Trans National

Well, as you can see from that last post, late in October, I've been encountering some moral and ethical difficulties in doing this work. And I think it's only correct to talk a little bit about that. You see, if you get what I'm saying in that last post, there is no way for a man to understand what the world looks like from a woman´s point of view without inadvertently flexing oodles of male privilege. And this takes a lot of forms. One of them is that women - I´m told - just act differently when a man is in the room.. and part of that is that the man is unable to resist his urge to give advice, ask provocative questions, talk over and interrupt... it throws off the entire conversational dynamic. It has nothing to do with whether the man is right or wrong.. it´s that he doesn´t know how to talk without playing the competition card. A more subtle form is socialization with respect to "Female Beauty". When a man is in the room, he acts differently towards different women depending on their attractiveness. And women, whether they consciously reject it, or subconsciously respond to it... it affects the dynamic. Women are generally aware of their level of beauty, and it impacts women-only groups as well.. but when there´s a man there with his attention hanging out for all to see, it´s a distraction to the bonding that goes on with women alone. Many men will find that a journey into the world of feminist activism sounds exciting. Many of you may have tried organizing with women yourselves. But you see, if I tell the stories in a way that romanticizes the experience, you might think it´s appropriate for you to join women´s groups and work with them to organize for more gender equality. Or that somehow, you have learned enough from my experience to think you can just waltz in and start telling women how to be feminists. What I hear over and over again is: Do you think we need a man to protect us and help us figure out how to get organized and support each other? Why don´t you go find a group of men and show them how to work more respectfully with women, maybe find other ways to burn off their aggression or massage their egos besides coming into our groups and unconsciously bossing us around? Besides, then I´d be responsible for more "sensitive daddies" entering women´s groups and haplessly reinforcing their privilege, only to go back home, manipulate their wives, cheat on their girlfriends, or ask their secretaries make them coffee, supporting the system that makes this man´s world possible. You want facts? Soon, there will be facts. There are plenty of facts for everyone. You can even have seconds. But while you're waiting, try Riane Eisler´s "The Chalice and the Blade". You want photos? Well, I have them. But photos are presenting even a bigger ethical challenge, because they don't tell the whole story, and well, it just feels wrong to photograph strong women. Yes, it can and has been effective in changing opinions. But there is a price to pay for those images. The way images of women are used in society is a big enough problem as it is. Now, obviously it's true, that the answer can't be to continue allowing men to remain unaware. We're one of the most unaware genders ever, especially given the resources we have available. What I'm questioning is whether writing this blog and creating stories for community radio is the best way to work with women to destroy a system that institutionalizes gender inequality in favor of males. And so, what you see here and hear from me in the future, will reflect this deep uncertainty. And you men can help alleviate it, by organizing other groups of men and showing them their unconscious sexism. Now.

Choosing To Struggle

If you read the post from late October, The Face of the Conqueror, you´ll know that what is going on for me is serious stuff; it´s threatening the entire way I think about the work that I do and what it means to build a movement or work to effect systemic change.

That piece is part of a couple of pieces that I have to write before I can really move on:

• the difficulties with bridge-building across cultures
• the role and responsibility of privilege in an unbalanced world
• maintaining cultural integrity while allowing for integration
  
• how a white male from the US can be a true partner in the struggle for justice

And that´s not even to get to the problems with doing journalism. It´s big stuff. I mean, I know you, reader, probably talk with your friends and your siblings about white privilege all the time - maybe if you´re black. But it´s not something you see on OPB. I´ve lived as a white progressive for most of my life, and I know. White people don´t talk about white privilege - most of us vigorously deny it exists... there are some honest, but creepy, folks who claim it as their birthright. We call these folks white supremecists. But most white folks, if they´re like average people, are too caught up in their daily grind of work and consumption that they´ll just laugh in your face if you say they´re privileged. White liberals and progressives will usually vigorously deny that there is any white privilege, especially for them in particular. But talk to organizers in the black and brown communities, and you´ll probably hear something a little different.

Tourists inpecting inexpensive pearls at the Guaymas Pearl Farm. Guaymas, Mexico

If you´re like me, you´d probably be thinking about what I´ve just written, maybe trying to find a response. Maybe you should stop thinking, and fucking start crying about the blood spilled to give you cheap lettuce.

Florida tourists at the Guaymas Pearl Farm.















We white progressives talk about justice and unjustice... but we act like this is something that is separate from the air we breathe and food we eat. It´s simply another conversational choice, another lifestyle choice -

"Daddy, there´s so much injustice, I need to make a change in the world."
"Darling, don´t you think studying law would be a little more practical?"

"The artist must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery. I have made my choice. I had no alternative. " - Paul Robeson

If you can choose to fight against injustice and inequality, that is privilege. That is, broadly speaking, White Privilege.













Mexican workers at the Guaymas Pearl Farm.


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Next: Why it´s "white" privilege

No Place Like Home

Well, as you can see from that last post, late in October, I've been encountering some moral and ethical difficulties in doing this work. And I think it's only correct to talk a little bit about that.

You see, if you get what I'm saying in that last post, there is no way for a US citizen to come down to "Latin America" without flexing oodles of privilege. And this takes a lot of forms. The ease of crossing borders is one of them, one that I appreciate in a much different way when moving with a Bolivian national. They let me right through, but him - they treat him with suspicion. And maybe you can't blame them. When was the last time a Bolivian national without a suit was in Belize? It just doesn't happen. And yet, there's certainly a way of thinking about it that suggests he has far more right to cross that border than I do.

A more subtle form is the inexorable, brainwashing flood of images of White Beauty. Every ad, every magazine... every image available reinforces a euro/gringa standard of beauty. Women in the US will understand the power of popular imagery to undercut women's perception of themselves and their worth. But here, not only do we have the same standard of unrealistic beauty, they don't even look like they come from your country. I don't know.. if you ask me, it's not even subtle. It's outright browbeating: you are not smart. you are not beautiful. you will never be worthy.

graffiti on a wall in Santiago Ixcuintla, Nayarit, Mexico

I could say a lot more about how the cards are stacked in my favor - your favor - but I've been doing that a lot, and there's something to explain before I start talking about what's been going on in this project, the people we've met, what we've discovered in Central America.

> Many readers will find that a journey through Latin America sounds exciting. And many of you will have the resources to mount one - or perhaps you already have. But you see, if I tell the stories in a way that romanticizes our experience, you'll want to come down here and see it for yourself. But what I hear over and over again is:

Haven't you seen enough? Go home and change the policies of your country!

And then, I'll be responsible for more vacationing gringos coming down and haplessly reinforcing their privilege, only to go back home and support the system that makes all this glorious inequality possible.

You want facts? Soon, there will be facts. There are plenty of facts for everyone. You can even have seconds. But while you're waiting, try Eduardo Galeano's "The Open Veins of Latin America".

You want photos? Well, we have them. But photos are presenting even a bigger ethical challenge, because they don't tell the whole story, and well, it just feels wrong to photograph starving kids. Yes, it can and has been effective in changing opinions. I mean, our gov't won't allow us to see Iraq caskets.. they know that images will change hearts and minds. But there is a price to pay for those images. It's different for us to photograph a dead US soldier's casket than a starving child.

Now, obviously it's true, that the answer can't be to continue allowing US citizens to remain unaware. We're one of the most unaware countries ever, especially given the resources we have available. What I'm questioning is whether writing this blog and creating stories for community radio is the best way to develop systemic change.

And so, what you see here and hear from us in the future, will reflect this deep uncertainty. And you can help alleviate it, by organizing in your community. Now.