#like it's one thing to not know about Cesar Chavez

[butterfly-in-the-moonlight]

hey can we slap people's magazine?

[androgynealienfemme]

"Butch Code Limitations Feminism came to my rescue. I enrolled at UCLA for my junior year, which meant moving across town, leaving Pico, and leaving my buddies who worked for Pacific Telephone by day and drank by night. But my wardrobe of ties was now complete and I'd managed, with some Ivy League suspenders and a host of L.L. Bean blazers, to set my own butch style. I was working full-time in Watts and was finally within sight of my degree in social work. My career plans were clear. Like Cesar Chavez, I was going to save the ghetto. All I needed was a new bar and a new girl.

I found the former quickly enough by joining the softball team at the 7th Circle, a seedy little dive that despite its reputation as a "reds" (we're not talking politics) bar became my weekend home. Home was completed the night I met Gayle there and took her to my one-bedroom in the Fairfax district (later to become West Hollywood).

Doing the swagger thing at the Circle, I protected Gayle from unwaranted advances, threw a few punches to establish my territory, and refined the codes of Butch 301: honor your dyke buddies, it instructed, don't make it with a buddy's girl and expect to keep her friendship. Don't flaunt your one-night stands in your girlfriend's face -- make sure your friends don't either. Don't trust ki-kis (switch-hitters who flip-flopped from butch to femme depending on who they were trying to make). And above all, never let on if you find yourself sexually attracted to another butch.

The butch code was obviously a limited worldview. I grew bored. I didn't need a twelve-step program to see the ravages of alchol on the faces of my sage butch mentors. i didn't then agree with my generation about marching in the streets against our country's war (I'd spend the sixties in the cloister and in Pico; I didn't even know where Vietnam was). I had no political consciousness, but I was frustrated pissed off. I wanted being queer to mean more than spending my life in a bar.

On October 3, 1970 I walked into my first homosexual meeting. I hadn't heard about Stonewall, but I knew I was in the right place. A stone butch name Carole sat at the head table, and the whole room buzzed with talk about "religion and the homophile." Six months later, I succeeded and Carole as president of the Los Angeles chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis and opened the first center in the city. History had surged forward. By that time we talked about "gay rights."

One day I found a leaflet crammed in the mailbox of our DOB Center. It was from another organized group of gay girls, the Lesbian-Feminists. I'd heard about them through the dyke grapevine. No one knew what their name meant, they were reported to be "weirdos," and they were known to hang out at a center for women. This sounded ominous, but the leaflet gave an address and said, "All women welcome." I decided queer unity must prevail; I would visit their territory.

Feminism and the Butch Closet It was not love at first sight. Listening to my "sisters" that first night was one of the most disorienting experiences of my life. These women forbade use of the word girl. No one flirted with anyone. No one even asked my name, much less noticed my new wing tips. The Lesbian-Feminists did nothing but talk for five hours. And they weren't even discussing an outing or anything tangible. They were spouting some convoluted religious. It had to be religious, because they were all intensely righteous. I thought I knew about the religions of the world, but this was a new one. Apparently it was also very ancient, because one of them proclaimed their "matriarchy" was as "old as history itself."

By midnight I was convinced I'd received the wrong information. These girls weren't lesbians. There were no butches. Many of them looked vaguely feminine, in the hippie style of the day. A clunky sandal seemed to be their shoe of choice, but none of them wore makeup. I knew no bona fide femme would go out in public without makeup or heels.

Concluding that they were some kind of crackpot sect, I rose to leave. As I stomped across the wood floor, enjoying how the chains on my boots clanged through their meanderings, the one called "Radical Rita Right On" shouted at me, "What kind of lesbian are you?"

-“Butches, Lies, and Feminism" by Jeanne Cordova, The Persistent Desire, (edited by Joan Nestle) (1992)

[theanticool]

Ever since Loma accepted a fight with Kambosos next year a lot of people on Twitter have been debating his legacy. Some calling him an all-time great some calling him the most overrated boxer of all time. One person said he was one of the best talents he'd ever seen but his resume didn't reflect it. what do you think about Loma and how he should be remembered when he retires?

Sports fans on the whole are subject to hyperbole. And legacy is fickle. If we're being real accomplishments, while a prerequisite, they are not the end all be all.

I probably agree with the sentiment that Loma's resume does not reflect the level of talent he has but also that doesn't mean he didn't accomplish a lot.

Boxing has existed for over 100 years. Most of the best boxers of all time are long forgotten. Go through Ring Magazine's top 100 boxers of all time and then ask some random dude at a spots bar if they know who Emile Griffith, Tony Canzoneri, and Archie Moore are (all in the top ten btw). How about p4p talent like Junior Jones? or Frankie Randall, the first dude to beat Julio Cesar Chavez sr? Just being mentioned in the convo of like best 100-200 boxers of all time great is a testament to how good you are. Cause there have been a lot of fantastic fighters.

As for how he likely will be remembered, he's a 2x Olympic gold medalist and a 3 division world champion. He's got a unique style that is one of the most aesthetically pleasing styles of fighting in recent memory. I think that's good enough to be remembered fondly, especially as in the internet age where people are going to be clipping some of the visually stunning stuff he did and putting it on tiktok or whatever social media app comes next.

I also think it comes down to how your era is processed media-wise, if that makes sense. For example, the four kings era is remembered fondly in no small part because so many of the guys covering boxing today were kids then. So part of it is going to depend on who is covering the sport in 5, 10, 20, 30 years.

One of the big things being a basketball fan taught me is that part of being remembered when you're gone, is to never really leave. Podcasting, tv analyst, commentary, coaching, etc. You keep your name at the front of people's minds by just never leaving. And all four of those guys are still very much involved with boxing. They're at a lot of big fights, some are gym owners or promoters, or they're doing movies/tv appearances. And they talk to media. A lot. I know what Tommy Hearns thought about Spence-Crawford because he gave an interview about it. What Vasyl does when he stops boxing could have a big effect on his legacy too.

[agnesmontague]

"Can I ask where you're from?" from ¡Hola Papi!

Plaintext version under the cut

Too much time online has led some to believe that cultural specificity is this sacred thing we should seek to establish at all times. God forbid we attempt to engage with another person as a human being before peeking at their passport and phenotype to better understand how we’re supposed to talk to them and how to approach their art. 

This impulse feels like an overcorrection to people pretending to “not see color” and such. People want granular identity markers in order to attach individuals to nebulously defined communities, either to make themselves feel like they’re doing activism or for marketing purposes.

This has led to a lot of goofiness, in my view. I’m proud to be Chicano and all, but I do not think running a Grindr advice column in 2017 puts me in conversation with Cesar Chavez, even if our books will sit on the same shelf during Hispanic Heritage Month. Not evil, mind you, but definitely goofy. 

[...]

I know people mean well, but it feels like in the process of shouting “listen to [insert group of people here]” we have imagined those groups as monolithic and pushed them into another box. A box with one of those “IN THIS HOUSE WE BELIEVE LOVE IS LOVE” signs in front of it, but a box nonetheless. It reduces artists and creatives down to their identity rather than giving them parity to explore the themes and horizons afforded to their peers.

I am not a fan of such essentialism. I think there has to be more to the human spirit than fictional borders and manmade racial structures. I don’t really think knowing exactly where someone is from will make their art any better or worse, or their opinions on art any better or worse. Interrogating them about where they’re from (with the implied followup of “where you really from?”) reeks of intellectual insecurity to me. 

[arpov-blog-blog]

..."For months polls have shown Trump beating Biden nationally, though the race remains tight; more important, thanks to our genius electoral college system, is Trump’s advantage in six of the seven battleground states that are likely to be decisive. Things look equally rugged for Biden when you go deeper than the horse race: A majority of Americans believe economic conditions were better under Trump—despite Biden delivering record-low unemployment numbers—and inflation remains stubbornly high. In March the share of voters strongly disapproving of Biden’s job performance reached a new peak, according to a New York Times survey. Many voters under 35 are angered by the administration’s support for Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. And voters of every age group think Biden, 81, is too old to bid for a second term.

The leaders of his reelection team aren’t in denial; they understand they’re facing daunting challenges. The coalition that elected Biden in 2020 has splintered. “We believe that Joe Biden has an important story to sell and has been a historic president,” a senior campaign strategist says. “But that doesn’t mean to say that everyone is going to love him perfectly.” Which may not make for the most stirring political rallying cry. But it underlies the campaign’s methodical drive to raise tens of millions of dollars to assemble a sophisticated operation that will press the fight in both conventional and innovative ways. The plan stretches from boosting Latino turnout in Arizona to winning Michigan—despite the state’s much-hyped “uncommitted” Democratic primary voters—to flipping North Carolina to wooing a meaningful number of Nikki Haley-Republican-primary voters to aggressively educating potential Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voters about his beliefs. For months the campaign has quietly built infrastructure in key states—a foundation that is now allowing it to capitalize on Republican gifts, like the Arizona supreme court’s approval of a near-total ban on abortion. “We know exactly the voters we need to turn out,” a senior campaign operative says, “and we’ve got a plan to do it.”

That confidence flows from data research that assigns probabilities to individual voters. It is also based on a deep roster of human political intelligence, like Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager, who was a top aide on Raphael Warnock’s winning Georgia senate reelection campaign over Herschel Walker in 2022, and Julie Chávez Rodriguez, the 46-year-old campaign manager who is a granddaughter of pioneering labor leader Cesar Chavez. “We wanted to make sure we had strong campaign experience, but also really strong lived experience for the communities and voters that we want to reach. So it’s not by default that it’s myself and Quentin running this campaign. That was extremely intentional,” Rodriguez says. “And being able to prioritize our base targets, it’s not the way that most presidentials have been run. They don’t usually invest in doing outreach to communities of color early.”

Yet much of the work of piecing together the strategy and the machinery has occurred in Wilmington, outside the national media spotlight, which has contributed to a perception among many Democrats that the Biden campaign is eerily, delusionally calm. “What scares me to death is they think they’ve proven everyone wrong every time,” a senior Democratic insider says. “They have this outward posture of, ‘We came from nowhere in the 2020 primary, we’re the only ones who beat Trump in the general, so trust us.’ But remember, in the fall of 2020, they sent Biden to Ohio and Kamala Harris to Texas where they had no chance, when they could have been in Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. So let’s not get on too high of a horse.”

Maybe so—though Biden visited and won those four key states four years ago. And up close, it’s clear no one is resting on their horses, or their laurels. The 2024 campaign’s activities are intense and far-reaching, permeated by a deep sense of urgency. “I can certainly feel the weight of what we’re doing,” says Dan Kanninen, who leads the battleground-state effort. “But to be in it gives a measure of purpose that is different than just allowing your anxieties to take you somewhere else.” Biden’s lieutenants have forceful, detailed, logical pushbacks to every possible criticism of the campaign. There’s only one part of the reelection operation that feels unnerving: so much of the victory calculus hinges on voters, once they’ve heard the relevant facts, behaving rationally. That worry is compounded by the stakes. “If we lose this election,” a national Democratic strategist says, “we might not have another one.”

[renardtrickster]

So I was right and everyone else was right in saying that conservatives will use CRT as a buzzword and extend it to mean “literally anything”. The Republican Texas Senate is trying to amend a bill that, if passed, would remove the following from school curriculum.

The history of the Native Americans.

The writings of anyone who isn’t directly a founding father, including their contemporaries, families, and the slaves who were owned by them.

Frederick Douglas’ newspaper, “The North Star”.

The Book of Negroes.

The Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1840.

The Indian Removal Act.

Thomas Jefferson’s “Letter to the Danbury Baptists”.

William Still’s Underground Railroad Records.

Historical documents related to the civic accomplishments of marginalized populations, including documents related to...

The Chicano Movement.

Women’s Suffrage and Equal Rights.

The Civil Rights Movement.

The Snyder Act of 1924.

The American Labor Movement.

The history of white supremacy, including but not limited to the institution of slavery, the eugenics movement, and the Ku Klux Klan, and the ways in which it is morally wrong.

The history and importance of the Civil Rights Movement, including the following documents...

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail“ and “I Have A Dream” speech.

The United States Supreme Court’s decision in “Brown v. Board of Education”.

The Emancipation Proclamation.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.

Mendez v. Westminster.

Frederick Douglas’ “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave“.

The life and work of Cesar Chavez.

The life and work of Dolores Huerta.

The history and importance of the women’s suffrage movement, including the following documents...

The Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments.

Abigail Adam’s letter “Remember the Ladies”.

The works of Susan B. Anthony.

The Declaration of Sentiments.

The life and works of Dr. Hector P. Garcia.

The American GI Forum.

The League of United Latin American Citizens.

Hernandez v. Texas.

Also says that teachers are not compelled to discuss current events, and if they do, they must not give deference to any one perspective. Which sounds benign, until you realize that this means we’re going to have to “both sides” on stuff like “is COVID real” and “did this black man deserve to be executed by the police”.

None of this should be a surprise to anyone. The CRT backlash was always an astroturf and always an excuse to ban any discussion of or even acknowledgement of racism in America. The only surprising element should be in how bold they decided to be about it. Despite adoring the aesthetic of MLK Jr. they secretly hate him, always hated him even when he was alive, but I never would have imagined that they’d actually try to exeunt him from Texas schoolbooks, nor would they bold-facedly try to scrub the Civil Right’s Movement or even the Emancipation Proclamation from the textbooks.

For those who say “oh, they aren’t being banned, they’re just being removed from the curriculum, teachers can still teach them if they want”, I remind you that textbooks are written based off the state curriculum. If MLK isn’t in the Texas curriculum, he isn’t going to be in the Texas textbooks. If you want to argue “why should these need to be taught”, I ask you why they shouldn’t need to be. We all know the saying “those who do not know their history are doomed to repeat it”, so I ask why Texas is trying to make it such that the younger generations won’t be able to know their history specifically concerning the oppression of women and racial minorities, slavery, and the KKK, among other things.

My thing is, conviction and lack of conviction can both be used to intuit where someone’s principles lie. “I think we should teach kids about MLK” is pretty good. “I don’t really care one way or the other about teaching MLK” is pretty bad, because you’re basically saying you’re ambivalent to the Civil Rights movement and just really don’t see what’s so important, man. But I can’t even make the “lack of convictions” argument because there’s a group of people out there whose convictions are apparently “we don’t need people knowing about Civil Rights, or MLK, or women’s rights, or slavery, or” YOU GET IT, RIGHT? This bill doesn’t explicitly say “fuck women, fuck brown people, fuck civil rights, and fuck you”, but I’ve outlined the effects above. None of these will be in the textbooks, and it’s much more likely that they won’t be taught, or taught as extensively as everything else is taught. It would basically eradicate civil rights education, or at least cripplingly kneecap it, which I don’t even think I need to elaborate on why that’s bad. To deny that this would harm civil rights education and to argue “this is harmless, not racist, and morally neutral” is essentially “he brings up racial IQ and crime statistics a lot and he keeps mentioning ‘cultural insurgents’ a lot and he’s constantly going on about ‘reclaiming the fatherland’ but he doesn’t have an armband on so how can we really know he’s a nazi” meme being applied to STATE LEGISLATION CONCERNING SCHOOL EDUCATION.

[jyndor]

observations~ about andor

So I zoomed into the Andor reel like a normal person after seeing this post by @dasakuryo​, so you could say this is inspired by a post that was inspired by a post by @starwarsandor​. Trying to block out the memory of that mustard yellow jacket which I cannot tell you how much I do not like LOL, I went and dug a little into the art in the background and found some things that might lend credence to Ai’s theory that we might see the Cobalt Laborer’s Reformation Front, or at least some labor movement of some kind in the show, and how it might connect with other aspects of lore around Fest.

1. The Mustard Jacket of Revolution

So as she said in that post which you should read, this nasty mustard yellow jacket

looks awfully similar to what the Rebels wear during the Sullustan campaign in Battlefront II. I never played the games so I went to youtube and looked up some gameplay and yeah, it’s pretty interesting how the character Shriv seems to be wearing something very, very similar.

Okay, cool. But what’s interesting to me is that on the Wookieepedia page for Sullustans, the main photo is a Sullustan wearing an outfit very, very similar to what is in the Andor reel.

Interesting.

So what was going on with Sullust and the Cobalt Laborer’s Reformation Front anyway? From Wookieepedia:

The Cobalt Laborers' Reformation Front was an anti-Imperial worker Socialist organization on the planet of Sullust, which fought not just to overthrow the Imperial reign over the planet, but also for worker's rights

They were explicitly socialist.

2. Miners, Manufactuers and Labor Movement in My Star War?

No I am not playing, in the sizzle reel I saw some artwork that made me pause.

Aww, Cassian’s so cute next to that worker but wait what’s going on the left? Okay so I was talking to Ai and she made the point that that worker felt very Mexican laborer circa 1900s.

I’m not saying that there’s hats like that all over the artwork but they’re around.

So we know Diego is executive producer and like, idk how much sway that means he has over story elements but he did visit the Zapatistas and he directed the movie about Cesar Chavez, so who knows?

But what is clear to me is that workers will play a role in the story. The scenery doesn’t look Iike Sullust, but there are mines and factories in lots of places. And there is lots of evidence of laborers in the art.

Not to mention this artwork reminds me of some pictures of Sullust:

But again that could be any Imperial factory.

It could be Carida, described in canon as a barren and mountainous planet, and obviously we know an Imperial academy is there. Also Carida is where Jeron Andor was killed during the protest against Republic militarism, so that would be a good way to tie in his personal history. It is also described as a barren landscape Or maybe Ord Mantell, since we know that Cassian spends time there as Willix, and it is a dusty looking planet that had an Imperial deepdock.

Wherever it is, I imagine he will be working with factory workers and other laborers just based on the artwork. He is a recruiter after all.

3. Mantooine/Fest Drama Is Gonna Be In This Shit

We do see some art of Cassian and his sister probably lbr on a snowy planet with cute ass parkas so I assume that Cassian is very much in the area. And so I started thinking about what planets in canon and/or in Legends have a history with Fest?

Mantooine is the obvious answer for a couple of reasons.

Fest and Mantooine have a history of wars between them, so the Mantooine Liberators (an early anti-Imperial resistance organization) and the Fest Resistance Group didn’t have good communication. The Liberators took control of an Imperial garrison, and the Imperials on Fest were like LOLno, and the Fest resistance couldn’t get in contact with them so the Liberators were defeated. This is true in both Legends and canon, and in canon it happens in 14 AFE - when Cassian was 20ish. Right around the time that the show is going to cover.

They join together to become the Atrivis cell in Legends.

One of the only survivors from the attack was a man named Loom Carlpin, who was Travia Chan’s Chief of Staff (she was one of the founders of the Fest Resistance Group). The Wookieepedia page on her for canon features this quote:

"After due deliberation, Madame Travia Chan of the Atrivis Resistance Group agrees to the terms of partnership with Senator Mon Mothma of the Alliance. May our factions be stronger together than apart. No more Mantooines! Down with the Empire!"

I immediate thought of how Ai pointed out in her post that Diego said the show will focus on the “building of a revolution” when I read that.

4. Operation Cobolt and Other Coincidences, aka Cait is Now Just Losing Her Mind

So in Legends lore, Crix Madine leads the Alliance’s Operation Cobolt between 1 ABY and 3 ABY. According to Wookieepedia, it’s a hit-and-run operation over Mantooine to destroy the Imperial base there. And I am telling you I started to freak out because the name of the canon version of Operation Cobolt is Operation Cobalt.

Okay but 1 ABY... Cassian’s dead by then D: Well, the canon version just says it takes place before Endor LOL so there’s no reason why he can’t be involved in Operation Cobalt. But even if it takes place later, the point of Rogue One is partly that the actions of individuals live on through the collective.

One last connection that I think is probably coincidental but also made me flip out - the writer of Battlefront: Twilight Company, where the Cobalt Laborers’ Reformation Front is described as being a socialist organization, is none other than Mr. Rogue One Novelization himself, Alexander Freed.

Anyway I am sure I had other thoughts but they’re gone so let me know what y’all think.

[youllneverknowrac]

Oscar Diaz-Momma Bear

For @briskiiat420

Leave a request

You’re preparing dinner for the family, your youngest son Angel who is currently two years old sitting on your hip as you move around the kitchen. A task that you’re use to, but finding it more difficult seeing as you’re currently seven months pregnant with another baby. You had a lot of food to prepare to feed your large family of six, a long task, so your back and feet were in constant protest.

Oscar was currently outside cutting the over grown lawn, your two elementary school aged boys, Anthony(9) and Carlos(6) sitting on the couch playing a video game. Junior, your eldest son most likely upstairs on his phone.

You look over when Oscar walks in, his shirt now off and draped over his shoulder due to getting hot,“Smells good mamas.” He says as he goes over to the sink to wash his hands.

“Thank you. It still has a little time left before it’s all finished, so if you want to go take a quick shower you can.” You inform him as you move the red rice around. Oscar hums in understanding, drying his hands with the towel before coming behind you and placing a kiss to your shoulder.

“Want me to take him? The boys can watch him while you finish up.” He offers softly in your ear, referring to Angel who was just fine with holding onto you and leaning his head on your shoulder.

“No. Stay with my mommy.” The two year old responds quickly as Oscar holds his hands out and tries to reach for him. Oscar fake pouting at the response, already use to getting rejected by him when it comes to you.

“It’s fine. I don’t want him to start crying.” You chuckle and spin to give him a proper kiss,”Go shower...you smell like outside.” You say to him with a scrunched up nose.

“Si jefa.”(yes boss)

You laugh and shove him away with your free hand, before turning back to the food. You hear Oscar whistle at the two boys when he walks through the living room, smacking one of them playfully with his shirt,”Aye, pause that shit and go set the table for your mom. The both of you.” He demands, the tv growing silent as they hurry and scramble to their feet.

“Hi mom.” Carlos says as he races to grab the plates, his brother grabbing the silverware. They head into the connected dining room and run around the table getting everything ready for later. You shake your head as you watch them, only moving at a fast pace so they can get back to their game. You check on the chicken, picking off a piece to try, before blowing on it and taking a bit into your mouth. Angel happily eating the other half of the small left over piece when you offer it to him.

“Bye mom!” Anthony says when they both completed their task, the two of them jumping back onto the couch and pressing play. You turn off the pan for the potatoes as you hear the sound of feet coming down the stairs, Junior finally making an appearance.

“Oh, so you are apart of this family.” You tease as he hops onto the counter a few feet away, kicking his legs back and forth.

“I was busy.” He chuckles as your back reaches it’s breaking point.

“Busy? Want to share with what?” You ask as you walk over and hold out Angel for him to take, the younger boy starting to whine in protest before you give him ‘that’ look. His bottom lip sticks out but he doesn’t say anything else as he lets his older brother take him.

“I was talking to someone...a girl.” He says with a love struck grin, bouncing Angel up and down on his knee.

“A girl?” You say, surprise laced in your voice,”What’s her name? Do I know her?”

“No you don’t and it’s Carmen.” He says as you take a few feet back to the stove,”Carmen Chavez.” He sighs contently, his eyes glazed with love.

Carmen.” You repeat,”So I’m guessing by the look on your face you like this girl.”

“I do. A lot.” He admits,”Which is why I came down actually. I wanted to ask if she can come over to dinner...well she’s actually already on her way, like pulling into the neighborhood on her way.”

“Junior!” You exclaim as you point to the stove,”I didn’t make enough chicken for another person. You can’t just invite people over with out actually asking first.”

“I know mom, I know. I wasn’t thinking clear when I asked her and it was already too late to take it back.” He explains as he carefully gets down from the counter with Angel,”She can eat my piece, it’ll be fine. Just please don’t make me cancel on her.”

You take in his expression and instantly give in ,”Okay you win. Besides I cooked daddy two pieces anyway, she can just have one of his.”

“Awesome. I love you mom!” He grins and places a quick kiss on your cheek, setting the toddler onto the floor before running outside with his phone, not even giving you time to respond. You look out the window and notice a car come to a stop on the side of the road, getting interrupted by your youngest son.

“Up.” You hear Angel say as he tugs on your leggings. You reach down and scoop him up, turning each burner off and moving the food items over to the table so everyone could serve them selves what they wanted. You make sure to grab a extra plate and pull in a another chair, setting him in his high chair after.

“Cesar coming or something?” Oscar asks as he leans against the archway.

“No. Junior has his little crush joining us tonight.” You say as you pick up the empty sippy cup from the tray.

“Crush? I didn’t know he liked anyone.” Oscar says as he watches you pour some water into the cup, tightening the lid before handing it over to Angel.

“I’m barley finding out. He just sprung it on me.” You shrug, placing your hand on your belly and taking a deep breath,”He’s kicking so much today.” You comment, more to yourself than to Oscar.

“He? We don’t know it’s boy yet. Or did you already find out with out me?” Oscar smirks and walks over to place his hands on your stomach as well.

“I didn’t find out but I’ve done this four times already. I’m almost positive you can only shot out boys.” You laugh,”Now stop talking so close to me, it makes HIM go crazy.” You say and playfully swat his hands away. Oscar chuckles and pulls you in for a loving kiss, letting you go and taking his seat at the head of the table.

“Niños! Get in here, time to eat!” Oscar calls out, Junior walking in at the perfect time. You quickly serve Oscar and Angel, just giving the younger Diaz potatoes since that was going to be the only thing he actually ate and not play with.

“What, only one piece mami?” Oscar asks confusingly, use to getting double portions.

“If you want another one, the stove is just a few feet away.” You smile sweetly at him, Oscar mumbling a quiet apology as the other voices in the house join around the table.

“This is Carmen.” Junior says, the both of them still standing as the bottle blonde girl just looks around. You take in her appearance, short with nice features and hazel eyes. Her revealing outfit something you would have worn at her age as well, just not when meeting somebody’s parents. You weren’t one to judge, however when you noticed the fading love bites on her neck you got a bit concerned.

“Hello Carmen, I’m Y/N. Nice to meet you.” You say politely, Oscar and the other kids making themselves known as well. You sit down next to your husband and make yourself a plate, occasionally giving Angel some of your chicken as everybody begins to eat.

“So Carmen, are you a senior as well?” You ask

“Um yeah. Obviously.” She says, digging around her plate in distaste, not bothering to even make eye contact.

“Hey my wife’s talking to you, have some respect.” Oscar says pointing his fork in the two love birds directions, not being one to bite his tongue,”You’re in somebody’s home, so acknowledge them when they speak.”

“She’s fine. It’s fine really.” You say as you take in Junior’s shocked face at what his dad just said, Carmen shrugging and rolling her eyes as she mutters an apology.

“Um thanks for the food ma, it was really good, but can we actually go ahead and be excused?” He says embarrassingly, Oscar about to deny his request as you put your hand over his to stop him.

“Yes, take your plates to the sink first.” You say, Junior grabbing both his and hers and walking into the kitchen to discard of them, Carmen following,”And no going upstairs! Living room or front porch only.” You call out. The only response you get is the front door shutting, you sigh and shake your head,”I don’t know about this one.” You tell Oscar quietly, glancing over at the two other boys at the end of the table,”Stop throwing food at each other, you guys are old enough to know better.”

“Sorry mom.” They both say in unison with a fake innocent smile, eating normally again after.

“Yeah, Ima have a talk with him. I don’t need a no mannered ,rubia falsa, hyna as a daughter in law.” Oscar jokes, not taking anything serious.(fake blonde)

“And that is why I’ll be talking to him.” You laugh and pick up the rest of your chicken leg, placing it on to Oscar’s plate, who eagerly accepts it.

“I finished.” Angel says and holds his arms up,”Out mommy.”

“Please?” You say to him, waiting for him to mimic you.

“Pwease.” He whines, kicking his legs out until you pick him up and set him on the ground.

“Go play, daddy’s going to give you a bath when he’s done eating.” You say and the little boy nods, his long curly hair bouncing as he does. He takes off to living room and you hear him dump out his bucket of toys.

“We’re done too.” Anthony says for both him and Carlos as they stand up, showing off their empty plates.

“Yeah you’re not slick, both of you scarfed that shit down so you can get back to that game.” Oscar accuses with a laugh,”Nice try, get upstairs and get ready for bed. Then you can come back downstairs to play until bedtime.”

“Yes papa.” They grumble and take their plates to the sink, heading up the stairs sadly.

You laugh and begin cleaning up the table, Oscar still working on his late few bites. You start washing the dishes and placing them in the rack when you feel a presence behind you,”Thank you mami.” Oscar says and places his dish into the sink as well, wrapping his arms around you from behind and peppering your neck with kisses,”Maybe the little cock-block can sleep in his own room tonight?”

“Oscar! Don’t call him that.” You try to say seriously but can’t help the laugh that escapes,”Besides I’d be no fun anyway. I can’t even move.”

“That’s okay. I’ll do all the work.” He offers, his lips moving up to your earlobe. You bite down on your lower lip and crane your neck to the side so he has more access.

“Alright, if you can get him to sleep in his own bed tonight we can do whatever you want papi.” You give in, Oscar’s smile lighting up in excitement.

“It’s a deal. No take backs.” He says as he pulls away to go over and pick up said ‘challenge.’ Angel laughing as Oscar holds him upside down and takes him to yours guys restroom for his bath.

Just as you finish up cleaning, the kitchen and dining room spotless again, Junior enters the house.

“Come sit.” You call out as you go sit down on the couch, Junior letting go of the stairwell and sighing as he go to sit down opposite of you.

“Yes?”

“You know I’ve always been good at reading people.” You tell him, holding up your finger when he opens his mouth to speak,”Let me finish...now this Carmen girl, something’s a little off. She has no manners and look at how she presented herself. Her vibe isn’t right Junior.” You say,”And another thing, if your going to be marking her up then make sure she doesn’t flaunt it to us.”

“Marking her up? What are you talking about.” He says, ignoring everything else that left your mouth.

“Her neck, it looked like she got attacked by a octopus.” You say, Junior laughing at your words.

“Mom we haven’t done anything except for kiss, she told me that’s from her flat iron thingy.” He explains, your eyes growing wide, before you swallow down what you really wanted to say.

“Flat iron, right.” You agree, not wanting to completely destroy his little romance bubble, because for all you know it was early into the relationship so you shouldn’t completely judge her on that,”Look, baby all I’m saying is that she’s the first girl you took interest in. And maybe you’re just clouded by it. I don’t want you to get your heart broken and I just have this horrible feeling that she’s going to be the one to do it.”

“Mom I’m almost 18 now, I know what I’m doing. Carmen isn’t like that, she’s different from all the other girls in school. I’m not clouded by love, I am in love. It’s making me see clearer if anything.”

“You’re right. You are almost 18 and I should trust your judgement. I just want you to know that you will always be my baby boy and I’m always going to be right here if you need me.”

“I know mom.” He smiles and gets up, helping you to your feet and giving you a hug, your belly sort of in the way,”I love you and I love your talks, but I just think you’re wrong this time.” He adds, giving your cheek a kiss before heading back to the confinement’s of his room. You sigh and let him go away, waddling down the hall to your bedroom. Laughing as you see Oscar laying in bed with a sleeping Angel pressed to his side.

“What happened?” You asked smugly as you pull off your leggings so you can take a shower.

“I couldn’t tell him no.” Oscar admits in defeat, stroking the boys hair back. Gasping when you see what’s in his mouth.

“And you let him manipulate you for his pacifier. Oscar, no! He was doing so good with out it.” You whine, continuing to get undressed.

“I know mami, don’t make me feel weaker than I already do.” He groans

“Fine, but when he wakes up tomorrow you’re the one that’s going to take it from him.” You demand as you go over to the dresser and grab a t-shirt with some shorts.

“I will.” He agrees,”Aye, did Junior come back in yet?”

“Yeah, I already talked to him about her.” You inform,”He’s head over heels and completely blinded by her. Our first baby is going to have a broken heart very soon.” You sigh sadly.

“Well good thing he’s got us to fall back on.” Oscar yawns, reaching for the remote to turn the tv on,”Be careful in the shower, I don’t need you slipping.”

“I will.” You smile and blow him a kiss before disappearing into the bathroom.

~

“Did the boys ever come back downstairs?” You ask Oscar, but are welcomed with his soft snores as you exit the bathroom. You sigh and toss the towel into the hamper, already dressed as you go check the living room.

“Mommy?” Carlos says, standing on the first step of the stairs in his pajamas,”Can I sleep with you tonight? Anthony doesn’t want to keep the night light on.”

“Okay baby.” You smile and hold your hand out for him to take.

“Mommy?” He asks, not reaching for your hand.

“Yes?”

“Can you carry me?” He asks shyly, you would probably regret it tomorrow but he was too cute to resist and luckily he was a bit on the small/skinny side. You don’t respond and pick him up with a groan, his arms clinging to you as you walk back to the bedroom and shut the door. You set him on the bed and he gets under the covers as you climb in next to him. The light from the tv lighting the room just enough.

“Go to bed!” You text the family group chat when you hear the sound of feet walking around upstairs. Both older boys texting a thumbs up in response.

A yawn comes from your mouth as you plug your phone up to the charger, playing the dinner over and over again in your head. Trying to see if you missed something and really did misjudge her. You give up a few minutes later, trying to get some sleep. Carlos now upside down in the bed and his feet on your pillow. Both of those factors not helping you get a good nights rest.

~

It’s a little over a week later when you’re relaxing in the house, laying down on the couch. Oscar still at work, the three younger boys spending the day/night with Cesar, and Junior heading over to Carmen’s to surprise her, or so you thought.

You get startled by the sound of the front door opening and slamming shut, causing you sit up and take in Junior’s upset state,”Baby what’s wrong?” You ask and stand up, moving as quick as you can to his side.

“Fucking Carmen.” He says, running a hand through his hair before apologizing for his choice of words,”Sorry ma, I’m just so mad.”

“What did she do?” You say and wave off the curse word as you look up at him.

“I went over to her house and let myself in and she was in bed with some other guy. She didn’t even care that I seen. She just told me to leave and shut the door on my way out.” He says, his eyes filling with tears before blinking them back and looking up at the ceiling,”I thought she was the one. I was so sure.”

“Baby I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did try to warn you.” You sigh and wrap you arms around him.

“You did ma. I should have listened, I’m so stupid. I can’t believe I fell for her lies.”

“Come lay in mommy’s bed and I’ll bring you all your favorite foods.” You say, not giving him time to protest as you take his hand and drag him to your room. You tuck him in and use your fingers to wipe the tears that managed to fall, giving him a kiss on his forehead,”Here’s the remote.” You tell him as you hand it over,”I’ll be back.”

“Love you.” He say’s before you exit the room.

“Love you more.” You respond, heading into the kitchen after. You pull out everything you would need and get started on the not so healthy feast. Everything just about done as Oscar walks into the house, his work uniform filthy.

“Pregnancy cravings?” Oscar teases, after kicking off his work boots at the door and coming over to see what smelt so good.

“Not exactly.” You laugh as you finish up with last Mexican style street hot dog, the flan sitting in its pan off to the side. The portions big enough so you and Oscar can eat as well.

“Hmh.” He hums in response, grabbing your face and turning it so he can give you a kiss,”I’ma go get cleaned up.”

“Okay.” You smile, giving him one more peck before he walks off to the bedroom. Returning not even thirty seconds later.

“Why is that big ass fool in our bed, drooling on my pillow?” Oscar says with a raised eyebrow, not really upset,”I thought he was over that stage?”

“Turns out we were right about Carmen.” You say

“What? No.” Oscar frowns

“Yup. He’s really upset so don’t say anything unless he brings it up.”

“I’m not.” He replies with a shake of his head, sighing as he resumes his walk back to the room.

“Can you wake him up before you go shower!?Tell him his food is ready!” You call out, Oscar grunting in response.

You serve him the food and desert on two different plates, setting it on the table for him to eat. He thanks you and eats in silence as you watch him. Your own heart breaking for your first born. Not even being able to relate to what he was feeling since Oscar was your first everything, but nonetheless promising yourself that you would help him overcome the heartbreak.

~

It’s been a few weeks now, Junior turning back into the happy teenager he was before Carmen. Everything normal once again as you do your weekly grocery shopping, Angel sitting in the basket and the rest of the boys at home. You’re deciding on what cereal to buy when somebody runs into your cart.

“Sorry.” You apologize out of instinct even though it wasn’t your fault,”Oh Carmen.” You say repulsively

“Mrs.Diaz.” She reply’s with a fake smile,”Nice to see you again.”

“Wish I could say the same but I can’t.” You laugh exaggeratedly, taking notice of her hand held basket that was filled with junk food, a few bottles of wine, and a box of condoms,”Getting ready to have another boy at your house? I’m happy you have enough common sense to use protection, but then again not enough seeing as you didn’t see what a wonderful person my son is.”

She clears her throat and turns her nose up,”I don’t have to listen to this, I can do whatever I want to whomever I want.” She sneers,”I don’t care what you have to say and I’m not here to be lectured by some cry baby boy’s mom.”

You smile and cover Angel’s ears,”First off I don’t care how old you are...you’re a stuck up, shallow bitch who lost a good thing. My son is going to be the best thing that you ever lost... run and tell your mother what I said if you want. You know my address and I wouldn’t mind explaining to her what your after school activity’s consist of. So get out of my way before my pregnant ass runs you over with this here shopping cart.” She stands there in shock, not replying as she gets herself together and stomps off,”Um excuse me.” You say and wave over the nearest employee,”The girl with the fried blonde hair and wine bottles is not 21. Please don’t let her buy the alcohol, she went that way.” You point, the employee taking off after Carmen as you grin in victory. The rest of your shopping trip going smoothly before getting home to your house full of boys.

[futureteacherinthemaking]

The Grape Riots and the Agricultural Reform Movement of California

1. Introduction:

It is the 1930's in California and many families are starting their workday just before the sunrise to leave for the lettuce and grape fields that span the great valleys that cover state. They would have to endure a long workday for outrageously low wages to barely survive. The majority of these families were immigrants and migrants of all backgrounds, spanning from the Mexicans to the Filipinos. Families would have their children drop out of school at ealry ages to help secure funds for the family. When their work in the area was done, they would pack up their belongings and travel to the next rural town looking for more work. This was sadly the reality for many across the state untill three dacades later when revolutionist like Cesar Chavez and Larry Itliong started to fight for reform of the state's agricultural labor. They started with the boycott of products like grapes and lettuce at general goods stores across California in the 1960's  and an assortment of flyers and posters educating the public on the issue with the state of agricultural production and the mistreatment of the many laborers. It took another decade untill the Agricultural Relations Act was passed in 1975. This act unfortantly was ineffective at protecting the Unions and the workers who formed them since nothing was inforced or regulated. In this Journey Box we will explore the trails and tribulations of the Agricultural Reform movement, the forgotten filipinos who fought for it, and why it was deemed unsuccesful for a while.

2. Index: 

  1. Introduction

  2. Index

  3. Filipino Farm Workers (Photograph #1) 

  4. Delano Grape Strikers (Photograph #2) 

  5. NPR’s “Memories Of A Former Migrant Worker” (Participant Account #1) 

  6. NPR’s “Grapes of Wrath: The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led A Farmworker Revolution” (Participant Account #2) 

  7. Grape Boycott Flyer (Artifact #1)

  8. Boycott For Democracy Poster (Artifact #2) 

  9. Summary 

 10. Sources

3. Photograph #1

A photograph of Filipino Farm workers picking lettuce, Nagano Farm, Morro Bay, California, ca. 1930.

Questions: 

-  Why do you think the majority of farm workers were immigrants or migrants? 

- What are some of the day to day conditions the farm workers could be experiencing out on the fields?

- Why was this kind of work popular in the valleys of California? 

4. Photograph #2

A photograph of Delano Grape Strike picketers in Delano, California, February 1966. 

Questions:

- What do you notice about the makeup of the Delano Grape Strike picketers?

- Why is it called the Delano Grape Strike, what could they be striking against? Consider the importance of the location of the strike as well. 

- This is one of many strikes against farm owners and ranchers at the time. What do you think was the general public opinion on the matter at the time? 

5. Participant Account #1

The following are a collection of excerpts from NPR’s “Memories of a Former Migrant Worker” This technically is not a participant account but since filipinos were so disregarded within the history of the movement this Filipino Historian was the best I could find

Felix Contreras: You were raised in a migrant farm worker environment. Can you describe what that was like?

Luis Contreras: First of all, we didn't have a permanent residence. We traveled in a truck and we lived mostly in a tent on the road between California and Kansas.

Because we were migrants, our schooling was incomplete. We would arrive in a town after school started and leave before the school year was over. We didn't always have the basic necessities of life, like being able to take a bath regularly.

Because we often had to set up our tent in the country, we ate a lot of what we found growing in the wild — fruits, some vegetables. If we were in one place long enough we could plant a garden and eat what we grew. Later, after we stopped moving and settled down in Sacramento (California) my mother would sometimes complain that our diet was better in the country with access to fresh food.

We also worked very long hours, often from sun up until sun down. The entire family, children included. As a child you think it's just normal life, nothing out of the ordinary. We didn't think we were working especially hard. It was just a normal life for us. 

Felix Contreras: So things like child labor laws didn't exist back then?

Luis Contreras: There were child labor laws, but here's how migrant families worked it: When we were out in the fields you could see a child labor officer driving up along those dirt roads from at least a mile away. Plus they were usually driving a government car, so it was easy to spot them. The kids would leave the fields, gather around the family truck, then go back to work after the child labor office left the area.

Looking back, I think it was in the interests of the ag. industry to not have the child labor laws enforced because we did a lot of work as children. It was a different time. It was a different way of thinking among people who did agriculture work — meaning, there wasn't much of an interest in the welfare of the field worker.

Questions:

- Why do you think this harsh lifestyle was so normalized for migrant families at the time?

- Why do you think the agriculture industry did not care about enforcing labor laws and what do you think made them decide to enforce them now? 

- Think about the present and consider how modern migrant and immigrant families live today. In what ways has life improved for most families and what are the modern problems they face?

6. Participant Account #2

The following is from NPR’s “Grapes of Wrath: The Forgotten Filipinos Who Led A Farmworker Revolution” 

Perez is outraged that this history is not known, because the actions those Filipinos took improved her family's lives. "I mean, I'm extremely proud that Cesar Chavez was the right face at the right time, but a lot of the dirty work was already done."

For decades the migrant, bachelor, Filipino farmworkers – called Manongs, or elders — had fought for better working conditions. So in the summer of 1965, with pay cuts threatened around the state, these workers were prepared to act, says historian Dawn Mabalon.

"They're led by this really charismatic, veteran, seasoned, militant labor leader Larry Itliong," she says.

He urged local families in Delano to join Manongs in asking farmers for a raise. The growers balked. Workers gathered at Filipino Hall for a strike vote.

"The next morning they went out to the vineyard, and then they left the crop on the ground, and then they walked out," Mabalon says.

Cesar Chavez and others had been organizing Mexican workers around Delano for a few years, but a strike wasn't in their immediate plans. But Larry Itliong appealed to Chavez, and two weeks later, Mexican workers joined the strike.

Soon, the two unions came together to form what would become United Farm Workers, with Larry Itliong as the assistant director under Chavez.

Mabalon says, "These two groups coming together to do this? That is the power in the Delano Grape Strike."

It took five years of striking, plus an international boycott of table grapes, before growers signed contracts with the United Farm Workers.

Those years weren't easy: on strikers, families, or Delano.

Questions:

- Why do you think the Filipinos are usually disregarded when talking about the "Farmworker Revolution”?

- Why do you think the Mexican workers didn't plan to strike immediately, what could they have done instead?

- Does the Farmworker Revolution remind you of any modern movements where people from all background have united to fight for a just cause? 

7. Artifact #1

A NAACP flyer calling for support for the grape boycott, 1965.

Questions:

- Who do you think the target audience was for this flyer? 

- How impactful do you think boycotting California Grapes was for Cesar Chavez’s farm work reform movement? 

- Do you think grocers would try and avoid certain grapes or choose to ignore the boycott? 

8. Artifact #2

A poster calling for a “boycott for democracy” of grapes, 1975. (transcript here) 

Questions:

- Why do you think Agricultural Labor Relations Act failed in protecting the farm workers? 

- Why do you think the ranchers and farm owners are refusing to work with the UFW? 

- Knowing that the years of protesting and boycotting did little to reform the state of Californias Agricultural laborers. Why do you think they continue to use boycott as an outlet for achieving their goals? 

9. Summary:

I chose to cover the Agricultural Reform Movement of California since it is something that hits close to home for me. My family originated from the valleys of California and my Grandpa was one of those immigrant workers who came to the United States for a better life and was met with harsh work conditions and lack of childhood. He would always tell me about how he dropped out of 3rd grade to go work in the fields and ended up losing one of his fingertips at the age of twelve while working. I think this topic would be relevant to many students since they themselves may have family members who were immigrants or be one themselves. They have heard the same stories countless times while growing up. As far as how this can be integrated into other subjects, students could write a personal narrative in the eyes of a migrant child growing up in the 1960s during the movement for English Language Arts. This journey box perfectly addresses the ideas of "A" history not "The" history since we discuss the often not talked about Filipino involvement and the Latin root word of education since we are inviting students to draw out their own thoughts and ideas on the movement.

10. Sources: 

Photographs and Artifacts: https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/the-united-farm-workers-and-the-delano-grape-strike

Personal Account #1: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2010/10/08/130425856/cesar-chavez

Personal Account #2:  https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/16/440861458/grapes-of-wrath-the-forgotten-filipinos-who-led-a-farmworker-revolution

[angrybell]

“My fellow Americans,

As I look out through bulletproof glass across this sacred American scene of fences and razor wire, I know, or at any rate infer, that under your helmets and visors, your eyes are shining with a deeply American inspiration. That inspiration is inspiring, number one and number two deeply American, but what I really appreciate today are your weapons, which are here to enforce the true meaning of our creed. I’d like to thank General Milley and the joint chiefs for the predator drones and other air cover. [Applause.] This deeply American ritual of the peaceful transfer of power would be deeply impossible without air cover.

Each time we gather to inaugurate a President, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We resolve, as George Washington resolved, as John F. Kennedy resolved, as Chester A. Arthur resolved, to get some sort of handle on social media. Unlikely? Extremely. Useless? Absolutely. But we are Americans. We are dreamers and we are doers. We, we are the sort of people who sort of believe our own hooey. I make a plea today to my fellow Americans, as Lincoln did at Gettysburg, as Washington did at Valley Forge: stop fucking posting that crap, you fucking assholes. [Applause.]

Our no-Facebook dream is a dream firmly rooted in the American dream, the dream of Martin Luther King, of Fannie Lou Hamer, of Cesar Chavez, of Millard Fillmore. As they taught us, we must live out the true meaning of our creed. Now, we completely disagree about what that is, for we are Americans. But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles, whatever they may have been, requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action; and that collective action demands much more effective surveillance of you, my fellow American citizens.

The message I bring with me today from Delaware is one of healing. If American history teaches us anything, in all seriousness, it is that our healing begins with putting down the insurrection, a few random shootings of demonstrators, and mass arrests. [Applause.] We will find you and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law. [Applause.] Once the American people see that resistance is futile, we can begin to recover from our partisan rancor. As Barack Obama said: “There is not a red America and a blue America, but only a camo America.” And Barack Obama was a pretty good president. All of you look to be the same color from my vantage point up here above you.

But today I’d like to go even further and say there is not one America, but many. There is an African-America, an Asian-America, an as-it-were Latin America (hola, my homies!), a mildly gay America, a gay America, and an extremely gay America. That’s why I appointed one of each. My cabinet looks like America, or at least like America looked before everyone put on helmets and coveralls. How powerful is it for a child to see an HHS secretary that looks like them, or would look like them if all you saw was race? I have no idea, really. No one does. [Applause.] And once again, I urge parents from minority groups to turn on the record player and expose their kids to words. Maybe that’s where I went wrong with Hunter.

Members of the armed forces, I have one question for you today: how many of you are Trump supporters? Let’s see a show of hands. General, could you disarm those people immediately?[Brief firefight ensues, and medical evacuation; eventually, Biden emerges from the Secret Service dogpile and resumes.]

Mass incarceration, I want to emphasize, was really not my fault. Green jobs of tomorrow, blah blah blah. Education. Science. Etc. Who’s with me? Wait, don’t answer that.

We have come through a dark period of our history indeed. But, incomprehensibly, I’ve never been more optimistic. As my dad, who was a blue-collar, hard-working 19th-century American from Scranton Pennsylvania, used to tell me: “Little Joey, as things spiral downwards, as they inevitably must, optimism still sells. And when you sell optimism, you sell you.” [Applause.] Then he added, “Believe Science, little Joey.”

This generation of Americans, like those that went before, has been tested by crises that collapsed our resolve and crumbled our resilience. But things are looking up. Call me an optimist or dismiss me as psychotic if you like, but I firmly believe, in the face of all the evidence, that America’s best days are ahead. Our national struggle with Covid is coming to an end, unless the microbe keeps mutating. The terrible economic slump caused by not doing what China tells us to do ends today. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world of rising walls demands: credulity, hostility, and, above all, weaponry.

My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it—so long as we seize it together. [Cheers and applause, gunfire and explosions.] Wait I didn’t mean “seize it” literally. Hey Pence, which side you on? Back the fuck off! And God bless our troops. [Exit, pursued by a shaman.]”

[enibly]

Strategizing For A Living Revolution

By George Lakey

Otpur (“Resistance” in Serbian) began as hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands of young people took to the streets to rid their country of dictator Slobadan Milosevic. Impatient with the cautious ways of many of their pro-democracy elders, the youths organized in coffee bars and schools, posted graffiti almost everywhere, and used their street actions to embarass the regime.

Milosevic counter-attacked. His police routinely beat up the protesters, in the streets and more thoroughly in the police stations. His spies were everywhere. His monopoly of the mass media meant that the Otpur was described as hoodlums and terrorists.

In October 2000 Otpur won; joined by hundreds of thousands of workers and professionals, the young people threw Milosevic out. His party was in disarray, his police in confusion, his army was split.

From the moment Otpur began it had a strategy. The young people were immensely creative in their tactics and at the same time realized that no struggle is ever won simply by a series of actions. Otpur activists knew they could only succeed by creating a strategy that guided a largely decentralized network of groups.

Cynical outsiders were skeptical when Otpur activists claimed not to have a leader, when the young people said they were all leaders and shared responsibility for their actions and their common discipline. What the skeptics overlooked was the power of strategy as a unifying force, taking its place beside the rebel energy and the lessons of recent history that the young people shared. Otpur activists didn't need an underground commander giving them their marching orders because they shared a strategy they believed in; they were happy to improvise creatively within that strategic framework.

Bojan Zarkovic, one of the Otpur trainers, told an audience at the A-Space (anarchist coffee house) in Philadelphia about the boundless creativity of the young people. They would virtually fill a wall of newsprint with their tactical ideas, he said. Then they would choose, in light of their strategy and also their preference for humor and pranks. The result was that the media's painting of them as terrorists lost credibility. True, these young people wore black jeans, black leather jackets, and black T-shirts with a clenched fist silk-screened on the front, but their actions had humor andconnected with people. Passersby who saw them (and spread the word) debunked the media portrayal. “They're our kids having fun and, you know, they're right about Milosevic!” is what they said as they spread the word.

Late '90s Serbia was different in many ways from the situation facing activists in the U.S. or other countries. Even so, Otpur's experience can stimulate our thinking. Given how many activists are tired of an endless round of protests that don't seem to add up to anything, Otpur activists' biggest gift to us might be their choice to unite around a strategy, to get creative about tactics, and to let the strategy guide which tactics make sense and which don't.

Strategy = Power

The young people who started Otpur had a clear conception of how domination works. They saw their society as a pyramid, with Milosevic and his cronies at the top, in alliance with business owners, party leaders, and generals. The direction of power was typically top-down, and included both obvious repression (the army, police, secret police) and subtle repression like a monopoly of the media and school curricula. Here's where Otpur activists diverged from conventional wisdom about power. They noticed that each layer of domination was in fact supported by the layer below; that the orders that were given were only carried out because those below were willing to carry them out.

Rather than buy into the top-down version of power that Milosevic wanted them to believe, they decided instead to picture Serbian society as organized into pillars of support holding up the dictator. If the pillars gave way, Otpur believed that Milosevic would fall.

This alternative view of power became so central to Otpur that it was taught in all the trainings of new Otpur members. (All new Otpur members were expected to go through the training so they could understand the winning strategy.)

Since the top power-holders depend on the compliance of those beneath them to stay on top, Otpur's strategy was to weaken the compliance and finally to break it. First, Otpur needed to ask: which are the pillars of support needed by the dictatorship? Then: what are the tactics that will weaken those pillars?

Activists in other countries can follow this methodology to begin to create their strategy.

Here's just one example of how it worked in Serbia. One pillar of support for Milosevic was his police. Otpur systematically undermined that pillar. The young activists knew that fighting the police would strengthen police loyalty to Milosevic (and also support the mass media claim that the young people were hoodlums and terrorists). So they trained themselves to make nonviolent responses to police violence during protests. One of the slogans they learned during their trainings was: “It only hurts if you're scared.” They took photos of their wounded. They enlarged the photos, put them on signs, and carried the signs in front of the houses of the police who hurt them. They talked to the cop's neighbors about it, took the signs to the schools of the police officers' children and talked with the children about it. After a year of this, police were plainly reluctant to beat Otpur activists even when ordered to do so, because they didn't want the negative reactions of their family, friends, neighbors.

The young people joked with the plainclothes police assigned to infiltrate them and reminded the cops that everyone would get their chance to act for democracy. Through the assertive outreach of the activists, relationships were built with the police, even into the higher ranks. When the movement ripened into a full-fledged insurgency in Belgrade, many police were sent out of the city by their commanders while other police simply watched the crowds take over the Parliament building.

It wasn't easy, as one of my Otpur friends who had been beaten repeatedly told me. It was, however, simple; the strategy guided the young activists to develop creative tactics that took away one of the key pillars of the dictator's support.

Can this alternative view of power work other places?

One reason why the Otpur activists worked so efficiently at undermining the various pillars of Milosevic' support was because many knew their view of power had already worked in other places. Consider what had happened within the lifetime of Otpur teenagers: the Philippine dictator Marcos had been overthrown by what was called “people power” in 1986; Communist dictatorships had been overthrown by people power in East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland in 1989; commanders in the KGB, army, and Communist Party were prevented by people power from establishing a coup in Russia in 1991; a mass nonviolent uprising in Thailand prevented a top military general from consolidating his power in 1993; the South African whites' monopoly political rule was broken in 1994 after a decade of largely nonviolent struggle. In all these places the power-holders found their power slipping away because those they depended on refused any longer to follow the script.

When I was trying as a young man to puzzle out this alternative view of power, so different from what is usually taught in school, I encountered Bernard Lafayette, who was then a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) staffer from the deep South. He explained it to me with a metaphor. Bernard said that a society is like a house. The foundation is the cooperation or compliance of the people. The roof is the state and its repressive apparatus. He asked me what happens to the house if the foundation gives way. He went on to ask: “How will it change what happens if more weapons are put on the roof, bigger tanks, more fancy technology? What will happen to the house then, if the foundation gives way?”

I then realized why this alternative view isn't promoted in school. What power holders would want us to know that the power is in fact in our hands? That instead of being intimidated by police, military, corporate leaders, media tycoons, and politicians, the people were to find out that we give away our power through compliance, and we can take it back again through noncooperation?

Of course the power holders want us to believe that power is top-down, that we must be passive, that violence is the most powerful force. Don't look for them to declare a national holiday dedicated to People Power!

And they don't need to. The use of nonviolent tactics to force change has a deep track record which is reaching critical mass. For example, hundreds of thousands of people of color have used nonviolent direct action in campaigns for over a century in the U.S. alone. (In 1876 in St. Louis African Americans were doing freedom rides against discrimination on trolley cars, to take one of thousands of examples.) In any given week there are community-based organizations of people of color, all across the U.S., who are engaged in nonviolent action: marches, sit-ins, street blockades, boycotts, civil disobedience, and the like. Books could be written just about the unions of people of color, like the hospital workers, hotel workers, and janitors, who go out on strike as well as use other tactics. While names of people of color most easily leap to mind when we think of nonviolent action, like Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez, and a higher proportion of blacks than whites participate in nonviolent struggles, it's still not just “a black thing.” Whites in the U.S., especially working class whites, also have a long track record of using nonviolent tactics to struggle for their goals. The challenge is not so much encouraging diverse peoples to engage in nonviolent struggle when they are up against it; the challenge is to link short-run struggles to more far-ranging goals4.

Noncooperation is not enough My friends in Otpur would be the first to admit that a mass insurgency that brings down a dictator is not enough—not enough to establish full democracy, respect for diversity, economic institutions in harmony with the earth, or other parts of their vision. It's one thing to open up a power vacuum through noncooperation (and that is a great and honorable achievement). It's another thing firmly to establish the democratic community we deserve.

For that, the strategy must go deeper. We need to go beyond what has been done plenty of times in history—to overthrow unjust governments through nonviolent struggle—and create a strategy that builds at the same time as it destroys. We need a strategy that validates alternatives, supports the experience of freedom, and expands the skills of cooperation. We need a political strategy that is at the same time a community strategy, one that says “yes” to creative innovation in the here and now and links today's creativity to the new society that lies beyond a power shift.

With the help and feedback of many activists from a number of countries I've created a strategic framework that aims to support today's activists, something like the way Otpur activists were supported by their strategy. I call it a strategy for a living revolution.

The strategy not only encourages creating new tactics and more boldness in using the best of the old, but it also helps activists sort out which tactics will be most effective. Finally, the strategy brings in the dimension of time. It suggests that some tactics that are ineffective at one moment will be just right at another. It offers an organic, developmental framework of stages over time.

Time matters. Activists from other countries have been heard to laugh at U.S. activists because we notoriously lack a sense of history. This strategy framework supports us to overcome our cultural limitation and learn to think like the historical beings that we actually are.

The strategy framework has five stages:

Cultural preparation

Organization-building

Confrontation

Mass political and economic noncooperation

Parallel institutions

The stages are in sequence, with lots of overlap. Like any model, this one is over- simplified in order to be more easily learned and worked with. One of my favorite ways to complexify the model is to picture society as a cluster of sub-societies that respond to these stages at different rates, which means that activists might go through the first several stages over and over. In reality we may end up more in cyclical motion than in linear progression. But that's for later. Right now, I'll present the five stages in a linear way, and be happy for readers who get from it a sense of movement over time.

(continued here: https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/lakeylivrev.html)

[qbrooklyn1056]

Reinaldo Arenas Understanding !

Reinaldo Arenas “Before Night Falls” is a really great memoir and speaks on a lot of touchy subjects, that a lot of people are going through today. The discussion of AIDS, homosexuality, and feeling abandoned is something that many people are still going through and some don’t know what to do about it. Feels like the world is over and most just give up once they hear a

 

diagnosis.  You see he said nobody paid attention to him or even looked at him as sexy. This was all probably in his mind, since as humans sometimes we tend to over exaggerate things. A person can be in their own heads so much, that the reality becomes distorted.  You can be alive but not living, which just means you are here on earth but not living your life to its best potential. To me living the way you want, is making sure you work hard to get to the place that you want, so you can live your best life. If you’re not living the life you want to live. You as a person have to change that.

I do see that mothers getting rid of fetuses /new born babies has always been a big issue all around the world for a very long time. I remember hearing and I still hear about newborn babies being put in the garbage, or in the toilet drain, and now even in purses. This is very

 

disturbing knowing that we’re in the year 2021 and a lot of women are still, just trying to get rid of the baby, thinking no one will know (even though DNA will tell whose baby it is anyway), but trust the truth will come out and to the world you’ll be known as a murder. I would like to know if it normal for fetuses just to be dumped by the trees in other countries?

This story is sometimes feeling cold, but feeling how Mr. Arenas felt some days made the reader feel warm on the inside. He knows how to capture the moment through reading and you feel like you are sitting there with him going back and forth to all these places with him, trying to get him help. From NYC to Miami, the reader gets to experience the passion and how tough this man was to be traveling while feeling really, really sick. There are times after reading this you feel angry sad and want to hurt the people who made Mr. Arenas an outcast, or told him he wasn’t good enough. Not knowing he had a beautiful gift of telling the truth through writing.  We get to see him in a lot of different stages of his illness, whether its him feeling really great one day or feeling pretty weak the next day. The reader gets to understand so what the

 complications of AIDS.  A disease that most still fear and many still don’t understand in this day and age. I see himself a fighter, not giving up on what he believed in until his last breath. He’s a champion in my eyes, because where still reading and wring about Mr. Arenas. This story is really the autobiography of Mr. Arenas life, that goes through different stages of love, laughter, and pain in his life. His life is literally on the line because he fighting a death demon, he’s has a disease and also suicide was calling him as well. Which if you haven’t experienced the feeling of wanting to commit suicide. Do you think it’s your place to tell a person that they are gay?

Having someone like Castro who didn’t seem do liberal, run a place could be devastating to a lot of guys. Castro did state “he is to blame for the prosecution of homosexuals after the Cuban revolution in 1959. Which is surprising because most people won’t even take accountability for something like this. A lot of the gay community have been killed for being themselves over all these years, due to all these leaders who didn’t understand them. People like Mr. Arenas and Cesar Chavez spoke up for many people who wouldn’t/couldn’t speak up for themselves. They were a part of the reason gay people have formed LGBQT and LGBQT rights. The LGBQT community are telling their stories and standing up for what’s right. Cuba has now joined in on the rights for the LGBQT. There are still a lot of problems around the LGBQT community, especially with the transgender rights, but the LGBQT community has come a very long way.

[seeingtheworldasitis20]

https://ufw.org/he-showed-us-the-way-by-cesar-chavez-april-1978-maryknoll-magazine/

He Showed Us The Way, by Cesar Chavez – April 1978, Maryknoll Magazine

In honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s memory we also acknowledge non-violence as a truly powerful weapon to achieve equality and liberation, in fact, the only weapon that Christians who struggle for social change can claim as their own.

Dr. King’s entire life was an example of power that nonviolence brings to bear in the real world. It is an example that inspired much of the philosophy and strategy of the farm workers’ movement. This observance of Dr. King’s death gives us the best possible opportunity to recall the principles with which our struggle has grown and matured.

Our conviction is that human life is a very special possession given by God to man and that no one has the right to take it for any reason or for any cause, however just it may be.

We are also convinced that nonviolence is more powerful than violence. Nonviolence supports you if you have a just and moral cause. Nonviolence provides the opportunity to stay on the offensive, and that is of crucial importance to win any contest.

If we resort to violence then one of two things will happen: either the violence will be escalated and there will be many injuries and perhaps deaths on both sides, or there will be total demoralization of the workers.

Nonviolence has exactly the opposite effect. If, for every violent act committed against us, we respond with nonviolence, we attract people’s support. We can gather the support of millions who have a conscience and would rather see a nonviolent resolution to problems. We are convinced that when people are faced with a direct appeal from the poor struggling nonviolently against great odds, they will react positively. The American people and people everywhere still yearn for justice. It is to that yearning that we appeal.

But if we are committed to nonviolence only as a strategy or tactic, then if it fails our only alternative is to turn to violence. So we must balance the strategy with a clear understanding of what we are doing. However important the struggle is and however much misery, poverty and exploitation exist, we know that it cannot be more important than one human life. We work on the theory that men and women who are truly concerned about people are nonviolent by nature. These people become violent when the deep concern they have for people is frustrated and when they are faced with seemingly insurmountable odds.

We advocate militant nonviolence as our means of achieving justice for our people, but we are not blind to the feelings of frustration, impatience and anger which seethe inside every farm worker. The burdens of generations of poverty and powerlessness lie heavy in the fields of America. If we fail, there are those who will see violence as the shortcut to change.

It is precisely to overcome these frustrations that we have involved masses of people in their own struggle throughout the movement. Freedom is best experienced through participation and self-determination, and free men and women instinctively prefer democratic change to any other means.

Thus, demonstrations and marches, strikes and boycotts are not only weapons against the growers, but our way of avoiding the senseless violence that brings no honor to any class or community. The boycott, as Gandhi taught, is the most nearly perfect instrument of nonviolent change, allowing masses of people to participate actively in a cause.

When victory comes through violence, it is a victory with strings attached. If we beat the growers at the expense of violence, victory would come at the expense of injury and perhaps death. Such a thing would have a tremendous impact on us. We would lose regard for human beings. Then the struggle would become a mechanical thing. When you lose your sense of life and justice, you lose your strength.

The greater the oppression, the more leverage nonviolence holds. Violence does not work in the long run and if it is temporarily successful, it replaces one violent form of power with another just as violent. People suffer from violence.

Examine history. Who gets killed in the case of violent revolution? The poor, the workers. The people of the land are the ones who give their bodies and don’t really gain that much for it. We believe it is too big a price to pay for not getting anything. Those who espouse violence exploit people. To call men to arms with many promises, to ask them to give up their lives for a cause and then not produce for them afterwards, is the most vicious type of oppression.

We know that most likely we are not going to do anything else the rest of our lives except build our union. For us there is nowhere else to go. Although we would like to see victory come soon, we are willing to wait. In this sense, time is our ally. We learned many years ago that the rich may have money, but the poor have time.

It has been our experience that few men or women ever have the opportunity to know the true satisfaction that comes with giving one’s life totally in the nonviolent struggle for justice. Martin Luther King, Jr., was one of these unique servants and from him we learned many of the lessons that have guided us. For these lessons and for his sacrifice for the poor and oppressed, Dr. King’s memory will be cherished in the hearts of the farm workers forever.

[popwasabi]

“Rogue One” finds victory in hopeless rebellion

2020 has been…relentless to say the least.

You might not remember it at this point, given the how turbulent this latest period has been, but this year started with Australia catching on fire, and our jack-ass of a president nearly starting World War III. Then shit really began to hit the fan in March, COVID-19 came like a black light in a sleazy motel room and exposed the gigantic chasms we have in our country’s social and economic infrastructure. With 38.6 million people filing for unemployment since March, likely without healthcare, and with a growing number of COVID cases spiking around the country and deaths crossing the 120,000 mark things don’t look to be getting better anytime soon.

(You’re missing the point, Luis...)

To say there’s a grim outlook not just on the country but the world would be an understatement and it’s hard not feel a little hopeless right now.

But then George Floyd happened and the anger that had been boiling up in this country for decades, no doubt exacerbated by the effects of the virus and the lack of distractions such as live sports and movies, finally erupted like a volcano and perhaps the greatest challenge to the status quo since the 60s began.

I won’t spend too much time explaining my thoughts on the past month-plus of current events, you can read about that in my last two write-ups, but what this period has shown me is just how powerful people can be when they finally stop being apathetic and hopeless about the state of the world and together in unison fight back.

So, why do I want to talk about a Star Wars film that came out four years ago in the middle of all this? Well, this message is central to the theme of the movie and it’s why it remains my favorite of the franchise to date because it too reminds me, in moments like these, that there is victory in simply standing up when the world is telling you to stay down.

I trust that if you clicked on this article you’re already familiar with the plot and story of Disney’s second foray into the Star Wars universe and more than likely you have some strong opinion on it as the film was somewhat divisive among fans when it came out in 2016. There are plenty of reasons not to like this movie, and trust me I’ve heard and understand every grievance about the film, from it’s slow opening half, lack of a proactive hero, underdeveloped side characters, fan service-y bits, and muddled writing in parts no doubt affected by re-shoots. I’m not going to try to explain away all of them, but I’ll just say I hear you and this write up really isn’t about whether Rogue One is objectively a good movie or not.

(Though, objectively speaking, this bit of fan service was fun as hell.)

My resonance for a film like “Rogue One” began as early as my teenage years when I began getting introduced to stories about samurai. These movies from the Land of the Rising Sun are the equivalent of Westerns for Japan, typically following a lone swordsman or group of warriors coming to save a village from marauders or looking to become the best version of themselves possible.

A recurring theme through a lot of them though is how they often end in tragic ways. A film like “Seven Samurai” ends with most of the ronin killed in their desperate struggle against pillaging raiders, the “Tale of the 47 Ronin” (no, not that one) ends also with most of them committing hari-kiri after successfully avenging their former master, and NHK’s early 2000s drama on The Shinsengumi ends with the group disbanded, their leader executed, and the remainder fighting a war they know they’ll lose against the Meiji government.

(Simply iconic.)

I know this all sounds moribund and sad as hell to watch, and it is, but my main takeaway growing up wasn’t how sad it was that most of the characters I grew to love and connect with while watching and reading these stories died; it’s that there was victory even in simply fighting to the very end.

For the swordsmen and samurai in these stories it wasn’t about whether these characters would live to see their victory or even live to benefit from it but rather that their willingness to stand up and fight anyways because it’s what they believed in. They could’ve stayed down, they could’ve ignored their growing plight, they could’ve let the more domineering forces rule over them while they kept their heads down into their final days but they didn’t because real defeat was simply ignoring all of that and doing nothing even it meant survival.

“Rogue One” deals with this early on in its two leads, Jyn and Cassian. Jyn is jaded because the Empire took her family away from her and the only remaining father figure she had abandoned her not long after, leading her to accept a life of simply surviving. Though Cassian finds himself a part of the Rebellion, the work he does on their behalf has turned him away from being an idealist to one who deals in a “whatever means necessary” approach to achieve their needs as he has largely abandoned his morals in the process.

(“It’s not a problem if you don’t look up...”)

As the story progresses from its first half Jyn begins to see the necessity of rebellion, that the alternative of simply living to see the next day is not enough and certainly not a real victory. Through Jyn, Cassian rediscovers his humanity and joins her in her own inhouse rebellion to attack Scarif with a band of other soldiers looking to do the right thing, not content to just simply outlast the Empire.

The supporting, albeit unpolished, characters show microcosms of this theme of apathy turning into defiance. Chirrut’s optimistic demeanor and relentless faith in The Force eventually snaps Baz out of his own cynicism even if it comes in their final moments. Bohdi’s own small but willing act of rebellion is the catalyst for the entire story and even K-2SO for all his cynical behavior through the story commits a selfless act of sacrifice to buy Jyn and Cassian time to retrieve the Death Star’s plans.

They all perish at the end, and though I understood that was probably coming before I saw the movie, I was deeply moved by it. Even if you pretend the original trilogy never happened, there was something quite beautiful about seeing this band of ronin, if you will, sacrificing themselves for a cause they knew they would never get to see finished.

(Not afraid to admit this scene moved me to tears last time I watched this movie a couple months ago.)

I’ve been a sucker for stories about victory even in death since I was a kid. Besides Samurai films, movies and TV shows like “Glory,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Black Sails,” or “Spartacus” (STARZ) all tell similar stories of a willingness to stand up and fight for what’s right and sacrifice for the greater good.

It’s not just film that tells this story though; history does too. Whether it was black liberation and Selma beginning in 1965, interned Japanese Americans fighting until the 90s to earn redress from the government, or the Chicano movement headed by Cesar Chavez in the 60s and 70s still felt today, these fights for justice are often fought with blood and not everyone gets to see the fruit of their resistance. But it starts somewhere. The seeds of victory are planted and often fertilized by the bodies of people willing to lay down their own for others and this moment in time we are experiencing is not unlike those of the past.

(Their pain, their suffering made progress and our continued movement forward today possible.)

It is easy to want to give in. I don’t blame you, this whole year has been grim and brutal from the start, but whether you liked “Rogue One” or not, it’s biggest takeaway is an important one; fight even if you might not see the end. Jyn, Cassian, and the crew of Rogue One may not have lived to see their rebellion triumph over the Empire but they undeniably ignited a flame that made its revolution and victory possible.

There is a flame burning bright right now and no matter how exhausted you may feel by what’s going on I say keep going. There is a long road ahead to fixing this country’s many issues but it has to start somewhere and if we are willing to go the distance even if we don’t all get to see the finish line ourselves, together there is no limit to what we can achieve.

Rebellions are built on hope, so don’t give up. Not now, not ever.

Solidarity and may the Force be with you all, my friends.

[stevenuniversallyreviews]

Episode 106: Buddy’s Book

“We imagined him way off.”

As a children's librarian, I feel there are some things I should clear up before getting started. First, we don't read at the front desk as patrons come in (and we certainly wouldn't be reading something as smutty as Passions of Xanxor); our job is helping people, not sating our own love of books, and there’s tons of other work to do when patrons aren’t in immediate need. Second, we might tell noisy patrons to be quiet at times, but we don't loudly and nonverbally shoosh, because that’s rude as hell and would justifiably result in louder backlash. Third, we weed our collections regularly, meaning a journal that's hundreds of years old would've been trashed, donated, or (most likely in this case) moved to special collections long before it could've been left uncatalogued on the ground for a patron to find (and yeah, we are capable of checking beneath the shelves). 

None of these misconceptions matter that much, but what is a little annoying is the stereotype that libraries are book repositories, rather than information centers. Yes, we carry books, but we also carry digital media to fit a modern world, and more importantly, we're staffed with information specialists  who teach digital literacy to all ages. If you're a Connie, getting your information from the internet and citing erroneous sources, come to the library and we'll teach you how to research properly using every tool at your disposal, including your smartphone. Smartphones aren’t the problem. The internet isn’t the problem. Shoddy methodology is the problem, and it’s still a problem if you’re only researching with books, because books can be erroneous as well. Pick a world history book from as late as the 80s and it’ll tell you the USSR still exists. Pick a book written by a racist and you might walk away thinking some very biased information is factual, depending on your critical thinking skills.

Libraries have always been at the forefront of literacy, research, and community outreach, so don't let anyone in charge of budgets tell you that we're a relic of the past despite what portrayals of libraries so often amount to in media.

(Also, and as much as I loathe the Dewey Decimal System, which is outdated and nonadjustable and prejudiced and not at all structured well from a consumer-facing standpoint, which is crucial to kids especially: how did they not make a single reference to Dewey also being the last name of Beach City’s mayor and Buddy’s buddy?)

Okay, professional duties out of the way. Let's talk about stories.

Buddy's Book is about history, but more specifically, about the way we perceive history when we weren't there to live it. Nothing we see of the past looks the way it actually looked, because Steven and Connie are conflating a person who died centuries ago with Jamie. And it doesn’t stop at the visual level: unless we're to believe that the glorious line "I shall not disappear! I shan't die a lowly first mate! I shwill do something great with my life!" is actually written in the journal, the kids are allowing the idea of Jamie to seep into the narration as well. It’s reminiscent of one of my favorite Simpsons gags, where the ghost of Cesar Chavez explains that he appears as Cesar Romero to Homer because Homer doesn’t know what Cesar Chavez looked like. 

The kids say outright that they’re picturing Buddy as Jamie, so we’re aware from the start that reality is being altered. This sensation is enhanced when the Crystal Gems' appearances shift from their modern outfits to the way they looked in the old photo from So Many Birthdays as soon as the kids think to do so (complete with Amethyst's long hair, which was sorta retconned into being inspired by Greg's). Amethyst speaks using modern slang, and Garnet and Pearl exit their scene on a penny-farthing bicycle, which wouldn't be invented until the 1870s, because to a kid “the past” is a single nebulous unit of time where everything can mix together.

This is mostly played for laughs, and to great effect, but the timing of this episode forces us to confront the downside of nudging history to fit a better story. As silly as it is to insert modern concepts to fill in gaps from long ago, Steven has also had to fill the gaps for his mother's story, combining all the great things he’s heard about her from his family to create an impossible ideal of an imperfect figure. Learning that Buddy didn’t look anything like Jamie at the end of the episode is another joke, but learning that Rose wasn’t who Steven thought she was is the driving force behind Act III of the original series (a.k.a. the final two seasons).

And, of course, this is the first time we see Rose after the reveal. In a bubble, Steven’s lack of reaction to her appearance in the book seems like a misfire, but Mindful Education is coming right up to show how Steven is repressing his emotions (which also retroactively makes me enjoy his childish behavior here, such as not controlling the volume of his voice and playing with the rolling stool).

More than any other flashback so far, Rose is an enigma. She’s a mystery to Buddy, a normal human encountering a giant woman in the desert. She’s a mystery to her friends, all by herself in the desert with a small pride of lions that the other Crystal Gems don’t know about, judging by their reaction to Lion a few hundred years later. And she’s a mystery to us, because we’ve been told that she killed someone and are thirsty for answers.

Instead, she acts like she always has. She’s as empathetic and silly and encouraging as ever, but why wouldn’t she be? The most we’ve seen of her is in Greg’s flashbacks, so we already know what she acted like after the shattering. Read one way, this episode confirms that her behavior wasn’t a front, because she’s just as lovely with this random human hundreds of years earlier.

But remember, we aren’t actually seeing Rose here. We’re seeing Steven’s interpretation of Rose from the writings of a stranger’s journal, and he’s been embellishing this journal the entire time. I’m not saying that Rose didn’t do what the book purports, or that there’s any reason for us to think she didn’t act this way, but it’s up to Steven to show us, and when given the opportunity to present any character any way he likes, he still sees Rose the way he always has. We’re an episode away from his confronting those feelings, but it’s important to see that for now he’s still clinging to the stories he’s familiar with even after a new story has come to light.

Then, of course, there’s Lion. This is the first time in ages we’ve gotten a new hint at his backstory (it’s been on the back burner since Rose’s Scabbard), but as always, his origin remains shrouded. The connection to Rose is clearer than ever, but she’s with seven lions, not one, and none of them are pink. 

This is an area where I’m a little more frustrated by Steven not wondering aloud what’s up with the lions, but I’m not frustrated with Steven, if that makes sense.  Steven has never been as interested in the lore of the show as the fans; magic is his normal, so digging deep into where Lion came from would be like tracking down the family tree of a pet cat. Plus it would ruin the pacing of the episode for us to focus too hard on the lions, and it probably wouldn’t be great for the mystery. My frustration is from wanting a puzzle solved, which speaks to how effective this little side story has been. If we aren’t compelled enough to remember these details, Lars’s eventual resurrection has no oomph, so a little annoyance is worth it.

The coolest aspect of the episode by far is revisiting old haunts; Rose may praise Buddy’s writing, but his drawings are nothing to scoff at, and seeing the locations themselves is a delight. It’s a nice review of the show’s own history through the eyes of someone else (and then back again through the eyes of our heroes looking through the eyes of someone else). This is our second episode in a row with musical cues from past episodes, which I sadly can’t link to because we’ve reached the era where Aivi and Surasshu had to stop posting their background tracks online. Know Your Fusion and Buddy’s Book have a nifty through-line of looking into the show’s past, just as Buddy’s Book and Mindful Education have a through-line of Steven hanging out with Connie as she begins a new school year. It’s cool to see light structuring in the serialization after so many episodes in a row that were more directly connected.

Even though Jamie himself doesn’t actually appear in it, this is probably my favorite Jamie episode. Eugene Cordero has proven himself an expert ham many times over, and because the mailman is already larger than life, he’s even more melodramatic in the kids’ imaginations. Cordero sells that “shwill” with ease, but his best read is the desert monologue that goes an even deeper layer and has Steven and Connie imagining Jamie as Buddy imagining what other people would think of his quest: “‘Ha ha ha,’ they’d say. ‘What a fool,’ they’d continue.” 

The Gems get to be goofy as well, with Pearl speaking in mangled old-timey parlance, Garnet going big in her not-too-subtle pep talk, and Amethyst swinging from accommodating and annoyed. And it’s not as if Steven and Connie are serious, either. The lightheartedness is abundant, but unlike Kindergarten Kid or Know Your Fusion, it just feels wholesome. Sure, there’s snark here and there, but this is essentially two friends having fun at the library, which I’m all about.

I’ll repeat a third time that Mindful Education is incoming, and with it comes the reality of Steven’s situation. Stories are fun, but distractions only last so long, and Buddy’s Book is a wonderful way to give us a little more joy while priming us for a bigger story about when the stories we live by aren’t true. 

Future Vision!

It’s perfect foreshadowing to slip the Palanquin in with all the portrayals of places we’ve already been. Especially because Stephen’s Dream actually uses the journal as a reference point. (Also: did Connie steal that book? Because she certainly couldn’t have checked it out if it wasn’t catalogued.)

We’re the one, we’re the ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!

Does it get things wrong about libraries? Sure. But this is still a fun and funny episode about research and narratives, so it’s burrowed its way into my heart regardless.

Top Twenty

Steven and the Stevens

Hit the Diamond

Mirror Gem

Lion 3: Straight to Video

Alone Together

The Return

Jailbreak

The Answer

Sworn to the Sword

Rose’s Scabbard

Earthlings

Mr. Greg

Coach Steven

Giant Woman

Beach City Drift

Winter Forecast

Bismuth

When It Rains

Catch and Release

Chille Tid

Love ‘em

Laser Light Cannon

Bubble Buddies

Tiger Millionaire

Lion 2: The Movie

Rose’s Room

An Indirect Kiss

Ocean Gem

Space Race

Garnet’s Universe

Warp Tour

The Test

Future Vision

On the Run

Maximum Capacity

Marble Madness

Political Power

Full Disclosure

Joy Ride

Keeping It Together

We Need to Talk

Cry for Help

Keystone Motel

Back to the Barn

Steven’s Birthday

It Could’ve Been Great

Message Received

Log Date 7 15 2

Same Old World

The New Lars

Monster Reunion

Alone at Sea

Crack the Whip

Beta

Back to the Moon

Kindergarten Kid

Buddy’s Book

Like ‘em

Gem Glow

Frybo

Arcade Mania

So Many Birthdays

Lars and the Cool Kids

Onion Trade

Steven the Sword Fighter

Beach Party

Monster Buddies

Keep Beach City Weird

Watermelon Steven

The Message

Open Book

Story for Steven

Shirt Club

Love Letters

Reformed

Rising Tides, Crashing Tides

Onion Friend

Historical Friction

Friend Ship

Nightmare Hospital

Too Far

Barn Mates

Steven Floats

Drop Beat Dad

Too Short to Ride

Restaurant Wars

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service

Greg the Babysitter

Gem Hunt

Steven vs. Amethyst

Bubbled

Enh

Cheeseburger Backpack

Together Breakfast

Cat Fingers

Serious Steven

Steven’s Lion

Joking Victim

Secret Team

Say Uncle

Super Watermelon Island

Gem Drill

Know Your Fusion

No Thanks!

     5. Horror Club      4. Fusion Cuisine      3. House Guest      2. Sadie’s Song      1. Island Adventure

(Not sure why this one lacks promo art, considering it’s our first episode after the huge release rush of the Summer of Steven, but I love the True Buddy art from Tench.)

[laleshbhatung]

6 Famous Bald Men

Male pattern hair loss did not stop at least one of these guys from forming history, in 1 way or another. They serve as inspirations to us, and they remind us that people are ultimately judged by the donations we make to society, and not by the grade of our hairlines. I liked to make this a fun list, including some modern, famous bald celebrities which everyone will understand, along with historical figures that have shaped our own lives, whether we know it not.

Mahatma Gandhi

Gandhi was the primary pioneer in the Indian independence movement of the 1930s and 40s.  Trained as an attorney, he also gave powerful speeches and coordinated peaceful demonstrations to rally his assistants and prompt a political revolution.  Gandhi influenced hundreds of leaders of future generations, from Martin Luther King Jr. to Cesar Chavez. Certainly, he was too busy fighting on behalf of the people and humankind to worry about their own baldness.

He'd four stints in prison, in which presumably having no hair really is an advantage -- it's the effeminate guys who're popular in the joint, by what I have heard.  He had been a proponent, which isn't suggested to individuals who are concerned with the prospect of hair thinning. Crash diets are bad!

Larry David

Kay, Larry David isn't exactly a revolutionary, and he's probably not just a viable candidate for the real history books any time in the future.  Having said that, his an institution with the hairless area, a phrase that he coined, cannot be dismissed.

In his eponymous, classic television program, Curb Your Enthusiasm,'' David actively fought discrimination contrary to bald people on multiple occasions.  In addition, he fires a toupee-wearing chef in a restaurant he co-owns, openly admits he prefers hiring bald professionals over non-bald professionals, also proclaims his love for his bald brothers.  If you like laughing, check out those youtube links then return and finish this report.

David is known for making the show Seinfeld as well, perhaps the best sitcom of all time -- and it features arguably the greatest sitcom character all-time in George Costanza, that also appears to be bald!

Michael Jordan

He is perhaps the best athlete ever, who sole highhandedly motivated production of balding men to embrace their genetics and then shave it off like a person -- shave it, bitch, as Joe Rogan states!  Hair only gets in the way when you're trying to dip a basketball against the free-throw line or humiliate Patrick Ewing from the paint, after all.  At his best, Jordan was superhuman, plain and simple.

William Shakespeare

You were forced to read several of the plays high school because he is the most famous writer of all time.  But nobody reads so if you should be a millennial, then you probably breezed through the important plot lines and personality descriptions on SparkNotes.

Shakespeare sported long hair on the sides and back of his head, which, theoretically, was supposed to pay for his lack of hair everywhere.  Yeah, regrettably, that theory has been debunked within the course of multiple millenniums.  Just look at David Crosby; that will explain why the balding-guy-with-long-hair style isn't a good one.  However, Shakespeare was definitely a genius.

And despite being dead for 3 decades, ol' Billy still manages to create women of all ages tingle in their nether places with his lovely and periodically kinky verses.

Fun reality: Most argue Shakespeare was but a common burglar who uttered each of his famous works in one of his contemporaries.  Additionally, upon his passing, the single thing bequeathed to his wife, Anne Hathaway, had been his most"second-best bed"  Whatever that way.

Jeff Bezos

Just, Jeff Bezos could be the most powerful and successful bald entrepreneur around Earth.  Known for his meticulous nature and Sunday memos, Bezos has led Amazon.com to unprecedented levels of success and fame in the online realm.

It is possible to find almost anything about Amazon, for example, Rogaine, derma pliers, laser combs, saw palmetto, and a wide variety of additional hair thinning treatments. However, Jeff Bezos has no time for one of these creams, potions, natural home remedies, or even pills. He's too busy worrying about growing his own organization and beating his opponents.

There have been studies that show most men would like having more hair more than income.  Jeff Bezos can be an exception in this principle and a great example for all of us.  Money is much more important than baldness, gentlemen!  But if you have money, you can say easily say farewell to hair forever, just like Jeff's formerly-bald buddy, Elon Musk, did.

Charles Darwin

Darwin's On the Origin of Species is amongst the greatest accomplishments in history. The godfather of development, Darwin-inspired some of our greatest minds and contains spurred spiritual zealots for generations. Like many men, Darwin suffered from severe male pattern baldness, as can be seen clearly in most of his portraits from the age of 31 onward.  And he did what a lot of men confronting similar genetic circumstances do: he also grew an amazing beard!  Yes, the bald-and-bearded appearance is always fashionable, whether you're a scientist, athlete, or a dedicated and disgusting white-supremacist.