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5 de Mayo, 2007
¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!
Categorized under Ciencia , Raza , Resistencia , día festivo | Tags: Cinco de Mayo
HAPPY CINCO DE MAYO! Happy Corona day! Happy Ragtag Guerrillas Cream the Imperialist Invader Day! ¡Feliz La Victoria de la Batalla de Pueblo Dia!
Cinco de Mayo celebrates the spirit of independence, although of course it is not Mexico's Independence day. (Amigo XP has a good historical rundown.) Many think it is, and perhaps in a way, that is true. Because for me, Cinco de Mayo symbolizes the uncrushable independent spirit and corazón of the Mexican people, of my people, the battles we have faced and still face: the exploitation and conquistadores and every attempt to corral and harness and denigrate us, from Cortes to Napolean to NAFTA to Minutemen to the back seat of the Mainstream Media Bus and the front seat at the Teargas Parade—the abuse is neverending.
But even larger than just my people, El Cinco de Mayo—the victory of the Mexican insurgents over the French colonizers at La Batalla de Puebla—represents to me a beautiful part of the human spirit itself. The same spirit that moved the peasants of Puebla to defeat the French Imperialists moves the Iraqis today to drive out their own occupiers and invaders; it is the same spirit that moved in the early American Patriot guerillas as they fought off the British Imperialists, and it is the same spirit that moves a girl to put her life down on the ground to be crushed as a bulldozer drives over her three times because she believes with her entire being in what she is doing—the heart and determination of the furious oppressed. Those who stand for the weaker, but True. Those who have no great stores of cash or weaponry, and yet who manage to draw from down deep, from down where the stones and water keep us weighted to the very Earth, down from where the soul stirs and will not be wrapped tight and bound to propaganda or greed, where there is only blood and hope and fever and the dawn of a New Day.
¡Happy Cinco de Mayo! ¡Que Viva el Corazón! ¡Un grito para nuestra libertad! ¡Hoy y Siempre!
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Comentarios (2)
supersoling dijo:
My thanks for linking to my post about Rachel Corrie.
In my research today for an upcoming post about the federal recognition of the massacre of Cheyenne and Arapaho women, children and old men at Sand Creek I ran across an article by a U.S. military historian about the ethics!? of the American soldier and his observation that the overwhelming targets of U.S. military massacres and war crimes have and continue to be "others".
"Under what circumstances have such atrocities occurred? Do they share discernable patterns? It seems to me that they do, in at least four respects. The most obvious pattern in American atrocities is that the victims have typically been non-white. They have been Native Americans, Filipinos, Japanese, and Vietnamese. The racial dimension here is obvious. Such people look differently, talk differently, behave differently, and are easier to regard as less human than oneself"
In our insulated and racist fantasy worlds we (white America) continue to believe and perpetuate the myth of equality and inherant fairness of the American ideal. One of the darkest and most dangerous lies ever propagandized. Yet despite those ugly truths there are some like Rachel who risk and lose their lives to stand with "others" because she is a human being, the only qualification that should matter.
Peace
Palabras por supersoling spat forth on el 5 de Mayo, 2007 at 11:52 AM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
it was my pleasure, supersoling. i have that post permalinked on my front page.
yes, you are so right about what you say. insulated fantasy worlds fed the american through history books and TV and newspapers.
but many of us have had enough of stuffing ourselves with straw and sawdust and are now eating up truth. thanks for doing your part to bring la comida!
paz,
Nezua
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 5 de Mayo, 2007 at 05:25 PM