From the blog of Luis J. Rodriguez–www.luisjrodriguez.com/blog

It will be thirty seven years today after the Chicano Moratorium against the Viet Nam War was first held in East Los Angeles — at the time the largest anti-war demonstration in a community of color in the country. Some 30,000 people came from all over Los Angeles, the Southwest, and other parts of the country to proclaim, “Ya Basta”–that’s enough. It also became the scene of one of the worse police abuse cases in the country when LA County sheriff’s deputies attacked the mostly peaceful crowd at Laguna Park, enacting hundreds of arrests, causing hundreds of injuries, and resulting in at least three dead. One of those killed was Chicano reporter Ruben Salazar — the only national media voice Chicanos had at the time.

This was as significant as the murders of anti-war protestors by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio and Jackson State University in South Carolina earlier that year of 1970.

I was sixteen years old at the time. I was a gang member, a heroin (and other drugs) user, and quite lost. Still I took part in the march and protest. This demonstration awakened me to the vital struggle for justice, peace, and the possibilities of a new society, something I had only glimpsed at but never really understood. I didn’t expect to be taken in by this–I had only come to party. Soon I got swept up in the chants, the songs, the ardor for revolutionary change.

I was also one of the cholos arrested early on in the so-called riot that ensued. Hundreds were arrested, but the cholos (at the time, cholo meant Chicano gang member) were separated from the others, held in different facilities, and held for much longer than other protestors. Eventually I was placed into two adult jails (even though I was a juvenile), including the murderer’s row of the old Hall of Justice jail in downtown LA. I had a cell next to Charles Manson. The reason: we were threatened with possible charges in the murders of those who died in the rioting. Of course, they really couldn’t charge us for this. But the punishment was what they were after. I was placed in a cell with two murderers — one of whom put a razor blade to my neck. But I stood up to them, as I had learned to do from my many years in the streets (since the age of seven I had been stealing, and since 11, I had been in a gang), and I survived. I was even involved in a lightweight cellblock disturbance when we heard that Ruben Salazar had been killed.

I was eventually released — but I was never the same after this. It took me another two to three years, but I eventually left the gang, the drugs, and the jails to dedicate myself to revolutionary study, organizing, and action. In a few more years, I committed myself to becoming a writer. I’ve learned a lot since then, but the initial spark of my own purposeful life had been during the Chicano Moratorium.

This year, more than 35 years later, we are still at war. This year we must protest the US role in Iraq and Afghanistan — we are not winning anything over there, but we are losing many of our men and women (and many more civilians).

Tomorrow we must protest these wars. We have not stopped terrorism — in fact, terrorism around the world has increased since we first invaded Iraq. We cannot win a war against terror with more terror. That’s a lesson we seem to have not learned in more than thirty years. There are many ways to protest — the Internet is one of those places. If the streets still call you then join with others as much as you can against these wars that only really benefit the rich and powerful among us (it’s the working class poor, of all colors, who are dying in Iraq).

Use poetry, song, dance, film, and story. But do something. In concert with others. With millions. With dignity. With creativity. And with all the moral authority we can muster. No more dead for Bush/Cheney or the ruling class of thieves they represent. Ya Basta!

Proyecto Guerrero Azteca has initiated a 241 mile march by Latinos against the war in Iraq. The march is now taking place in California, but the event has national if not international repercussions. Fernando Suarez del Solar, Pablo Paredes, Camilo Mejia, Aidan Delgado and their supporters are marching on this 241 mile quest for peace - which began in Tijuana, Mexico on March 12, 2006. The “coalition of the willing” - as the marchers are being called - will end their trek with a large antiwar rally in San Francisco on March 26 2006.

Proyecto Guerrero Azteca wrote the following on their website, explaining their actions; “Latinos represent nearly 15% of the US population and 11% of the US military, with many serving in combat or hazardous duty occupations. In addition, an estimated 20% of the fallen service members in the early months of the invasion were Latino. With the continued growth of the Latino population and its vital importance to the future of this country, it is time the Latino community become an active and vocal part of the 60%+ of US citizens that oppose this War. It is also time to show the Latino community that they have a voice and a right to fight for peace and stability. Fernando Suarez Del Solar is committed to self-sacrifice. At 50 years of age he cares more about ending this war than even his own health. We make this call not only to the Latino population but to all those who agree with our message ‘No more bloodshed in Iraq.’” For the specific route of the march through your community and the contact coordinators, visit: www.guerreroazteca.org

Two huge demonstrations againt the Iraq war are coming up - here are the details:

East LA March & Rally Against War
Friday, March 17th, 3:00 pm.
For march, assemble at 3 pm on Soto at 6th Street in Boyle Heights. Rally at Plaza Del Sol, 8th & Soto.
www.latinoscontralaguerra.org

Latinos Say US Out Of Iraq! Bring Our Troops Home Now! Ending the US Occupation of Iraq and bring our troops home is a top priority for Latino communities and all the people of the United States. The invasion and occupation of Iraq, and the policy of preemptive war move our country in the wrong direction in foreign and domestic policy. The invasion of Iraq was unnecessary, wrong, and justified by false premises. The occupation of Iraq is not only pouring good money into bad foreign policy funding death and devastation, it is growth obstacle to democracy and peace. More and more people are concluding that the war for oil and strategic military advantage. The opportunity for a truly peaceful world is at risk.

Our troops are at risk and dying with the heaviest burden falling on working class and poor minority young men and women. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent on this immoral war while the need grows for funding good education, health care, job training, childcare and other services. Anti Arab hysteria that is promoted by the White House and the Media reinforces racist stereotyping, profiling and discrimination against immigrants and people of color. Our youth are being oriented to a future of militarism not peace.

We join the Congressional Out Of Iraq Caucus, AFL – CIIO, United for Peace & Justice, Mexican American Political Association, and many others Saying US Out of Iraq! Bring the Troops Home Now! A Future of Peace not War! Funds for Good Jobs, Education, and Health Care!

Sponsored by LATINOS AGAINS The WAR www.latinoscontralaguerra.org
Contact: David Cid (323) 369-3864, Carlos Montes (213) 368-8674
Endorsed by American Friends Service Committee,
Chicano Latino Heritage Club ESMS,
Coalition Against Militarism in Schools,
Community Service Organization,
Hermandad Mexicana Latino Americana,
Latino Committee of SEIU Local 660,
Mexican American Political Association,
MECHA de RHS,
MECHA de LA Valley College,
MECHA De Pasadena City College,
and United Farm Workers.

… and in Hollywood

March 18th, Mass March & Rally
Saturday, March 18th, 12 Noon
Gather Hollywood and Vine
March to Hollywood and Highland
For more info call 323-464-1636
More info here, with downloadable flyers in English and Spanish.

[ This Column of the Americas article by Roberto Rodriguez is titled, The Quiet Wrath of the Three Sisters. The writer can be reached at: XColumn@aol.com © 2005. Column of the Americas. Artwork by Carlos Callejo. ]

[ Artwork by Carlos Callejo ]

The three sisters - Cindy, Katrina & Rita — have managed not simply to humble the president, but in effect, have ended his rule of hubris and arrogance. End of Bush II. Cindy Sheehan didn’t so much expose his lies about Iraq as she has galvanized opposition to a war that the world has always known is fraudulent. His failure to face her this summer solidified the belief worldwide that there indeed is nothing noble about this illegally conjured-up war. There never was a threat from Iraqi WMDs nor was there an Iraqi link to 911. Also, the governments that were blackmailed into supporting president Bush’s war policies had to do so against the strong wishes of their own citizens.

In the United States, it was quite a different story. Egged on by a willing media, a sizeable percentage of the U.S. public (including the leading Democrats) seemingly came to believe the president’s whoppers. Even after the falsehoods were thoroughly exposed, those that had been duped continued to fall for the president’s continued deceptions — that he had been victimized by “faulty intelligence.” At worst, they accused him of being an incompetent imperialist. (They objected to the incompetence, not the imperialism). Meanwhile, the president’s rag-tag “coalition of the willing” began to unravel. Despite this, truth and morality seemed to have had no effect on his supporters. It has taken these three sisters to stir peoples’ sense of right and wrong, though admittedly, this change may be due more to economic patriotism than as a result of desiring the president to abide by the law. The rationale is quite simple: the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is about the same as Katrina & Rita (some $200 billion and growing) — this at a time of sky-high deficits and tax-cuts that indisputably favor the rich. Given a choice, the U.S. taxpayers would rather pitch in to help their fellow citizens than finance an unpopular war that promises few dividends.

That tens of thousands of Iraqis are being killed in an illegal war (plus 2000 U.S. soldiers) does not seem to have entered into the equation. Yet by failing to address Sheehan, he lost the small window of opportunity that he had to convince a now thoroughly skeptical U.S. public about the purported rightness of his cause. Then came the other sisters. That’s why his presidency of arrogance is over — this is even before the Patrick Fitzgerald investigation is taken into account. There’s no more wind for his continued tax cuts for the rich. Similarly, his faith-based war against science and the environment have been completely discredited. He has been reduced to near-buffoon status, attempting to prove that he can lead the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort and lead the nation. He has not only lost control of the nation’s agenda - but has also irreversibly lost his stature as “leader of the free world.” The only people he can rely on for support are the same delusional individuals who blame Bill Clinton for 911 and Katrina. And even that base continues to shrivel.

This is not a case of the situation not boding well for the president or the Republican Party. It’s the whole country. And rather than a lame-duck, he is instead a wounded animal. The difference is, he is still at the controls of the most powerful weaponry and armed forces in world history. And it’s not just him. His entire administration is implicated (if not indicted) in this illegal war. (That’s why he has always adamantly insisted that the United States be exempt from the International War Crimes Tribunal). And beyond that, Cindy, Katrina and Rita have exposed the Michael Browns of his administration — incompetent cronies that have been placed into leadership positions to simply do the bidding of big business. And it isn’t just FEMA. The Food & Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency and the politicized courts are in similar boats. That’s just where it begins. This is not news, but it has taken the three sisters to expose this illegitimate government as the damage and toll in American lives, (in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Gulf coast) is now being perceived as unacceptably high.

Yet, the president will remain dangerous until the day he leaves office. Nothing like another conjured-up crisis (with Syria, Iraq, Venezuela, North Korea or Cuba) for him to perhaps attempt to do what NYC Mayor Rudy Gulianni tried to do after 911– attempt to stay in office beyond his elected term. Normally this would be unthinkable. But since when are these normal times?

[ * Some might argue that it is three other sisters, Valerie [Plame of the CIA], Harriet [Miers, Supreme Court Nominee] & Wilma [still yet another hurricane] that have brought this administration to its knees. ]

[ The face of antiwar protest in Los Angeles. Aztecs surround a memorial of flag drapped coffins. Photo by Marcus at L.A. Indymedia. ]

A huge antiwar demonstration took place in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, September 24th., one of many that occurred aross the nation. Organizers placed the size of the crowd at 50,000 - around the same size of the mass march that took place in San Francisco. In the nation’s capital, organizers claimed 300,000 attended the demonstration, with C-SPAN reporting the crowd at 500,000. Here in Los Angeles, we had a demonstration like no other in the country. The tens of thousands who took to the streets were a mix of all the different ethnic communities that make up the city, and they marched along Broadway Street in the downtown area of L.A. where there is a massive presence of Central American and Mexican immigrants.

Dozens of Aztec Dancers danced along the boulevard to the sound of drums, conch shells, and rattles. Xicano student groups from all over Southern California were in attendance, and Latinos in general made up a high percentage of the massive crowd. Unions, church groups, advocates for the poor and homeless, feminists and gay rights activists, artists, left parties and everyday people who had never attended a protest before - filled the streets with cries of “Stop the War!” and “Peace Now!” In the march were 60 flag draped coffins, each carried by four pallbearers. Those who carried the coffins marched silently at the end of the huge demonstration, and as the march came to its conclusion at L.A. City Hall, the coffins were neatly arranged at the base of the government building. Aztec dancers formed a circle around the coffins, dancing, praying, and offering incense to the gods. The entire march was an amazing spectacle to behold, and some say, just the beginning for an antiwar movement that is daily gaining in strength and numbers. To see more photographs from the L.A. demonstration, click here.

Massive demonstrations against the war in Iraq are scheduled to take place internationally on September 24th, 2005. In the U.S., major marches and rallies will take place in Washington D.C., San Francisco and Los Angeles, with smaller demonstrations and forums planned in cities across the nation. For more information on demonstrations near you, visit the United for Peace and Justice website. Here in Los Angeles, ANSWER has organized an enormous march and rally that will take place in downtown L.A., at 12 noon. The people will start gathering at the corner of Olympic and Broadway at around 11 am. Bring drums, flowers, banners, cameras, and your determination to stop the war.

[ The following article originally appeared on artist Mark Vallen’s Art For A Change web log (link) under the headline of Mural Masterwork: Myth of Tomorrow. His report is reprinted here with kind permission ]


An important antiwar mural painted in Mexico by famed Japanese modern artist, Taro Okamoto (1911 - 1996), has been rediscovered after thirty five years. In Spanish the work is known as Mito del Mañana (Myth of Tomorrow), and in Japanese, Ashita no Shinwa - but like all great works of art, Okamoto’s painting speaks a universal language. The gigantic mural depicts the exact moment of an atomic bomb explosion, with the focus of the work being an anonymous human reduced to skeletal form and burning under an atomic sun.

Okamoto’s mural was originally painted in the lobby of what was to be a high-rise luxury hotel in Mexico City, but the developer encountered financial troubles that prevented the building’s completion. Okamoto’s wall painting, dismantled and put into storage, eventually disappeared - and it remained missing until just recently. In 2003 the mural was found abandoned in a yard for building materials located in a suburb of Mexico City. The Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum in Japan sent a team of restorers to Mexico to evaluate the condition of the artwork, and found that it was suffering minor damage. Calling the piece “Taro’s magnum opus”, the institution obtained the rights to the mural earlier this year. The mural has been shipped to Japan where museum staff and experts began restoration work in July, 2005. Okamoto’s mural will eventually be placed on public display at the end of 2006.

The Taro Okamoto Memorial Foundation for the Promotion of Contemporary Art released a statement that in part read, “Okamoto believed that the myths of the future develop at moments of cruelty and tragedy. This mural speaks from his deepest thoughts, from his heart.” While the world’s first atomic bombing of civilian population centers occurred in August 1945 when the U.S. devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear fire… it would be a mistake to see Okamoto’s artwork as fixated on those terrible events. Rather, his striking mural is a warning to all humanity, and the message is more relevant today than ever before. That we’ve grown accustomed to living with a nuclear Sword of Damocles hanging above us all is really the core meaning of the mural’s title - and our continued apathy only assures that tomorrow is indeed a myth.

Painted between 1968 and 1969 and measuring some 18 feet high by 98 feet long, Okamoto’s artwork is a powerful indictment of war. While it may seem incongruous that such a disturbing and forceful work of art would appear in the lobby of a luxury hotel, one must remember that Mexican restaurants, hotels, commercial and government buildings have often made wall space available for the display of controversial large-scale public artworks. The Mexican Muralist Movement led by greats David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, set the standards for a progressive and internationalist school of art. The radical and populist artworks of these masters and the many others who worked shoulder to shoulder with them, enhance public space all across Mexico. There’s absolutely no doubt that Taro Okamoto was inspired and influenced by the remarkable Mexican school of socially conscious artists, and the discovery and restoration of his mural is cause for celebration.

[ In this Column of the Americas opinion piece by Roberto Rodriguez, the sad tale of an LAPD shooting and killing of a 19 month old girl is recounted. Titled The Price of the Innocents, Rodriguez places the tragedy in a wider context. You can reach the writer, at: XColumn@aol.com ]

As a result of the recent SWAT police shootout in the Watts section of Los Angeles, this much is known: gunman Jose Raul Pena and his 19 month-old daughter, Suzie Marie, are both dead from police bullets. William J. Bratton, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, immediately lay the blame on the father (a car dealer and ex-soldier from El Salvador) - who used his daughter as a human shield during the shootout - characterizing him as a bad man. Several investigations are already underway regarding the circumstances and tactics of the SWAT team, etc. However, three things are not in dispute: Suzie Marie was unintentionally killed; her death is a tragedy; and Suzie Marie’s mother, Lorena Lopez, will be compensated. The only question will be, how much… as in how much the price of a child?

There’s little doubt Lopez will be receiving a sum with lots of zeroes. Yet no amount of money will soften the tragedy. No one disputes this. Not the chief, not the new mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, not anyone. This unfolding tragedy serves as a reminder regarding the value that society places on human life. That officers would shoot at a gunman - who is using a child as a shield - is also an uncomfortable reminder of the dehumanization that our society has undergone since 911. One would have expected the opposite, but we do live in times of numbing dehumanization. Suzie Marie’s death has transfixed the City of the Future, causing it to collectively ask about the wisdom and limits of force in resolving conflicts and innocent bystanders.

Think about Iraq. (Others are recalling the 40th anniversary of the Watts riots, whose epicenter was nearby). How many Suzie Maries are being killed daily in the crossfire in Iraq? We don’t know, primarily because this administration - with seemingly full compliance from the mainstream media — has intentionally shielded Americans from the actual horrors of the war. (The world media does not censor the news from the front).Why? Because war is hell. Suzie Marie’s tragedy shows us that the death of a single child can stir the emotions and conscience of an entire city (along with the people of El Salvador). The political strategists at the White House know this full well. This may well explain why the Pentagon does not count, much less name Iraqi casualties (unless it is to its political advantage). To do so might stir the American conscience. (The world conscience, particularly among Arabs-Muslims, has already been stirred as it is continually outraged by this dehumanizing practice). The outcry over Suzie Marie helps to explain why we are not permitted to see those horrors of war, nor the funerals for U.S. service personnel. The collective emotions of the nation might be stirred. Imagery is powerful and a lesson learned from Vietnam.

Yet the tragedy in Watts also points to another, even more uncomfortable truth. When force is used, it must be based on truth (including an accurate arrest warrant) and the threat posed by the situation must be credible and imminent. When there’s an innocent party involved (Suzie Marie), another factor enters the picture: the force used should be both proportionate and measured. This is what the investigations will examine. Across the ocean, Israel has engineered the controversial practice of “targeted assassinations,” which require no trials. As long as the primary target is a known terrorist/combatant, it matters little if anyone else is killed. While clearly reckless, if not outright illegal, its chief ally (the United States) does not forcefully condemn the practice, thus, the Israeli Defense Forces do not feel morally constrained. In the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars, the U.S. military has borrowed that same technique and rationale: it’s the terrorists fault for hiding among civilians.

Obviously, the technique and frequency are greatly magnified in Iraq, involving thousands of deaths. However, unlike police departments that acknowledge when they raid the wrong house and/or kill innocent bystanders, the U.S. administration has undeniably raided the wrong country. Yet, the Bush administration continues the war as if somehow, because the war rationale has changed, it is somehow now the right house. (It can do this as long as the victims remain nameless and faceless). In Los Angeles, the police chief has justified the killing and the tragedy of Pena and his daughter by claiming that he was a bad man. That cannot be the standard for use of force when it involves innocent bystanders… unless American cities are now also being regarded as actual war zones.

© Column of the Americas 2005

[ This timely "Column of the Americas" essay by Patrisia Gonzales entitled, Fighting for Justice? comes to us just days after the terror bombing in London ]

The other day at a picnic, the words of a friend’s son, a U.S. Marine who was recently deployed in Falloujah, caused me to question the precepts of democracy and freedom. (The London bombings are making me wonder whether the days of open and free Western societies are numbered as it has created the pressure to further militarize society). While his father is staunchly anti-war, the son did not speak out against or in favor of the war, even as he is being reassigned. He simply encouraged everyone to become civically involved. It was the same day that the president spoke in defense of the war.

I’m also against the war, precisely because I take the time to listen to him when he speaks of soldiers making the ultimate sacrifice. What comes to mind is the numbing daily count. I also think of the marine at the picnic - wondering if this is the embodiment of No Child Left Behind - an initiative that requires schools to make the names of students available to the military. (In his particular case, he’s a little older and readily admits he knew precisely what he signed when he enlisted). The soldiers the president sends off to Iraq are fighting for our freedom, the president says. Yet, his rationale seems disembodied. He certainly did not volunteer to fight in Vietnam and few lawmakers have family members serving in Iraq.

We are constantly being told that the Iraq debate is now irrelevant … that our only concern should be about winning and supporting the troops. We’re also encouraged - especially after the London bombings - to link Iraq with the “war on terror.” (The bombings have actually made conservatives giddy). Forget the reasons why the president is sending young soldiers to war? This demand for unquestioning loyalty is the epitome of dehumanization more associated with militaristic societies. The people we’re killing, secretly imprisoning and even torturing are terrorists or savages not worthy of coming under the protection of the Geneva Conventions. Yes, there’s “collateral damage,” but that’s war and the price of freedom, says the president. (Sound familiar?) Apparently, my freedom is also dependent upon the slaughter of thousands of innocents. That’s nonsensical circular logic. The president is sending young soldiers to kill or be killed… so that we may remain free? Since when did Iraq have a say-so on this matter and since when did it acquire the capability to threaten our liberties? It never has. Yet, you’d never know this by the president’s recent patriotic exhortations.

That’s not why we’re at war. The president - without admitting his faulty claims and lethal miscalculations - is now claiming that we’re fighting to bring democracy and freedom to Iraq. Beyond that, he also sees himself as the one chosen to bring God’s gift of freedom and democracy to not just Iraqis, but to the entire world. (He’s the conservative answer to Che). The only problem with his millennial vision is that not everyone reads the same Bible. That’s the point. In his vision, everyone should be reading not the Koran, Vedas, the Sutras, nor even the Old Testament, but the New Testament. This is why we’re at war: to spread not just democracy and freedom, but to spread the Good News and “free market” economies to the infidels. This is why our sons and daughters and friends are being repeatedly sent off to war - even though not all of them share in the president’s apocalyptic vision. Regardless, has it been worth it?

The president has determined that the death of and maiming of thousands of Iraqis and Americans, is a small price to pay to spread his vision. Yet, is it freedom and democracy if it’s premised on demonstrable falsehoods and if it requires foreign troops and marital law to maintain it? Lest we forget, this system of governance cannot be imposed, but has to be won. What we have instead is a crusade, occupation and a classic quagmire. As a result, at home, we also now have less resources for our own social needs, less rights, privacy and freedoms and little trust in government. What we have more of is a crushing debt, a steady move toward Big Brother government and plenty of fear to fight the president’s permanent wars. (Seems like the president will not be happy until we’re all living in fear). That doesn’t quite sound like freedom… and I’m not so sure that that’s what our friend’s son is fighting for.

[ © Column of the Americas 2005. The writers can be reached at: XColumn@aol.com or Column of the Americas PO BOX 5093, Madison WI 53705. ]