Part II.
Latino Groupies
By
Rodolfo F. Acuña
In this blog the term “political graffiti” is used in
the context of a Harry Gamboa interview. Harry, an influential Chicano
essayist, photographer, director and performance artist, once said that some
art has strong form or style but has a poor message while other art has a weak
technique but a strong message. This statement recalls the importance of
graffiti art that, for me, has a strong message rather than adhering to the
accepted form.
Political blogs resemble graffiti; they are not always
pretty but have strong messages. I have never adhered to saying of art for
art’s sake.
If what you are writing has a political purpose the
message is what is important. That is why I try to concentrate on the message,
which I consider more important than commas and semi-colons.
This time around my piece focuses on the state of
Chicana/o politics
that we often confuse with the Chicana/o movement. It is
my belief that Chicana/o politics today are based more on form than substance. Today’s
Chicana/o politics do not want to transform society but to relate to the
American illusion. In other words, selfies and social forms have
replaced the politics of change.
I choose to call this phenomenon the time of political
groupie. The
word initially referred to a musical group but in the
1960s it was used in a more general sense. It came to refer to a particular kind of female
fan who was presumably more interested in relationships with rock stars
than in their music. In other words, the rock stars fame rubbed off on
them.
The definition, however, becomes sexist if we make it
gender specific.
The truth be told, there is a thin line between a fan and
a groupie.During my youth we would go to boxing matches at the Olympic and
often get into arguments and even altercations over a fighter we were
following. Like the groupie we belied that the boxer’s fame rubbed off
on us.
This phenomenon can be expanded to sports teams. The
World Cup reached
ridiculous levels as has baseball. I have a former
student who feels betrayed by the Dodgers, not because they stole Chavez Ravine, but
because they let him down and did not win. He acts as if he were on the
field catching the balls and batting .400.
Some political groupies claim to be down with the
movement and often
living recalling past glories.
Groupies are prominent in the political scene.Some of my
good friends
have become political groupies. I never fail to be amazed
by the number of selfies they take with politicians and old activists such as me. They
don’t seem to grasp the fact that just because you take a selfie with
someone it does not mean that you participated in their history. Their
accomplishments are not theirs but merely building blocks for today.
The truth be told this Chicana/o-Latino Groupie stage
makes us all
cheerleaders in the Twilight zone. We become groupies
because we are living through someone else and taking on their personality and point of
view. We become boosters instead of participants. We become spectators
instead of agents of change.
We can see this change through our own lives and the
changes that have
taken place in our faculty, friends and students.
Students often ask me how students today differ from those of forty years ago. In any time
period those joining MECHA are the most political.
However, there is no denying that the idealism of MECHA
has been
compromised by a social mission. The group has always
partied but that was not its focal point. Today there is more emphasis on getting along
with others no matter what their politics.
The age of the political groupie is best typified in
what is called
Latino or Hispanic politics that do not promote issues
but individuals and ourselves. Latino politics thrives on selfies.The truth be told,
there has always been an element of this, but it was different.
You may have disagreed with LA City Councilman Richard
Alatorre on a
particular issue but you always knew if you scratched
deep enough you got Garfield High School. He was an eastside kid and remained so through
all the storms. That sense of place is missing in those running for
office and their cheerleaders today.
A former student of mine Filiberto Gonzalez told me that
he was one of
the few Latinos active in the political scene that was
involved with MECHA. Most had graduated from college without having taken a Chicana/o
Studies class or participated in a demonstration. The significance of
this is that the politics of change is not part of their epistemology.
The only Mexican/Latino issue that appears to have any
traction is
immigration – and even there not everyone is on the same
page.Latino politics appears to boil down to pro and anti- Obama.
What distinguishes the groupies or selfies from others is
self-interest. But I don’t want to get caught up in hyperbole. There are
group and individual efforts to change society. Another former student
of mine Raquel Roman, the Director at Proyecto Pastoral, is a prime
example and represents the best in our community. Her life is one of
activism and trying to transform society.
Just like Raquel there are thousands of activists who are altruistic.
The Association of Raza Educators (ARE) is at the forefront of
educational reform. The struggles in Tucson to defend Mexican American
Studies and the work there in defense of the undocumented are other
examples.
This Saturday there will be a conference at California
State University
Long Beach. There is a movement to make Chicana/o studies
mandatory in California Public Schools. The leadership is a combination of old timers
and grassroots activists who are not part of the selfie generation.
Organizers and supporters point out that the dropout
problem is still
at an epidemic stage in barrio schools and because of
tuition and recruitment priorities the poor are being squeezed out. They also want
to reverse the trend toward groupie politics by educating students
through a process of identity, skill development and critical thinking.
The movement for CHS in the public schools has been
picking up steam as
of late.Led by people such as Elías Serna, Johny Ramírez,
Selina Rodríguez and others from the Westside, the Santa Monica/ Malibu Unified
School District recently created a small Ethnic Studies course/program.
In East LA, the Semillas is an alternative K-12 school founded by the
leaders of the UCLA Hunger Strike.
In the Pico-Rivera El Rancho School District Jose Lara
(José del
Barrio) has led the drive to make Mexican American
Studies mandatory. And just recently California Latino legislators introduced a bill to
make CHS mandatory in the public schools. Sadly they did not fight for
it and withdrew the bill.
Attendance at the Long Beach conference could be
historic. History
tells us that our advances in the 70s and access to
higher education were a product of the Chicana/o Movement and the drive for CHS. Perhaps
these programs would reverse the trend toward the politics of the
selfies and give us a sense of place and pride.So try to go but leave
yourcellphones at home.
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