Monday mornings at La Frontera Times. Wednesdays they show up at UMX, as well as in a dim setting at The XOLAGRAFIK Theater. For those who desire closed captioning or can’t view this player, here is the video on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2.

News With Nezua vids first appear Monday mornings at La Frontera Times. Wednesdays they show up at UMX, as well as in a dim setting at The XOLAGRAFIK Theater. For those who desire closed captioning or can’t view this player, see YouTube, Parts 1 and Parts 2.

News With Nezua vids first appear Monday mornings at La Frontera Times. Wednesdays they show up at UMX, as well as in a dim setting at The XOLAGRAFIK Theater.

IT WOULD BE SUPER GROOVY if pressing problems in our society went away when the White House stopped talking about them, but life doesn’t work that way. And thus, the issues that entangle so much of their constituencies—the myriad challenges contained in what we casually call The Immigration Issue—only worsen in the chilly space that falls in the footsteps of an unfulfilled promise. From the children who suffer in the aftermath of Homeland Security raids to states that enact draconian and ineffective laws targeting the undocumented, a terrible terrain grows.

Welcome to Arizona, “The Police State!”

Arizona is the first place we look to see what happens in the absence of action from Washington. As I covered in my latest News With Nezua video, Arizona is moving “SB 1070 Immigration, Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods” through their legislative process without a hitch. La Frontera Times calls Arizona’s little petri dish of creeping persecution a “Carnival of Evil.” If you want a thorough and easy read on SB 1070 for insight on how the Arpaio-Napolitano thread weaves together Federal, State and Local police on the loom of oppression, I suggest Alfredo’s article.

A Recipe for Discontent

As Marcelo Ballve wrote Tuesday, this increase of enforcement concurrent with legislative action brings “a potent mix of frustration and disappointment” currently “percolating through immigrant communities nationwide.” In my experience, that emotional blend also moves through many advocates and activists, today. Ballve goes on to list many reactions and planned actions as a response.

In a recent Weekly Undocument, I covered the shutting down of the Varick Street detention center (see last graf). ICE is apparently doing this to move across the river from Manhattan to New Jersey for the obvious rea$on$…or if not obvious, because when it’s too expensive to operate in one place, you seek out an area that will help you better thrive. Yet what is coming to light as national attention falls on the Varick street facility are the repeatedly seen cruel results of having inadequate medical attention in ICE’s detention centers.

In this latest New York Times piece, we see those same horrifying glimpses of what people are so often made to suffer in these places: one man has an abscess spread through his mouth as care is coldly denied, until the infection has spread to seven teeth and the man has been put on a liquid diet because he cannot chew his food. And still, ICE remains stoic, unmoved, unrepentant, unchanged.

The criminal Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona is now facing yet another lawsuit. This one is from a woman who was attacked by two men in ski masks while at work and thrown face-first against the wall. The woman’s name is Celia Alejandra Alvarez and the men in masks were tax-funded goons employed by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Department. Celia dealt with injuries to her teeth, jaw, and face from this assault while in detention, but in those months she was there, she received no medical attention.

These charges, as horrific they sound to most of us who would be somewhat miffed to receive such treatment at our own workplace, come to no surprise to those familiar with the accused: Arpaio is currently under a criminal grand jury investigation for abuse of power as it is. It is clear from the way he treats the those in his jails that the man has some real cognitive issues, if not purely ethical and moral ones. Perhaps that is why the yarn of Ole Joe is slowly but surely beginning to unravel.

A Fractured Party

I am a very selfish man to feel any schadenfreude at all over any aspect of this issue. This is far bigger than my feelings. Which is why I often make appeals (for what that’s worth) to the GOP to come at this issue right. Bring the help, I hardly care what brand gets credit, when it comes down to it.

And yet, I admit some faint stirrings of a dulled satisfaction to see the GOP further divide itself, further weaken itself, over the issue of immigration. Bereft of the slightest idea how to move forward as a party or a nation, they throw what might’ve been called a Stink-In back when I was a child.

On one hand, you have the reasonable Republicans, who see the future. They have read the stats, they know that the Latino voting bloc will continue to grow, independent of immigration numbers. They understand that the lines about the economy and job growth being weighed down by immigrants are patently false, and simply political fodder. These GOP members know they better drop the blatant hate.

And yet, they cannot purge the party of that solid bloc of racists who delight in using the ole slurs n tropes n dogwhistles, and also have worldviews that are served through that approach. And so, as the article (linked above) on Republican resistance to the Jobs Bill details, “the schism in the Republican Party over Latino outreach and immigration reform is beginning to widen.” You’d like to think this would translate to legislative action from the Right, but of course in most cases, it will bring nothing more than cosmetic adjustments.

Your Papers, Please.

In June of last year, I wrote on the case of Stephanie Jiménez, 16 at the time that ICE confronted her and her two teen siblings on their way to school at a San Diego trolley stop and sent them to México—by themselves—instead. Despite claiming they did everything “by the book” at the time, kbps.org reports that a judge has dismissed the immigration case against the teens. Of course, this does not prevent them from being picked up tomorrow.

Olympic Achievements

Once, Felipe Calderón said that the US would not have been able to advance as she has without Mexican labor. Yesterday,  Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, was quoted by the Los Angeles times detailing some of that history.  Gonzales  talked of how immigrants “are vital to the economy in the Southeast, especially the agriculture, construction and service industries,” reports AP writer Kate Brumback.

“It started with the Olympics. Atlanta would not have been able to finish the construction in time for the Olympics without immigrant labor, and specifically Mexican immigrant labor,” he said. “After that, the housing boom that the Southeast experienced, and specifically Georgia, would not have been possible without immigrant labor.”

The context of the story is that Georgia’s immigrant population has doubled in the years since the Atlanta Olympic games of 1996. It is a population that came for the opportunities opened up by the need for labor, met the grueling challenges, and helped the nation thrive. Just as they do now with our entire agricultural economy.

Would the GOP prefer such an event as the Olympics not come to a US city? Would the Democrats who neglect this issue want the food on their table disrupted?

To call yourself “American” and yet systematically act and speak as if the myriad contributions that immigrants make to every facet of our nation’s health can be replaced with an image of deviance and parasitism is to be sociopathically dishonest about your history and politics. If life were truly fair, those dissembling politicians would be slaving in a dark, stinking meatpacking plant for 16 hour days under threat of deportation if they complained…at least for a month.

Not because I want to see them suffer, per se. But because then they might try to make the world a better place.

Our Ongoing Fight, Our Unfolding Victories

My Latino Voice has an article reminding us that amazingly, it has been fifteen years since Selena died. The piece goes on to talk about the conflict that faces so many with roots in Latin America and families in the US; those whose cultures straddle both worlds, and what its like for Latino youth to deal with this. Reyes speaks of that question—in one form or another—that follows many of us…Where are you from? Or as the author puts it, What Are You? It is a question that we ask ourselves. A question that sometimes collapses into gangs and teenage pregnancy and poverty—all specters that haunt Latino youth, as statistics show.

The article also speaks of Latino youth, ultimately, as an “unabashedly contradictory and unbelievably resilient” population. And I believe that is true. I wanted to post this here to say that if you are young, and you understand those feelings of being torn between two worlds, remember…you are not alone in that. Find other posts and sites that speak to your feelings, and give those feelings room to exist. You will come through whole.

Standing in Truth, Speaking Your Peace

Colorlines features an inspiring article written by Alberto Ledesma, who spent many years as living sin papeles—without papers. It’s a simple narrative recounting  his attendance at a writers convention…but he communicates so well that feeling that happens when you think you are Part Of, and are suddenly Othered.

In the case he is talking about, by another “Latino” and at a “Latino” authors event! In the article he comes to a realization about his story, and about his role in telling it. His shame, his barely-contained passion, his bubbling over with realization and decision is moving. I’m glad he is out there taking the road he is, telling us about his experience.

“Don’t get me started with these damned illegals,” he said with a giggle. “I just think we ought to deport them all.”

The rest of us froze, then gazed at each other, as if each of us was waiting for the other to say something. Even the bartender stopped the flurry of his towel.

That pause, that moment while we waited to continue the conversation seemed to last forever. Now, the fatigue our eyes had betrayed just seconds before transformed to something different: anger, confusion, fascination.

Bulletin Board

• Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island is the latest forward thinking politicians to endorse the DREAM Act.

• Voto Latino begins a push to educate and prepare gente for the Census. Let them know you are here and breathing, people! Speaking to assert that we remain on this land is far different than planting a flag. It is simply telling a story, and a truth of today’s world. And as the article above by Alberto Ledesma makes clear, we must all tell our stories, add our truth to the conversation unfolding.

• Reform Immigration for America is organizing a march on Washington…in March!

On March 21st, we will march on Washington, DC to demand immigration reform. Our vision of reform includes immigrants and native-born U.S. citizens working shoulder to shoulder to achieve better wages, working conditions, and labor protections.

People from all across America will lend their voice in the fight for reform. We will come together as one voice on the National Mall for a strong America – for families, for workers, for businesses, and for security.

Join thousands from across the country in the March For America in DC on March 21st, and demand Congress act NOW to pass immigration reform and move quickly to put all Americans back to work

Where: Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC
When: March 21st, 2010 – Interfaith Service at 1:00 pm, March at 2:00 pm

• You can sign up to march here.

• You can read of three good reasons to march—none of which are to bring about “comprehensive immigration reform”—at La Frontera Times.

• Regarding Arizona’s SB1070, an amigo Carlos E. Galindo fills in some important info:

There is a “Mirror bill” to SB1070 in the Arizona House of Representatives that was heard today at 9 am: B2632 immigration; law enforcement; safe neighborhoods, House Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee

SB1070 will not need to go through the Arizona House of Representatives (that’s why it’s not assigned to committee) if the mirror house bill is already moving forward. That is why they do this as a short cut in order to avoid the bill going through the other chamber as normal process.

Once the mirror bill passes the house it won’t have to go through the Arizona State Senate. That means both bills will be consolidated and fast tracked to the Arizona Governor Jan Brewer. That is  why we know it’s going to the governor for possible signature.  That’s also why contacting the Governor of Arizona is crucial to stopping this detrimental and offensive set of bills. We  know that the AZ House of Representatives will pass it very quickly so we must start the calls to the Governor of Arizona NOW!!!

Please call the Honorable Jan Brewer and tell her NO signature (veto) on SB1070 and NO signature (veto) on HB2632.

Honorable Jan Brewer
(602)542-4331

So there! You feel frustration? Anxiety over where this will go? Anger at the big talk and tiny movements? I don’t blame you. Let’s do our best to channel it positively. And again, if you need a break, or to let others pick up the slack for a while, that’s totally cool and often tactically smart. After all, this is not about any one voice, one website or one org; not even for a minute.

Keep the heart and mind healthy, and follow your bliss. And keep on, keep on. Keep fighting for what is right.

WE GRANT THE STAGE ENTIRELY TO THE INFAMOUS Sheriff Joe of Maricopa County, Arizona! Covering the latest headlines and happenings involving Mister Arpaio, this vid was crafted mostly before my trip the Canadian border…which will be chronicled in next week’s episode! The fun never ends here, but you know this. Check the video above for some insight into the rogue lawman, a character our amigos over at Cockroach People call “Obama’s George Wallace.”

(PS: The video is not 38 minutes long as the pop up will show when you hover mouse over play button! That’s a leftover marker in the code from the first time I rendered it, accidentally including about a half hour of black at the end. When I edited that out, for some reason, the piece of code for the hover tip remained.)

News With Nezua vids first appear Monday mornings at La Frontera Times. Wednesdays they show up here at UMX, as well as in a dim setting at The XOLAGRAFIK Theater, and for those who can’t see the player above, at YouTube.

THIS IS A TRAILER FOR A VIDEO GAME called Flower. It really looks wild, and is not the typical video game construct. Flower is a Playstation (3) game, but reminds me more of Nintendo. Playstation is generally drive, shoot, blast stuff, and Nintendo is a bit cuter and smarter. To generalize. Anyway, the trailer is fantastic. It is about the environment, and industrialization, and places you in the role of what seems to be an energy, or wind, or spirit. Or maybe just a petal with consciousness. Your task is to spread flowers, life, greenery, in opposition to creeping decay and concrete. That’s what I get from watching the trailer and the 15 minute gameplay video posted lower on the page. Wikipedia has a page on it which lets you in a bit more on the nuances of the game, which reveals thoughtful and beautiful elements working together in this game.

I watched the lower video first. For all fifteen minutes. I wasn’t sure I was going to, but I kept wanting to see what happened, and it kept drawing me in. As well as make me wanna go lie in a field under the sun! (Though, I have to admit that while the opening city scene in the gameplay video below makes me want to be in the city…though I don’t think that’s the intention! Its supposed to feel like a choked, cramped hell…I just miss the city!) Seems like Flower would be good to bring down your blood pressure. Or maybe after a solid Quake session, or a day playing World of Warcraft, or an evening wrangling small children. But it really inspires me in the sense of video games beginning to break out of the handful of stories/ideas that proliferate the market. Plus it has a soul, it has a conscience. A derisive YouTube commenter made me laugh out loud by typing “This is Al Gore’s favorite game.” But clearly, a viable market for more intelligent games like this exist, as demographics reveal. The largest group of social gamers is women in their 40s, not kids with Dorito-breath in the carpeted basement, or frat-boys, after all.

A friend passed me the link to Flower, or actually, it grew out of some ongoing sessions with a few amigos. You may be used to seeing the XOLAGRAFIK stamp on film/video, but another area that XOLAGRAFIK fantazmalicious art is getting more involved in lately is video game development. So I work with the Digital Stonework crew on that end. Currently, we are working on a game which is pretty deep, and if all keeps moving on track, gonna see daylight before long. It’s very satisfying work as they are all supercool cats with super-high octane imaginations and brains (so our jam sessions just burst with nuttiness, really good stuff), all people of color, all interested in raising consciousness with our work, not just feeding our faces, not with being stahz (so the energy and direction and purposes of the games are jibing with each other, as well as nourishing to the heart), and all with aligning or at least not conflicting worldviews/spiritviews on life. It’s less like a new company and more like a tribe! It’s actually a beautiful thing, and I’m positive that we will bring that energy to the games we will be making. So keep an eye out, because I most likely will ask the help of friends and readers to spread the word when it’s time, in what ways you can or want to.

This second video I’ve posted here is fifteen minutes of Flower first person view that lets you sink into the feeling of gameplay in realtime. The world, and its phases feel very big and varied, judging by the trailer up top, but these fifteen minutes simply show the process of forming one flower. It takes place in day/meadow terrain. All the while, you are rejuvenating patches of barren/dried ground, culminating in magical rebirth of a tree on a hill, and one flower being born anew under that tree.

Finally, if you wonder what that music in the top trailer is and why it sounds do Dylanesque, that’s because it’s Donovan, of course, with Catch the Wind. Ah…reminds me of that night in the hotel where we all drank and played guitar and then someone broke some glass in the street and Bobby got…oh wait. That’s not my life. That’s Dont Look Back, the documentary. Hunh. Okay. Gotta go ride some petals into the night. Peace.

I’m thinking of Syracuse, New York. Neversink, New York. Gaithersburg, Maryland. And a few other places on the East Coast. I cast my mind back to the other places I grew up: New Mexico, Miami Beach, Massachusetts, San Diego…I don’t remember the worms. I don’t see them do this in Oregon…though that may be simply because the rain either falls all day and night, or the sun shines hotly for weeks at a time.

But maybe the call and response is the worm’s nature everywhere. Mother nature’s musical tears charming the earth-bound snake. Perhaps the conga-taps and pebble-bone raps of la lluvia that dance atop the woolen roof of their mud-sky dome home call them to the light. Is it a song that seduces? Is it a hammer that challenges? Is the sound of the rain—like the machines drilling down into Zion and getting nearer by the moment—a threat that demands they rise? Or is it a murmuring bass-laden call that undulates their five hearts into a loam-cresting shape? Do they respond but all the while attempt to escape?

There is another call and response that brings us far worse than worms. Worms, after all, churn the soil with their passage and their ingesting and filtering of the earth. They are useful and productive creatures. I speak now of a vile force in our culture today often benignly titled “those opposed to immigration.” Not “those concerned with the growing amount of poverty on the continent,” and not “those who fear losing their insurance.” I’m not talking about “people who wonder if all that stuff FOX says is true,” nor am I referencing “people who miss the way their town was before all the immigrants came.”

Because being aware of the culture changing and having feelings over it is not offensive. It is human. And normal. And all and any of us might feel that way. Change challenges the human creature, who seeks stasis often, even though s/he is an example of flux moving matter into motion until it melts away into dust…dust that never stands still but soon rises with the next breath of wind, and is breathed in again by the living. Perhaps it is because we are but an ever-fluctuating body of rivers and masses; drinking in, giving back the earth; aging, changing, growing, shrinking, spreading; our very molecules leaping out and trading places with those of the objects and people we surround ourselves with—that we seek some containers limiting the flex and flow of our lives. The preference of one type of culture is evidence, too, of that desire. The unwillingness of the aging to see that their world cannot last, and is everyday being reshaped by the younger…this is understandable. And a piece of that. The conservative mindset, too, is one you can reason out. It appeals to many because it soothes us in that sense. It is a lie, at heart. But oh, all the energy that is expended in creating the illusion that it does what it means to: contain, conform, civilize and stand as a bulwark against dawn drum-circle dances of expansiveness and transformation.

But the clan I speak of is not one of these people concerned with change. That would make them rational to a degree. These I mention are…no longer rational. If they ever were. These ones stepped away from that land at some point, now paddling manically over the stagnant swamp of hate. The group(s) to which I refer will overlook a story if it does not mention their chosen targets, but become sudden activists if the same story brings in those they choose to hate. And then they will appear, and advocate such things as watching people die in front of them; or suffer from lack of medical attention or lack of food, because they are Other. Because “they shouldn’t BE here” or because “it’s their own fault.” And so on. And so on. And so on. Visit any article online that discusses immigration, immigrants, or familes identified with a Spanish last name!

Because you can call these ones forth in a flock by the simple framing or titling of your post. It’s like a turkey call…if turkeys frothed blood and lived on handfuls of mescaline corn, that is.

Unlike worms, when any topic online touches on IMMIGRANTS or the USE OF SPANISH or (heaven forbid) BOTH….a horde of loathing, greed, fear, and inhumanity will flock to the article as if horseflies sniffing out an open wound. And there they will alight, and seethe, and with gangrenous lungs, heave. And they don’t just live online, unfortunately.

Nor does it matter what their pseudonyms, URLS, or station call letters proclaim. Like the NeoCons of late, these types employ language not to express the essence of their intentions, but to disguise them.

Yet, we know who these people are. We have all met them in our lives…haven’t we?  If you are black, if you are white, if you are golden, brown, red or some shade in between all these, you have met them. No matter. Because we all were once young. And if you were ever young, weak, or alone on the wrong street, you’ve met them. If you’re a woman, you’ve met them. But it is true, there are some, perhaps, who have been very lucky, and never actually had the opportunity to be there, in the middle of their circle. At the foot of their leer. On the end of their chain. They are the group with sticky fingers who use bright stickers to disguise the meat locker. They are the sullen faces that sag with the sensual anticipation of your pain. They are the hands that lift you up out of your own shoes and bind you, and beat you. They are the enemies of the vulnerable child. They are the plunderers in the home of the host. They are hateful to all mankind, because they can turn equally on anything and anyone; they channel an energy that needs no real reason to destroy, but drools at the opportunity. They wear crosses. Or bent crosses. Or crossed pikes. Or stiff collars.

Their arguments fall hollow. Their logic gapes with holes. They are not there to understand, reason, enjoin, connect, uplift, receive, exchange, or otherwise communicate or make progress. They are there to exterminate.

They find the presence of (A, B, or C, and here it is the Spanish Language and the people they perceive as MEXICAN) objectionable for whatever reason, and all they say and do is done and said in the name of removing that presence, in denigrating it, in casting it as an infectious or deviant light, in extirpating and erasing this OTHER element they find so very repulsive.

And they move with great mobility. Because those who harbor this energy do worm their way into our politics, and our culture, our courts, and our laws…. And they are aided by a culture of celebrity-priority, reaction and momentary concentration…and yup, racism.

When a virulent anti-immigrant (which is seen largely as Anti-Mexican and thus draws as much as a yawn in the larger culture) is allowed to flourish; when so much talk of ENGLISH ONLY and ENGLISH FIRST and OFFICIAL LANGUAGE is hammered forth by everyone in politics including the President of the United States of America; when ICE is allowed to do its dirty work without a massive media rejection and inspection…an ugly force moves through our nation.

And its’ tendrils reach out and choke people. This is not an abstract notion. This force materializes in myriad forms on our plane. For a moment, I’m speaking of online comments, and then in the next breath I talk of sheriffs and schools and banks that target the Brown™. Just as the ugly entity I describe can suddenly inhale and then breathe itself out into the shape of human beings where it can further its ugly ends.

–

TODAY’S STORY BEGINS at Devonshire Elementary, a school attended by 500 students. A little over 200 of those children are Hispanic. As you can see by the screenshot [below] taken of the website, the school boasts of its “various academic programs that are in place to reach students from a variety of cultural backgrounds,” including the “bilingual Girl Scouts.”

In 2006, a woman named Ana Ligia Mateo was hired as a bilingual secretary for the east Charlotte school. This is useful, obviously, so that she can serve as a liaison for the part of the community that speaks Spanish more comfortably.

But wait—do I need to break this down? To that non-reasoning group I mentioned, it won’t matter, even if I do. If I were now to introduce a story where, for example, the secretary was critiqued by staff for speaking Spanish, the Vile Group would strongly side with the opposition. It wouldn’t matter what she was legally hired for and it wouldn’t matter why she chose to speak Spanish. This anti-Spanish clan will bellow forth, starchy shorts tweaking their vocal chords, fuming about Official Languages—as if this is all an ego game, or some war of lingual conquest. We might remind them that many American citizens speak Spanish more comfortably and that there are no standing laws against doing so, and that especially in an emergency, people can revert to the language that comes easier. So you would definitely want a Spanish speaking person as secretary in such a population.

To the Vile Group—again, if they had interest in meeting your mind (or their own morality) to begin with—you might paint an example. For instance, if you were vacationing in Mexico (as many US immigrants, or, I mean “Expats”) and you were not so great with language and you witnessed a violent crime (because rememeber, that’s what happens in Mexico!!!!), you might find yourself babbling in English to the neighbors, or to the police. Trying to get help. You might not even have the words to speak in time, to save a life, or right a great wrong.

Thought exercise: If people in the US read of an Ex-Pat living in Mexico…who tried to report a crime in English…and was publicly criticized and lost their job in Mexico for speaking English as they reported that crime…and the criminal got away, but the Ex-Pat had no job anymore…what would readers say about that? I imagine they would be incensed. It sounds surreal, doesn’t it. We can’t imagine it happening in Mexico.

No, that is the sort of thing that happens here in the US, though.

At Devonshire Elementary, two years after Ana Ligia Mateo was hired as a bilingual secretary, a new woman, Suzanne Gimenez, took over as principal. Note: Gimenez is not Latino/Hispanic; her name is, through marriage. And sadly, just as in the case of Lou Dobbs and his Mexican Wife, it seems the intra-cultural marriage has resulted in the non-Latino member of the couple becoming active in an anti-immigrant or anti-Spanish language/anti-Latino culture agenda. It’s sad, it’s wrong, and it’s just nasty to watch.

Like Gimenez’ sudden dictum that no Spanish was to be spoken by the bilingual secretary anymore.

Unless dealing with a situation where using a language other than English would endanger people, or harm the business, this is simply a ridiculous thing to require. But if another language used in a given moment would prevent harm to individuals or companies…what then? Would the Vile Group still protest its use?

Yup.

We see the English-Only rule instituted more and more, but not so much for the professed (and the only legal) reasons, though they provide cover for individuals feel they are reinforced finally for their own nasty preferences. These types feel reinforced by gauging the people and media around them. And when killers commit hate crimes against the Spanish-speaking/Latino community, especially when the guilty parties are let go or exonerated…it sends a message. When the victims of hate crimes are violently abused and violated and harmed…yet the case is not ruled a Hate crime…and they live but kill themselves later…the shadow over gente grows.

This hostile spirit that lives in many people is allowed to bloom when the individual believes the ground is fertile. And the rampant anti-immigrant:mexican:latino:hispanic:spanish-speaking energy is given voice and presence in many ways.

But I was telling a story about a bilingual secretary, sorry! I don’t mean to get off track.

So, two years after Ana Mateo was hired as a bilingual secretary for a school that celebrates cultural diversity on its website homepage with groups like the Bilingual Girl Scouts, a new principal is hired. And she demands no more Spanish be spoken.

When Mateo continued to aid parents by translating English or speaking Spanish to them when necessary, she was repeatedly told to stop by Gimenez, and forced out finally, before Gimenez’ first year with the new school had lapsed.

There’s that force, working to crush, squeeze out, eradicate my people’s culture. And not just mine. Boriqueños cultura, too. People from Spain, in fact, who aren’t even Latino. Many of us are connected to the Spanish language. And a smaller group keeps trying to make us feel vile…when it is they. They are the Vile Group.

Oh, I forgot one detail. The event that precipitated Mateo leaving the school.

One day in September, a parent came to Mateo, crying. “Distraught.” Understandably distraught. She was telling the school secretary that one of her sons’ classmates had been sodomized with a stick by another child at the school. She was trying to report a sexual crime against her son. Of course, she couldn’t speak English.

(Mateo) asked Ms. Gimenez if she could translate for the parent. Ms. Gimenez refused and told the parent her seven-year-old son could translate. The parent continued to cry and eventually left without having her issue resolved because she could not understand Ms. Gimenez’s responses.”

The suit says after an encounter with another distraught parent who could not communicate, Gimenez “screamed at (Mateo) that she could not speak Spanish to any parents.”

Mateo was sent to a conference room, the suit says, where Assistant Principal Kimberly Vaught told Mateo she knew Mateo could empathize with the parents because she “crossed the border just like them.” Mateo, who is described in the suit as a U.S. citizen who is “Hispanic/Nicaraguan,” said that was not true.

—Worker: School Banned Spanish

Even when they are trying to be reasonable, certain types of people let many categories blur together: Hispanic, Nicaraguan, Puerto Rican, Mexican, Immigrant, Spanish, Border-hopper, Criminal, Bad, bad, bad. And for people who have no issue collapsing the boundaries that stand, logically, between all these areas, the same kinds inevitably insist on so many impassable barriers in our culture and on our land.

I don’t know about Assistant Principal Kimberly Vaught, but the kind I spoke of above do not employ logic, but a type of racial or cultural psychosis. And they are not just pointedly harmful to the presence, peace of mind of Latinos…were the rest of the People a bit more focused and thoughtful about it, they’d see that these types are the enemies of all good People. To use your position of power to silence a victimized child and all in the name of lingual hegemony?

The principal and assistant principal of Devonshire Elementary are not fit to hold office or wield power. They will be removed or heavily disciplined, I imagine. Most people, I do believe, will see this type of authority as a danger to the growth of our society, a society these types would sooner see stunted or rife with harm, than take a shape other than what they prefer.

_________

See and do more at Change.Org: Here, and to watch the Vile Group flock, see same issue but in “Immigration” category.