Before reading this, you must watch
the film.
My subsequent rant:
It's an important reminder of all the anonymous and all the survivors we have, regardless of the place, who risked everything. No one knows the all names of the dead Panthers. No one knows all the names of Che's companions in Cuba, Congo, or Bolivia. No one knows all the names of Abu Ammar's comrades. Even the best educated don't know the names of them all. And here, in the present, they are being forgotten. Only those who lived it keep it alive. And it is a situation that brings disgrace on all of us who strive for freedom. Be it Jordan or Bolivia or the US. And by failing the memory, we fail the struggle. And by failing the past, we fail to learn from it. To romanticize it is not the answer. But to recognize and learn and fight for those who came and fought before us is an essential part of the struggle.
To forget is to lose.
To fail to adapt is to lose.
To compromise is to lose.
To disgrace our elders and our fallen through compromise or collusion, is to lose.
To honor those who falsely claim the mantel of our fallen revolutionaries, is to lose.
The future belongs to those who honor, recognize and reclaim the past; while at the same time adapting, transforming and inspiring our future. Without the past we cannot win. Without the destruction of the present we cannot win. Without the liberation of our future we cannot win. The only step is forward.
This is a news item I’m more or less happy about, as far as public opinion polls go. But what really grabs me is the headline, which was … not so well chosen. Here’s the news:
12:03PM EDT October 18. 2012 - Latinos are changing their attitudes about same-sex marriage, joining growing support in the rest of the country to allow gay couples to marry.
More than half, or 52%, of Latinos say they support gay marriage in a new poll by the Pew Research Center. The general public supports gay marriage, 48%-44%.
The finding for Latinos is opposite of attitudes in 2006: Pew says 56% of Latinos opposed same-sex marriage six years ago, while 31% supported it.
— Catalina Camia, USA Today (May 18, 2012)
And here’s the headline:
Latinos reversing course, support gay marriage
12:03PM EDT October 18. 2012 - Latinos are changing their attitudes about same-sex marriage, joining growing support in the rest of the country to allow gay couples to marry . . . .
— Catalina Camia, USA Today (May 18, 2012)
So I guess there must have been a pretty intense debate about all that at the last big meeting? But now gay marriage can rest assured that the they’ll be reversing course,
now that the resolution for collective support from the community hive mind of all Latinos has passed by a slim majority?
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Today was the third day of class in the Process Painting. Last week I started this piece and I completed it this week. The pictures follow my progress.
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I started my Daily Selfportrait Project 367 days ago, according to the number of pictures in my Flickr album. I never set out with a specific goal in mind or an official end date slated. My only ‘rule’ was that I had to take at least one picture a day, every day, no matter how [...]
So, today was my second class in the Process Painting series from True North Arts by Gabrielle Smith. We did an exercise where the five of us all started a painting and then every five minutes, we’d stop working on the painting in front of us and move to the next painting to the left. [...]
Macquarie Radio Network, owners of Sydney radio station 2GB, have expressed a lotta butthurt at the fact that the boycott of its advertisers has achieved some measure of success: commercial realities can be a bitch sometimes. Given that Mr Jones … Continue reading →
Today was my first Process Painting class with Gabrielle Smith of True North Arts. I had a great time honouring my instincts and painting whatever came to mind. It was a fantastic exercise in just letting go and being in the moment. The following is a picture (albeit, of poor quality) of my finished painting. [...]
Presumably stung into action by Socialist Alternative’s publication (September 25) of a love letter (September 15) from Socialist Alliance, the Revolutionary Socialist Party has hit back (October 2) with a tawdry letter of its own, one which suggests that things … Continue reading →
