Looking for Peace.....at a NATO protest?

The arresting of NATO protesters begun with a Chicago Police Department (CPD) raid in Bridgeport (a neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago) of an apartment that supposedly had protesters making Molotov cocktails to use during this weekend’s protests of NATO.  Some were quickly released and gave media interviews saying that all they were doing was making beer and that the items confiscated by the CPD were beer making equipment.  Sometime later a person by the name of Darrin Annussek was released and gave this statement “They did not speak to us for 18 hours. They did not let us know what was happening they did not know what was happening next” At some other point of the interview he had also said that they were handcuffed to a bench and shackled by their feet and he said it with so much emotion that I thought he was about to cry.  Now I do not want to sound insensitive but it will come off a bit insensitive…What the hell are you complaining about!?!

OK, OK let me think about this, you mean to tell me that you came to Chicago to protest NATO and given the history of not only the Chicago police but also how authorities around the WORLD respond to NATO protest and you still have the emotion to cry about being handcuffed to a bench?!

See I’m not entirely convinced about the protest not because I do not believe in what people are protesting but because we ALL knew that certain people would come along and provoke confrontations with the police.  Not only that but the lack of control and leadership to address these groups that really don’t have a message but just want to scream and yell and believe they are sending a message.  We knew that people would cause confrontations and that the media would focus on that so whatever message that the positive protesters wanted to send has been lost.  But let us talk about the whole protest itself…what was the overall message?  I understand it to be, and correct me if I’m wrong, to end NATO, right?  If that is the message why do we think that a protest like this would actually accomplish this?  I see a lot of young people in the crowd dressing as the protesters did in the 1970’s and I’m wondering why.  Why would you dress like an activist from that time period?  Do you not know that the war in Vietnam is COMPLETELY different from what we are dealing with here? Back then people were being drafted into the military and it was to fight communism from spreading and NATO was built, basically, to hold off the Soviet Union from getting any bigger.  What war are we fighting?  It has nothing to do with NATO it is the actual fault of OURS that we have been living such a comfortable life all these years and have ignored what OUR government have been doing in other countries.  YES it is OUR fault…don’t roll your eyes research the history. 

In Afghanistan the Soviet Union was battling to take over the country and the US Gov. started to supply the rebels with weapons among other things.  Before that Iran and Iraq were at war in the early 1980’s and the US Gov. had their hand it that as well.  Pres. Regan accepted money from the King of Saudi Arabia to fight revolutionaries in Central America because Regan told the King of Saudi that communism was spreading in Latin America and the King hated communism so he gave the US Gov. money to fight them.  ALL of this going on while people in America were busy being fashionable, getting high, focused on making money, and oppressing the poor of this country.  You cannot attack NATO because America was asleep for decades that caused the ripple effect of Sept. 11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

I’m not defending the US Gov. nor am I defending NATO but I am a firm believer in addressing issues at their root cause and guess what people we are that root cause.  Isn’t it great to go to Walmart and buy a T-shirt for like $3?  Well if you look into where that T-shirt is made and the wages the worker was paid you will quickly realize that you have helped oppress someone far and near just so that you can have a cheap T-shirt to wear to today’s protest because you didn’t want to ruin the one you paid $15 for.

NATO does what it does because we elect the people we do into office and we have not set up a system, yet, to address a public official that gets off target with why we elected them.  So again why are you protesting?  What is the message?  “oh hey yea so I wanted to be one of the people that elected the first Black president but now I realize that I should have advocated for something or someone different so yea my BAD on that so can you like stop making me look like an ass for electing you? Thanks!” Because that is what I am hearing so far especially from FB “friends” and not to say they are asses for voting but it’s like we have gone around this block before why do we keep ending up in the same place!?  OK so we may have not elected a Black president before but we did put ALL of our eggs in his basket to only want to call him a war monger a few years later.

PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE! We cannot keep doing the same play from the same old play book!  Protest worked in the Middle East against their government mostly because they haven’t done that before and well the honest truth, do you think the US government didn’t have their hands in that pot as well?  Back in 1996 I worked with a group of organizers and one of them was named Gabe and he and I got into an argument one day because he didn’t believe me when I told him that the FBI gets sent overseas to investigate crimes committed against US interest, citizens, and do other type of investigations.  Gabe loved to feel like he was the center of the organizing world and with a beer in his hand and that stupid smirk he said “It’s the FEDERAL bureau not the CIA!” And as I started to explain it to him he shouted me down and disregarded me as someone that wasn’t in the know.  Today, if you’re informed about these things, you know that the FBI does travel overseas for investigations as well as other agencies that you may not know about.  The point of that little story is that when you look into a play book, that by the way the other guys know it by heart as well, you tend to forget how to think independently in a situation and find yourself on TV crying about your first experience of having been handcuffed.

I shared with my Nephew, Felix, the other day that action, the type that “they” haven’t seen before, could be the most effect tool against groups like NATO.  We have had a lot of time to organize and I am saddened that “peace organizers” didn’t think about creating Peace to show NATO how it can be done WITHOUT conflict.  Here was the idea, IF organizers in Chicago really had their wits about them they would have realized that Chicago has been dealing with street violence that hasn’t been seen in many years and made an example of how to create Peace among those groups.  Wouldn’t it have been an impressive show to hold a city wide Peace summit of ALL street organizations somewhere in Chicago and SHOW, not only the city, but WORLD leaders HOW a group of people can create Peace without ONE single SHOT being fired! 

WOW wouldn’t that have been amazing!? Oh yea I forgot that would have meant that Community based Organizations, organizers, clergy, and “activist” would have had to put their prejudice aside about these “fucking gangbangers” to have made such a move…yea I said it!

You cannot complain and march against NATO for what they do when you do it right here at home and NO you cannot say that this is different because it is not!  If you cannot realize that street organizations and drug dealers are all humans as well then you got your head somewhere other than your shoulders.  Poverty in other countries has the same problems as the people in poverty here and in those countries they have their rebels and we have ours but you don’t see them in that way only because you have refused to acknowledge them. 

So what will you do different now?

Peace/AMOR

Gerardo

Looking for Peace.....in a protest...not this one.

This week in Chicago is the NATO summit and for the past couple of weeks the drums of protest has been beating throughout Chicago and I refuse to answer to that call.  In fact I’ve ignored it on purpose because I do not believe that these protests will have the impact that people are always expecting.  Not to say people shouldn’t protest they should but they need a clear cycle of events and I just don’t see it.

I will explain why in a minute but let me share a sample of one of many protest I have participated in before…back in 1996 I worked for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) under the directorship of John Donahue.  John was a former priest and one that could kick your ass clear across town both physically and intellectually!  At that time we were under the regime of Rich Daley and he was spending millions on building in the center of the streets in downtown the flower planters that Chicagoans have grown to love.  Some of these projects ran as much as $14 million and as homeless advocates that were fighting for every penny we thought it would be better to invest that $14million in homeless services (today CCH is still trying it’s hardest to avoid the state from cutting funding to homeless services.)  So we all sat down as a team and started to brain storm on ideas, I’m not sure how it came about but the idea of “Tree man” came into play.  The idea was that we would get one of our homeless leaders to dress up as a tree to follow Daley around the city the week before the DNC convention of 96 here in Chicago.  Well we set it up and one of the brightest people at CCH somehow got the phone number that is for media only that gave a daily recording of where Daley would be.  We used that number to track Daley and followed him to events and it was fun the first day because no one expected it.  Back then it was easy to get close to Daley so much so that by the end of that week I was walking side by side Daley trying to get him to commit to a meeting with CCH. He called me by my first name and told me to leave him alone and I said that I couldn’t because he was the target so he rolled his eyes and made a motion to his body guards…the point here is that it was a clear target with a clear purpose and we dressed a man up as a tree because that is what we were talking about.

So why do we have so many people dressed up in military fatigues and covering their faces with the American flag as a mask?  I do not see the purpose behind this is.  I understand why people protest NATO but some of the chants and what people are wearing to show they are protesting as well sometimes leads to confusion.  See here is my problem and don’t take it like I’m bashing anyone because of the color of their skin but when I see white kids dressed like that and covering their faces with American flags or bandanas I have to question what they are really doing there.  Not to say they don’t have a right but I base this thought on the fact that I have sat, watched, and listened to Occupy Chicago live streams at night and some of these same kids talk about how they need to go back to the dorms and study.  Nothing wrong with that but when the mention of Northwestern and Columbia and DePaul come up I have to sit back and play a movie in my head about what is going on. 

I’m well aware of the injustice in our society and I have spent most of my life on the “wrong side of the tracks” according to mainstream society and I’ve never seen these kids unless they were out in the hood buying “medicine.”  Not to say that these same individuals are the one’s I’m talking about and I guess you can say I am shoving them all into one category and I don't mean to do that. The truth of the matter is when you’ve been out on the street you develop a sense of who does what by their actions and habits and some of these kids have some familiar habits.  So it’s not hard for me to point out a pot smoker and now some of you are rolling your eyes saying “weed!? Come on!”  I know it sounds a bit prudish but here is the reality 50,000 Latinos have been killed due to the drug demand here in the USA in the last 6 years.  I don’t think the US military have suffered that much since they started in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2003.  Doesn’t this bother you?  If you live in Chicago Mexico is only 1386 miles to the boarder but Chicago to Iraq is about 6420 miles and that’s who you are concerned about?

Don’t get me wrong I completely disagree with the invasion of those two countries and for the invasion of Iran as well….Oh sorry I’m jumping ahead here….but way before I protest that I have to clear up my backyard and stop the war that this country is not only supplying but advocating for and it’s the drug war in Mexico.  Maybe it doesn’t mean anything to you because you might not feel a connection with Mexico other than a nice cold Corona or a Dos XX commercial but what connection do you have to Iraq?  I’m not only speaking to the white kids I brought up earlier I’m talking to everyone at these protest?  Some will have strong connections to Iraq and other countries but the issues here at home are not being addressed.  I know people will say something about immigration and the foreclosures and to be honest those are safer issues then to talk about people actually dying just over 1300 miles south of Chicago.  Not only over there but also here in the city we are suffering from the same issue of drugs but when these issues come up everyone hops over to the other side of the fence and start damning gang members and they join forces by calling the same police they want to protest against.  See how this becomes confusing?   

Protest yes please do, but I ask YOU then where do you stand when it comes down to drugs in this country?  Is it really “Shorty” on 66^th and King Drive fault that Americans are consuming Cocaine, Heroin, etc…?  Maybe it’s “Chico” on Rockwell and Potomac that is driving America down. Or maybe even “John” at Stevenson HS that has been bringing in Heroin on his private jetliner that is the root of this evil…

I know everyone has their “cause” and not one is more important than the other but there is some clear issues that have been avoided due to just not wanting to deal with it and that’s what is really driving America down, YOU not caring enough.

Just saying…

Peace/AMOR

Gerardo

Looking for Peace.....in the middle of a Cartel war.

Over the last few months Mexico has seen an enormous spike in violence in their Northern states due to some serious events.  One of the events was the action taken by the ATF ( Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Federal agency of the US) to smuggle in weapons into Mexico with the hopes of tracking the arms to Cartels throughout Mexico.  This is NOT the first time the US has pushed weapons across the border into Mexico in fact the US armed, what was back then, settlers in Mexican territory and advocated for them to fight against the Mexican government mostly based on entitlement issues these settlers had.  So as the news hit about the ATF the wheels of change started to turn slowly in Mexico.  I am sure that Cartel bosses started to look into how they got the weapons they got and made sure any connection between them and the weapon was erased.  But other things began to happen as well, bosses were getting picked up brought over to the US for prosecution and POOF! No one knows where these bosses are at!  They are not found on the Bureau of Prisons website which they should be due to the fact that everyone in Federal custody is on there and reports about their court appearances are rarely found.  Didn’t everyone know when John Gotti was going to court or even when Timothy McVeigh was in court and what correctional facility he was in?  I did because I looked him up back then and where he was and can still find his buddy Terry Nichols by the way he’s on the same unit as the Unabomber!  So why can I not find Edgar Valdez?  Who is he you ask?  He goes by the name “La Barbie” and was one of the most important catches for the Mexican government due to the fact that this man was born in the US from Mexican parents.  The reason I can’t find him is supposedly because Mexico has been working on his extradition to the US since Nov. 2010….really?!  All the other and lesser bosses were hopped right on over to the US within days and signed him over like lost baggage but why so long with Mr. Valdez?

Well Brothers and Sister it is simply because on our side of the fence there are too many “powerful” people that stand to lose a lot of money if this guy along with many others go down without a deal.  So a deal needs to be worked out first to make sure that the “powerful” on this side DO NOT suffer any consequences at all and dude gets to do as little time as possible and everyone walks away with their money…all of this while tens of thousands of people continue to die.  The US doesn’t care that thousands are dying just as long as it stays to the south of the Rio Grand.  BUT, there are thousands more dying HERE just at a slower pace than in Mexico so as long as it stays gradual Community Based Organizations can continue with their hopeless “stop the violence” campaigns while doing nothing at all…

Back on track…so how does this affect you?  Well it kind of doesn’t directly unless you do some sort of drug, have family in Mexico, bank at one of the institutions that bank role for the Cartels, vote for the politicians that won’t do anything about the drug problem in America, believe in capitalism, or live in the US.  Outside of that I guess it doesn’t affect you one bit!

The only reason Mexico is going through this Cartel war is ONLY because people in the US are addicted to drugs!  It has nothing to do with the Gangster Disciples or the Latin Kings selling the drugs it has everything to do with the fact that in this country it’s cool to get high and blasted regardless of economic status.  Hollywood is the biggest advocate for doing drugs everywhere from NOT incarcerating celebrities when caught with these drugs to making jokes about how if you haven’t been to rehab then you don’t belong in Hollywood.  It’s fun and games for them but it’s not for the parents of the youth that are killed for being a lookout for the local Cartel that is bringing you the Kilo of cocaine you need for your weekend party in the Hills above LA.  Every snort you take it cost at least three lives not including yours and you should be in civil court paying millions to the families that have lost loved ones due to your expensive habit!

America don’t look down at Mexico because they are suffering for your ignorance and one day that cycle will have to make a full circle and you will have to know what it’s like to lose randomly people around you. 

It is YOUR fault that people are dying.

Peace/AMOR

Gerardo

Looking for Peace.....in belief.

In building a relationship with an individual one tends to believe at the beginning that there will be hard times and good times and it’s expected but when things take an unexpected turn then your belief comes into doubt about that relationship.  See belief is very sacred to people because it defines who they are and how they want to be perceived by others.  Now that unexpected turn can be something out of the ordinary for you or for a whole society but what is important is how you respond to it.

I believe that Gay couples should be able to marry...there's that unexpected turn...

Rene Girard has a whole theory around violence and how the Bible is related to it and I find it interesting that people do not know his theory better.  I won’t go into it because this will end up being a whole book but I have my own version of what he talks about.

For many years I spent my time out on the streets mostly late afternoon into the very late night and I saw, heard, and participated in a lot of things that really would be frowned upon if I went into detail.  Your first thought has been “oh geez what did he do!?” and it’s that very first thought that becomes the foundation of response to what is being said.  Some of you have strong religious backgrounds and some of you would burn down a church if you could get away with it but the Bible would play a big role in this discussion based on the fact that I believe in the Almighty God and that I did certain things that are not very Christian like.  I could defend myself and go into detail about the “why’s” for what I did but then it would get nasty and I would have to be honest and say that the church gave me permission to do what I did.  GASP! Can it be true?  YES! It is true based on this short story:

Some years ago my cousin told me that at his church on one Sunday a gang leader had given his life to Christ and that it was a beautiful thing and the church rejoiced at this saving!  I was glad to hear of someone coming to some sort of realization of self and we went on talking about something else.  A few years later I realize that at my cousins church there was a man that looked very familiar from the hood and yes he was part of the hood a very long time ago and we knew some of the same people.  A couple more years go by and I start knowing someone that is a gang leader and we had to deal with something’s and as we developed our relationship he mentions a church on the Northside of Chicago.  It’s the same church my cousin went to…the gang leader then tells me that he gave himself to Christ one Sunday and tells me the story in detail and it was the same story my cousin had told me.  I didn’t say anything to him because I was confused by his actions of that day and his proclamation of his “born again” status.  As we got to know each other some more I heard a lot of hateful talk about homosexuals and how they going to hell.  Then that man from the hood that was part of my cousins church comes into the picture and starts sending everyone that is, knows, or talks to a homosexual to HELL! He says it with some much conviction that for a second there I thought to myself “this dude didn’t give his life to Christ he just found a new gang that gave him the authority to kill based on the Bible!” Now I know things about him and I know that he has not paid his dues as he should have so his allegiance to the church is out of fear nothing else.  But the thought that he thinks and teaches others to think that they have the right to send someone to hell based on their love for someone else is appalling!

What you may not understand is that these Brothers out on the street have a genuine anger towards each other and justify it with gang names, colors, and hoods and we look down on them for it.  But when a preacher comes around and pleads for them to find forgiveness in their hearts these same Brothers will think about it.  So these Brothers go into the church one day and they hear the preacher talk about how certain people are going to hell FOR SURE without a doubt in his mind and holds the Bible up while he says it, what do you think crosses these Brothers minds?  It’s been said to me that they think hate is OK just as long as you hate the right people.  I asked, who are the right people? And the Brothers will say “them homos!” Is that what we want these Brothers to think?!  Do we really want to shift their gun slinging into the Gay community? Wouldn't we want to teach them that hate is bad no matter what and gun slinging towards anyone is WRONG!?   It may not be your church but the institution of church has made hate OK and these Brothers see them all the same.

This brother that had given his life to Christ said to me one day that he believes that God punishes those that do wrong but if you didn’t have a vice and wasn’t a homo then all was well!  Then he went on to say that the reason Jesus was crucified was because Jesus did too much good…so yea go figure what he is being taught and what is been being enforced in this guy’s mind and heart!

The violence out on the streets have plenty to do with how the church teaches Right from Wrong because if there’s one thing the Brothers and Sisters respect out there is the church.  I know it is hard to believe but ask anyone that knows about the streets. 

It is the JOB of each and every one of us, whether we believe in the same God or not all, to make sure people are not hurt for being who they are regardless of what we are comfortable with.  Traditional marriages are not preferred by me because tradition has had its foot on my neck and the necks of my ancestors for a very long time. 

For Christian pastors to come out against Gay marriage in hateful ways then want to talk about “stop the violence” is like asking the Black Panthers to help open up a new chapter of the KKK!  

Think about it…

Peace/AMOR

Gerardo

Looking for Peace.....in your reflection.

When YOU look at yourself each morning who do you see?  Some people say that they see “what they do” rather than the actual person.  This image we have of ourselves can sometimes dictate how we act towards people or how we expect to be treated.  Here’s an example: if someone is used to having the same person open the door for them based on a title that they have the day it’s not opened that person will take offensive over it.  Depending on whom the person is they can act out in various ways but it always starts at the childish level.  Remember when you were in first grade and the first friend you made meant that you spent all of your time together in class and on the playground.  Then one day a new student comes into the class and one of the friends connects with the new student and now you’re not spending all of your time together…jealousy settles in and you give birth to the idea of getting back at someone.

How does this play out as adults?  It can play out in many ways and it’s not always about getting back at someone but sometimes it’s to show them that they always knew they were superior to you no matter if you even called yourselves Brothers.   So when these things happen how do YOU see yourself?  In my life I have, what main stream society would see as, the two extremes of “good” and “bad.”  On the “good” side I have plenty of pastor type friends from Anglican to Pentecostal and UCC to Lutherans.  On the “bad” side I have my Brothers and Sisters that belong to various street organizations better known as “street gangs.”  Up close these two groups are very similar and I have the advantage to see that because I am up and close and live in these two worlds.  What I find interesting is that the “bad” would rather not get into it with someone and avoid conflict but the “good” side loves to take jabs and treat people like shit freely without worry.  It’s abusive for the “good” side to act that way because they do it freely knowing that no one will take a shot at them or confront them in a hostile manner because it wouldn’t be seen as appropriate.  So as the “bad” side sits and watches the “good” side act like assholes the “bad” side asks themselves “so why is it that I am bad in your eyes?” 

Back in 2001 I found myself in a spot that I needed to make a decision about what side I would stand on and since the “good” side didn’t have the heart to withstand tough times I returned to my former “bad” side.  I was stoned by the “good” side when they found out because I was sliding back into the “old” me and it’s the same “old” me that they loved when I was around them so that they could feel important around other pastor types.  I sometimes wonder how many ego erections I gave to some of these pastor types when they could introduce me to their “pastor” friends and let them know WHO I WAS out on the streets.  So how do these “pastor” types of people around me REALLY see me as?  I guess we would have to ask them and for those of you that know me personally I invite you to freely ask those same “pastor” types that we know and see if they have the heart to give an honest answer.

So I guess the question now is how does Gerardo see himself?  It is a complicated question because for so many years I hid from my family and coworkers my dual and sometimes triple identity because I had to navigate through people’s ignorance.  So needless to say every morning I look into the mirror and I wonder who I will have to be that day.  Do I have to be the Brother/son to my family that keeps everyone laughing?  Do I have to be the protector for some ungrateful individual that only thinks of themselves?  Do I have to be the advocate coworker that fights for employees rights at the job I have? Do I have to be the Reverend that cusses to educated people on reality?  Do I have to be the Brother from the “bad” side that forgives endlessly the errors of my Nation to show it unconditional AMOR? It is not a dance that I created but the dance that people require because they cannot deal with the realities of life.  So what does this all mean?

In my mind I think that when the “good” side takes advantage of people they ought to have some sort of consequences because more often than not the “good” side gets away with being horrible people at everyone else’s expense.  Many of us “bad” side people have been treated horribly by the “good” side everywhere from not being treated equally to being lied to and used for their own benefit even if it’s for a moment.  Many times I have been asked to lie or keep a secret from people on the “good” side and sometimes I tell these people “Why keep it a secret?  Fuck it if they find out so what let them say something to you!”  All I get is dead silence due to their obvious fear because they want to think they can play on the “bad” side but they don’t want to go to hell.  It is like the stupid personal ads that say “looking for hot bad boy but without the bad boy issues I don’t need any problems in my life but want to know that you can kick someone’s ass or that you’ve gotten away with something illegal” That’s what some of these “pastor” types remind me of some insecure individual that wants to act, look, and sometimes talk tough but cannot deal with the realities of life.  So they seek out someone from the “bad” side so that they can be somewhat close to it but not have to deal with the reality of a hard life.

My life is far from being hard in terms of food and housing but I do share some equal concern around what may be coming down the pipeline.  I know that sounds vague and it’s not to sound mysterious on purpose but if you read all that I have written over the last few months I hope you can see what I am talking about.   

It’s easy to get lost in yourself because if you wake up and look into the mirror and smile without a concern in your life then it must be a painting of glory because our society is being torn apart from lies and hatred that it’s hard NOT to be affected in some way.  I know some people have concerns about their jobs right now others are worried about how to pay bills because their income is not what it used to be.  Family members might be sick right now and might have something that is hard to see a possibility of recovery.  A relationship may be in doubt, parents getting divorced, partner cheating on you, pastor is an asshole, there are many more…I’m not saying that you need to be sad every morning what I am saying is that you need to be realistic when you look at yourself. 

You are HERE right now with the ability to change what is around you and if you can find someone else that is feeling the same then the possibilities become bigger.  Every time someone had passed away in the hood be it a Brother or someone’s family member and there wasn’t enough to pay for the funeral someone was appointed to collect.  This individual would drive around the hood and talk to everyone and let them know that someone needs to be buried and we needed help and the money would flow in.  Sometimes other parts of the city would come by and drop off some money because they had heard about the sad news and within hours a collection of well over $5000.00 would be collected because it was needed.  Go to some of these places were the “good” people meet at and they got all sort of excuses as to why they can’t help right then and there for a good cause or they’ll say something like “why didn’t you tell me before!” with an expression of surprise!

Does “good” always look good?

Does “bad” always look bad?

So who do YOU see in the morning?  Are you the actual person you are looking at or are you the person that is worried about what someone might really see in you?

Peace/AMOR

Gerardo