I’d never heard of Rev. Samuel Rodriguez until I read about him over at Latino Politics Blog. Now that I know him, I wish that I could scrub my ears or drink alcohol or make out with Oprah or something.

The question posed at Latino Politics is: Do we [Hispanics/Latinos interested in organizing for change] need this man?

My answer: This is the kind of Latino Logic that I grew up around. A lot of Latinos who grew up in more progressive or activist communities like in L.A. or in San Antonio are often shocked when I start disparaging old school “Mexican Americans” because to them, old school folks are who got the movement started and who fought fights I could only dream of being brave enough to engage in. But to me, this is what old school Mexican Americans really are. Macho men interested in controlling the evil womenz and the lezbians and the non-godly among us.

I say let this man go. There are truly progressive and radical churches and people of god/spirituality that are about liberation and change rather than dominance and control through a false sense of “community.”

Let him find his own community. Stay out of mine.