Short Reflection on Occupy

This is a brief set of thoughts on the current political impulse.

My main question is how do we make direct action, community organizing, and electoral work build upon each other?

We know that a more open approach to politics will make things better for many people. It will not be the solution, but will move things forward. As an example, there have been Mayors who make sure that police do not attack strikers and demonstrators. There are also elected officials, Senator Sanders as an example, who believe in many things that the 99% organizers believe.

We can move beyond "either/or" and get to "all and." This means that we will have to learn to listen to each other. We have to learn to communicate differently. To reach out and check in more often.

We'll make mistakes. And it is OK because this is the time to learn to be gentler with those fighting for social justice. We tend to be very hard on each other. It is time to move beyond that.

We have the opportunity now to discuss lots of things. Who has the privilege to camp, be arrested, travel to demonstrate, etc. And how to use that as an advantage. We have the chance to have conversations about class, race, gender and more with people have not had those conversations with.

We have the opportunity now to talk beyond individual issues. We have the opportunity to discuss changes in the systems and rules. Systems change after the rules change. You don't get different people at the table as long as you need to be a millionaire to buy a ticket. We get different policies by the combination of pressure and more representative decision-makers. We have had one good discussion at Camp Coyote about long-term electoral politics. Something beyond the current "progressive" approach. We need to have many, many more of those conversations.

We have the opportunity now to take many movements and turn it into movement! Many communities have been screwed by capitalism for many years. Like many problems now that it is impacting the white and middle-class it is a "crisis."And in many real respects it is a crisis for all of us.

This is a great time to be alive and working for social justice!

College, Jobs and Inequality NYT

Education is important and vital, but not sufficient. We need to promote education AND promote policies which support our way of life where people have fair opportunities, and fair opportunities for participation. Just like there is more to democracy than elections, there is more to economic opportunities than a degree.

From the NYT article College, Jobs and Inequality

College is still the path to higher-paying professions. But without a concerted effort to develop new industries, the weakened economy will be hard pressed to create enough better-paid positions to absorb all graduates.

And to combat inequality, the drive for more college and more jobs must coincide with efforts to preserve and improve the policies, programs and institutions that have fostered shared prosperity and broad opportunity — Social Security, Medicare, public schools, progressive taxation, unions, affirmative action, regulation of financial markets and enforcement of labor laws.

Beyond Elections Part 3

This video is inspiring. What is most amazing is that some of the most "progressive" voices in the US do not ever discuss opening up democracy. Instead they usually talk about multiple parties acting as "spoilers." If they were truly progressive and truly democratic they would work toward widening and deepening our democratic foundations.

41st and 17th Anniversaries

La Raza Unida Party will have its 41st anniversary on January 17th. That has transformed largely to el Partido Nacional de La Raza Unida. That organization is a directly descended organization of the original LRUP. The chairpersons have been from Texas, New Mexico, and California.

The Bernalillo County La Raza Unida (LRU) started on August 29, 1993 in the County's South Valley. The La Raza Unida Youth Committee was a major focus of that initial effort. The voter registration part of that effort follows under el Partido de La Raza Unida de Nuevo Mexíco. The Bernalillo County La Raza Unida (LRU) is working to build a strong voice for electoral, social, and economic justice by combining community, cultural and electoral work.

The South Valley Dia de Los Muertos Marigold Parade is one aspect of this. The voter registration aspect is another.

Register! Vote! Organize Raza Unida!

Ping Pong

It seems like all that is needed for US voters to flip flop is a crisis. Many are expecting that to be true in the November elections as the economy continues to drag along.

Had the minimum wage been increased at the beginning of this crisis, the people working at those jobs would be spending more and in turn creating new jobs. Instead we have banksters continuing to rob society blind with tax payer money.

We'll see if this year brings another ping pong election. Most people only see two options, the openly corporatist party and the party of the middle-class. The illusion that "everyone" thinks they are middle-class in the US is not true. While those identifying as middle-class has grown, one study shows 47 percent of voters identify as working-class. And given that voter turnout is higher among college educated and higher income groups this number may be low.

So it is time for the working class to figure out what is in the interest of working families and organize, network, and vote for family friendly, working friendly, and justice friendly parties and candidates!

More Information

There are more and more emails from people wanting our help in starting a chapter. We do not have a travel budget at this point but with the internet we can help. Start by looking over the information on the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Raza Unida webpage, the events are behind, but the principles are sill up to date.

If you are still interested at that point then send an email and we'll give as much assistance as we can. Every once in awhile someone will have to travel for work, school or family and can meet with people in person. Eventually we will ahve training to help people be volunteer organizers.

Amor y Rebeldia!

Need to Keep Organizing

Here are a couple of good short posts from Wellstone.



Grassroots vs Astroturf


"If it wasn't before, it's obvious now that the right still knows how to organize. And with powerful channels of message dissemination (see: Fox News) sending misinformation, anti-reformers are riling up a small but vocal group that could dismantle the best shot at real reform we've ever had.

That's why it's not enough for progressives to just dismiss the vocal minorities we're seeing in the news and wait for the political backlash. We have to turn our anger and frustration into action. So, don't just get mad--get organized."

Same Day Registration Increases Youth Vote

"The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) just published a report on election law reform and its connection to youth voter turnout. More specifically, they found election day registration (EDR) is key to increase the youth vote.

In the nine states that currently have EDR, youth are 41% more likely to vote than youth in other states. In addition, five of the eight states with the highest youth vote, Minnesota, Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Maine, all have EDR. Although CIRCLE acknowledges that EDR is not beneficial for all ages or even all youth, it is an important step in encouraging youth to be active citizens."

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La Raza Unida will be encouraging people to support the "Public Option" and push for Universal Health Care as the follow-up!