What We Missed: Arizona Activism Edition

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It has been a big two days in Arizona as SB 1070 has gone into effect. Miriam explained yesterday that part of the law was blocked by a federal judge.

Hundreds came out to protest the law.

The above picture if from an amazing action coordinated by Ndlon in conjunction with the Ruckus Society. A courageous and powerful visual.

Activists also tried to close down the freeway in Tuscan.

Colorlines explains what to expect in the coming months.

Bravo!

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Louis C.K.’s unfunny sketch about race

Full transcript  after the jump

This sketch by Louis C.K. on white privilege made me really uncomfortable. While I think Serwer rightly points out that CK’s “jokes” play on “the fear that animates American racial politics,” the major issues at hand here are how delusional some whites can be about present-day racism and the logical implications of white privilege. First, the notion that a black man would feel comfortable traveling back to the 1980s is the only laughable moment that can be extracted from this sketch. Reaganomics, anyone??

Further, C.K. presses the knife with, “For now, Weeeeee!”  The thing we have to remember about whiteness is that it is a privilege that inherently disadvantages other racial groups. So really, C.K. can’t celebrate his whiteness without him celebrating the effects his white privilege has on people of color: racism.

Nothing to laugh at in that conclusion.

H/t to Diana Price.

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President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III—genuine change or more of the same?

GABRIELA-USA & NAFCON contigency, holding signs and banners, protesting in front of the SF Philippine Consulate

This past Monday, newly elected President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Philippines delivered his state of the nation address (SONA). Filipino-American activists, however, weren’t about to sit there idly and listen to false promises. Simultaneous protests took place in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York and New Jersey. While a lot of people are overjoyed that the grossly incompetent and corrupt past president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, is unseated, they are reluctant to celebrate Noynoy’s victory.

In the one month that he’s been elected, there have already been 5 political killings: Mark Francisco, 27,  a teacher at San Isidro Elementary School; Francisco Baldomero, a local coordinator for the Bayan Muna Political Party; Pascual Guevarra, 78, a peasant advocate from Nueva Ecija; and Josephine Estacio, 46, who was with the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT). The Philippines is by far one of the most dangerous places to be a champion of the dispossessed. It ranked #3 in a report by the Committee to Protect Journalists and in Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration alone, there have been over 1,200 political killings. Last year, Melissa Roxas, a Filipina-American volunteer in a community medical mission was physically and psychologically tortured for six days. This is not even to mention the 2004 Hacienda Luisita massacre of twelve farmers and two children (with hundreds injured), who demanded agrarian reform, in which the Aquino family  (the owners of the property) is implicated. Read More »

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Mainstream media outlets ignore people of color

Mainstream newspapers, cable and network television, radio, and news websites do not care about the lives of people of color. According to The Pew Research Center’s latest analysis of news coverage,  African Americans had less than 2 percent of coverage, Hispanics had 1.3 percent and Asian Americans had 0.2 percent. This is so offensive considering the demographics of the United States. Direct your attention to a summary that the Kaiser Foundation did of the population data a few months back:

pew chart about race and ethnicity showing a decline in the proportion of the u.s. population that is white

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I’m proud to be associated with you

I know, I know, it’s not quite Friday yet. But I love this song, so let’s celebrate a day early:

Le Tigre, TGIF
(lyrics are included on the YouTube page.)

Also, Le Tigre is holding a karaoke contest! Details here.

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