RESPONSE TO POST ON CYBERLATINA.NET ON SAL CASTRO

RESPONSE TO MIKE ACOSTA COMMENTS POSTED ON LARED-CYBERLATINA.NET LISTSERV 4/29/13 REGARDING ARTICLE ON SAL CASTRO

It's unfortunate that Mike did not personally know Sal Castro and understand the context within which he uttered these words. Anyone who knew Sal is aware that he never denigrated manual labor, for this is the family situation from which he drew his strength.  Certainly this is the situation from which all the Raza draws its strength in that there are probably very few second generation college graduates among us.  There is no doubt in my mind that there are many Sal Castros in city and state after city and state wherever there are Raza students - teachers dedicated to see their students succeed (and not just Chicano teachers, either).  And, succeeding does not just mean going to and graduating from college. It means being a productive human being.  Sal Castro came from a world at a time when very few Chicanos attended college.  For example, in 1969-70 there were only 50 Chicano students at UCLA, a campus at the time of some 30,000 students.  One year before Sal Castro was instrumental in organizing the largest high school student strike/walk-out in the history of America up to that date along with numerous other student leaders.  He put his career on the line and did so repeatedly before and after 1968.  His sole mission was to improve public education for the Raza and pave the way to higher education.  He was instrumental in convening the Chicano Youth Leadership Conferences and continuing its existence year after year for the purpose of forging new leadership for all the Juanitos and Juanitas who were searching for the path out of poverty and discrimination. College for Sal Castro was one path, but not the only.  If you knew Sal Castro you would appreciate the context within which he would make such a statement - like a father pissed off at his mijo who was taking the wrong path or who was slacking. Yes, he had that type of relationship with the young students that sought out his fatherly guidance and counsel. Rosalio Munoz was touched by that guidance as a student at Franklin High School in Los Angeles.  He was accepted to UCLA in 1968 and paved the way for many more Chicanos to attend and in 1970 became the first Chicano student body president. He also became a national figure when he opposed the draft for military service to Vietnam and initiated with creation of the National Chicano Moratorium Committee, which was responsible for mobilizing the largest marches of Chicanos against America's war in Vietnam at that time.  Today, approximately 25 percent of UCLA's student body is Chicano/Latino/Mexicano, however you identify, thanks to the thousands of pushy Chicano and non-Chicano teachers that make themselves available to our youth.  History tells us that an oppressed people fighting for their liberation forge their own intellectuals as an important part of their struggle.  Access to higher educational institutions is an elementary step of reform as part of that struggle.  It's not too hard to see why the oppressor class denies the oppressed such access.  The point is that Juanito and Juanita should have a choice in the matter, and Sal Castro fought his whole adult life to make sure that they would have that choice. Venceremos! 4/29/13 – Patricio.gomez93@yahoo.com.  Authorized to republish.  Find me on Facebook, Twitter (SinFronterasSal), and Tumblr (SinFronteras2013).

From: Mike Acosta <mikea@WINFIRST.COM>
To: LARED-L@LISTSERV.CYBERLATINA.NET
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 10:33 AM
Subject: Re: [LRL] "NO SEAN MENSOS. GO TO COLLEGE...AND GRADUATE!" say what?

I can't think of less inspiring words than to call young  chicano students stupid if they don't graduate from college. in other words theory x is still alive in the barrio. this theory was primarily used as a negative motivational technique in the workplace by bosses who believed employees were lazy, stupid and naturally opposed to work. But evidently a barrio version of this negative theory is hailed as an iconic technique to prod chicanos towards college. when did the inspiring shibboleth "si se puede" all of a sudden turn into "no sean mensos?" have we turned to shouting at our youngsters instead of speaking with them? Nothing used to irk juanito more in class then to hear a motivational speaker wearing a white shirt and tie tell students, "if I can graduate from college so can you." The implication of this message was that juanito was a spitting image of the speaker. But, juanito knew better, he saw that they were more like mirror images of each other; he was a tall older man, juanito was still a shorter boy, the speaker's face was a cortez-looking face, juanito's was not. However, something other than physical appearance made juanito turn away from the speaker; it was when the speaker pompously crossed the line saying to students, "you don't have to do dirty work with your hands, you too can wear a white shirt and be a successful newspaper editor like I am." What the motivator didn't know was that juanito's father worked as a mechanic and always had dirty hands. did this man think he was better than juanito's dad? maybe it was from admiring his father that juanito chose to become a mechanic. i suppose some will say that juanito was a "menso" for not graduating from college and becoming a newspaper editor. Juanito's brother went to college, and so did his sisters; but he now works getting his hands dirty in his own car repair shop and likes fixing cars for people, many of whom went to college and are still looking for jobs. Juanito is happy with who he is; he is not rich but earns enough to support his wonderful family; and someday his children may graduate from college or choose some other useful thing to do. Therefore it is unfair to use the word menso to single out  chicanos that don't graduate from college. I say this because a college degree doesn't always protect one from  being a menso too. viva la raza

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