Long story, short:
Vietnam era, draftees in Detroit, waiting to be shipped out for basic, filling out endless papers. After an hour or so for paperwork, a sergeant comes in and asks "Anyone have Arizona papers?"
People look around, no one from Arizona. Sergeant repeats "Anyone have Arizona papers?" and he looks around for any hands shooting up. None do.
Turns out, sergeant was from Down South, and he was asking asking "Does anyone have errors on their papers?"
And so, this:
http://themoderatevoice.com/75156/artists-asked-to-lighten-faces-of-latino-black-kids-on-arizona-school-mural/
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Saturday, June 26, 2010
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3 comments:
@the AZ draft Sgt story - hahaha! I don't know if it was a joke or for real, but I'm originally from the deep South and at times even I had to struggle to "get" exactly what some people were saying.
@the AZ wall mural story, that's a bit disconcerting b/c it makes me recall some of Nazi Germany's race propaganda posters & flyers. Just gives a horrible message to pple, esp. the youth. The lighter you are, the more you're worth (or, worthy?). When they begin painting murals depicting hispanics, etc. with overexaggerated physical features &/or negative facial expressions on them like Germany did with Jews, Gypsies, etc. it'll be confirmation that the country's entered the fast-track phase for becoming the "dying empire" that's included in Powderfinger's blog heading.
It's a real story.
The mural story shows a lot about the images and logic of those images that we carry around with us.
I have been interested lately in the long-term effects of being an "empire" based on slavery. This prompted by a need to demonstrate the modern day uses of Latin, and then transformed into looking about my own society - Western Civilization - which was the initiator of a new group of slave empires - or nations - in their own right.
By ignoring this before, I was able to believe there were no effects. Once I paid attention, it seems rather different... and the outward expression is blatant and loud, but the dynamics is subtle and crafty.
You know, in re this public art story, a few years ago, I said to myself and anybody interested in listening that nothing would surprise me anymore. And, sad to say, this does not surprise me. I have long contended that the American people are a mean-spirited, vicious, but self-righteous bunch of killers at their heart of hearts. Incidents like this, especially the racial epithets being screamed from passing vehicles, just confirm it.
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