Thursday, September 21, 2006
Eres Latino, Somos Hermanos
Current mood: distressed
"Racism is alive they just be concealin it.."
Kanye West
I hate to quote Kanye... but my use of his statement isnt to big brother, "the man", or any of the monikers used to describe the ominously obscure face of white power and oppression.
This is for my latino brothers and sisters.... operative words:
BROTHERS AND SISTERS.
This aint a disclaimer. But the truth is pungent at times... and because it is coming from me and not a more typical or "valid" (in some eyes) voice for the concern of "hispanic people" does NOT make it any less true.
If it validates me for you... I DO have latino bloodline in my background... among other things. But i Do Not consider myself Latino. I consider myself a Black man first. That is my choice and if you want insight on that then hit me up on a personal level.
but for the record.. there is no "Blacklandia" where "Black people" come from... and furthermore there is also no race called "Spanish". Spanish is indeed a language.... shiiiit.
Yesterday I was alarmed to hear and then read about the tragic story of two, young, darker skinned Dominican sisters who were shot by a bouncer (BOTH of the women unarmed) of a notoriously racist club in the Dominican Republic. One of the young women, a recent college graduate, died.
for information on the incident click the following links:
http://www.hoy.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=89040
http://clavedigital.com/App_Pages/Noticias/Noticias.aspx?id_articulo=11879
http://www.hoy.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=89040
But here is my spiel... La Verdad if you will....
As a caribbean man... a black man.. your brother... i urge my family in latin america.. particularly those in the Dominican Republic to learn their history.
Here's the thing. We fuckin up... peep the science.
You CANNOT call a Frenchman a Brit, or a Saxon a Slav... because as people.. those folks have SOME idea or at least CHOOSE to acknowledge the history of who they are and what identifies them as a people.
who we call modern day "hispanic" or "latino" are the product of what white people used to refer to as the products of miscegeny. A mixed group of European, Native American, and yess.. AFRICAN... (OHH NOOOO) African slaves.
I went to the Taino Museum in La Romana, DR... it clearly detailed, in english, spanish, and french for all visitors to see, who Latino people are... particularly latino people in countries like Dominican Republic, Panama, Honduras, Brazil, Cuba, .. or even Jamaica and Trinidad (yes there are latino people in the english speaking Caribbean)
I hold my heart when i see the shock and awe on the face of some from these countries, particularly the island nations, when i refer to their countries as "Caribbean" or "West Indian". Somehow magically we have been deceived enough to believe that a new NoNCaribbean Sea is the body of water that surrounds Puerto Rico or DR for that matter...
Unfortunately the connotation of being "West Indian" is equated to non majority spanish speaking countries -- TO BE READ "BLACK COUNTRIES"
MAJOR MAJOR taboo apparently....
I went to DR and my heart sank.... I have been to other Caribbean countries.. experienced people from lands where English may very well be the THIRD language you learn. And in all of those places existed a uniform basic knowledge of other Caribbean nations and their inter related histories. Unfortunately, this knowledge seemed to be ignored, hidden, or just not accepted in the collective conscious on Dominican Soil... such a beautiful country... such beautiful people... being lead into the dark. And who suffers as a result? Domicans do... and consequently WE do...
if you doubt me... just really assess what is happening in 2006 there... fuck that on the ENTIRE island... Haiti included.
Im sure we could all trade stories to support or even negate some of the worldviews I am assessing in this entry.
But clearly... things are a muck.
There is soooo much more I would like to say to all... and I have much more light I could shed.. but my consideration to your time is sincere...
stay tuned. This is the FIRST blog on my site that I ACTUALLY wrote... and now that the floodgates for the truth is opened.. BEWARE.
.... signing .. off?
PS food for thought... ever wonder why Guyana is considered a Caribbean nation even though it is on the continent called South America... ever wonder why Brazil escapes the same misclassification... hmmm?
Cavalier (Caballero) - Brooklyn's Own Knight For Justice
---to go to the original post go to Cavalier's myspace blog
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