Knomadic

Viva Zapata
No todo es el dinero
no todo es busca plata
Estamos hartos de tan solo ser subordinados
Seres clonados
Por siglos engañados
Vicente presidente en el país de las pesadillas
Los niños se preguntan “dónde están las maravillas?”
La corrupción el rey
Princesa la pobreza
muy poco nos importa la madre naturaleza

“

—	Bocafloja - El Mundo Tiene un Dueño

Colberto Reporto Giganteeee

Stephen Colbert and Lou Dobbs talk illegal immigration.

“Ese no es sólo un gran título, sino un gran primer… capítulo” Ahhhh, Colberto

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

22 plays

Bocafloja - Mujer Ser

"consciente de su herencia cultural
en contra de clichés como la chica material
la gente en ocasiones no la entiende
a los hombres ella dice que su cuerpo no se vende
jamás fue un alma más en el colegio
mujeres como ustedes para el mundo un privilegio
jamás sigue a las masas ella tiene iniciativa
hablamos sobre el karma, las estrellas y la vibra positiva
contando cada paso como un viaje
lo menos importante son las capas de pintura y maquillaje
no cree en el sexo débil ni tampoco es feminista
siempre el conversar expresa más aun con la vista
puede dormir contigo y no tocarte
puede no conocerte y platicarte
nunca a tenido miedo a ser quien es en este mundo masculino
brincando los obstáculos mirada al frente
un puño arriba en el camino"

Last night I got to see a great show in Salinas. Bocafloja and Para La Gente. Bocafloja from México and PLG from Salinas/Watsonville are real, progressive, beautiful hip hop artists. Go support and check the new albums! And just a heads up… you’ll be seeing quite a few posts with these guys in the upcoming days/weeks

Palabras - Tomás Rivera

En esta hoja blanca
dejo caer pedazos vivos de sesos
Aquí me quedo para siempre
Ahora ya me conocen
Detrás de cada letra mis ojos les siguen
Los veo, yo los veo, a ustedes
No quiero salir de aquí
Aquí estoy para siempre
Qué fácil romper
el secreto eterno.
¿Por qué no me siguen?
Métanse conmigo entre las palabras.
Juguemos entre ellas, dejemos que
caigan sobre nuestro cuerpo
Amontonémoslas sobre nuestro ombligo
Echémoslas al aire
Leámoslas, amémoslas
que están sedientas de amor
Engendrémoslas, repletémoslas
hasta que salgan de nuestra boca
con ganas.
Por eso en esta hoja blanca
he dejado caer pedazos de sesos
manchados de sangre que
huelen a vida y que sabrán vivir.
Y el secreto ¿qué fue?
Soy una palabra

(1971 )Y no se lo tragó la tierra / And the Earth Did Not Devour Him - Tomás Rivera

The most recent book we’ve finish in The Chicano Novel. I didn’t like it when I started because it’s very segmented, which was confusing at first. But as you work through it, it begins to make more sense, and Rivera weaves a beautiful compilation of experiences into a story. He is an amazing writer and his style is wonderful to read.

This book is about a young boy remembering a dozen or so events from the past year of his life. You get many perspectives and insights into the reality of the migrant workers of that time.

I checked out his Complete Works from the library, and will be posting a few of his poems, or pieces of them, in the near future. Check it out!

Washington Sniper Faces Execution

This is upsetting to me. We trained this man to kill. He had an expert marksmanship rating (see here about his history with army), and now we see him as a monster. We always look outward, place blame on others without seeing our own connection in what goes on. What could we have done to prevent this? What can we do to prevent this in the future? Why isn’t anyone else being questioned about this? Why aren’t we questioning ourselves about this? There’s no way to justify what he did, but the man is still human, and we can’t ignore the fact that we trained and promoted such actions, just on different targets.

“John Allen Muhammad is due to be executed on Tuesday for the murder of Dean Harold Meyers, one of 10 people killed during the attacks…. A skilled marksman, Muhammad picked off his targets using a sniper rifle, always with a single round and from a distance.”

“A psychiatrist examined him and said he’s paranoid and psychotic and delusional and gave many examples.”

Read full article here

from another article: “he confirms the suspect in the Washington area sniper shootings did qualify at the highest marksmanship level in the Army, the expert level with an M-16 rifle… The official says that means at least once during his military career, Mr. Muhammad successfully shot at least 36 out of 40 targets at distances ranging from 50 to 300 meters.”

Full article

Thoughts?

guerrillas, Nice post! I agree with you, especially on the danger of anthropocentrism. I share your feeling that all life is precious, although it can be hard to describe at times. It’s always a good thing to strive for less suffering in the world, and to do your best to lead a life that doesn’t require the death or exploitation of others. Thanks for sharing!

guerrillas:

I’m currently working to become vegan. I’ve been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for a year now, and once I have a little more $ and stability in my life, I plan to progress to a vegan diet. Disclaimer: I don’t judge anyone for eating meat and never will. The following is just a brief and scattered explanation of my reason for assuming such a diet.

I grew up an avid meat eater, going as far as belittling those who didn’t (as is encouraged in this society), and I hunted all my life (deer, elk, dove, pheasant, geese, duck). For the past several years my perception of life has been changing…drastically. I’ve reached some conclusions that many view as outrageous, but to me, are undeniable truths. One such belief is that all life is created equal, and hence, equally precious. Many believe that our species is above the rest of life on this planet, but to me, this is a dangerous and unfounded notion that is at the root of our exploitation of the natural world. Anyways. A vegan diet to me is just a benefit of living in an advanced civilization. I no longer have to eat meat in order to sustain myself, so why should I? I cherish life too much to support having it caged and slaughtered simply for my unnecessary enjoyment. I feel very privileged. The first couple months were very difficult, but anything worthwhile is never easy. Now, I will eat meat if it is a life and death situation, but in such an instance, ideally I would like to be the person that makes the kill. There’s a respect and understanding for the (ultimate) sacrifice that animal is making when you see the ‘glow’ leave its eyes. Oh, and one last note, of course “no meat” includes fish too!