Concerned students, faculty, and staff rocked the CSULB campus in opposition to the Conservative Student Union's (CSU) "Yes on Prop 8" rally. It seemed a quiet morning last Wednesday until the Friendship Walk was swarmed by a stampede of people in strong opposition to Prop 8. Brother Jed, sponsored by the CSU, led the debate in agreement with the proposition. However, the CSU was outnumbered both in quantity and quality--megaphones filled the air with an intense hollering of "No on Hate," as well as the consolidated presence of anti prop 8 individuals from Women's Studies Student Association (WSSA), F.O.R.C.E., La Raza, and Campus Progressives.
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March is recognized as Women's History Month, a month to remember the stories of the brave, the tender, our mothers, sisters, daughters, co-workers, fellow human beings. Even more, let us remember through the consciousness of heart, if not memory, the lives of the women whose stories go untold...for history is his-story, not hers. Herstory is one of soldiers who gave their lives for revolution and struggle, but were never given a medal. Herstory is one that has brought her under the oppression of man, lifted by man to his moral high ground, and slain by the laws of man for failing expectations he would never expect of himself. Herstory is one of great leaders; leaders like Harriet Tubman who led her people into freedom, and leaders like our mothers who let us know that freedom is a mindset that can't be taken away, for love is the greatest manifestation of freedom. Herstory is also one of hearts filled with hate, murder, envy, pleasure, affairs...it is Pandora's box, because, after all, she is only human. Herstory is also my story, for even though I am man, I am the son of both man and woman. It is my mother who has struggled for me; my aunts who have taken me in as their own; my grandmothers who've blessed me with their wisdom. So let us remember the history of the people who comprise over half of all humanity. Let's not forget that her struggle continues. Finally, let us hope (and fight) for the day in which we will no longer need a month given to us to remember her. HIStory will tell her story and let it be known to humanity that it is, Our Story. -Rudy Duriez ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ One of the major struggles confronting woman (and now, more and more, men as well) is image, whether it be skin color, hair, what they do, or the clothes they wear. Below are two classics that talk about image through the eye of the lens and poetry. A GIRL LIKE ME Short documentary about issues that black girls face within society growing up, and within their own families. What tore me the most about the video is when the little girl was asked to choose between two dolls. This video portrays the power of the lens to send a message, and how it can be used as a tool to empower the youth. To check out more great documentary style video telling the lives of youth through youth, check out ReelWorks.Org SLIP OF THE TONGUE 1 comments:
ONE IMAGINATION said...Sounds like you wrote a poem hehe. Good stuff man! I especially like your opening sentence of the 2nd paragraph: "Herstory is one of soldiers who gave their lives for revolution and struggle, but were never given a medal." will check the videos when i get out of class... -matt n. the hatt Upon seeing his act last Friday night at the Cambodian Christmas Banquet in Long Beach, I view him as a patriarchal (WOMAN BASHING!) racist who is extremely oppressive against his own people, though in his blog he claims to embrace his Mexican heritage. See his blog here:
CROSSING THE BORDER WITHOUT LOSING YOUR PAST And here is my response to him, which he will probably choose to decline possibly fearing his reputation as a striving 'comedian': As beautiful as your culture is and as grateful as I am that you are appreciative and proud of your roots, I do not understand why you would do border crossing jokes as in this time it is an extremely sensitive subject, especially since Proposition 187 had been passed. Although I do have a sense of humor, I was deeply offended by many of the things you had to say. It is not easy to 'get some' from women who shop at Target and Wal-Mart just because they have 6 kids and you probably know more than I do that women (and men!) who sell flowers on street corners do it to feel like working class citizens. I don't want to bore you with facts and statistics but the matter is your jokes further feed into the oppression of women and minorities. They give others who do not understand the root cause of these problems an excuse to continue laughing at these issues as if they are not serious. Maybe you said certain things feeling like you were the only Mexican in the room of hundreds of people, but the fact is if you replaced 'Mexican' with 'Cambodian' last Friday night it would not have been so funny to your listeners, for the struggles of them trying to get to America are parallel to why your people cross the invisible borders placed on them. I encourage you to water your talents as a comedian, but I know you can use it to empower your own people rather than making them feel ashamed of who they are. PS: it's the year of 2007, and yes, many of us women have jobs and support ourselves without the need to depend on men. -jumakae jerk. |
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