[sudo-discuss] Fwd: Subject: Re: Dia de los Muertos fundraiser: is happening?

[Hep Svadja]

Yet another white person (assuming) steps forth to tell me how to display
and refer to my own culture.

Massively awkward when white people try and educate hispanic and/or latino
people on how to self-identify. Ironically I use hispanic and latino
because most white people don't understand what chicano means. Also as
someone who is 1/4 Jicarilla Apache, I also do not need a lesson on First
Nations identification either.

-Hep

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: refugia <refugia at zoho.com>
Date: Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 2:57 PM
Subject: Subject: Re: [sudo-discuss] Dia de los Muertos fundraiser: is
happening?
To: hepkitten at gmail.com


The time you put into these emails are your own choice. The sudolist is
much larger than sudo's membership. I'm not sure who either of you are. I
don't see you at sudo. I don't sympathize with your or Sonya's perspectives
but you are probably both well interventioned. Sniping on burner's cultural
appropriate of indigenous culture is bit too easy and those types of
discussions are best had in person if your intent is not malicious. People
get defensive and close off if they think they are being called out as
racist.

If your intent is to be politically correct in your speech don't use the
terms hispanic or latino, especially when talking to strangers. In the
liberal lexicon they are vague racial-cultural. Just say spanish speaking,
if that's what you mean and won't confuse people further. People are
confused on their own.

The terms latino and hispanic are used to erase peoples indigenous
identity. I think that sort language and the obfuscating conception of race
are much more damaging than white people painting skeletons on their face
or making altars. Call first nation peoples by their actual names. Don't
lump them all together. It's a habit that americans should stop, especially
if they regard themselves as some sort of radical.

The holiday is a derivative of the Nahua holiday. Speaking spanish doesn't
give one special dibs on venerating their dead. In Mexico it's been
appropriated by mexicans broadly, by non-Nahuatl speaking indigenous
peoples, mesitizos and white mexicans. In mexico it's a constructed
national holiday (like american halloween) with a multitude of local
variations. You don't get this sort of exclusionary discourse about who can
participate in the holiday in Mexico but you do see criticism of Halloween
elements being included in dia de los muertos. In the post-revolution era
there was a campaign to invent a national identity in a huge and extremely
diverse territory. The sugar skulls used in dias in other part of Abya Yala
are post-colonial. Sugar aint from here:)

There are other related versions of the holiday not related to the Nahuah,
Guede, Finados. All souls day is a european christian holiday which is part
of many the of the modern syncretic versions of the holiday. Most
traditional cultures on all continents have a similar holiday around this
time year.

What does it mean to establish consent with another culture, consent to
participate in ceremony? There real tensions in between the ideas of the
free culture movement and left wing attempts at non-colonial intercultural
relations y understanding.

Anywhoo the only event happening at the omni is a Haitian dance
performance. There was no proposal for the event at a sudo or omni meeting.
It's not worth spending that much time writing emails.

Saludos,
Patrick














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