las meditaciones de victoria

Stand Up, Fight Back

(versión en español abajo)

The mainstream media may be ignoring the record numbers of people walking out of jobs, out of classrooms, and joining in rallies against HR4437. But politicians, very soon, will not be able to ignore the cry, “We are not criminals.” My hope is that HR4437 is a federal déjà vu of California’s historical Proposition 187. That previous legislation, enacted by then Governor Pete Wilson, was unconstitutional and similarly draconian. From the protests of the last couple of weeks and the movement I see on the horizon, it is apparent that the nation is reacting the way Californians did a decade ago. Proposition 187 became a rallying cry to sleeping Democrats and Pete Wilson never recovered.

Cardinal Mahony’s Op-Ed piece from Wednesday's New York Times, “Called by God to Help,” serves as a reminder of what it means to be an American. We are a nation of immigrants, built on values of respect and human dignity, which historically has prided itself on its generosity and compassion. Americans who favor this legislation and blame immigrants for our economy ought to redirect that energy to the real culprit behind our budget crisis—George W. Bush and his reckless spending of this nation’s hard earned money. 

I hope that everyone who believes that the illegal immigration crisis in United States will not be solved by erecting fences, unlawfully detaining undocumented workers, and punishing citizens who provide humanitarian services to people in need, will join the thousands of people protesting around the nation this weekend. I know I will be there, homemade sign in hand, because I am an American and I am proud of what, I believe, we stand for in this nation.

Stand Up, Fight Back - versión en español 

Los medios de comunicación podrán ignorar el número de gente que recientemente han dejado sus trabajos y las aulas de clase para unirse a las concentraciones políticas para expresar su descontento contra la ley de HR4437. Muy pronto los políticos no podrán ignorar el grito de la gente que dice: “No somos criminales”. Espero que la gente se dé cuenta que HR4437 es algo que hemos visto ya en la medida histórica 187. Dicha legislación, promulgada por el antes gobernador Pete Wilson, fue inconstitucional y similarmente cruel. Creo que las protestas de las dos últimas semanas y el movimiento que veremos en el futuro, se expresará de la misma manera que se hizo hace ya una década. Medida 187 fue el grito que hizo que los demócratas y Pete Wilson nunca se recuperará. 

En la editorial del New York Times publicada este miércoles, el Cardenal Robert Mahony nos hace recordar qué es ser realmente es ser un estadodunidense. Somos una nación de inmigrantes que fue construida bajo el respeto y dignidad humana; una nación que históricamente se ha enorgullecido de su generosidad y compasión. Los estadounidenses que favorecen esta legislación y que culpan a los inmigrantes por la economía del país, deben de dirigir esa energía al verdadero culpable de esta crisis económica –George W. Bush y a la manera imprudente en que ha gastado el dinero que tan duramente ganan las personas en esta nación.  

Espero que la gente que cree que la crisis de la inmigración ilegal en los Estado Unidos no será resuelta con la construcción de muros, la detención ilegal de trabajadores ilegales y el castigo a ciudadanos quienes proveen servicio humanitario a la gente que lo necesita, se una a los miles de gente que este fin de semana saldrán a las calles de toda la nación en protesta. Por mi parte, allí estaré con una pancarta hecha a mano. Soy estadounidense y me siento orgullosa de saber lo que son realmente Los Estados Unidos.

(Kate Daniels will be traveling for the next two weeks and not posting her blog until 4/12/06)

Weltschmerzen – Again!

I’m back on the couch, the same couch I was liberated from the last time I became overwhelmed by world-weariness, the last time I was overcome with Weltschmerzen. Although I am stuck, in spite of my anxiety, the rent is paid, I’m healthy, employed, and, most importantly, no imperial foreign power has attacked my home today. That being said, my Weltschmerzen paralysis still feels pretty heavy.

This morning, I feel claustrophobic. Overpopulation is on my mind. I grew up on slogans like “The pill in time saves nine,” or “Stop at two” – slogans I rarely hear anymore. The numbers keep growing and I fear we’ve moved past the point of ever slowing the growth. We hit the 5 billion mark when I was in high school. The news came from Mr. Selby, our unconventional Algebra teacher, who came into class one day waving Ornstein and Ehrlich's New World New Mind.  My classmates, bored and crowded into one of the porta-classrooms we here in California are famous for, didn’t pay much attention. But the news stuck with me. I picked up the book long enough to learn about the boiling frog syndrome. I sent away for information on the organization Zero Population Growth. My brief overpopulation activism yielded to going away to college and to surviving my twenties and then, to adulthood, where I discovered that, as a nation, we have become so immature in our polarity and politics we can no longer have serious discussion regarding solutions fundamental to slowing this growth.

I think today’s Weltschmerzen may be a reaction to life getting a little hot around the edges. I went online to see if Zero Population Growth was still around, to find out if Weltschmerzen had gotten the best of them, too. I found the organization under a new name, Population Connection, along with a website full of factoids and resources. Especially valuable was the population tracker at the top of the page that lists the current world population at roughly 6.5 billion. I can’t give you an exact number since it increased by 100 people during the short time I surfed the site. I am relieved to discover that this grassroots population organization is alive and well. I joined up again and gave them a donation. Although I still feel a little Weltschmerzy, I hope to be back in the game by tomorrow.

Garden Variety Politics

(versión en español abajo)

Yesterday I visited the South Central Farmers Community Garden, slated for eviction March 20, 2006. My afternoon at the garden left me full of questions about how a city with a Latino mayor, who ran a successful campaign on his roots, would turn its back on this important sustainable project initiated and cultivated by his supporters. Well, I didn’t have to Google far to find politics as usual... 

I parked my car alongside a train track and walked around to the front just as a commuter train buzzed through on its way downtown. I wondered what the passengers thought of this massive greenspace that blossomed out of the metallic LA wasteland. I wondered if they noticed how factories and concrete opened up momentarily into a tropical oasis before slipping back into garbage-strewn facades. At the gate of the farm I met a man who transported me past radishes and cauliflower, into fragrant patches of cilantro and Yerba Buena, and along rows of corn stalks, banana trees, and wild berry vines. As we walked, he taught me a little Zapotec and introduced me to a variety of white chayote I’d never seen before. There are 350 families who survive on the food they harvest here. I quickly understood how this farm is an example of the direction urban centers will eventually have to go as urban sprawl continues. My guide's indigenous background reminded me of the ingenuity of the Lacandon in Chiapas, who similarly grew corn on hillsides the Mexican government deemed unusable...until they decided they wanted it back—an event which led to the Zapatista uprising.

What I have learned is that the sale of the property was conducted in secrecy between Brentwood developer Ralph Horowitz and City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. The property was sold for well under market value to Horowitz, who happened to have made the maximum in campaign contributions to Delgadillo when he ran for City Attorney.

On June 6, California voters will vote in the primary election for Attorney General.  Rocky Delgadillo is running against Jerry Brown. I remember in his 1992 Presidential bid Jerry Brown only accepted contributions from individuals and didn’t accept any contributions over $100. Governed by this campaign ethic, we can be fairly certain that Jerry Brown is not receiving any donations (at least not over $100) from Brentwood developers like Ralph Horowitz. I am afraid the same cannot be said of Delgadillo.

It’s time for Mayor Villaraigosa to step up to the plate and support the hard working individuals who have worked so hard to support themselves. The city should buy the property back at the same flimsy asking price they sold it for and declare the land a community garden once and for all. South Central Farmers Community Garden should be a source of pride for Los Angeles and used as an example for future sustainability.

Garden Variety Politics -versión en español

Ayer visité South Central Farmers Community Garden, el cual se cerrará el 20 de marzo del 2006. La visita me hizo preguntarme cómo una ciudad con un alcalde latino, quien tuvo una campaña política tan exitosa debido al apoyo que recibió de otros hispanos, ahora le da la espalda a este importante proyecto que no sólo provee sustento, sino que también fue uno iniciado y cultivado por las mismas personas que lo apoyaron. No tuve que buscar mucho en Google para darme cuenta que en lo que refiere a política, siempre será la misma historia…

Estacioné mi coche cerca de los rieles del tren y caminé hacia el frente, al mismo tiempo que un tren de pasajeros pasaba con camino al centro de la ciudad.  Me pregunté qué se preguntarían los pasajeros de este masivo espacio verde que había sido creado en lo que antes fue un área de industrias y desperdicio.  Me pregunté si notarían cómo de repente había aparecido este pequeño oasis tropical entre el continuo paisaje de fábricas y concreto.  Me reuní con un hombre en el portón de la granja y, cuando caminábamos, pasamos por campos de rábanos y coliflor y pequeñas áreas de fragrante cilantro y hierba buena que estaban a lo largo de líneas de maizales, plantas de banana y viñas de bayas.  A la misma vez que caminábamos, el hombre me enseñó un poco del lenguaje zapoteca y me mostró una variedad de chayotes que nunca antes había visto. Hay 350 familias que viven de la comida que se cosecha aquí. Inmediatamente comprendí que esta granja es un ejemplo de la dirección que centros urbanos tendrán que tomar a medida que continúen expandiéndose. El origen indígena de mi guía me hizo pensar en el ingenio de la gente Lacandon en Chiapas, quienes de la misma manera habían cultivado maíz en las laderas de las montanas que el gobierno mexicano había decidido no eran usables…hasta que decidieron que querían las tierras de regreso – un evento que ayudó a la rebelión zapatista. 

Supe que la venta de estas propiedades fue hecha en secreto entre Ralph Horowitz, un inmobiliario de Brentwood, y Rocky Delgadillo, el abogado representante de la ciudad de Los Ángeles. La propiedad se le vendió por mucho menos de su valor en el mercado actual al Sr. Horowitz, quien contribuyó el máximo posible a la campaña de Delgadillo cuando se postuló como abogado representante de la ciudad. 

El 6 de junio los votantes de California votarán en las elecciones preeliminarias para la elección del abogado general del todo el estado de California.  Delgadillo competirá contra Jerry Brown. Recuerdo que en 1992 Jerry Brown, cuando se postuló como candidato para la presidencia, solamente aceptó contribuciones individuales y no aceptó ninguna contribución de más de $100.00. Debido a sus prácticas éticas, podríamos estar seguros que Jerry Brown no está recibiendo ninguna donación (que no sea más de $100.00) de inmobiliarios de Brentwood como Ralph Horowitz. Me temo que no se puede decir lo mismo de Delgadillo.

Ya es hora que el Alcalde Villaraigosa represente y les dé su apoyo a estas personas quienes lo apoyaron cuando lo necesitaba y quienes trabajan tan duro para poder ganar su sustento diario y así puedan vivir mejor.  La ciudad debería comprarle la propiedad a Horowitz por la misma mísera cantidad que la compró y hacerla un jardín para la comunidad por siempre.  Este jardín debería ser algo de orgullo para Los Ángeles y ser usado como ejemplo para que en el futuro otras comunidades aprendan a sostenerse por sí mismas.

Si, Se Puede, Even If No One’s Looking

The Chicago police estimate that 100,000 people marched through the city’s streets last Friday in opposition to HR4437, the anti-immigration bill passed through Congress last December. Since police estimates are notoriously low, this rally was undoubtedly the largest pro-immigration rally in the history of the US. In my search for information regarding this event, I found only one report, posted in the Online Edition of the Chicago Tribune. Apparently, it didn’t strike a single national newspaper as “newsworthy.” As large masses of Chicago workers left jobs to join the march and as half of entire student bodies in some Chicago area high schools walked out while demanding fair and legal immigration reform policies, the news networks overlooked the opportunity to report, well, the news. Even bloggers at Alternet, Huffington Post, and Daily Kos chose not to describe how over 20 Chicago blocks swelled with Latino, Italian, Polish, and Asian immigrants, all waving American flags and handmade signs, demanding liberty and justice for all.

If you missed the coverage of this rally, or any news regarding this bill, take a moment to familiarize yourself with some of the immigration policies to which we can look forward. HR4437 cuts the diversity visa lottery program, thus eliminating the opportunity to legally apply for one of the 50,000 permanent residences the United States has offered annually in the past. Like most reform policies that have come out of this administration, there will be severe punishment for anyone or any organization that “assists” an undocumented individual. This, of course, includes church personnel who provide shelter or basic assistance to immigrants in need. Individuals would be liable for criminal penalties and five years in prison and property, including churches, would be subject to seizure and forfeiture. There are 11 million undocumented workers in the United States, many of who pay taxes as an investment in this country they risked their lives to come to. Undocumented workers build all our homes, feed us in the restaurants we frequent, and pick the fruits and vegetables that fill the shelves in our supermarkets. In addition, expanding on the racist policies designed to imprison Middle Easterners in the United States, the Department of Homeland Security will now have the power to detain indefinitely any undocumented worker who they determine is “dangerous.” Most importantly, the 700-mile fence along the Southwest border of the US is approved by HR4437—a site we can all add to our list of places to see on our next vacation to the Sun Belt.

What HR4437 does NOT do is address the harsh economic realities that the immigrants leave behind in the countries they’ve come from. HR4437 does not address the realities that inspire decisions to walk north, risk death, leave families behind, all in search of an opportunity here in the United States.

(Tribune photo by Antonio Perez)
Mar. 10, 2006

Connect the Dots – Amnesty International’s Report on Torture and You!

On Sunday, Amnesty International published Beyond Abu Ghraib: Detention and Torture in Iraq, a report on post Abu-Ghraib human rights violations. The report details torture by the hand of US and UK troops and by Iraqi security forces trained by the US-led Multinational Forces. In the report, Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director for Amnesty International USA, calls on President Bush and Congress to investigate the continuing cruel, inhuman, and degrading human rights violations. He demands, “No more excuses, backpedaling or delays—let’s just do it.”

This is the same Sunday on which I spent the morning sorting bills and throwing junk-mail in the recycling bin. In between shredding credit card deals and lube and oil coupons, I extracted the blue plastic Amnesty International sticker from an Amnesty International mailing and then recycled the envelope and its contents. I’ve ended up on so many lists, which gets me inundated with requests to join organizations everywhere, making it even more difficult to decide to whom I should give. Without much thought at all, Amnesty International’s letter ended up in the green bin in the alley behind my house.

Today I went to the Amnesty International website to read the report and discovered a short and effective flash video I feel compelled post. Watch it, pass it on, and do something to denounce torture today. Click here to watch Connect the Dots and don’t forget the detainees who are the victims of electric shocks, beatings, fingernail extraction, suffocation, rape, as well as grave humiliation and degradation. 

I’ve come to realize it’s not enough to blog my outrage. It is only hot air to argue just how counterproductive coercion is. I know deep inside that it is a lie for me to believe it’s my government, and not me, who is responsible for the human rights violations in Iraq.

A Gandhi Memorial

George Bush made a stop at Gandhi’s memorial in Rajghat during his current trip to India, while the people in India, including members of the Parliament, shouted, “War criminal Bush go back!” Even back here at home, Bush’s atomic deal with India is facing bipartisan skepticism. A “war criminal” visiting Gandhi’s memorial? Gandhi, as most of us know, was a man of peace and non-violence, a man who lived by principles based on the refusal to do harm. What does the US President accomplish by this most cynical and hypocritical stop at the memorial, by this so-called gesture of respect? If Bush shared Gandhi’s beliefs on Force, he would know that “love is the subtlest force in the world,” not nuclear weaponry, and this trip and this deal would not be happening. If Bush truly respects Gandhi’s beliefs, his efforts to ‘promote’ democracy in the name of freedom would not exist because he would know that “freedom received through the efforts of others, however benevolent, cannot be retained when such an effort is withdrawn.”

Gandhi cautioned the world, “Democracy is a great institution and, therefore, it is liable to be greatly abused.” He also understood that “democracy and violence can ill go together.” He must have been speaking of George Bush, because he is the embodiment of Gandhi’s warnings. If Bush were a disciple of this great thinker, he would also have known prior to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq that “the spirit of democracy cannot be imposed from without. It has to come from within.” Even if Bush had originally overlooked this principle, he should now recognize that “the spirit of democracy cannot be established in the midst of terrorism, whether governmental or popular.”

On Satyagraha, or truth seeking, Gandhi believed that “a Stayagrahi turns the searchlight inward relentlessly to weed out all the defects that may be lying hidden there still.” I can secretly dream that George Bush will somehow develop the humility of character so desperately needed to change the course of the history he is leading us toward. However, judging from Bush’s declaration yesterday, that “the United States and India, separated by half the globe, are closer than ever before, and the partnership between our two nations has the power to transform the world,” it is once again clear that this humility is nowhere to be found. Gandhi believed that one’s character “must be above suspicion” and “must be truthful and self-controlled.” On the news, the Associated Press has released a video showing Bush was warned in advance of the potential breach of levees due to Hurricane Katrina. I am beyond suspicious of this President. He has proved himself to be a liar.

I have another secret dream: after Bush and this dark moment in history has passed, we hopefully will remember Gandhi’s words, that “peace will not come out of a clash of Arms, but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds.”

America's Dirty War

When the Times’ published a report on Sunday about Bagram, a US detention site in Afghanistan that is worse than Guantánamo, I was reminded of my “Argentina lessons.” When I was a child my father took it upon himself, on a family vacation in Argentina, to teach my sister and me about the United States Constitution. He used Argentina’s Dirty War to demonstrate the value of habeas corpus. I remember the lessons distinctly. We would sit down to tea in the afternoon when the summer heat was beginning to subside and while the sticky sweetness of a dulce de leche sandwich was still lingering, he would deliver a passionate lecture on the Supreme Law of the Land.

On the veranda of my cousins’ home, he recounted tales of imprisonment without legal recourse, tales of torture, of death, and, with the most severe tone he could muster, he told my sister and me how thousands of citizens had vanished without a trace between 1976 and 1983. When this got our attention, he reassured us that the United States Constitution protected American citizens and provided a check and balance system of government par excellence, therefore preventing such an atrocity from being carried out by the lawful hands of the United States government. My father was not a religious man, but he believed in this document the way some believe in God. 

So on Sunday, I turned on the TV and expected to find news reports that would convey the same outrage that brews in me with every report of torture, rendition, and mistaken identity. When I found no further coverage on Bagram, I looked to the blogosphere where my search turned up equally sparse. I was baffled.  Twenty years after my lessons in Buenos Aires, I sit here wanting to know what citizens of the United States are thinking when they skim over these stories in the Sunday papers, wanting to know how it came to be that in 2006 this nation is so willing to accept, wanting to know how we can just ignore our core values. Citizens are condemned and detained without charges and without any access to legal representation. Detainees in Bagram are held under the most primitive of conditions. The Times reports, they live in cages and have died chained to the ceiling by their arms. 

I wonder if one day soon over tea and dulce de leche, I will be teaching a lesson about this period in our history, about America’s Dirty War.