Really?! Leave Van Nuys (ban nice) alone!

it's not all bad

There are some nice parts of bad towns and bad parts of nice ones. I agree that Van Nuys should be “made better” – and by that making the traffic flow better, improving public transit, inverting some of the miles and miles of either ugly apartment buildings and turning parking lots inside out, to have the buildings come up closer to the street, with wide sidewalks to windowshop and mingle and bump into each other.

http://la.curbed.com/archives/2009/06/neighborhood_wants_out_of_van_nuys.php

We need more like this…

Interesting story about an oral history project in East L.A. in conjunction with USC.

Eastside high schoolers get a lesson in oral history

A small group from Roosevelt High volunteers in a 10-month program organized by Cal State L.A. to film a documentary about five influential women in the community.

By Esmeralda Bermudez…LINK

Pocho Saurus Votes!

I will vote for Sen. Barack Obama.

I will vote not liking the guy, but then again, never having met him nor reading much about him. I will vote for Obama regretting that Sen John McCain, the man who I voted for in 2000 against George W. Bush in the primaries, has long disappeared  into a black hole of Karl Rove attacks and unfocused campaigning. 

I will vote for Obama knowing full well that my vote is for a historical figure who will try to change Washington, but will ultimately make so many compromises that he will let down his most ardent supporters. I wish that I was as enthusiastic about Sen. Obama as I was about Sen. Hillary Clinton. I knew her to be a tough old bitch, and knew that even with all of her baggage, and maybe because of it, she wouldn’t change Washington necessarily, but she would have gotten her agenda passed. Oh well.

I will vote for Obama knowing that we will have 4 years of people whispering about racism. That issue is so enormous I will try to write about it later. But race is an issue that won’t go away, and to not vote for an African American just because they are African American is stupid. Even I never thought of it that way.

I will vote for Obama for all of the African-Americans who have struggled and died to vote, to be even considered equal and human and who will see him as the result of their two-hundred years and longer oppression and struggle. I know that many tears of joy will be shed if/when Obama wins on Tuesday, and I do wish to be a part of it.

Still, I do resent the media’s bias against John McCain, the enormous and outrage-free financial advantage of the Democrats this year, the arrogance and cockiness and sense of inevitability that the Dems have shown since June.

Here’s to the next President!

An Undecided Voter

 

My Secret Ballot

 

 

Pocho Saurus here. The election is looming. My ballot is in hand (I am a Permanent Absentee Voter). That’s right – Democracy through the U.S. Mail!

As a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton, I am supposed to suck it up and vote for Sen. Obama. I can’t. 

At least not yet.

I’m very conflicted, with issues of loyalty, race and fairness swirling around my head. The media clearly has a bias towards one candidate and against another. It makes me angry when I see the sneers on CNN – the insta-polls, the millions of dollars, the glib and arrogant tone of *some* of Sen. Obama’s supporters.

 

Still, a little backstory is in order. I actually voted for Sen. John McCain back in 2000, in the Primary against then Governor George Bush. I enjoyed McCain’s no-bullshit style, his then “straight-talk” and his promises to cut down on defense spending. His personal story, while inspiring, didn’t move me to register (briefly) as a Republican. His call to national service did – in those pre-September 11th days, John McCain urged all people, especially young voters, to serve a cause greater than themselves. Back then, it was different, it was new, and it inspired me to drive all the way to the 24 hour Post Office by the airport and register to vote.

So now I am two weeks away from Election Day. I have read the reports and seen the polls. I have watched the debates and gotten into too many arguments about this election. But I want to start over and see if I can, with a clear and objective mind, truly decide who to vote for – without worrying about the racial, gender, or hysterical issues surrounding what is our privilege to vote.

Olympics Memories

Very 80s

Pochosaurus remembers watching the 1984 Olympics with his dad. He made pepinos with salt, lemon and paprika. It was hot, after all. Anyway, that Olympics meant more to me than any since – more than Seoul, more than Barcelona, especialy more than Atlanta in 1996.

What other way do we have in our lives do we have to feel part of something so good, so much larger than ourselves? Aside from the broadcast rights and political woes, the Olympics is about the Athletes, their hard work and how proud we all can be not only to be citizens of nations, but to be part of this thing called Earth. There’s something about these spectacular ceremonies that always chokes me up, brings a tear to my eyes and makes me blubber like I was watching Titanic.

Looking at some of the awesome Opening Ceremony pictures from Beijing, Pochosaurus is glad for HD TV!

John Wayne and Pedro Infante

If Pocho Saurus ever had an origin story, this would be it. Perfect example of how distinctive and different it is to be a Mexican-American today – with nationalism, assimilation and family pressures coming at us from all sides, Chicanos, Radicals, Pochos and Coconuts can all agree that we are in a unique situation. Edward James Olmos explains:

(Non) Racial Politics

I know that religion and politics are the topics you don’t bring up in polite conversation, but…

Today in the news is Sen. Barack Obama’s multi-million dollar drive to recruit LAtino voters. The same Latino voters that overwhelmingly voted for Sen Clinton in the primaries. Now, I’ve heard many theories about why so many Latinos didn’t vote for Obama – and the worst reason was a conspiracy/theory about Latinos not trusting African-Americans. Yes, racism exists and there may have been an aggrieved sense that African-Americans shouldn’t get into the White House before Latinos. I don’t believe that. I do believe that amongst Sen Clinton’s supporters, there was a sense that she would do more for the Latino community – although there’s little evidence to support this.

Sen Obama is walking a fine line on the racial issue – his appeal is his “post-racial” status. In other words, he’s a black guy not running as a black guy, yet not running away from his blackness. Compare him to another successful minority politician, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: he didn’t run as a Latino pol either, yet he didn’t shy away from chumming up with his East-side supporters and labor background. Which is smart politics.

Which brings me to a point I’ve heard made long ago: that Latinos are, on the whole and on the issues, more conservative ideologically and should be voting Republican:

 

• anti abortion
• pro family
• anti tax
• pro small business

But then you get into other issues that the Republicans have completely fucked up on:

• immigration
• public education
• public transit

It’ll be interesting to see how many Latino votes Obama actually gets.

Not Pandering At All

*Caveat* I suppose younger Latino voters are probably a lot more liberal than their older, more conservative counterparts.

Politico article here

Life in a Flash

Reading through the L.A. Times yesterday, I came across the story of Nancy and Rudy Tovar, creators of Rudy and Nancy’s Barrio Newsletter (Which I have been trying to find and can’t yet). 

In a nutshell, Nancy Tovar has reached that age in her life when she is not only facing her mortality, but doing it in a dignified way – she’s not only taking care of her affairs, packing, giving things away, but she also has her eye on her husband of over 13 years, although they’ve dated since 1979 and met in the 1960s. According to the Time’s Steve Lopez, 

Nothing in her life was harder, Tovar says, than moving Rudy out of the home they shared. Learning of her cancer 2 1/2 years ago didn’t compare. Being told recently that it had spread to her lymph nodes didn’t compare. Losing Rudy was everything. ”He’s going deaf,” she says, wishing she could share her hopes and fears with him. “You don’t know whether he hears you or not.”

This is one of those local stories newspapers are good for. With all of the hype about how much newspapers are losing money and readers, these kinds of local stories should be what a new and improved L.A. Times would be smart to focus on.

It’s also one of those stories that should make us proud of being human, living in Los Angeles, that we have good people left, and even though we’re all headed to the same destination, it makes life that much better to know of two kindred spirits and sweet hearts like these two people.

 

Towering Scarecrow

My prayers go out to both Nancy and Rudy.

Full Article Here

 

 

Welcome to Pocho Saurus Mex

I know the title is hit or miss. My siblings hate it, dismissed it out of hand. My good friend loved it, laughed and made me know I had to go with it.

So what’s this all about? I’m sure you’ve heard or been involved in a variant of this conversation:

- So you’re Mexican?

- No.

Confused look. You can almost hear them think: But…look at you! 

You continue. -I was born here.

-But you’re Mexican.

-No. If I were Mexican, I would have been born there. My parents are from Mexico.

-So what do you have against Mexicans? Or: Oh, you’re ashamed of your roots? Or: Something about a “ranfla” (car)

Brings me to my point: There are many of us whose parents are from other countries. In the process of assimilation, we’re losing a bit of ourselves. Many of us give it up quietly, knowing that our life is a mixture – not quite Mexican, not quite American. We are something new and fresh and in-between. Some of us make a big racket about not “going down without a fight,” about not “selling out.” There are discussions of Raza and Aztlan and other myths and legends. 

I can see my parents and all that they’ve given up to be here. I see how they gave up their comfortable lives back in Mexico to be spat on in this country, be laughed at, work and finally make it. I am what they wanted to accomplish. My Spanish isn’t that great. I don’t want to take back any land from anyone. I don’t use the words “pachuco” “ranfla” “orale” (except when joking). Not a big chile fan. I love enchiladas. Not a Taco Bell customer. Thinking about not voting for Obama. Giving McCain a chance to prove himself. Always follow immigrant stories in the news. Not really “down” with the whole Chicano Movement thing.

If I were Asian, you’d probably call me a banana.

If I were Black, you’d call me an Oreo.

I guess I am your coconut.

 

Fuck it! Welcome to Pocho Saurus Mex.

Here We Go…

I’m sure this story has just started to make the rounds – first in the L.A. Times – picked up this discussion of Metafilter (the very first blog I ever read back in the 1990s).

Asians and Latinos: Guess Which Ones Make It?

The difference here is that the students at Lincoln were actually speaking up about it, instead of just grumbling at it by themselves. Hopefully this coverage will wake a few of them up. It’s simplistic to say that it’s just because the Latino kids are poor that that’s why they don’t make it. Stand and Deliver, anyone?

Seriously, it’s the parents who force these Asian kids to study at all hours, to fill up their time with coaches and drill and kill and SAT Prep. I know Asian kids are lazy, horny, distracted, just like Latino kids – difference is that Latino kids don’t have parents who tear them down when they “only” get a 90% on a test. I’ve seen it.

Most kids just want to be kids. If it wasn’t for the pressure parents exert, most would just stay home and MySpace with their “friends.”

Wonder why the drop-out rate is so high? It’s because Latino parents themselves (again this is all just generalizing, so be kind) didn’t go very far with their own schooling. This is an outdated model, but some Latino parents want to see their kids working, making money, helping out with the household expenses. Schooling is something abstract and work is a concrete, character builder.

Nothing wrong with that. Right?

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/columnone/la-me-lincoln16-2008jul16,0,7519572,full.story