Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Photostory
This is my full photostory for those of you who didn't get to see it in class. As you all may know it was about the book The Daughters of Juarez and how after it's publication more people became aware of all the murders in Juarez and how that caused people from both Juarez and beyond to unite together and demand a stop to the murders and to seek justice for the victims' families.
Seems like it was only yesterday when we held our first day of class. On our first day Ms. Ramirez asked the class what were our expectations for this class. I personally never expected to be taken out of my comfort zone as I was many times by this class. It was not a bad thing at all it's just that in the past Enlglish classes to me meant simply reading books and writing book reports afterwards. Never did I expect to spend a whole semester studying in depth the definition of rhetoric an analyzation.
I learned a lot in this class that hopefully I will continue to apply to the rest of my college years. Everyone brought something special to the table, you can tell by all the different photo stories that were presented last Saturday, that also made the class unique. I hope everyone has a nice summer. Be safe!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
I used to watch a series on HBO, strictly for its entertainment value, which some of you may have also seen called Big Love. For those of you who never watched the show it was about a polygamist family. Recently the controversy over polygamy has been in the news again only this time it was not in Arizona or Utah as it usually is but rather in Texas. Apparently in El Dorado Texas there is a polygamist ranch which was part of the FLDS church.
Last week state officials raided the ranch and most recently made a decision to separate the roughly 400 children from their mothers. State officials claim that it was in the childrens best interest to separate them from their mothers. This all began when a 16 year old made a phone call claiming that she was being abused within the ranch. The mothers are now are using the media, who they rarely grant interviews to, to try and gain sympathy from the public in order to try and get their children back.
As I watched the interview on CNN yesterday with one of the mother's it was obvious that she was coached as to what to answer. The mother would all together avoid some of the questions or couldn't give a direct answer. Then she said something which was the most upsetting part of the whole interview to me. She tried to compare their current situation to that of the Jews in WWII. Anderson Cooper, who was conducting the interview, then asked her if she was fully aware of what had actually happend to the Jews in WWII and she answered that she was that in fact she was a well educated woman in history and had a university degree.
At first I didn't know if I should laugh but the more I think about it the comments from that mother are upsetting more than anything else. I can't imagine what university she went to but I just find it so mind boggling that some one could allow themselves to be so brain washed. After hearing her try to compare her plight to the Holocaust I have no sympathy at all for these women. I think that both Utah and Arizona should follow Texas example and take all children out of any polygamist environment. All the brain washed mothers should then be forced to have their tubes tied. Ok I know that sounds a little crazy but I don't beleive it's any crazier than the comparison she tried to make.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Like Adolfo's party, see my past posting, I always look forward to Jesus' party because it gives me an opportunity to see old friends that have moved away. Some people come from as far away as California, Monterrey, and Hermosillo to name a few. There's nothing like a good party to bring together old friends. Far too many times friends and family wait until something tragic to happen to come together. I hope everyone else had a great weekend.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sagrario Gonzalez
In 1998 a young teenager by the name of Sagrario Gonzalez disappeared in Juarez on her way home from work at a maquiladora. Unfortunately, like so many other poor girls which had moved to Juarez from the interior of Mexico with their families to seek work in the American based maquiladoras of Juarez, 17 year old Sagrario was met foul play. Two weeks after her disappearance Sagrario's body was found in an abandoned lot. Although police believe that she had been raped before she was strangled and stabbed, her body was too decomposed to determine. To this day no one has been brought to justice for Sagrario's murder.
Determined to not let Sagrario and the other victims be forgotten, Sagrario's older sister Guillermina went on to form a grassroots organization called Voices Without Echo. Family members of other victims soon joined the organization with a goal of keeping the murdered women of Juarez in the headlines. The group began to paint black crosses with a pink back ground on utility poles around the city. I must admit I had seen the painted utility poles before but had no idea what their significance was. Sadly in 2001 Guillermina announced she would have to disband the group she founded, Voices Without Echo. She was now engaged to man who had lost a daughter from a previous marriage to a violent death also, and without any funding which had been promised to her for expenses it was impossible for her to continue the group. The group won many challenges for victims' family in the few years it existed but on 07/18/01 the group ceased all operations.