Cultural Nationalism ,Chicanocentricism, CowardnessTake Your Pick
Rodolfo AcuñaOne of the advantages of growing old isthat, if you look back in time, you see patterns in behavior and events. Youcan anticipate that the boulder that Sisyphus is pushing up the hill will rollback.
This morning I clicked on to the Los AngelesTimes and read that Gov. Jerry Brown -- who signed the Agricultural LaborRelations Act in 1975 -- vetoed the Farm Worker Safety Act, legislation.
Many supporters weredisillusioned. It was the 50th year anniversary of the United Farm Workers’struggle to get farmworkers the same protections that many animals enjoy.Moreover, Jerry Brown was a favorite among Latino voters. I remember twoyears ago a left-leaning Mexican American attorney saying that his priority wasto get Brown elected and he would not contribute to anyother cause.
In the context of history, Brown’s flipflopping is no surprise. I remember in 1978 his opposition to Proposition 13which contributed to destruction of California’s education system, only to jointhe sponsors once the initiative passed. Brown offered no moralleadership. Brown also recently vetoed the Trust Act that would havelimited the state's law enforcement's interactions with federal immigrationenforcement efforts. It would have been a bold answer to Arizona’snullification of federal powers.
The adage to never trust a gringo or aliberal who comes speaking Spanish rings true. Brown knows that theUnited Farm Workers do not have the same cache among liberals that they did inthe 1960s and 70s so he relies on Mexicans and Latinos having a short memoryand on liberals not caring enoughabout farmworkers and immigrants. How many voters are there who care?
Some will rationalize, well Brown signed thestate Dream Act and he is pushing Proposition 30 that will raise sales andincome taxes and save California’s public schools and colleges. They are really important. They don’t sayLatinos are not important but the inference is that they are not as important.
In the past fifty years we have seen almostevery reform passed in the sixties roll back on us. The 1954 Brown v. Board ofEducation is unenforced, the Civil Rights and Voters Rights Acts have beendismantled, bilingual education, affirmative act and the 14th Amendment have alljoined the fishes. Conservative Ann Coulter has publicly said what manyRepublicans say behind closed doors -- that civil rights is a black issue anddoes not apply to other groups or women.
All of this is not new. The history of the14th Amendment is constantly in the courts. Passed originally to secure equalrights for blacks it has over the years been widened to include all residentsof this country regardless of color or gender. However, depending on the powerof the Robber Barons it has also been abused to push a laissez-faire eliteagenda.
During the Gilded Age the Supreme Courtinterpreted laws not based on the intent of Congress but on what was good forcorporations. To protect corporations from the states it made themcorporations. This encouraged rampant corruption and the Court in the 20th Century moderated thisuntil the ruling of Citizens United (2010) where corporations have once morebecome persons.
If it were just a case of “Them and Us” itwould be easier to deal with the protection of the rights of Mexican Americansand Latinos. Who is on whose side would be clear. But this is like whenyou were a youth and you got into a fight and most of your supposed friendsstood by while you got jumped. “Poor Rudy, I don’t want to see him beat up butthere are other fights.”
Ideologically, I am clearly a radical. Ishare the concerns of the progressive community on human rights. However, Ihave always been put off by the liberals “Anything But Mexican” approach toissue.
Historically, this not new, it dates back tothe Mexican American War. Not much was said about the Texas Rangers who werelatter day storm troopers. A multitude of historically incorrect moviesand TV series were produced -- making them the good guys. Even a baseball teamis named after the Rangers; I wonder what the reaction would be if MexicanAmericans called a team the “Hitler All-Stars.”
The progressive left media is in part toblame for this, it is complicit by its silence. Just look at theeditorial boards, the columnists and number of articles on Latino issues. Univision is more interested in showing cleavages than in exploring the issues.The Huffington Post features articles on actors you didn’t know are part Latinoor Latina – like anyone gives a damn or it makes any difference.
An interesting study would be therationalizations used by the progressive left to justify not jumping in to helpLatinas/os while they are being mugged. In my study of Arizona miners I keptreading from progressive unions such as the Western Federation of Miners thatall Mexicans were scabs, siding with the American Federation of Labor’s racistpolicies that limited immigration. It did not occur to them that perhaps racismplayed a role in their crossing picket lines. Mexicans were not onlysegregated and the WFM condoned a double wage system. Once allowed equalityMexicans were the most militant sector of labor.
Since the 1960s a common excuse amongarmchair radicals has been that Mexican Americans are cultural nationaliststhus playing into the ultraconservative argument of reverse discrimination. Armchair radicals want to define what id good and bad nationalism. At the same time,they applaud the Vietcong and the Cuban Revolutions.
This wrongheaded reasoning is played outArizona where I have heard white progressives say that they are for civilrights but that the defense of Mexican American Studies is regressive becauseit is cultural nationalist. In the sixties and seventies this same wrongheadedlogic was used to dismantle many of the more political Black Studies programsthat were labeled Afrocentric.
How different is this wrongheaded logic tocalling Mexicans scabs because they do not agree with the racist policies ofthe white leadership?
If progressives do not want to join thefight and protect the rights of Mexican Americans and Latinos let them at leastbe honest. They either don’t care about them or they are afraid. This is thecase in Arizona where the silence is deafening.
I have white friends who say well I amsupporting the Dream Act like President Obama, I am doing my part. The truth betold, supporting the dreamers is a no brainer. These students are the beststudents in the community, students who are not necessarily active in communityor campus affairs. Unlike many of us, they are not critical of the UnitedStates and want to become part of it. Hopefully, once they study history,their interests will become more political.
I am interested in human and labor rightsfor all and I should be willing to jump into the fray to help every group. Iwork hard on Chicana/o issues but this support automatically extends to CentralAmerica and opposition to American Imperialism throughout the world. When I wasasked whether an organization I am involved in would be willing to write anamicus brief in support of Mumia I said yes because capital punishment affectsus all – it is wrong.
I don’t believe that it is too much to askthat people I have gone to jail with to support Mexican American Studies andtheir making statements about things that they don’t know anything aboutinsults me.
The fight for equal education, the fight todesegregate our schools, the fight against the horrendous dropout of MexicanAmericans, the right to study one’s heritage, the censorship of books, thefiring of whistle blowers, fraud in the appointment of school board members,the brutalizing and intimidation of a community, the Democratic Party sellingout, labor leaders selling out, and the nullification of the Constitution for startersshould concern all of us.
Jerry Brown betrayed us and we should be madas hell. Everyone should jump into this fight, it ain’t fair.
So those who come to us whispering sweetnothings in our ears, telling us how much they love Mexican food and mariachisI say they should have the decency not to ask us for support for their causes.
Depositions begin this week in the caseagainst HB 2281. You can donate by clicking on to http://saveethnicstudies.org/ . We are runentirely by volunteers; however, depositions are expensive. Please donate atleast $5 a month.
Depositions have started in the case againstSean Arce and José González. Four hours of depositions were taken of both Arceand Gonzalez. Our side deposed Ward this past week. Please donate: https://www.wepay.com/donations/144408
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