tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6091375372066322679.post5969919316841226263..comments2023-11-05T16:39:27.592-08:00Comments on Joaquin Cienfuegos: Chican@ Libearation and Indigenous Self-DeterminationJoaquin Cienfuegoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17674565850289555397noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6091375372066322679.post-5443012173135289212010-11-26T12:34:35.611-08:002010-11-26T12:34:35.611-08:00I have long held these thoughts in my mind being a...I have long held these thoughts in my mind being a self-identified anarchist (or acratist) and being outwardly identified as a Chicano of Los Angeles.<br /><br />Do we as Chicanos count as indigenous people? Do we then push to have the claim that we "belong" here? IF SO, that is problematic. Then the French, who are indigenous to France can be said to be in the right to have deported the Romani-Gypsies in their country, or that the English can expel the Arabs in their country since they are not indigenous. <br /><br />I do accept that the the French/English example is faulty because they are in positions of power, whereas the indigenous people of this continent are not at all. But nonetheless I do not like arguments that say because someone was somewhere first they have MORE OF A RIGHT to be there. I, being an anarchist and NOT a liberal, feel that the free movement of people is of UPMOST importance regardless of indigenous status.<br /><br />I engage you not to pick a fight but to clear up what I have always found problematic. I would not argue that white supremacists hate all things Mexican, since it is obvious that they love Mexican cheap labor caused by NAFTA (and Capitalism in general).<br /><br />Recently I have come across the idea that culture is usually either seen as "routes" or "roots." If you see culture as static, and necessitating a return to a Golden Age (which probably never existed) then you think of culture as "roots." Many Chicano-istas take this approach and end up trying to be more "Mexican" than Mexicans themselves! <br /><br />If you see culture as "routes" then you see it as a journey, constantly picking up (and losing) pieces as you go along. I do not seek to undermine with this the very coercive past that people around the people had/have. I think this is a much more fruitful and less problematic version of culture since so many of us are not just "Mexican" or "Chinese," (or whatever): both of which are VERY constructed identities. <br /><br />Because I see most identity as being mostly socially-constructed I tend to align myself by lines of sight; meaning those I see that are oppressed as I am. Where I agree with you that we cannot overlook the indigenous people and their living history/culture here.<br /><br />I think Chicanismo had its cultural/historical place but now its gone. I always found the "Brown Pride" position problematic since it instills pride in something that one had NO SAY IN. I find pride in what I do not in what I am. I understand it was created to rebuild the self-esteem of Chican@s who were told they were scum, nothing. (I have first hand accounts of this from a neighbor I had that was active in the Chicano Movement here in Los Angeles) but I think we can now look to something more, something beyond our self-defined Chicano-ness. I always say that home is the land I stand on, wherever I place my feet. I am a child of the Earth.<br /><br />I do agree we shouldn't lump up the nations that lived here. I myself partake in the ancestry of Purehpecha, Tarahumara and the Spanish people. I find problematic the idea that there is some essentialism within me that I should dig for since I already feel WHOLE RIGHT NOW. I enjoy learning about these peoples but the line has been cut and am not going to lament it but build. I take joy that I can speak English, Spanish and have taken it upon myself to even learn French. Yes, none are indigenous languages but I have that freedom to act as I so please. I personally try to see as culture as a place to play in and necessarily some sort of quasi-religious reverence for.<br /><br />The possibilities are endless, and I think that writings such as your own begin to make us rethink our place in the world that is beyond the Nation-State clamor that is so common with radical people of this continent.<br /><br />- Juliostuffffffffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901945586288689924noreply@blogger.com