Archive for December, 2009
Occupation of San Fran State University Continues
1:30 pm By la Macha · Uncategorized · 1 Comment
10 Dec 2009
If you thought that all the University protests in California ended already, you’d be wrong. Students at SF State University continue to blockade buildings on campus with people and objects. (picture is of a stairwell at SFSU).
The logic behind the blockade is that the educational “space” a university setting provides does not belong to administrators or government officials–it belongs to the people who use the space:
Reclaiming a space is not merely borrowing and then giving back. Reclaiming implies previous or deserved ownership, the taking back of what is understood as inherently belonging to someone or someones. We have maintained the occupation of Bu$ine$$ for 18 hours, our barricades not so much a threat as the extremely important work of agitation and political defense from our comrades on the outside occupation.
I have a lot of complicated feelings about university student protests–many times I think that the students who are protesting are acting more on impulse and desire to look “cool” than anything else. I’ve been a part of protests that broke up the *minute* things got a little sticky–leaving people who truly cared or who are affected by the thing being protested to deal with the fall out of protest–while those who only showed up on an impulse caused trouble and ran away.
So, one school and one group of students doesn’t usually get me feeling hopeful–I know how quickly things can change once things get tough.
But–at the same time, I trust the California activist community like crazy. California is the home to Xican@s, Zoot Suiters, the UFW, the Alcatraz protests and so many other amazing movements and people. I am hopeful that the response to these very serious demands will be other students throughout the U.S. taking up the call to action.
Interfaith Community to Call for Immigration Reform Across the Country Today
10:44 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Cities|Events|GLBT|Immigration|Politics|Religion · Comments Off
10 Dec 2009
Across the U.S. today, International Human Rights Day, faith leaders are gathering in vigils to “Shine the Light” on the need for comprehensive immigration reform. From the press release:
Diverse faith communities in thirteen cities are holding Posadas and prayer vigils during the Days of Action, in an effort to illuminate the plight of immigrant families and spread a message of family unity and welcome during the holiday season.
“Across the nation we are highlighting the plight of immigrant families who are suffering from fear and separation during this season of family unity and hope,” said Alice Linsmeier. “We’ve heard children say that the best present they could get for Christmas would be having their mommy home with them without fear of separation.”
(Re) Thinking Walking Zine is Here!
1:25 pm By la Macha · Detriot|Media|media justice|Michigan · 1 Comment
9 Dec 2009My very dear Michigan hermana, brownfemipower, has created a new zine! Modeled on the (re) thinking walking series that bfp and co-collaborator, Jess Hoffman have been working on for the last year or so, the zine is described like this:
The first zine hand made by brownfemipower, the editorista of the blog, Flip Flopping Joy. Featuring continued commentary in the manner of (re)thinking walking, this zine grapples with brownfemipower’s place as a survivor, Latina, Chicana, immigrant, sexual, organizing, moving mami.
All that for an amazing $1 plus shipping??? I really think you should head over to bfp’s place and check it out!!! Support media making by Latin@s!
Brooklyn, NYC This Saturday : Vigil For Jose Sucuzhanay
4:46 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · GLBT|Immigration|Justice|New York City|Violence · Comments Off
8 Dec 2009
Martes Movie Moment : Health Care Reform Racistas!
9:26 am By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Health|Media|Politics|race · Comments Off
8 Dec 2009Nothing like throwing down fear of the R word as a way to fight health care reform.
It could alternately be argued that those who support the current health care reform plan currently under debate in the Senate are racists, since the current plan limits access for immigrants, both documented and not. I’m just saying.
Via / Race Talk
The Obama Administration’s Latest Comprehensive Immigration Reform Move: Treating Migrants as “Terrorists”
11:23 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Immigration · 3 Comments
7 Dec 2009Our communities are told that the immigration “issue” will be dealt with after health care reform. But what we are seeing is that while there may not be a bill in play, there are moves being made by the Obama administration and the latest is to treat immigration the same way the U.S. has treated Iraq and Afghanistan.
Predator drones, the unmanned aircraft used by the U.S. military in the Iraq and Afghanistan war zones, will soon be employed to track illegal immigrants on the Mexico-California border.
The drone, which will be unveiled later today, will be operated out of the Antelope Valley by the military contractor General Atomics. The drones will fly above the border region with advancing electronic tracking equipment looking for illegal immigrants crossing into California
Honduran elections exposed
2:22 pm By la Macha · honduras · 4 Comments
7 Dec 2009The following is a fairly good breakdown of what is going on in Honduras at the moment and what the implications of the upheaval have been on the recent election results.
Honduran coup regime’s claims about 60% turnout at free and fair elections is revealed as fraud. Also implicated in the video are the wide array of media outlets and governments that have unquestioningly accepted the electoral data of a regime that overthrew the last elected president.
Produced by Jesse Freeston, on location in Honduras.
video found via facebook
Reclaiming Safety Across the U.S.
2:03 pm By la Macha · Events|GLBT|Violence|Women|youth · Comments Off
7 Dec 2009*Reclaim Safety with ALP and CUAV on December 8^th !*
/LGBTSTGNC People from the Bay to Brooklyn Create Community Solutions to Violence/
*We are mourning the tragic deaths of 15-year-old African American
Jaysen Mattison in Baltimore and 19-year-old Puerto Rican Jorge Steven López Mercado in Puerto Rico, and the countless others we have lost to hate violence.* Our sorrow and outrage go out to their families and communities: we know Jaysen and Jorge were taken from you too soon. We recognize that there is a war against low-income, immigrant, and LGBTSTGNC (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two- Spirit, Trans, and Gender Non-Conforming) People of Color, and that our people are meeting early deaths at the hands of hatred, abuse, neglect, and oppression.
*Unfortunately, the recent passing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the nation’s first ever federal LGBTSTGNC-inclusive hate crimes bill, will not stop the violence we face.* The bill:
*Provides no funding or resources to actually prevent
violence*, but instead gives $5 million to expand the powers of local
police and the FBI to investigate and prosecute incidences of hate violence.
*Strengthens a criminal “justice” system* that funnels
more and more poor people and people of color into prisons and away from our families.
*Supports the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan* as part
of the larger Defense Authorization Act, which allocated $130 billion to military efforts instead of to education, jobs, housing, and healthcare.
*Reaffirms the idea that safety comes through more police and more people in prison*, instead of by addressing the real
needs of survivors of violence, people who have been violent, and the communities affected.
*We believe that we can create our own safety.* We desire and demand solutions that challenge the real causes of violence: homophobia, transphobia, and economic injustice. As we demand the basic necessities that we need to survive—jobs, housing, healthcare, and education—we know that we must create real ways for communities to respond to and prevent violence without relying on violent institutions. *We refuse to have
our pain used to support violence of any kind.*
*JOIN US ON TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8^TH FOR A DAY OF RECLAIMING SAFETY.
*LGBTSTGNC communities from the Bay to Brooklyn will be strategizing and discussing community based solutions to violence. If you are in the Bay Area or the NYC area, attend the events listed below. If you are not, we encourage you to plan a conversation or some other type of event and let
us know how it went.
*Together, we can turn the tides of violence! * Read more…
Hate Crimes in Context
12:52 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Justice|race · 3 Comments
7 Dec 2009
Marcelo Lucero, Angie Zapata, Jorge Steven Mercado, Brisenia Flores, Jose Sucuzhañay, Luis Ramirez. These are just a handful of names of some hate crimes that got some coverage over the last year. Pero what makes a hate crime a hate crime? Who decides and what “standards” have to met? Will a national hate crimes bill, with harsher sentencing guidelines solve the root causes? How do we as radicals or even as “progressives” rationalize a desire to enforce longer sentences in prison, especially when a member of one of our communities is killed by another member of our communities (because we fit into multiple communities built around concepts of gender identity, race, ability, nationality, class, sexual identity, etc)?
According to the FBI’s recently released statistics on hate crimes in the United States, 64% of the hate crimes based on perceived ethnicity or national origin targeted Latinos. This is out of 7,783 hate crime incidents involving 9,168 offenses reported by 13,690 law enforcement agencies in 2008. Here are some more stats since people seem to like stats.
Single-bias incidents
Of the 7,780 single-bias incidents reported in 2008:
* 51.3 percent were racially motivated.
* 19.5 percent were motivated by religious bias.
* 16.7 percent stemmed from sexual-orientation bias.
* 11.5 percent resulted from ethnicity/national origin bias.
* 1.0 percent were motivated by disability bias.Offenses by bias motivation within incidents
There were 9,160 single-bias hate crime offenses reported in the above incidents. Of these:
* 51.4 percent stemmed from racial bias.
* 17.7 percent were motivated by sexual-orientation bias.
* 17.5 percent resulted from religious bias.
* 12.5 percent were motivated by ethnicity/national origin bias.
* 0.9 percent resulted from biases against disabilities.
Puerto Rican Community Leader Left to Die & Robbed in Philly ER Remembered
9:27 pm By Maegan la Mamita Mala · Activism|Philly|Puerto Rico · Comments Off
5 Dec 2009
WHAT: Press conference and vigil demanding
justice for Joaquin Rivera
WHEN: Sunday, December 6, 2009, 10 a.m.
WHERE: In front of Aria Health Center , 4900 Frankford AvenueOn Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 10 am , in front of Aria Health’s Frankford Campus
4900 Frankford Avenue in Philadelphia, members of the National Congress for Puerto
Rican Rights (NCPRR), a civil and human rights group, will join the family of
Joaquin Rivera , other local activists, politicians and organizations in demanding
justice while also calling for the systematic overhaul of a inept healthcare system
that would allow for such a tragedy.
Rivera, a beloved father, school counselor, musician and activist was left to die
in the Aria Health emergency room last Saturday. Adding to this indignity, Rivera
was also robbed while hospital staff continued to ignore his lifeless body. This
indignity has been fully captured on videotape that has been broadcast nationally,
to compound the pain and humiliation that Mr. Rivera’s family and friends will
endure through this loss.
Full disclosure : I credit my experience working within the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights in NYC as critical in my political development.
Hola!
VivirLatino is a daily publication published by Mamita Mala Media, dedicated to featuring all the latest politics, culture, entertainment of interest to the diverse Latin@ diaspora.
About | Advertise with us | Contact | Twitter
blog advertising is good for you
blog advertising is good for you
- Martes Media Minute : Roe v. Wade Anniversary, Medicaid Mama y Midwife Victory, Cervical Cancer Awareness month, & Mala’s Mami Closeup, | VivirLatino: [...] last week’s liveblog of a conversation on cervical cancer and Latin@s, Bianca Laureano s [...]
- Emiliano: thanks for your reviews. i feel like you tell it like you really feel. [...]
- Mr. Caraballo: Yo my brother loves those crazy movies with them suburbanites getting done by ghosts. Put me down f [...]
- BiancaLaureano: @Michael what's your email address? [...]
- Michael Armbruster: Great giveaway, loved the first two. [...]
- Eye on the Florida Primary : Mirror on the Wall, Who is the Most Anti-Immigrant of All?
- Live Blog/Tweet of Obama’s SOTU Address Tonight 8:45 EST
- Martes Media Minute : Roe v. Wade Anniversary, Medicaid Mama y Midwife Victory, Cervical Cancer Awareness month, & Mala’s Mami Closeup,
- VL Pelicula Giveaway!
- Today at 1 pm EST : Conversation on Latinas and Cervical Cancer
- Today in Latin@ History : Birthday of Martha P. Cotera
- Mistaking Immigration Proposals for Policy in an Election Year
- Casa Blanca Camino 2012: DREAMing of Hypocrisy in Iowa
- VivirLatino 2012 : Resolutions, To Dos and To Cover
- 2011 – El Año Que se Va/ The Year that is leaving
