The Election and Aztlan

by
Juan Armando Roque
La Voz de Aztlan

Los Angeles, Alta California - October 13, 2004 - (ACN) Another four years have passed and the time to “elect” a president is looming in the not too distant future. Come November citizens of the United States will go to the polls and cast their votes to decide who will lead the so called great American nation for the next 1,460 days. The ability to vote in an open election has been a fundamental right for those born or naturalized as citizens since the Constitution was ratified and the country was born. The right is clouded somewhat because the choices we have are so limited, especially in voting for a president. With the exception of the rare third candidate like Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose party or Ralph Nader and his Green Party the two choices that millions of Americans must decide on are limited to Republicans and Democrats. In Aztlan this election is by far the most significant for our people due to the present situation. Many things have happened since the hanging-chad election of 2000 in which the election was taken from the citizens and the Supreme Court chose the Commander in Chief amid the claims of fraud and discrimination at the polls. This election will be no different and we must, as a people, be prepared to exercise our right on Election Day. On the ballot are two men, Republican and Democrat, who are white, rich and influential and desire to be at the helm of this country for the next four years. One, George W. Bush, the incumbent, is from Texas who has been in charge since the 2000 debacle and has waged a war in Iraq on the premise of lies and took too many days off prior to 9/11. The other choice, John Kerry, the Senator from Massachusetts, is a three time Purple Heart winner and promises to “do better” for the people of this nation. They have both waged a fierce campaign in which they have attacked each other and questioned the other’s ability to lead this nation. There have been two debates in which both have failed to really make clear where they stand. The two face offs have been nothing more than each candidate criticizing the other without any focus on what the true issues are. Come November those eligible to vote will make the call and decide which one of these men will be called Mr. President.

This election, above all others, is one of significance for people of Mexican descent given the current state of affairs in the ol’ U.S.A in regards to our Raza. In Aztlan we have recently witnessed an escalation of racism and violence against our people under the watch of the current president. We have seen innocent mothers and daughters beaten to death at the hands of white zealots who desire nothing more than the destruction of the Mexican race beginning with our women. Authorities, for lack of a better term, have done nothing to solve this gross crime in Fremont California even though there have been reports of witnesses hearing the murder and then seeing the perpetrators leave after the killings. La Voz de Aztlan has followed this story carefully and has done everything possible to bring the facts to light but those in charge have yet to listen. As of yet no one has been charged, no leads have been established and two murdered sisters of Aztlan have been buried without justice and those responsible are no doubt relishing in their sin. In Columbus Ohio ten Mexican people died as the result of a fire deliberately set by radicals inspired by hate looking to destroy migrant farm workers. Nearly a month has passed and no one has been arrested in this crime, is this a surprise? And of course let us not forget the INS, the uniformed American Gestapo who patrol the border like the Berlin Wall to keep the Mexicans out employing any means necessary. People have been murdered at the border, especially at the Rio Bravo line, and yet nothing is being done. Radical bigots in San Ysidro arm themselves with rifles and take shots at the immigrants entering the U.S. through Tijuana. We have been witness to those infamous video recordings of Mexicans being beaten by police officers who have become the new KKK doling out their hate legally against immigrants and then falsely claim they were “armed” as we saw in San Bernardino. Recently border guards have killed women and children by stoning them as they try to swim the Rio Bravo and all the so called officials say is these incidents are “under investigation.” This is unacceptable and must come to an end. Aztlan, wake up! If you are a citizen you must begin to see these things for what they are; modern Jim Crow against the Mexicans.

In the South after the Emancipation Proclamation and up until the 1960’s there existed a separate set of “laws” against African-Americans known as Jim Crow. These so called “laws” were established by ignorant racist whites looking to keep the “order” in the South; namely white supremacy. African-Americans were not allowed to attend certain schools, eat in certain restaurants, use public facilities and were not allowed to vote due to these despicable rules which were enforced by intimidation and violence. During the Civil Rights movement heroes like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X made it their life’s work to destroy Jim Crow and they succeeded to a certain degree. African-Americans have improved their standing in this country against the vile racism that once kept them down and even though much work still needs to be done in their community they have a voice in the politics of this nation where we do not. Today, Jim Crow has morphed and the new target is the Mexican people, especially those of Aztlan, where we outnumber everyone else. There is a growing fear of Mexicans due to the population growing exponentially in the Southwest. Soon we will be the biggest ethnic group in this nation, not minority, the BIGGEST group, the majority. What we are witnessing and experiencing in these racist inspired incidents is modern day Jim Crow being implemented to scare and intimidate us. In the early part of last century African-Americans who did not abide to Jim Crow whether deliberately or by accident were beaten, their homes and churches were burned down or they were brutally lynched. Lynching of African-Americans was seen as a noble thing by perverted racist whites who desired to stay on top and be the master race. No image of a lynching is stronger in this era than the Chicago teenager Emmit Till who was brutally murdered for supposedly whistling at a white woman. What we are seeing in the escalating violence against Mexicans is modern day lynching. Lynching was done to keep African-Americans “in line” and scare them to not defy the “order” of things. Fremont California, Columbus Ohio, Texas….the parallel is too obvious to deny. Mexicans are now being brutally killed to scare us into adhering to the new order of things. The new policies regarding immigration have been originated specifically to target Mexicans and keep them from attaining any rights in this country even though they work and pay taxes like citizens. The fact that many come in illegally looking for a better life is the focus of this new Jim Crow. Mexican Immigrants being denied health care at hospitals is one way to deny their children citizenship and thus keep the order. Denial of education, services and Driver Licenses is the evidence of the new order designed to keep Mexicans in line and “out” of the system. The time has come for these questions to be asked. These dirty little secrets need to be brought out because soon the situation will be beyond words.

It is a fact that since George W. Bush took command of the White House that the world has become a much more dangerous place, especially if you’re of Mexican descent. People are living in perpetual fear. It is evident everywhere you go. People are tense, afraid and anticipating the worst. September 11, 2001 was the beginning, not the end. We live in a world where rules apply only to those who are to be controlled like the Iraqis, Palestinians and Afghans. We see a world in which the rogue nation of Israel continues its defiance of the U.N. while it wages its holocaust on the Palestinians. In Aztlan the last four years have been an escalation of the racism and violent attitudes against our people. We have been witness to gruesome violence, murder and mayhem and have been challenged by bigots like Glenn Spencer. If you are a registered voter get out there and exercise your right while you still have it! I know the choices are not ideal and while I doubt the agenda of both candidates and am dubious to their understanding of the plight of our people I call on those who can vote to cast your ballots in favor of John Kerry. He is the lesser of the two evils in this 2004 election. Bush has run this nation amuck and has greased the wheels of hate with his lies and political mindset. Aztlan is a microcosm of the world. Murder, destruction and hate have all originated from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Perhaps we need a change, albeit a small one.