Guerrillera/os de la Pluma, Fall 2011

Fall 2011Journal of the Raza Press and Media Association

GUERRILLERA/OS DE LA PLUMARaza Press, Media, and Popular Expression razapressassociation.org

• La Verdad • La Calles y La Torcida • Radio Lucha • Pueblo Unido • Clavo En El Corazon • Radio Free Aztlan •

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Guerrillera/os de la Pluma Journal of the Raza Press and Media Association

Raza Press, Media, and Popular Expression

RPMA CONSTITUTION(RATIfIed JANUARy 24, 2008)

OBJECTIVES:• Create a MoveMent of Progressive and revolutionary Media Work-eRS

• to establish a raza neWs Wire serviCe.• hold on-going WorkshoPs and ConferenCes to advanCe raza Press, Media, and PoPular exPression.• establish an editorial board to oversee Joint PubliCations.• Pool existing resourCes to assist PubliCations and to establish neW ones.• establishMent of a ColleCtion of PeriodiCals, Past, and Current.

PRINCIPLES OF UNITY :• Must be raza PubliCations/Media Workers Who are indePendent of governMent agenCies.• MeMbers Must suPP ort raza self-deterMination.• Must adhere to deMoCratiCally reaChed deCisions.• Must suPP ort general obJeCtives of the assoCiation.• Must suPP ort the struggles of other indigenous PeoPle, latino aMeriCa-nos (raza), and all oPP ressed PeoPle Within and outside the u.s.

MEMBERSHIP PRIVILE GES/BENEFITS:• adMission to all rPMa events (ConferenCes, suMM its, etC.)• MeMbershiP Card and rPMa Press Card .• rPMa referenCe (for eMP loyMent, grant PurPoses etC.).• teChniCal assistanCe in Media ProduCtion.

• voiCe in the direCtion of the rPMa.• knoWing that you are fighting for JustiCe, PeaCe, and liberation

STRUCTURE:• Mesa direCtiva/editorial board Will Consist of a) Coordinator, b) events, C) MeMbershiP, d) PubliCations, and e) MeMber at large.• Mesa Will serve as Coordinating body to insure CoMM uniCation and CoMP letion of tasks.• Mesa Will also serve as editorial board for all rPMa

PUBLICATIONS:• standing CoMM ittees Will be established as needed.• Mesa direCtiva Will organize a yearly suMM it or ConferenCe.

Guerrillera/os de la Pluma

EditorLuis Moreno

Managing EditorErnesto Bustillos

Associate EditorJose G. Moreno

ContributorsErnesto Bustillos

Francisco RomeroPablo Aceves

Devon G. PenaJose H. Villarreal

Raza Press and Media Association

Editorial Board2011-2012

Ernesto BustillosFrancisco RomeroAntonio Velasquez

Luis Moreno

raza Press, Media, and PoPular exPression

BY FRANCISCO ROMERO

When the so-called ‘fore-fathers’, white settler oc-cupiers, were drafting the

first set of amendments to their consti-tution in the late 1700’s, they were not thinking of the rights of the indigenous peoples which were seen as ‘sav-ages’ or the African slaves they con-sidered property. In fact, it was during this period where there were some of the most brutal removals of the indig-enous peoples from their lands within the colonies and deadly horrific abuse and exploitation of the African slaves. So, when analyzing the concept of freedom of speech or press in today’s context, we must see it through the lens of its inception, which was always meant to keep the colonized, occupied and oppressed in complete control of the both the body and the mind. The right to freedoms of speech and the press were for colo-nizer: their debates, their papers, their campaigns, etc. One can remember cracking open those history books, with pictures of Washington and the rest of the settlers debating at the Constitutional Convention; wearing their white wigs and all talking about “freedom” while at home they had their slaves and on the “frontier” they

The Fallacy oF Free Speech wiThin The capiTaliST cenTre:

CORPORATE MEDIA MANIPULATION AND CONTROL OF IDEAS, THOUGHT,

AND DISSENThunted the indigenous peoples’ down like animals. Fast forward 222 years and essentially the conditions are the same, and the objective of keeping the colonized and oppressed under control remain intact. The strategy has been cosmetically altered to fit today’s technological era, but at its core, real access to the press and freedom of speech are contained, controlled, and definitively capitalist. Make no mistake about it, the goal of the capitalists’ media, in all its forms, is to keep everyone entertained, distracted, apolitical, docile, and most importantly consumerist. From books, film, television, radio and the Inter-net, the ruling class will fund those operations so long as they promote imperialism’s values and objectives. They will not allow for any real debate, discussion, etc. that will counter their objectives. Everything is presented to us in snippets, sound bites, and any semblance of resistance or dissent is drowned out by the bombardment of commercials, sports, weather, and en-tertainment updates. If you blink, you missed it. The grand majority of the working-class rely solely on the radio and television for news. How many times have we caught ourselves flip-ping through channels on television

SEE “DISSENT” PAGE 7

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Fall 2011

www.razapressassociation.org

BY ERNESTO BUSTILLOS

The following is an edited version of the coordinator’s report to the Raza Press and Media Association (RPMA) general membership meeting. The meeting was held on Sept. 3, 2011, in Los Angeles, CA. It is divided and presented in the form of 10 short statements.

WE ARE LOSING THE BATTLE OF THE MINDS

The truth is that we (progres-sives and revolutionaries) are losing the battle of the minds

to the reactionary-racist-capitalists-imperialists. We see the capitalist-imperi-alist media continuing to consolidate its manipulation/mind control over the great majority of the world’s masses. Never in the history of humankind has there been such a deep and complete control over the thinking of so many people with the objective of keeping them oppressed and easily exploit-able. The fact is that Imperialism’s media and social-educational insti-tutions are some of its most potent weapons in the wars they are waging upon the colonized and poor masses throughout the world.1

For years, the RMPA has been critical of the reality that the forces of justice and self-determination, to which we consider ourselves to be a part of, are losing this war. Our move-ment as a whole, and Raza media workers in particular, have not devel-oped the means (resources, organiza-tion, skills, and the will) to effectively struggle to win the liberation and end the exploitation of our communities.

THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA PRO-VIDES THE COVER TO ATTACK, KILL, AND EXPLOIT MEXICANSWith the assistance of the mainstream media, the racist/fascist/capitalist ele-ments within U.S. society are commit-ting the worst crimes against our com-munities. The capitalist-colonialist me-dia, which some call “the mainstream media”, continues to provide the rich capitalists and their racist flunkies –the white middle and working class– with a rational that gives them the “right” to attack, kill, and exploit Mexicans and other nationalities. Providing a cover for their crimes (war, financial rip-offs, and labor exploitation), the media ef-fectively has made us the scapegoats and those to blame for everything that is wrong with White America. Thanks to the capitalist media, hate crimes against Raza, African, and Asians are at an all time high, and they continue increase. The racist forces would not be so bold or so quick attack us, if they were not encouraged and incited by the likes of Bill O’Reily, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, and other media terrorists. The climax of this violence, if it continues at the current level –at least within the current borders of the U.S.A (Occu-pied America)– will be nothing short of genocide and the extermination of our culture Not a minute goes by, whether you are in San Antonio-Tejas, Yaki-ma-Washington, Denver-Colorado, Phoenix-Arizona, or Los Angeles-California, without the media focusing on Raza as cause for some social-economic problem or in the sensa-tionalizing of the crimes committed by “Hispanics” or “illegal aliens”. Yet, the

fact that hate crimes against “Latinos”, within the last ten years has increased by over 50%, is conveniently hidden by the mainstream media.2 It’s a matter of fact, that Raza, on almost a daily basis, are killed, brutalize by police or white vigilantes (KKK, Skin Heads, Minutemen, and “plain” white folks). Our children are humiliated and mentality terrorized by the schools and White society in gen-eral. For proof of this –one just has to critically (open minded) read and see television programs, school text-books, and so forth.3

HISTROY TEACHES US THAT IM-PERIALISM AND SETTLERISM ARE THE CAUSE OF RACISM, VIOLENCE, THIEVERY, AND EX-PLOITAIONWhat we are witnessing, pure and simple, is a war against the masses (poor, workers, and the colonized). Over the last three or four years, literally hundreds of thousands of Raza have been “forced” out their communities due to the worst type of harassment, fear, and violence, pro-voked by the systematic lying and sen-sationalism of the media. This is what is happening in Arizona, Alabama, and in hundreds of racist controlled towns and cities throughout Occupied America.4

This is also exactly what the first settlers did to Mexicanos soon after the Mexican War (1848) and oc-cupation of the “Southwest” (Aztlán), where at gunpoint they stole millions of acres of Mexican land, and killed and hanged thousands of Mexica-nos (men and women) who resisted. While at the same time, Indigenous nations were forced out their lands

SEE “ACTION” PAGE 8

REPORT TO GENERAL MEMBERSHIP OF RPMA:

EVERYONE MUST BE EITHER CONVINCED INTO ACTION –OR PUT TO

SHAME FOR THEIR INACTION

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RPMA Reading ListContrary notions:

the MiChael Parenti readerBy Michael Parenti

J J J

one PeoPle! one Party! one destiny!

By OMali yeshitela

J J J

the Mind ManagersBy herBert i. schiller

J J J

WeaPons of Mass deCePtionBy s. raMPtOn and J. sauBer

J J J

Jail the oPPressorfree the oPPressed!By ernestO BustillOs

J J J

ManufaCturing Consent: the PolitiCal eConoMy of the

Mass MediaBy edward s. herMan

and nOaM chOMsky

J J J

Media Control: the sPeCtaCular aChieveMents of

ProPagandaBy nOaM chOMsky

J J J

the shoCk doCtrine: the rise of disaster

CaPitalisMBy naOMi klein

J J J

BY DEVON G. PEÑA, PhD

Joseph Campbell has long been one of my favorite scholars in the field of comparative religion and

the study of mythology. I first encoun-tered Campbell’s magnificent work as an undergraduate in, of all places, a Chicano Studies course on poetry taught by Alurista at the University of Texas in 1974. The work I personally encountered during that class was The Hero’s Journey, a book first pub-lished by Campbellin 1954. I discussed The Hero’s Jour-ney with Alurista since I was already reading it. It is a book about myth but it is also about the human quality of resilience through the experience of discovery and loss, of how one adapts and grows from our journeys into the unknown, which begins with the crossing of thresholds or bound-aries that mark the separation of the familiar from the unfamiliar. Alurista thought this could be used as an analog for understanding the role of Chicana/o poetry, that is, as an ex-ploration across boundaries. Alurista thought that borders that are meant to separate may in the end dissipate before the power of the transition to a full humanity realized only through the acceptance of the “Other”. Poetry is the language we use to realize this more just and peaceful moral order. Lately, I have been thinking about this lesson, which I learned in one of my first Chicana/o Studies classes. I am intrigued by this idea of crossing thresholds and believe this has implications for what is happening in Arizona today. The basic insight is simply about creativity springing from the act of crossing thresholds. What does this mean, in light of the recent attacks by Mark Stege-

CULTURA OR CULT: THE CAMPAIGN IN ARIZONA TO DEMONIZE CHICANO STUDIES

man, president until last Tuesday of the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) board, upon its own Mexican American Studies (MAS) Program? Stegeman was removed on a 3-2 vote by the board, but will remain as a member. The most recent phase of this attack occurred this past August 19 during Stegeman’s testimony at a court hearing related to litigation over the constitutionality of HB2281, an Arizona statute that seeks to dis-mantle Chicana/o Studies across the state’s public schools, alleging that such classes preach the overthrow of the U.S. government, are designed for students of a specific ethnic group, teach ethnic solidarity instead of fo-cusing on the individual, and promote racial resentment. In his latest attack on the integrity of the MAS Program, Stegeman characterized the program as “a cult.” This claim was based on Stegeman’s apparent distortion of the meaning of the “solidarity clap” - a widely used motivational practice root-ed in social movements that is simply meant to drum-up enthusiasm for the task at hand. The instructor in a MAS Program class that Mr. Stegeman vis-ited earlier this year had started the session with this solidarity clap as a prelude to consideration of the texts athand. This is the basis for Stege-man’s absurd and inaccurate claim that Chicana/o Studies is a “cult.” A point of fact: Public school and college teachers use a variety of motivational tools at the start of class-es and the “solidarity clap” is one ex-ample I have witnessed in dozens of classes, seminars, and conferences. I’ve recently seen the solidarity clap at meetings of the American Studies As-

SEE “CHICANO” PAGE 8

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Fall 2011


BY PABLO ACEVES

It is official. All reports show that email is no longer the online com-munication most people use. It

has been replaced by other social me-dia such as Twitter and Facebook. It is used to communicate, to let everyone know how we are “feeling” (whether they want to know it or not) and it’s seen as a “great way” to organize by many in the Movimiento. But what is the real effect of these social media and what does it mean for those forc-es that are struggling for true, revolu-tionary change? First of all, anyone who says that these media do not have an im-pact on the way we organize and struggle has not taken a real, analyti-cal look at how they affect what we do. For starters, none of these media allow anyone to post anything more than a few characters at a time. This means that we cannot say too much, cannot develop a thought pat-tern, can’t really debate revolution-ary theory or bring all the historical questions that back up an argument into the issue that we are mobilizing around. We can make calls to action because something is “unfair”, “un-just”, or, because “that sucks”; but we can’t really explain why. This reinforces the attention deficit and amnesia that this capital-ist/colonial society puts into us, where we do not connect our current condi-tions to history. When this happens, we are not able to make a connection between the oppression we have suf-fered and the past experiences of our communities. This is because we are not informed or those who know are unable to write very much without ei-ther running out of space or “boring” those who use these media exclusive-ly.

This new form of media might lead us to more activity, more mobi-lizations, but, in the final analysis, “less conciencia” than ever. When we say less consciousness, we mean that when this medium is the ONLY method used to get people to go to marches, many who do attend don’t exactly know why they are there. They might be more likely to support an end to deportations and at the same time they have a bumper sticker on their car that says, “support our troops”. It is a medium that might get people out on an issue that is immediate and/or emotional but without going any deep-er and breaking the unconsciousness that allows the system to keep colo-nizing and exploiting. This is one of the reasons we see struggles moving more toward reformism and away from revolution. This is also why, even more than dur-ing the Chicano Power Period (roughly 1965 to 1975) that we witness “reac-tive” vs. “proactive” struggles; a condi-tion where we try to “stop” an injustice vs. building a consciousness that links us to the day-to-day long term, pro-tracted, and complete change in soci-ety and the way we live/relate to each other. TWITTER/FACEBOOK AND SECU-RITYThere is another aspect of Twitter and Facebook and other social media that Raza activists should be concerned about: security. These media allows others to see photos posted, who is friends with whom, and find out what someone’s tendencies and moods are. This is used by the system to track weaknesses and find ways to at-tack forces in the movement. There is so much information bombarding us on the net and we col-lectively lack so much historical infor- SEE “FACEBOOK” PAGE 10

BUILDING REVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT AND STRUGGLE IN AN AGE OF

TWITTER/FACEBOOKmation –that COINTELPRO and the US war against Raza, African and Progressive movements in the sixties and seventies seems like a “distant memory.” Social media gets us to drop our guard and give away information, which the system then uses to attack us. This is a reason that the type of media that we utilize should be of con-cern to our movement. LAZINESS IN THE MOVEMENTAnother of the problems caused by the “social media craze” is the laziness it brings. We have almost a whole gen-eration of “activistas” who are un-able to make a phone call, pass out a flyer, or otherwise engage gente (the masses who are not twitting or “into Facebook”) in any kind of dialogue, discussion, defend a revolutionary line, or work to unite the people to the struggle. Political discourse has been reduced to semi anonymous wall posts in a vacuum and the intellectual sharpness of the activists suffers from political attention deficit disorder.

WHAT IS TO BE DONEIs the solution to not use Facebook, Twitter, etc.? No one is saying this, or should be saying this. These spaces do have a place and can be useful in organizing and mobilizing –and not just to talk about how many beers “activists” for social justice drank over the weekend complete with pictures of them performing the latest party tricks. What must be argued and understood is that they can never take the place of true writing, true political analysis, and real contact with the masses to mobilize in the barrios, fields, pintas, and workplaces. The solution is not banning social media; rather what is needed is a revolutionary activism that can lead

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LETTER FROM THE PINTA:

THE NEED FOR AN INDEPENDENT PRESS IS PRICELESS

Editor’s Note - The following is a let-ter sent to Las Calles y La Torcida, the newsletter of the Chicano Mexicano Prison Project (CMPP). Las Calles is sent to more than 600 prisoners every three months. It is the only pro-Raza liberation publication sent to prisons within the borders of Occupied Ameri-ca (United States). For more informa-tion on the CMPP, see uniondelbarrio.org.

Saludos Revolucionarios

I was very happy to receive your educational and much needed newsletter! I hope all of the gente

at CMPP are in the best of revolution-ary spirits as well as good health. The need for the independent press, especially coming from a Raza perspective, is priceless and should be supported as it is only through these publications that we get the truth of our historia and how Raza are affected in capitalist America. We have seen the attacks on gente in Arizona and the apartheid like laws that are used to uphold white su-premacy in Arizona. All the politicians –of all stripes go– along with business as it usual in bourgeoisie politics; this proves that the Republicans and Democrats do not have Raza inter-ests in mind. It is for these reasons that Raza should build class-conscious-ness and support a political party out-side of the Democrat/Republican two-headed dragon. The gente need a revolution-ary party that puts self-determination in the forefront. We see the exam-ple of Socialist Cuba and Venezuela on what a society can look like once the imperialists are sent packing and

when the people’s interests are put before earning a dollar. This is the vision for a liberated Aztlán, no exploi-tation but liberation. We need as a first step in the direction toward liberation, a strong flourishing independent media to flood our gente with revolutionary ideas and a political education –free from corpo-rate bias and capitalist propaganda. We need to de-colonize the mente of the Raza. We live in a soci-ety that stifles history, cuts ethnic stud-ies (Chicano Studies) from schools, bans speaking languages such as Spanish or Nahuatl in pubic spaces, and dumps toxic waste on Indigenous lands throughout the territories of Aztlán. It is a society that hunts our gente like modern day slave catchers, murdering some, and locking most in prison plantations, while flooding our barrios with drugs. The “lucky” Raza can be canon fodder in system’s wars of conquest; fighting, bleeding, and dying to make the rich corporate owners around the world –like those of Halliburton [Inter-national Corporation with Military, Oil, and other Interests]– richer, and the poor, poorer. These are the choices that, for the most part, Raza have. While the corporate media points to brown faces in high places as proof that the American dream is possible for everyone, we see that our conditions remain the same. But this repression is nothing new. Aztlán is a U.S. colony that has been illegally invaded, strong-armed and maintained by conquest since 1848. The fact that what is now called the “American Southwest” was acquired by conquest does not mean that our gente agree or accept this

colonization. A look at the US jails and prisons shows the resistance and the will to struggle against the occupier by the high rate of Mexicanos and Indige-nas imprisonment in these gulags. The imperialists see the threat of what an educated Raza can do and thus our Barrios are targeted with the effectiveness of 100 lashes from a barbed whip. The intention of the white supremacists is to terrorize and psychologically bludgeon the gente to the point of passivity and assimilation. It should not go unnoticed that the state uses all of its agencies to en-force the war on Raza. Obama comes on T.V. saying its “heartbreaking” that kids are not allowed to be U.S. citi-zens, yet he has unleashed a war on migrants by deporting more Raza than under Bush’s watch. This ter-ror that Raza live under, knowing that anytime they leave the house for work they may not come home, must have been felt by Jews at the beginning of Nazi Germany’s climb to power. According to the California Department of Corrections 2007 facts and figures, of all the California prison-ers, 38% are Raza, 29% Black, 27% white and 6% other. This should be a notice that the oppression of Raza is not a fabrication –it is real and it is here. Thus, it should be understood that the struggle for self-determination of Raza is a vital aspect of the revo-lutionary struggle for political power for all oppressed people in “America”. The growing brown population and increase in political consciousness shows that time is on our side. J

EN LA LUCHAJOSE H. VILLARREALPELICAN BAY STATE PRISONCRESCENT CITY, CA.

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Fall 2011


FROM “DISSENT” PAGE 2

and there is “nothing” on, when in fact for the average cable service there are at least one hundred chan-nels with “everything” on. We are hit with never-ending reality shows, to religious sermons petitioning for money, to sports highlights, to ‘nove-las’, and of course an avalanche of commercials. Then it is all repeated over and over and over, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and 365 days a year. More and more fam-ilies don’t even have the resources to spare to pay for cable, so we are re-duced to an access of a handful of channels. The same goes for radio station programming and now even the Internet. With Internet marketing tools that tailor to each person’s likes defined by what somebody searches for on the web, the news feeds are now also filtered and constrained to a net, literally an Inter “net”, where we are caught in their web. The Internet is a tool at our disposal to do outreach, etc., but, we cannot fall into what some call a “clicktivism” mentality where, for ex-ample, one just signs an online peti-tion, presses click and kicks their feet up for the day and think there will be a revolution knocking at their door. These technological tools should be seen simply as tools to utilize to build actual independent community pow-er. We must gather, we must meet, and we must dialogue, debate, unite face to face, and organize to take on real action. As far as newspapers go, all recent studies indicate a decline in the amount of people that are actu-ally buying the newspaper and then reading it if they do spend their mon-ey on one. The imminent disappear-ance of the traditional newspaper is near, and each time you pick one up, a stack of advertisements usually fall right out onto our laps. Once we clear those out of the way, you still have to deal with the full- page ads taking up the majority of the space, with small

columns and articles clinging on for dear life around the edges. It seems, based on what we see in the corporate media, like there is very little dissent going on, when in fact, there are hundreds upon hun-dreds of actions and efforts happen-ing on a daily basis to challenge the status-quo. There are community fo-rums, protests, marches, pickets and even things such as reading circles, revolutionary or progressive cultural activities going on all of the time. We just won’t hear about it on the mass media, and if we do, again, it is over-shadowed by everything else. Let’s highlight some recent events that we might have missed that really should have been headlines and merited special reporting and interviews that should be aired over and over and re-place all of those Jersey Shore reruns that keep plastering the screen. For example, there should have been special reporting and in-depth interviews with prisoners that led the mass hunger strikes that ini-tiated in Pelican Bay prison months ago, which have now reinitiated as they struggle for their five basic de-mands against the corrupt practices, inadequate food, and the mentally and physically torturous confinement of the Security Housing Units (SHU) (http://www.prisons.org/hungerstrike.htm). There should have been a 1-hour special dedicated to analyze the findings within the 72 page re-port published by No More Deaths in Arizona entitled, Culture of Cruelty, which exposes the systematic brutali-ty of the Border Patrol (http://www.cul-tureofcruelty.org/?page_id=14), which went almost completely unreported on the mainstream news. There are also should have been more coverage of the recent protests of Obama’s visit to Los Angeles by activists denouncing the mass deportations of Raza, work-ers and families, where only a handful of Spanish language stations reported with three minute segments and the English newscasts didn’t even bother

to show up. No in-depth reporting or analysis. If we were to have real free-dom of speech and press, then we would certainly have a voice in the consciousness of society and in particular with the working-class. Rest assured if that were the case there would have been mass revolts against the conditions, abuse, neglect and dehumanization endured by the prisoners at Pelican Bay, the detain-ees in the Arizona private and federal detention centers, and against the mass deportations and separation of families by the Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE). The border -Wall of Death would come tumbling down sooner rather than later. The reality though, is that we are silenced in the abyss of corporate controlled information and spectacle. We are “free” to speak our mind and protest, so long as it is not reported on or when it is, it vanishes into thin air. Come and gone like it never even happened. That is the fallacy of “free speech” within the Capitalist Cen-tre. We do not have any substantial stream of information and critical dia-logue and analysis that is reaching the masses at the levels needed to begin to build resistance, organiza-tion and working-class power neces-sary to challenge the Empire. The billboards and commer-cials in neon lights shine “Everything is fine”; so they want us to believe with the picture they paint for us. Keep on watching, keep on shopping. Behind the façade though, on the street, there is resistance. If one turns off their television, logs off their Facebook page and puts their IPhone down, you will eventually bump into some-type of struggle going down in the barrio, in the factory, in the field. As the Raza Press and Media Association (RPMA) we understand clearly that without a revolutionary media we are doomed to be a mar-ginalized force that cannot reach the

SEE “DISSENT” PAGE 11

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sociation (ASA) and a recent workshop on environmental justice at The White House. If we follow Stegeman’s logic, then all these white professors at the ASA meetings and WH staffers and Cabinet members are also cult followers. But the solidarity or unity clap, dating back to the days of Cesar Chavez and the farm worker struggle, is not some secret ritual practiced by violent political cult members seeking to re-conquer the “Lost Land” of Aztlán. Stegeman is projecting his unfounded fears; searching for a point of entry to an unfair and baseless critique of a high-ly successful academic program. The real issue here is not the existence of cults and cult-like behavior in our public schools. The real issue is the fabrication of slanderous myths by those who oppose intellectual freedom and free speech and thought in our educational institutions. Mr. Stegeman has violated the public trust and should resign from the TUSD Board. Another insight from Campbell’s work that seems especially poignant and appropriate given this attack on Chicana/o Studies as a “cult” appears in his book, The Rise of Modern Mythology, 1680-1860 (1972,reprinted 1975), a very innovative and persuasive study on the historical relation between cult and drama. In the book, Campbell-describes the modern idea of the cult as a “Cinderella concept” and then makes this insightful observation - that leads to a clearer understanding of who decides what gets classified as “cult”: From 1700 to 1750 - using these dates only as a convenient but imprecise set of brackets for what might otherwise be called the Enlightenment - most thinking about myth may be described as subscribing to the or-thodox Christian view of myth, the deist view of myth, or the rationalist view of myth. The Christians... drove home the notion that myth means pagan fables and pagan reli-gion and was therefore, as a word, exactly equal tofalse, while gospel, meaning Christian religious stories, was ex-actly equal to truth. To Christian thinkers in the eighteenth century, Greek or Roman or Egyptian myth meant only a collection of false gods and grotesque tales that needed to be explained away or reconciled with Scripture. Pagan myth could be interpreted as an invention of the devil, or the gods could be identified as fallen angels, but the usual interpretation was to consider pagan fable a degenerate version of biblical truth (p. 3). This excerpt clarifies what I believe is happening in Arizona, except the problem is not that Chicana/o Studies is a cult; the problem is that Mark Stegeman, and other opponents of the MAS Program, have bought into the dis-course games of a white Christian mythology: Chicana/o poetry may as well be the language of the devil, judging from Stegeman’s purposeful mis-characterizing of a re-spected and effective field of academic study. In their Friday blog, The Three Sonorans made a

FROM “ACTION” PAGE 3and into concentration camps called “Indian Res-ervations” where millions died of disease (chemical warfare), hunger, alcohol-ism, and psychological trau-ma imposed by capitalist-settlers white supremacist. This history of op-pression and terror is con-veniently omitted, distort-ed, or hidden by the white colonial agents who pass themselves as “teachers” or “journalists”. It is un-questionably this necessity to keep this history hidden that forms the basis for the attacks on the teaching of Raza Studies in Arizona (and everywhere in Occu-pied America). It is precisely the “critical thinking” that is the essence of Raza Stud-ies that Tom Horne (Arizona Attorney General), fears, as it will expose his criminal settler status and that of mil-lions of his ilk (white people) that currently illegally live in lands stolen from the Mexi-can Indigenous peoples.

WE MUST WIN OVER OR SHAME THOSE FOUND ON THE SIDELINESOn the other hand, we see the thousands of Raza, Africans, Asian-Pacific Is-landers, and poor people in general, joining the military as a form of employment. Finding it difficult (embar-rassing) to admit that they joined the military for no other reason that they couldn’t find a civilian job or the opportunity to attend a college or university, many of these young recruits will rather fight for imperialism abroad and against social justice here at home. It is

paradoxical (convoluting) situation that further im-poses the psychological control and disunion over our community.5 The capitalist-im-perialist media has also created a contradiction in which whole sectors of our community, including those generations of Raza who were born on the “northern side of the bor-der” –many who have in-termarried with whites and other ethnic/racial groups– that have no conscious-ness of brother/sisterhood or hint of any solidarity with those Raza who currently find themselves under at-tack. Moreover, we see a “professional class” (or petty bourgeoisie) within our communities who as a whole have done very little to resist the violence and racism promoted by the media. Both of these sec-tors, especially those indi-viduals with “Raza racial features”, will soon find themselves profiled as “il-legal aliens” or some other “media created stereotype” and will become victims of the same violence and ter-ror that others are already experiencing. All sectors of our community must be awak-ened and confronted with the reality that they are next in line in this geno-cidal attack. Hence, it is the task of the RPMA and other progressive forces to inform our community as a whole, in a straightforward fashion, that they can no longer just sit on the side-lines and do nothing, but

FROM “CHICANO” PAGE 4

SEE “ACTION” PAGE 9SEE “CHICANO” PAGE 10

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Fall 2011


that it is in their interest (health and security) that they join the masses of the people in the fight for justice and self-determina-tion. Everyone must be ei-ther convinced into action –or put to shame for their inaction.

WE MUST STRESS, AS WE CALL FOR AC-TIVISM, FOR QULAITY AND SACRIFICE FROM THOSE IN STRUGGLEThe bottom line is that without sacrifice and risks, along with discipline and accountability –nothing will get done and things will continue as is. This means that the RPMA must con-tinue with its main of ob-jective of bringing together and forming an organized collective of progressive and revolutionary media workers who are willing to put aside, at least tem-porarily, our differences for the over all good of La Raza. This means direct-ing all our resources to the fight for liberation and destroying the capitalist-racist exploitation that the great majority of us face or are confronted with. This is why the RPMA is so important at this particular time in histo-ry –as it is the place where the Raza media can work under some form of dis-cipline, accountable, and collective fashion; and, it is only in this manner that we can effectively fight back against those forces hell bent on keeping our people oppressed and colonized.

WE MUST BE SELF-

FROM “ACTION” PAGE 8 CRITICAL OF OUR MOVE-MENTWe must be dialectical in our criticism: recognize the honest and those who sac-rifice and expose/shame the sellouts. And –we must also be self-critical of our-selves. The truth is that very little information is being disseminated to the mass-es and amongst ourselves. The little that is being pro-duced by our “intellectuals” (i.e. ourselves) is of poor quality and lacks sharp crit-ical-analysis. The current crisis that we are confront-ing and its manifestations are not effectively being presented to our communi-ties. Absent is the informa-tion that motivates and or-ganizes our community into action and resistance. We, media work-ers, have to convey that only revolutionary struggle will stop the genocide we are currently facing. Those who aren’t willing to unite under a progressive and democratic organization (where we all have a voice, and there is no ego tripping) must be exposed as fools or falsos.

WE MUST FORM CEN-TROS DE COMUNICA-CIONWe must work to create spaces/centros of commu-nication (at work, commu-nity, prisons, etc.) where the masses can have access to as many instruments of communication (internet, books, zines, newspapers, radio, video/TV, etc.) as possible. As we have dis-SEE “ACTION” PAGE 10

Radio FRee

aztlanbroadCasting

fROM OCCUPIed TeRRITORIeS

WWW.xiCanoCenter.org/PodCast

Who We Are: The primary objective of the Raza Press and Media As-sociation (RPMA) is to advance the struggle for Raza Self-Deter-mination by promoting and unifying the progressive Raza press, media, and popular expression. Essential to this process is con-fronting stereotypes espoused by the U.S. mainstream media and press. The RPMA holds the position that Raza are colonized, indigenous people and that the so-called “Southwest U.S.” is in fact Aztlán, part of the Mexicano nation, stolen in the U.S. expan-sionist/imperialist war of 1846-1848. The RPMA is committed to combat all manifestations of oppression and exploitation. Central to putting into effect our ob-jectives the RPMA membership will actively get involved in the day-to-day struggles being waged by our movement and by our people. As part of this movement activism, the RPMA is commit-ted to organize study sessions, forums, give presentations and disseminate information/publications to our communities to help raise the political consciousness of nuestro pueblo.

WWW.razaPressassoCiation.org/PodCast

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cussed at RPMA meetings in the past, we need to unite our resources to form “centros de comunicacion”; spaces where the masses can have access to the use of com-puter/net, check out zines, read radical/alternative books, listen to progressive and revolutionary radio, engage in critical dialogue, watch revolutionary and entertaining TV. These centers must exist, in different shapes and forms, in all spaces where Raza and other oppressed nationalities exist: workplace, barrio, prison, school, etc. These centros and other forms of resistance can only come about if we are united and organized.6

BRING TO TRIAL AND PUNISH THE OPPRESSORSOur “blows” against the system must be ones that put fear into the ruling/exploiting class/criminals; we can’t let them sleep at night or enjoy the material things they steal from the masses. The fact is that the capitalist media is guilty of war crimes and must be dragged into a people’s court where we must demand that some serious justice be delivered them. We need to create a media that doesn’t let the capitalist-racist-fascists sleep or relax. We must find ways to put some real fear into them. We can’t let them enjoy their mansions, pools, yachts, fancy cars, and expensive dinners. We have to make the lives of the thieves, mur-ders, and oppressors –both physically and mentally– un-bearable. Sooner or later, they have to be brought to jus-tice and put into prison where they belong. Our message must be: “If we can’t live in peace, neither can you”. It here where we have to draw lessons from our work and develop the most creative methods of struggle. For the RPMA this means using all forms of media to ex-pose the oppressor and raise the consciousness of the masses; so that we, united, can deal with the contradic-tions and dialectics that keep us oppressed and colo-nized.

WE MUST DO DAY-TO-DAY WORK; AS IT IS PRAC-TICE THAT GIVES BIRTH TO IDEOLOGYWe need to ensure that the outcomes and resolutions that are decided upon RPMA meetings are carried out to the best of our ability. Along with the dialogue and political philosophiz-ing, we need to engage in more concrete struggle. Cen-tral here is to ensure that the outcomes and resolutions from RPMA general meetings are put into practice. Every RPMA member, if we are to call ourselves Raza media workers, must participate at some level in community activism. Even if we are not in complete unity with community groups, if they are progressive, it is our obligation to assist. This means doing the “mundane”

FROM “ACTION” PAGE 9the struggle for liberation and socialism. To develop ideology and leadership, there is no substitute for disciplined and organized struggle. This means that there must be a space to advance the revo-lution and take the political analysis beyond “this sucks, peeps, let’s get together” and so forth. J

FROM “FACEBOOK” PAGE 5

valid point: The unity or soli-darity clap is labeled cult, but pledging allegiance to a flag made of cloth in unison is constructed as normal – that is the point of Camp-bell’s observation regard-ing the power of myths and cults. Those who are part of the dominant culture and political order get to define and impose what is con-sidered “normal” and what is rejected as “cult”-like. As Campbell demonstrates, this has been going on since the rise of Christianity and colonialism (they go to-gether) brought hunger, dis-ease, war, ethnocide, and destruction to indigenous peoples around the planet. It is not fair; it is un-truthful and inflammatory, but what do you expect of a partisan mindset that uses the state of exception to forestall the looming demo-graphic and socio-cultural transition that is the Ameri-can Experiment? But, alas, that is the chosen politi-cal and ideological project of those who continue to abuse the power/knowledge dialectic. And this can, has been, and will once again be challenged. We must oppose this racist construct not by defending ourselves from the ridiculous charge of being a cult, but by demon-strating that Mr. Stegeman is merely re-playing the old SEE “ACTION” PAGE 11

JJJJFROM “CHICANO” PAGE 8 Enlightenment trick of de-

monizing the Other, simply because he does not un-derstand that cultura is not the same as culto. He does not appreciate what natural and social scientists around the world have understood for decades: Diversity is the key to resilience and this applies as much to micro-organisms as to entire soci-eties. This pathological style of discourse will, I pre-dict, not fare well as part of the State of Arizona’s legal arguments in defense of HB2281. The social scientific study of cults demonstrates that cults are authoritarian, exploitative, and use mind and thought control through ritualistic practices. In pro-found contrast, Chicana/o Studies is anti-authoritari-an, collaborative and par-ticipatory, and embodies the critical spirit - rejecting the idea that any one group or person has a privileged and eternal hold on truth claims. This typically includes the instructor of Chicana/o Studies who abides by the bedrock principle of remain-ing open to the truth claims of others. This is not what cult leaders do. So, by this definition, Chicana/o Stud-ies is the anti-thesis of a cult. If anything bears a resemblance to a cult it


SEE “CHICANO” PAGE 11

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work: writing press releases, helping with flyers and informational brochures, teaching others writing, media art, and technical skills (such as photography, video production, etc.). Our ideas and goals must be based on the analysis of concrete conditions and lessons from actual struggle. As important as technology is, we can’t just be “Internet Revolutionaries”. Our work must be measured by what we do among the masses: in the streets, in the prisons, in the schools, and at the workplace.7

OUR IMMEIDATE STEPSWe need to come to terms that we are fighting for the survival of the human race. Being part of a liberal (Democratic Party) or reformist (working within the system) movement will not put an end to capitalist exploitation and oppression. As expressed earlier, only through membership in the RPMA or in other progressive or revolutionary organizations, can we effectively fight back and win our liberation. We can’t continue as usual. We don’t live in “normal times”. Never in history have things been as terrible as what we are witnessing today. The RPMA, and all movement formations must take steps that promote a commitment to continue the struggle. This is a war of survival for our children, our parents, our community, the Mexican nation, all Raza, and planet earth itself. NOTES:1. Read “New Agencies and Cultural Imperialism”, in Agents of Power, by J. Herbert Altschull, and “Exposing Colonialism, Imperialism, and Capitalism”, in Chicano Journalism: Its History and Its Use As A Weapon For Liberation, Second Edition, E. Bustillos]2. This is happening while crimes against African Americans, Jews, and Gays have declined; see: Southern Poverty Law Center website.3. For an example of this particular topic see “Hate Makes a Comeback”, by Jim Avila, ABC News Law & Justice Unit, May 1, 2007.4. Read: “A Culture Of Violence And A Colonial Media That Is An Accessory To Murder”, by Pablo Aceves, Guerrillera/os de La Pluma, Spring 2011.5. Read the “Poverty Draft” at Not Your Soldier at http://notyoursoldier.org. Also read, “No More Fighting The Racist Man’s War”, La Verdad, Fall 2003.6. For ideas and guide on this question, read “The Detroit Papers: Develop The Means To Wake Up The Masses”, collective document, Chicano Journalism: It’s History And Its Use As A Weapon For Liberation, second edition, 2010.7. For outcomes of last general meeting see “Raza Press and Media Association Holds General Meeting: What Is The Role Of The Raza Jour-nalist/Media Worker Today?”, May 2011, at razapressassociation.org.

FROM “ACTION” PAGE 10

is the type of schoolroom imagined by the reactionary and anti-democratic legisla-tors who drafted HB2281, including Senator Russell Pearce, who propose to transform our free and open campuses into institutions ready to obliterate free and critical inquiry. Sociologists and psychologists who study organized cults and cult behavior have developed a variety of intervention tech-niques meant to “liberate” cult followers from bondage to authoritarian and exploit-ative Masters: The methods are invariably described as “de-programming” and “re-education.” I am only half joking, but judging from his testimony, it seems Board member Stegeman would

benefit from a few weeks at a “re-education camp” to learn the difference be-tween free critical inquiry and the mind-numbing ho-mogeneity he would seek to impose on students in the TUSD. May the TUSD Board take the hero’s journey and make their way back from across the threshold to the embracing of a new America thatre-mains fearless and resolute before the wondrous diver-sity of human souls and minds that have a thirst and hunger for truth, freedom. May they find and take the many roads that lead to the realization of our fullest humanity, based on accep-tance of the other. May they help us make justice in our world more than an abstract

possibility and instead work to advance our freedom, an ever active work-in-progress. J

masses. We must build a dual and contending media, one that will give us a true and influential capacity to convince, raise-consciousness, agitate and arm the colonized and oppressed with the knowledge and power to challenge and at one point overthrow those very same institutions estab-lished by the settler occupiers hundreds of years ago. J


JJJJFROM “DISSENT” PAGE 7

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Raza PRess and Media association

P.o. Box 620095san diego, ca 92162

Website: http://razapressassociation.org • e-Mail: [email protected]

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE:The Raza Press and Media Association is the only national group of progressive journalists working towards winning justice, peace, and freedom for all Mexicano-Latinos (Raza). We meet on a regular basis, have an organiza-tional structure, principles of unity, objectives, and we consistently published journal, Guer-rilleros de La Pluma.

In response to the continuing and growing assaults on the right to information and free-dom of expression, especially as it relates to Raza and other oppressed nationalities and peoples within the current borders of the United States, the Raza Press Associa-tion (formerly known as the Chicano Press Association) is making another call on Raza (students, journalists, community activists, and academicians) active in the field of media (journalism, radio, TV, popular art, spoken word, computer information, etc.) to submit articles related to the question of The Role of Raza Press, Media, And Popular Expression In Our Struggle For Democracy, Justice, And Self-determination.

A Call For Articles On Raza Press, Media, And Popular Expression For The Upcoming Issue...

The articles must address the historical/cur-rent onslaught on progressive and alternative thought. We see this fascist-racist attack com-ing down both “within the belly of the beast” from FBI, Police, Mainstream Media, Christian Right, Vendidos, etc., and externally from the CIA, Military Industrial Complex, Global Capital-ism, and so forth.

A major objective of these attacks on progres-sive thought is a conscious racist-capitalist ef-fort to eliminate all programs which were initially developed for the purpose of advancing the educational and cultural development of the Raza community; for example: Chicano Stud-ies, Ethnic Studies, Progressive Publications and Programs at Colleges and Universities, Raza Cultural Celebrations at elementary and high schools, Centro Culturales, and Bilingual/Multicultural Education.

Selected articles will be published in the Guer-rilleros de la Pluma. Issues of Guerrilleros de La Pluma are distributed widely. Copies are circulated at political actions, colleges, librar-ies, and conferences; they are mailed Raza

prisoners and a subscribers list; the journal is also posted online (Internet). Literally thou-sands of people read the journal.

CRITERIA FOR ARTICLES:(1) articles must be between 3 and 5 pages (no longer please), typed and doubled space (Fonts 10 or 12 points). If you submit a re-search type working paper, when quoting, or referring to data, use footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography for documentation pur-poses. Writing styles that could be use are the following; Chicago, APA, and MLA. (2) send your articles via e-mail ([email protected]) or on a floppy disk/CD (i.e. MS Words, etc.) to the following ad-dress:

RAZA PRESS AND MEDIA ASSOCIATION

ATTN: GUERRILLEROS DE LA PLUMA

P.O. BOX 620095SAN DIEGO, CA 92162

Guerrillera/os de la Pluma, Fall 2011

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