We Must Discharge, Then Decide to Act
Once again, we find ourselves having to face a relentless onslaught of racism and reactionary hatred. We find ourselves having to defend our families and communities against the societal propaganda, reactionary rhetoric, and tolerated acts of violence.
Even though we are from many national identities and have common threads of Indigenous roots, we are all targeted as Mexicans by the vitriolic rhetoric.
This has been prompted and encouraged by many—some of whom are in positions of pseudo leadership and are acting out of misinformation and pseudo self-interest, fueled by hatred and chronic fear.
The racism is intended to paralyze us—to restimulate us and force us into confusion and chronic silence.
We find ourselves in the middle of a collapsing economic and social order that serves the interests of the lost few who profit from the patterned, calculated semi-organized misery.
We are in a position that is not unfamiliar to any of us. So we must ask ourselves the reoccurring question, “What do we do now?” or, “What can I or should I do?” The answer is a deeply personal one, as it reflects our birthright as members of the human family.
Our first challenge is to quickly set up Co-Counseling sessions in two parts: First, we must grieve, rage, and intentionally discharge our fears. For some of us, numbness is like a scab on our mind. Second, we must decide to act.
The oppression relies on our conditioning from several hundred years of oppression and the patterns we were forced into as a matter of survival. Chronic assimilation is no longer an option. Chronic silence will not provide any sanctuary.
We must reclaim our individual and collective indignation and also our ability to act—individually and, when the opportunities present themselves, collectively—as we decide to move ourselves and our humanity forward.
I believe we must organize. This for me means developing a keen sense of where there is leverage to get people to work together. We can reach out to others, ask what they are thinking about what’s happening, and listen. Then we can speak out about the current situation and talk directly about where our common interests may be.
There are more opportunities than we can individually address. That simply reflects the reality of our current circumstances.
Respectfully,
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list
for leaders of Latinos/as and Chicanos/as