NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The other day Independent Guåhan's held it's April teach-in at UOG, this time with a focus on "democratizing the media." The discussion focused on Guam's media landscape and ways that community members can create alternative means of educating or informing people on island about pertinent issues. For years I ran a number of different forms of alternative media, such as blogs, websites, podcasts and even a zine called Minagahet. From 2003-2010 I, and sometimes others ed ited a zine which focused on Chamorro issues from a critical and largely progressive perspective. You can still find it online, although the last issue was released during the DEIS comment period in early 2010. The name Minagahet which means "truth" came from a comment that a friend of mine had written on a message board many many years ago. It was an exchange with some Chamorros who felt that decolonization was stupid and impossible. My friend had written a long response see

 A great article that discusses the complexity of the average Chamorro relationship to the United States. It is inundated with sometimes strange feelings of patriotism, desires for inclusion and casual approval of militarism in close to ever facet of life. It feels natural for the most part, but at certain moments, doesn't seem to make sense. As I noted in another article, every once in a while there is a crack in the facade of Americanness for the island, and suddenly the generic patriotism or platitudes of Guam being part of the United States don't make sense. The colonial truth stares out at your through the crack, and if you've spent your life trying to avoid this reality, it can feel terrifying to realize that your relationship to the United States bares little similarity to what you see around you or what is taught to you at almost every level. Si Yu'us Ma'åse' to Jon Letman for his great article, which doesn't just ignore the ambivalence t

"Independence: A Very American Idea" by Michael Lujan Bevacqua Co-Chair, Independence for Guam Task Force April 12, 2016   Recent weeks have been brimming with discussion of decolonization, self-determination and political status change for Guam. Governor Calvo spent a large part of his recent State of the Island Address talking about Guam’s political status and laid out a bold plan to hold a political status vote by the end of the year. Calvo’s proposal created a stir in the community, especially among those who have been fighting for self-determination for decades, as it seemed to open the right to vote in a self-determination plebiscite to all registered voters and not just those who are considered to be “native inhabitants.” Last week Calvo presented his plans to the Commission on Decolonization, of which I am a member, representing the Independence for Guam Task Force. We had some very spirited discussion on the Governor’s plans, sha

Gof malago' yu' mohon na para u mafa'nu'i i nuebu na muben Michael Moore giya Guahan. I ma'pos na mubi-na siha, manmafa'nu'i guini. Lao, ti siguru yu' put este na mubi. Anai hu atan i listan i manindependente na mubi siha ni' manmachuchule' magi pa'go, puru ha' manconservative gi fina'tinas-niha. Taya' "progressive" pat "liberal" taiguihi i fina'tinas-na si Michael Moore. ***************** Where to Invade Next - Michael Moore Strikes a Melancholy Chord by Joseph A. Palermo Professor, Historian, Author Huffington Post 2/13/16 Where to Invade Next is Michael Moore's most disturbing film yet. Contrasting the progressive public policies practiced abroad with those here at home, Moore starkly drives home just how inhumane American society has truly become. The movie is a simple exercise in comparing and contrasting American public policies with those of other countries. It'

I have a weird fascination with movies that people generally don't like. I've never found anyone else for example who enjoyed the film The Postman directed by Kevin Costner from the book by David Brin. In the spectrum of what makes a movie enjoyable or likeable a film like The Postman, seems to fall inbetween the crack of everything. You can like movies because it connects with something in you, because everyone else likes it, because so many people say it is great. You can hate it because it offends you, bores you, is just plan stupid or terrible. Interestingly enough when something reaches the point where its meaning is too assured, that is precisely when your response may end up on the opposite end of the spectrum. If a movie is too poorly put together, it can become charming, unique, silly, bad in a good way, etc. The Postman, which tells the story of how certain symbols of daily modern life, such as mail, play an inspiring role in rebuilding communities aft

"America the Beautiful" Author is Rush Limbaugh's Favorite Lesbian Socialist Peter Dreier – February 5, 2014  Talking Points Memo Right-wingers like Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, former Congressman Allen West, and others are freaking out about Coca Cola's Super Bowl ad featuring "America the Beautiful" sung in different languages as faces of people of different cultures are shown. Typical was the reaction of Michael Leahy of the wacko website Breitbart.com: “The company used such an iconic song, one often sung in churches on the 4th of July that represents the old ‘E Pluribus Unum’ view of how American society is integrated, to push multiculturalism down our throats.” The reliably reactionary Glenn Beck said that the ad will "divide us politically." He added: “That's all this ad is. It's an in your face -- and if you don't like, if you're offended by it, then you're a racist. If you do like it, well then

Dipotsi sa' este i kustrumbre-ku.  In all my classes I teach at the University of Guam, whether it be English, Chamorro or History the issue of decolonization and independence for Guam always arises. Part of this is because of who I am and what I believe in. This affects how I teach and what I teach. Part of it is also how students see me and how many of them know that if you google Guam and Decolonization or Guam and a wide range of other topics you will end up with something involving me or written by me. I do not necessarily force this issue on students, but always remind them of the importance of this topic as they live on this island and in this world. Part of the difficulty though in discussing these two topics is that while Guam is a colony and has been such for more than a century, the Chamorro experience of colonialism has changed so much since 1898, 1941, even 1968. The colonial difference between Guam and the United States is not as wide or as daunting or as disgu

Published on Thursday, August 29, 2013 by Times of India Why America Cannot Live without Wars by Chidanand Rajghatta WASHINGTON – On a day marking the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I-Have-A-Dream" civil rights speech, the United States is poised to unleash another nightmare some 10,000km away in the Middle-East. Washington's war machine is geared up for limited strikes against Syria because Damascus ostensibly crossed a red line by using chemical weapons against its own population, never mind that many regimes worldwide inflict atrocities against their own people by other means. Why a President who came to office on the strength of his anti-war credentials - especially on the phony war foisted on Iraq - is running with the war hounds, is something of a mystery. But the rest of the Washington establishment is champing at the bit to unleash missiles on the Syrian regim

This week I am in California meeting with Chamorro organizations in Long Beach and San Diego. When I was in graduate school in San Diego, I worked very closely with several of these organizations. It has been nostalgic coming back and catching up with people and learning about what new projects they are working on and what are new ways that diasporic Chamorros are creating community. All of this reminded me of a question that a friend of mine asked me several years ago about what community building is like from a Chamorro perspective. Below is part of my answer tomorrow. *********************** It is important to think of community development not from any neutral or abstract stance, but rather take seriously the context that one intends to develop within, and by context I a huge number of things that must be considered both in the past and present. In conceiving this context, and forming it in a productive way, one must be prepared to bring into the analy

Guam should think for itself, and should understand better its position in relation to the United States and the world around it. Just accepting an "American" ideological point of view for everything means pretending we live a different reality in a different part of the world. It also means we prevent ourselves from understanding the benefits and dangers that we get by virtue of our geographic position. This is not something that I would advocate solely because of the North Korea issue. So long as Guam remains a non-self-governing territory, an unincorporated territory, its relationship to the United States should be of great importance, but not define the island, its present or its future. To accept that this relationship is central is to keep the fantasies alive and rather than seek any real sovereignty or real inclusion, you end up eating the air of your fantasies and slowly starving yourself into non-existence. Part of the weakness of this island is its eager willingne

Guam’s colonial experience is frustrating. Given the way the island and its relationship to the United States have developed since World War II, Guam is in so many ways already “American.” The island gets so many benefits and has prospered through its relationship to the US. Although Chamorros were treated in terrible ways before World War II, that seems to have changed now into simple disrespect, ignorance and disinterest. It is important at points like this to remember that colonialism is not about positives or negatives. You do not define colonialism based on whether or not the people colonized benefit or not. You do not define colonialism based on whether or not the people suffer worse than anyone else in history or at that time. You define it based on the type of relationship that two entities have. You define it based on whether or not there exists a democratic relationship between the two. What are the legal cases or precedents that bind the two toget