The Reality Dysfunction - Unscripted/Unsilenced

#113 - The First Gen Series

In this episode I want to introduce you to Adan and Pauline. Two first year students, please take a quick listen to our first conversation. We plan to record on Friday's and post by Monday so that there will be new fresh content on a regular basis. I want to thank all of you who have hung in there with the Reality Dysfunction this far and we're also really excited to continue this  conversation about Chicano culture and Chicano politics into the 21st century.

In this new series I'll be working with students at Northern Arizona University, specifically 1st generation college students like myself, to have on-going conversations about their experiences and coming to campus, the changes that they see in themselves and the opportunities that they have to explore their history and their culture at a greater depth.

 

#112 Why Peace is Impossible

This is a recording of a talk I thought I had lost. I gave this lecture on Nov. 15, 2014, at the Prescott College Masters Symposium. They never asked me back? The title of the talk is "Why Peace is Impossible."

 

I hope you enjoy it.

#111 - Exploring Aztlan: From Myth to Insurgency

This presentation was given on August 15, 2024, over Zoom. It is a collaboration between the Chicano Liberation Committee of Denver, CO., and the Partido Nacional de la Raza Unida. Below is a description of the talk. This file is the presentation. Another file with the discussion will also be uploaded. The video of this meeting will be uploaded to YouTube and we will put the link to that in this description when it is.

 

"Aztlan represents more than a political stance; it is a declaration of Xicano identity and a call for resistance against settler colonial oppression. Aztlan embodies Xicano heritage, struggle, and a political vision for a future where our people are free from the constraints of a system never designed to serve us."

Why build a political party?

Short informational on the benefits of building a political party for the Xicana/o/x community.

Did you know?

Learn more about the history of Aztlan.

Cesar Chavez and Ernesto Mireles

An idea I've been kicking around. Xicana/o/x spend so much time examining history - which is important. I think sometimes we forget that we're tomorrow's history. What happened 50 years ago is important but so is what's happening right now.

 

Be in the moment, right?

 

Counterinsurgency and the Xicano Movement

This episodes talks about how the current narratives questioning Xicano Indigeneity most likely originate with long term U.S. domestic counterinsurgency campaigns designed to depoliticize indigenous populations.

Insurgency and Aztlan

Insurgency is defined as a form of resistance against colonial or occupying forces.

The Anti Aztlan Psyops

Could those who label Aztlan as a tool of settler colonialism actually be long term government agents running a very sophisticated psyops in the Chicano community because they are worried about changing demographics in favor of Mexican Americans in the US and are trying to find a way to eliminate irredentist moves within the borders of the US.

From Aztlan to Palestine

From Aztlan to Palestine is a presentation that examines the intersections between the Palestinian liberation struggle and the Chicano liberation struggle in the United States. Using first hand experience and documents from the Raza Unida Party archive Ernesto Ayala describes in detail the similarities between both peoples histories and social movements showing how Aztlan and Palestina are closer than one would ever imagine.

What is the Raza Unida Party?

In the context of the Xicano national liberation movement and the ideology of Aztlán, the Raza Unida Party (RUP) was a political party founded in 1970 in Crystal City, Texas. It emerged in response to systemic discrimination and the political disenfranchisement of Mexican Americans. The RUP aimed to achieve self-determination for the Xicano community through political representation, education reform, and economic justice. It sought to build a unified front advocating for the rights and interests of Xicano/as, emphasizing cultural pride and grassroots activism to challenge and dismantle colonial structures within the United States.

 

 

 

Self Determination

In the Xicano national liberation movement, self-determination refers to the right of Xicano/as to independently determine their political, cultural, and economic future. It emphasizes reclaiming control over their ancestral lands, preserving and promoting their indigenous heritage, and making decisions free from external domination and colonial influence. Self-determination is a core principle driving the quest for autonomy, justice, and the recognition of their sovereignty within the framework of Aztlán.

Intro To Aztlan

Aztlán as a concept serves as a powerful counter-narrative to settler colonialism, emphasizing indigenous sovereignty, historical legitimacy, cultural reconstitution, and resistance to colonial domination. These arguments collectively undermine the notion of Aztlán as a settler colonial project, framing it instead as a legitimate struggle for indigenous rights and self-determination.

A Chicano plebiscite is different than regular voting

Voting in a Chicana/o/x plebiscite is not necessarily equivalent to supporting settler colonial political parties like the Republicans and Democrats. Here's why:

Aztlan is not a settler colonial ideology

Please share this brief informational. 

#110 - Interview with Candelario Moreno and Selah Hernandez on contemporary and historical media misrepresentations

In this episode of The Reality Dysfunction I am speaking with two exception young scholars Candelario Moreno and Selah Hernandez. We are discussing their recent presentation at the National Association of Chicana Chicano Studies conference in San Francisco. Its a good talk.

#109 Melanie Vega - Voices Unheard: Accent Discrimination Against Chicanos in the United States

This episode is a recording of a National Association of Chicana Chicano Studies presentation by Melanie Vega. She is a first year student at Northern Arizona University in the political science department. The title of the panel was Voices Unheard: Accent Discrimination Against Chicanos in the United States.

#108 Desirae Diaz - Voices Unheard: Accent Discrimination Against Chicanos in the United States

This episode is a recording of a National Association of Chicana Chicano Studies presentation by Desirae Diaz. She is a first year student at Northern Arizona University in the psychology department. The title of the panel was Voices Unheard: Accent Discrimination Against Chicanos in the United States.

Voices of Students for Palestine

Spent the afternoon at the Northern Arizona University Free Palestine encampment. Students talked about why they were there and why it is important to support Palestine.

#107 Violette Valencia - Public Action workers in the Strawberry Campaign: Interviews with Public Action Organizers

This recording is from the 2024 National Association of Chicana/Chicano Studies held in April 2024 in San Francisco. The three presenters are Brinley Carrillo, Demi Garcia and Violette Valencia. I have broken their presentation in to three separate podcasts to make it easier to listen. The abstract for the presentation is below.

Three years after the passing of Cesar Chavez in 1994, the United Farm workers under the direction of their new president Arturo Rodriguez began organizing Strawberry Workers in Watsonville. The Watsonville Strawberry Campaign followed the same organizing model the UFW had implemented during the grape campaigns of the 1960s-1980s. Taking on the Watsonville grower establishment through worker strikes and demonstrations

This panel will talk about the power dynamic between the growers, the UFW and the national community. Strikers and union members were treated poorly simply protesting and demanding their collective bargaining rights. The workers fighting in this campaign were known to be some of the most socially and economically exploited in the country.

Workers in Watsonville were fighting for a wage of $4.25 an hour and basic human necessities such as drinking water and clean toilets in the fields. This campaign was the biggest one for the UFW since the 1970s when it came to organizing farm labor. In addition, strawberry workers endured workplace conditions that made them even more susceptible to injuries, including no health insurance, which is especially serious when considering the amount of pesticides the workers were exposed to, and the health issues that arose from exposure.

Through interviews with public action organizers from several different states working for the United Farm Workers on the Strawberry Campaign as well as the President of the UFW at the time Arturo Rodriguez we will explore the perspective of those who were directly involved in the community organizing campaign and the reasoning behind their participation. What they saw as organizers across the country and what contributions they believe the Strawberry Campaign made to bettering conditions for workers in Watsonville.