The Election Issue Issue 14, March 2020
Page 1
Cover Image: Sadako Sasaki by Bam www.bamporfirio.com
Issue 14 Contributors Georgia Perry________________ 4-5, 20 Mateo Vargas_____________________ 6 Don Mathis_________________ 7, 14-16 Mo B.____________________ 8-11, 21-24 Bam___________________ Cover, 12, 17 Dolores Moreno-Valles____________ 13 EMD__________________________ 18-19 Suzy Gonzรกlez____________________ 25 Veronica Luna_________________ 26-27 Christopher D. Sims___________ 28-29
Halftime Show by Georgia Perry Doug and I have been smoking weed on the porch. I left night one of the 2020 debates streaming on my laptop inside. We ate our beans and veggies outside during golden hour, which is eight p.m. because it is the height of summer. The solstice just one week ago.
Page 4
A bespectacled white dude in a white oxford shirt with rolled up sleeves and a loosened tie is holding a paper scroll and slapping it against a virtual projection of a line graph.
He says, verbatim: Get ready. In South Carolina, the blacks will come out! Look at this Go into March massive enormous— California Texas a bunch in the South. Alllllll of these states Alllllll at once. Super Tuesday! Mega Primaries! Doug says we’re back just in time for the halftime show.
Page 5
From The Land of Opportunity by Mateo Vargas Insta: @_mateo_vargas
Page 6
If Elected, I Promise by Don Mathis Free Beer, Live Music, No Cover, A Chicken in Every Pot, Some Pot for Every Chicken, A Car in Every Garage, An End to the Energy Problem, No Taxation Without Representation, No Repression, Depression, or Repercussion, Peace in the USA, Cheaper Prices, Higher Wages, Lower Taxes, No More Bad Weather, 20/20 Vision, Baby Dolls, New Bikes, Pacifiers for Infants in Infancy, Redemption for Adults in Adultery, Food for the Hungry, Houses for the Homeless, Gasoline at 35 cents a Gallon, World Happiness, Honesty in Politics, Truth in Advertising, And End to Pestilence, No Censorship, Sunshine, Blue Skies, Silver Linings, Perfect Health, And Time to Enjoy it All.
Page 7
The Myth of Checks and Balances Exposed by Mo B. In civics class we are taught that our representative democracy is protected from tyranny thanks to the system of checks and balances. You know, the three branches that each limit the power of the other: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. This principle has been accepted as inherent to our political system and has mostly been taken for granted since it’s protected by the constitution, after all. However, the Trump administration is exposing the notion of checks and balances for what it truly is - a political convention adhered to by self-censoring politicians since the inception of the US colonial project. By refusing to behave in accordance with the political norms that have prevented presidents from making claims to absolute power in the past, Trump has illuminated that our government is quite capable of becoming fascist. For most of US history, it has been held that the president should not use state power to attack political rivals and dissidents. Although we know this happens anyway, it’s typically not as direct and unapologetic as what we are watching unfold in the Trump administration. The first significant breakdown of the illusion of checks and balances happened when Trump was acquitted of the crimes of obstruction of congress and abuse of power in the impeachment process. The US senate effectively ceded its power and ability as a legislative body to regulate the constitutional misconduct of the executive branch in favor of abiding by partisan politics. The result being that Trump got away with extorting a foreign government for information on a political rival. Not one month later, attorney general, William Barr, intervened in a criminal case to significantly reduce the sentencing recommendation of Trump’s political ally, Roger Stone. Stone had been found guilty of seven felony counts including obstructing a congressional investigation and intimidating witnesses during the Mueller probe into Trump’s ties to Russia. The decision resulted in the entire prosecution team resigning from the case in protest. More importantly, it marks a dangerous fundamental shift in the way that the department of justice has historically related to the executive.
Page 8
Trump has managed to effectively eliminate most of the mechanisms by which the legislature and judiciary can hold the executive branch accountable so far. He has even explicitly cited article II of the US constitution as granting him absolute executive power with total impunity. This should be treated as a shocking revelation that the US is not immune to authoritarianism and political repression, however, many reformists who might recognize problems within the US political system yet still believe it is inherently good maintain that the system just needs saving from this Bad Orange Man to return to normal. What we are witnessing is not merely a case of one bad apple tainting our world. It is the result of decades of attempts to consolidate power in the executive branch that have been building progressively from prior administrations. Trump has shown us that we are not far from living in a world in which any US president can leverage the federal law enforcement, intelligence, and military apparatuses to attack political dissidents by shaping the judiciary in a way that facilitates that sort of behavior, while operating with a congress that refuses to stop it. This is all playing out on national news and people in the press should be deeply afraid. Rather than doing everything in their power to expose this glaring systemic fallacy, they continue to act as mouth pieces for either party instead of taking a stand in this critical historical moment. No matter who sits in the oval office, the president of the US already has the power to surveil any citizen or non-citizen he wants; he has the power to separate families and lock children in cages; he has the power to order people in other countries to be murdered by flying robots with no due process; he even has the power to annihilate all life on earth with the push of a button. To me, these are already signs of massive abuses of power that most people are either oblivious to, impervious to, or have sadly come to accept as just the way the world is.
Page 9
We must reject the myth that our liberal democracy prizes individual rights and freedoms above all else and attempts to act as little like a state as it can through the self-limitation of its own power. The government can’t actually guarantee you any rights as much as it can take them away from you because at the end of the day, the fundamental goal of any state is to maintain the ability to impose its sovereignty through violence. Without violence, there is no rule of law since policing is what makes the otherwise meaningless declarations of politicians take force and become actual limitations on our everyday lives. In his work What is Fascism?, Mussolini claims that fascism is simply the state rising to its inherent position of primacy in everyday life, using its monopoly on violence to impose its sovereignty and create social unity through the very notion of citizenship to the nation. The state itself is what Mussolini calls fascism. To him, liberal democracy is an artificially limited mythological construct because it is a state that pretends not to be a state. We are all born into this implicit “social contract� that is perpetuated and reinforced by our identification as citizens and our participation in society as such. In theory, we, the governed, give away some of our personal autonomy to the sovereign in exchange for protection. The current crisis of mass incarceration with its policing, courts, and prisons is a testament that the ideals of freedom and justice exist to protect private property and the interests of the ruling class, not to serve the people. Ultimately, the US state is not exceptional but is the same as any other state we might deem authoritarian when we analyze its ideological and structural mechanisms of repression.
Page 10
The ethos of our political system that once gave credence to the notion of US exceptionalism is breaking down before our eyes. This nation was built on stolen land through genocide and slavery and is therefore anything but legitimate. It is time to start deconstructing the myths and ideologies that lead us to believe that the US is incapable of becoming a dictatorship. It is time to organize efforts to decolonize our world. I urge you to start by shifting conversations centered around facile criticisms of any party or individual in politics toward a wider systemic and historical analysis of the US empire at large. Teach the people you care about that politics is so much more than what we are taught to believe it is. It is not simply the act of electing people to represent you in office or tuning into watch the spectacle on TV. When we consider politics to be the art of creating the world we want to live in, we begin to act in ways that can take us far beyond what is possible inside the system we are forced into.
Page 11
I Scream by Bam www.bamporfirio.com Page 12
A Survival Guide for People In the Hood During an Active Shooter by Dolores Moreno-Valles Active shooter in the hood! Active shooter in the hood! ¿Oíste los gun shots? Do you hear a fire alarm? Reportalo and look for the two nearest exists, Sigue a la gente, highly trained empleados will assist you ¡Aguas! ¡Correle! ¡Escondate! ¡Fight! ¡Ponte listo! Save yourself, tus abuelas, tias y your heart Take a chance, “life’s a risk” Drop your pestañas and eyeliner, and HIDE! Communicate con la jura quietly Hay mas hatred, Could it be because of the rhetoric spewing from the White House? ¡Aguas! ¡Correle! ¡Escondate! ¡Fight! ¡Ponte listo! Primero, I felt scared shitless, y luego pissed because I hated the loco that hurt innocent people, después guilt because my hijo doesn’t want to go to his room alone porque he’s scared. I hope this doesn’t happen to you pero if it does, ¡Aguas! ¡Correle! ¡Escondate! ¡Fight! ¡Ponte listo! Nos escondimos behind walls, signs, and cars. I left my old barrio to get away from violence and I this happens in my new hood. I felt like I was back on the Eastside dodging bullets. Los news cameras llegaron, 911 responders llegaron, and el shooter in handcuffs se fue.
Page 13
Guns on college campuses; what could go wrong? by Don Mathis It all began with the shooting from the University of Texas tower in August of 1966. It was the first time a person opened fire on a campus and began indiscriminately killing people. Nowadays, the names of American schools with multiple murders go by in a blur. Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook, Columbine, Red Lake, Nickel Mines, Northern Illinois, West Paducah, Craighead County, Santee, and on and on. The list of campuses including universities, elementary schools, and business colleges with active shooters firing multiple shots exceeds 150. We remember the UT tower tragedy and those that followed – and we remember the lessons learned. Most schools and many businesses instruct students and staff to think, plan, and prepare in order to survive an active shooter. A video, “Surviving an Active Shooter Event,” is worth watching. Run if you can, hide if you can’t get away, fight only if you must. Some politicians think the solution for campus gun safety is for more students to have guns. Texas enacted a law allowing individuals with concealed carry licenses to bring their handguns to public colleges and universities. But consider: College campuses have a high concentration of people. Millennials, aged 18-33, are the country’s most-stressed generation. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students. Homicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 15-24 years. More than half of all people who suicide do so with a gun. Drug use is highest among people in their late teens and twenties. 39 percent of college students engaged in binge drinking in the past month. Guns on college campuses; what could go wrong?
Page 14
Other politicians believe we can create campus safety if we train school staffers on the use of firearms. But considering the rigorous training police cadets receive, I think it would be more efficient if we train police on how to teach our students. In the meantime, schools are grasping at straws in their efforts to prevent active shooters. Some schools screen for firearms with metal detectors. Others screen for mental health by focusing on behavior. Some think gun locks and background checks would suffice. Others want to strengthen laws. A growing number of people support limits on access to high-capacity magazines and assault-style weaponry. Some cry for enforcement of existing gun laws. Others want new laws, laws that would regulate the gun – and the gun owner. “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Everyone has heard that argument. Some may think it realistic, sceptics may think it fallacious, and others think it oversimplifies the issue. Nonetheless, I think that it’s neither guns nor people that kill people. I think bullets kill people. I’ve heard it said that the average gunshot victim has 2.3 bullet wounds. Instead of gun control laws, I would like to see some bullet control laws. I don’t want to make it illegal to own bullets. I would just like legislation to put a state tax on each bullet. A $10 “tax” on each round is not going to affect the homeowner who wants to keep a gun for self-defense. It may cause hunters to aim more accurately so as not to waste any ammunition trying to bag that buck. Of course, I would exempt law enforcement from such a tax; I’d even advocate for tax-free bullets if used only at a registered rifle range.
Page 15
Most states have a ‘sin tax’ on items like tobacco and alcohol in order to discourage their use. Perhaps a special tax on bullets would reduce some gun deaths. After all, if an active shooter fires multiple rounds, rat-a-tattat-tat-tat-tat-tat, that would be 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 dollars. Fifty rounds would cost the shooter $500. And that $500 in tax revenue could be spent on hospital trauma care centers or survivor treatment; they are the ones who have to deal with the fallout from gun violence. And if anyone argues that people will simply evade such a tax, they should remember why Al Capone was sent to prison. Some say more cops on campus will prevent school shooters. Others think there is nothing we can do; we need to accept it as a way of life. Others think that prayer is the answer. “Our prayers are with all who were harmed by this evil act,” a governor may exclaim. “Please join us in praying for all involved,” the Attorney General may intone. The representative may pray for the dead and the senator is keeping the victims and the first responders in his prayers. But after “Amen” is said, can we discuss how we’re going to stop the next shooter? I pray our lawmakers will do something. I’m not going to wait for politicians to act. I encourage all to get help for any who are thinking of harming themselves or others. And know what to do in case of an active shooter. Have a safe semester.
Page 16
The Accountant by Bam www.bamporfirio.com Page 17
Page 18
EMD
Page 19
Georgia Perry Women’s March, Oakland , California 2016 Page 20
To Vote or Not to Vote… by Mo B.
… that is the question weighing on me leading up to this 2020 presidential election. My opinion on the matter has changed drastically over the course of my political life: from advocating for the myopic “Vote Blue No Matter Who” approach as a young liberal, to rejecting any participation in the electoral process on principle as a budding radical. To all those who oppose voting on the basis of maintaining a semblance of ideological purity, I would like to present an analysis and argument advocating for participation in this particular presidential election cycle. The way I see it, our current political moment is fueled by people demanding more autonomy over their lives. We live in a world in which our lives are conditional to economic and political dynamics that are outside of our control. No politician can ever change that and we can never get more autonomy by electing people into office. We give away some of our power when we choose people to represent us in the process of deciding the rules of engagement for the world we all have to live in. Participating in the electoral system contributes to its continued legitimization and sets us up for disillusionment when eventually nothing ever seems to change. Not to mention voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the ol’ electoral college threatening to make your vote not count. However, I think it’s crucial to make a clear distinction between voting and electoralism. Electoralism is the fundamental strategy of pursuing social change foremost and almost exclusively through the electoral process. I reject electoralism, but I do not reject the prospect of getting real material gains for people through systemic means. I see voting as one tool in the toolbox of tactics we have for furthering the interest of working class and oppressed people. In my opinion, we need grassroots community organizing and direct action along with the occasional trip to the ballot box, especially when the difference between voting and not voting has real material consequences for people.
Page 21
Radicals of all walks have pushed political discussions centered around individualized struggles or separate issues toward wider structural critiques of capitalism and imperialism. As a result, positions that 10 or 15 years ago would be considered relatively radical are finding their place in the mainstream political discourse. Bernie Sanders embodies this shift toward the left in US electoral politics, no matter how slight it may seem. It’s undeniable that Sanders has normalized the word “Socialism” in US politics and that for many, he is a gateway into leftist political theory. Although there are surely many criticisms to be made here, Bernie Sanders does call out systemic problems and openly targets the ruling class. Neoliberal centrist democrats are worried and reject him as one of their own precisely because he challenges US imperialism abroad and class politics domestically, albeit not perfectly. I am by no means arguing that electing Bernie Sanders would put an end to imperialism or eliminate class — even if he manages to win the presidency he would simply become the commander in chief of the US military machine whose sole interest is maintaining global US hegemony. I’m insisting that he offers the potential to change the material well-being of people here and overseas for the better, specifically when it comes to matters of healthcare and militarism. If universal healthcare means one less person goes into bankrupting debt from medical bills, if one less bomb falls or one less war is started, then I think it’s worth taking the trip to the polls on election day. I have come across the argument that a socialist US would only help perpetuate capitalism longer by stalling the current socio-economic crisis. In theory, an expansion in social programs would alleviate some of the more acute suffering of the working class, stabilizing the economic situation and breeding complacency in our society. By this logic, a fascist political pivot is more desirable than a socialist democratic one based on the implicit assumption that it will somehow bring about an end to capitalism sooner. This is a really dangerous bet to make.
Page 22
Nobody can predict when capitalism will collapse, and a devolution into fascism does not ensure it will do so any sooner. It would, however, certainly make the years leading up to insurmountable crisis much more brutal, especially for working class and oppressed people. I want to believe that no radical would seriously adhere to this fallacious position. It seems to me that this argument is rooted in fear - fear of further disillusionment and fear that all of the protests, actions, and organizing that have taken place since the last election in opposition to Trump, his policies, and their consequences will dissolve once a democrat is in office. Grassroots political activity typically centered around complaint is more impactful the more we move away from the realm of protest to the realm of action. I think that a Sanders presidency offers us a major strategic advantage for revolutionary conditions and could actually potentiate our organizing. Bernie himself has called for a mass social movement to apply pressure from the bottom whether or not he is elected. In the case that he does win, I doubt it would put a stop to autonomous actions but rather might make them more effective at creating substantial changes and expanding popular political imagination if we see our demands met. At the end of the day, we can’t rely on liberals to do the work of liberation with their attempts to reform a system that is fundamentally and irredeemably oppressive. We have to keep organizing and turning out on the streets now more than ever. Improved material conditions that take economic pressure off of the working class can better position us to build dual power structures in our communities, effectively changing the world directly around us. Just imagine how much more revolutionary work we could get done with a living wage and the elimination of student debts and expensive medical bills.
Page 23
If you truly believe that all politicians are exactly the same, I would venture to say that none of Trump’s policies affect you because what you’re implying is that there are no significant material differences between how people are affected under any presidency. This position is facile and conveniently ignores the nuances of our political reality. My final pitch to anyone still reading is this: at the very least, vote for Bernie in the primary election. I don’t have much hope for a victory and honestly have zero faith in the electoral system, but I can hold the tension between expecting disappointment and still giving it a shot anyway. What do you stand to gain and what have you got to lose?
Page 24
Page 25
Reflections of a Xicana Educator Under 45’s Occupation of the White House by Veronica Luna 1957-1960: My dark-skinned Mexican immigrant father frequently travels by bus in Texas in his U.S. Army uniform and experiences the daily cuts of white supremacy. At lunch counters and gas stations, my father and his black friends are refused service. 2013: In the midst of President Obama’s presidency, I attend a conference for Latinx graduate students from all over the country in Orange County, CA. While I want to revel in the progress of our community, for four days, the hosting hotel is as a familiar minefield of racist microagressions and sexist machismo, most notably the swastika and the words “White Power” etched in the side of hotel furniture, the white women guest’s assumptions that I am with housekeeping, a Latino scholar’s sexists, homophobic comments while another one stares down my blouse as I talk about my research interests. February 18, 2020: I am sitting at a coffee shop in San Antonio, TX preparing a lesson on “critical thinking” for a college freshman seminar class that I teach. I overhear a conversation that says so much about this moment. An older black man, wearing a Vietnam War veteran hat, waits for his coffee and gives a friendly reminder to a stranger, a younger black man in his 20s. “Don’t forget, young man, early voting starts today,” the elder says with a smile. The young man sheepishly replies, “I’m not voting,” as he readjusts his headphones. “You’re not voting?! Why not?! How can you not vote?!” “I’m not really interested in politics,” he says with a shrug.
Page 26
We are a nation birthed by colonization, genocide, hetero-patriarchy, and slavery. For generations, systems of domination have fomented increasing inequities and oppression. Young people are schooled in what Paulo Freire calls the “banking model of education” where students are treated as empty receptacles and Eurocentric knowledge is deposited and assessed by high-stakes standardized tests that yield profits for testing companies. While older generations lament young people’s voter apathy, we must understand the disengagement and distrust of young people in a broader historical context. 45 is a product of structures working perfectly as designed, rather than an aberration of democracy. Teaching in the era of 45 as a Xicana educator, has reaffirmed several recommendations for me: • Educators must model solidarity and democracy from our assessment methods to curricula. • Beginning in early childhood, we must create opportunities for children to self-define and create counter-narratives to build the foundation for civic engagement as adults. • Ethnic Studies and feminist curricula and pedagogical approaches help young people, particularly young people of color, make sense of the present. Learning the long historical struggle for suffrage and voting rights is a critical tool to combat voter disengagement and suppression. • Student learning outcomes must actually address power and injustice. Paulo Freire’s concept of “critical consciousness” offers a transformative framework. Learning must be liberatory, not performative and prescriptive. My hope is that young voters of color use the ballot box, a long-standing site of resistance, to make their issues heard in 2020, but we must also continue to build coalitions in our communities to dismantle structures that were never built for us. When Audre Lorde asks us to transform silence into language and action and reminds us that our silence will not protect us, we are called to move through fear, name injustice, and find our role in the service of liberation. What does this look like for you?
Page 27
Voting Rights for Who? by Christopher D. Sims Voting rights for those of us Who continuously have to fight, right? You call them immigrants, you say “immigration” You say things like invasion, when it is ultimately discrimination. You master in the Art of intimidation, political persuasion yes, Caucasians who have forgotten Where they came from. Brown people developing deeper Pain and migraines the strain of a people who hurt to maintain Maintaining second class citizenship But what is real citizenship in the United States; the United States of Hate; the United States of Assimilate?! Fuck your vote! Especially when it Is wrapped up in the Electoral College Abolish the current system! Redefine what “melting pot” really means. Page 28
The Court is not Supreme if it cannot provide protection to fair elections or offset the connections of the privileged! Vote for who? Vote for what? Vote for what policy? When you don’t recognize me: The Black and the Brown The beaten, the down The hurting, the trapped The wanna be citizen who the Constitution slaps, and slaps, and slaps with un-acceptance.
www.about.me/ChristopherDSims Page 29
Find your nearest voting location at: www.Vote.org
Find us on social media: Twitter/Insta: @yesmaam_zine Facebook.com/yes.maam72
Visit our website at www.YesMaamPress.com to submit to Yes, Ma’am, sign up for our email list, purchase merch, or get in touch with us!
Yes, Ma’am is created by Suzy González & Elle Minter