latin american princesa {LAP}

I’ve been catching up on my race fix with the Addicted to Race podcast and in one episode Carmen was discussing Jena Six and the media with Baratunde. They talked about how the blogosphere, in this case the blackosphere or bloggers-of-colorsphere, kept the Jena story alive, beating out the mainstream media. Exposing these kinds of stories is important because many have the misguided idea that well “the blacks” got their civil rights so “what are they always complainin’ about?” Well civil rights (as well as equal rights for women) was the first step. There is so much to do still.

I’ve been away for a few years and things have changed. Blogs, activism, protests, people standing up for their rights and the things they believe in. This is what is different. And perhaps the increase is due to growing discomfort and disgust with the economy and Iraq, but it’s also about a change in power. Somehow these new connections and interactions in the virtual world signify a shift in power. Or is it just me? No, there is some serious empowerment going on.

But not just here. No, I’m not going to play that Amero-centric game. Let’s go to Myanmar. Photos, videos and news traveled through an international blogosphere and brought the historic protest to the world. Until the Burmese rulers shut down the Internet ostensibly to stop the outside world from witnessing the crackdown, but the real reason, I think, was to quelch the hope of its citizens. Isn’t that the “real” (I mean is real anyway) link? The Internet and mobile phones are links to hope, to our fellow human beings. Not virtual beings, but real flesh and blood humans with feelings, emotions and issues.

Pakistan is in lockdown now too. Why? Because another megalomaniac doesn’t want to give up power. And the idiots in Washington can’t even pretend to condemn the removal of freedom for our allies, the Pakistanis. What are we doing in Iraq? Freeing the Iraqis? Hmmm, but we don’t mind if the “Pakis” lose theirs in the meantime. There are still some other Bush family members who might want to start another war later. But I digress…. With TV shut down, Pakistanis turn to another external connection: the web!

Back in September I went to visit a good friend in Istanbul. Well to my disappointment I could not blog while there because wordpress had been blocked. Why? Because a certain man wanted to censor blogs that “defamed” him. The Internet, the web, and now bloggers are being subjected to more and more scrutiny and repression.

And while this news is disturbing and we should worry about it and most definitely fight against it…it heartens me to know that we are big enough to get the big guy’s attention. Remember a tiny virus can bring even the biggest man down.

Thanks to MiSS CRiP CHiCK!

key phrases: “cannot support separate but equal” and “enlightenment, equality and justice”

…could not bring myself to tell an entire group of people in our community they were less important, less worthy, less deserving to the rights and responsibilities of marriage than anyone else, simply because of their sexual orientation

What has happened here? It’s amazing and wonderful. An entire group of people have been humanized. Imagine that! People, ALL people, are humans, deserving dignity, respect and rights like all the rest of us. It is such a simple concept and yet, sadly, still not grasped by so many. Relish this one victory and fight for more!

The first annual Anti-Telethon Blogswarm hosted by Kara and led by Miss Crip Chick is up. I don’t know much about this issue myself but I am learning now! You can too.

I have to admit that sometimes I feel uncomfortable with disability, which is proof of the “pity model” in society that these girls are protesting. I don’t have much personal experience, but through greater knowledge and awareness I hope to shed the last vestiges of discomfort, eliminate my ignorance. My own mother is a great example. She works with disabled children and she just adores them. She doesn’t see disability but beautiful, loving, laughing, crying young men and women who get on her bus every morning to go to school.

Another issue in which I am currently educating myself is mental health which Hymes is so eloquently writing about.

Pardon my absence, but I was gone for a few days. Yes very lucky me went to Paris. Mi esposo querido surprised me for my birthday. It still amazes me the luck I’ve had in this short life. What more can be left?

I’ve been catching up on news and blogs today and there are so many people who aren’t so lucky. I won’t feel guilty though because that is demeaning to my life and the courageous lives of others. Buddha forbid I should ever feel superior! As if a good life is proof of your goodness or superiority as some seem to believe. I mean my life is not perfect. We all suffer, some more than others, but I try to fully appreciate my life and to make the best of it. I hope with all my heart that others experience their own joy and love despite all the tragedy that surrounds us. I also hope that they find a way to make their own joy and love in their own way. And I really hope that those of us who are lucky enough not to live in daily fear and violence, can do something to help those who find themselves in unimaginable spaces, even if that something is just trying to understand and challenging our own preconceived ideas.

So what am I talking about? Social responsibility and empowerment. By social responsibility I mean responsibility to the communities we exist in and to the communities connected to our own. Well really I mean responsibility to all humanity. By empowerment I mean an individual or group is self-directing and neither dominated nor dominating.

Continue reading Some thoughts on social responsibility and empowerment…