How to Stage a Coup: An Insurrection of the Underground Liberation Army (2000)

fto'H/ TO SrrAGf" A-C(}U"r

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This is a compilation zine made up of the blood, sweat, and tears of different people. lt is by, for, and about people 0f colour within subculture

and countercuiture.

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strGP T \il)

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TFG

o

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eGts because we need spaces like thrs to dralogue. This ts about

us,

for us, about us cornmunicating and neh,vorking, tnspiring and empowertng each other, about us using our voice, and about us staylng al]e. This is re:;islafice.

SrrG,r tfl{n We are seen as black, brown, yellow, red, chinks, niggers, nips,

spics We

know olrselves as Chinese, Chicano/a, Trlntdadran, Vietnamese, Ojibway, combinations of all of the above, and more than that way more than that We are queer, straighi, mrdclle class, worklng class, disabled, not disabled' musicians, activisis, feminists, academics, teachers, all of the above, none

ol tre above.

(N,:te to white people: We are not your tokens. We'll kick your ass

)

wanted this prolect to encompass more than just punk but while there are a lew Contributicns in here from people involved in other subcultures, those involved wiih punk/hardcore remain over-represented. I thrnk this is because I

punk is what I have the most access to, and zines have always been an important part of punk subculture, I should also mention that there is one submission in here by a white male. . I had personally asked him if l could use his writing in here because I liked what he had to say, as an ally'

oi a Race Rrot'ne and lhe beautiful smart and sassy, who contributed to it, Mimi ancl Lauren for being so the with whom l've had many conversations over drinks'

ffi=i*ti*uidhu-*t-Evolutr.n

people

Rafeena

SolidarityWORKS!kidsfromthisyearwhowillprobablyneverevenseethis

zine,ChrisR.forhistireanddedication,allthecontributorsiothiszine,and whom l've met or the many amazing and inspiring people of colour corresPonded with over the Years.

This zine costs 2 dollars plus a couple of stamps (or 3 dollars) Photocopying is damn exPensive!

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f"om

urilpurEl(lftc

by Helen Luu Looking out at the sea of heads at the fest, l'm pretty sure I can count all of the people of colour here on two hands. And I c;an count all of the women of colour on only one hand, For a scene that is supposed to be so inclusive, l'm leftwondering again why there are so few people of colour in this crowd of hundreds, why there are so few women of colour.

I consicer myself an activist whose consciousness rs growlng year by year, day by day. And the more this happens, the more I want to step outside of the bounds of punk because I feel that this is nece.ssary in order to retain my sanity, and in order to finally acknowledge and appreciate who I am and where I come from. Although we all like to believe that punk is this great little progressive/radical/revolutionaryr haven, it really isn't. Sure, I believe it is a haven but this is where I think the danger lies. lt's a haven because while we're busy rejecting 'mainstream' ldeals and sticking our middle fingers up at The Man, we are blinded to the many flaws within punk ttself, and especially the fact that punk is a microcosrn of the society that produced it. How arrogiant mustwe be to belreve that punk is somehow way above all the bullshit that society dlshes out? Nothing is ever that simple - rt's way more complex than that.

I can't deny that the more my consciousness grows, the more realize that I don't feelthis solidarity that l'm supposed to feelwrth all other punks. I know that in this whrte, pairiarchal, middle-class scene, I'd be hard pressed to find too many people who share a history similar to mine, AnrJ it's this history that dictates who I am loday, that permeates every aspect of my life.

I

l'm a 'third world'woman, l'm a Vietnamese refugee. l'm one of those V etnamese bcat people you read about in h story class When fled Vietnam tn 7979 with my parents (Vietnamese mom, ethnic Chlnese dad) and just the clothes on our backs, we didn't kncw where we'd end up, what would happen to us, We eventually ended u,t in Canada where my parents took up shiity jobs making crappy wages {regardless of their skills and abilities) bec:ruse the North American worklorce wasn't - and still isn't - partrcularly welcoming to immigrants (or people of colour in general). [ventually, my mom landed a job working lc,ng hours as a garment worker making clothes for the backs of the nrlddle :lass, and I

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my dad did shrft work on an assembly line in a factory making batteries forthe cars of the middle class. ln the meantime, we saved up for a used car and were regulars at the local thrift store. My parents would sometimes go out at night after rain fall with flashlights and old metal cans, and on their hands and knees, they'd hunt for worms to sell to the bait shop in order to supplement the income thai they were supporting four young kids on Sometime during my childhood, we moved to Toronto and spent some of the most definitive years of my life living in one of the block-lrke buildings in the housing projects of Regent Park. I remember growing up with very few toys and hand-me-down clothes, but thinking that this was what everyone else's life was like too. Regardless of all that we didn't have though, lwas a pretty happy kid. Stereotypes of poverty-stricken families as being somehow always completely clysfunctional only serues to perpetuate a distorled understandrng of what I

it's like growing up poor, or growing up working class 0f course, hardships and an unwelcoming society leave their mark on families, but at the same time, we have to recognize that these are also stereobTpes if we insist on pinntng them on all poor, working ciass people and it's these stereotypes that white, middle class, paternal/condescending social workers just love while they force their way into poor peoples' homes.

to fight living in Regent Park' I was shy and awkward but I had no choice but to learn to fight with words, with fists. I learned some new words too like "chlnk".

To make a long story shott, we've now joined the ranks of the middle class lt's easy to forget sometimes and to push away the past. look at my younger brother and sister and I can see that they will never By the way, I also learned

truly understand what happened because they were too young at the time, and spent much of their own childhood as middle class kids lt's only been within the pastfewyears of my life that l've cared enough to try and piece together my history and my family's history and my homeland's history. And it's only been within the past few months that l've come to consciously realize that my third-world-refugee-working-class history stlll plays the large role that it does in my life l realtze now that cannot credit punk wtth gtvrng me a social and political conscience because it was mylristory that fd that. While wlrite, privileged middle

I

I

class punks and activists are out there chanting antl'sweatshop slogans, and talking about how the working class gets exploited, and how caprtaltsm is the spawn of the devil, my mind starts racinga mile a

mirute. i think about my mom and her fellow refugee friends working in sweatshops right here rn North America, my people working in

sweatshops in Vietnam to clothe our North American backs, how much

I

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remember about living in the prolecd lrving rn rundown flats above stores rn Chinatown, how capitalism is benefiting us over here in the West at the expense of people in the third world, and how the third world's poverty is often a result of Western colonialisnr both today (neo-liberal globalizatron/imperialism) and in the past. I think about what

it's like being a woman of colour within a society that doesn't exactly welcome us with wide open arms, And how women of colour not only have to deal with racism but sexism too, and both as one entity. And how shitty it is when people who have never even come close to going through what oppressed peoples go through everyday tell us that what we say is wrong, that ours is an equalsocety, that punk is an equal scene. lt's like they're tryingto shut us up and take away ourvoice agaln. You know, it's like when privileged white middle/upper class, able-bodied/able-minded men whine about measures like affirmative action and employment equiiy being 'reverse discrimination ' As if reverse discrimination can even exist in a context where certain groups hold power and privilege over others (not to mention the disturbing fact that the word 'reverse' implies that discrimination ts abnormal when it happens to people who hold power and privilege in society, and is only normal and acceptable when it happens to the Other).

I acknowledge that punk is a scene that tries to be understanding and non-oppressive. We prtde ourselves with being anti-racist, anti-sexist, antr-homophobic, antieverything. Yet, I think that sometimes punk glosses over a lot of issues in too simplistic a way, and ln a rather 'whitecentric' and androcentric way For example, I want to talk about Anti-Racist Action as an example of white punks trying to combat racism. l've been thinking a lot aboutARA latsly and tryingto deconstruct it, discussing rt with a lot of other punks irf colour because never hear any critictsm about it And l've got some, I

What I often wonder about is the fact that I hardly ever see people of colour in ARA when it's supposed to be a group that fights something that directly affects people of colour, and this makes me wonder why it doesn't appeal to so many of us. l'm critical about ARA focusing mainly on extreme/blatant/overt forms of racism which I find problemaitc because that means ignoring more subtle (and way more common) forms (e.g. systemic racism, institutional racism, the dominant anglo/eurocentric (and androcentric) ideolory our society is held up with, etc.), and thereby also taking any responEibility for racism off of the average person. As if racism only comes from neo-nazis or rednecks, but not from 'normal people', or worse yet, that punks - and punk as an institution - are never guilty of

racism, I think this is problematic because it doesn't encourage people to look at themselves and analyze their own positions o{ power and privilege, etc. However, I also realized recently thai, in a way, maybe SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

itrere is some good to AnR Ueing moitly white ff ihEy fi-ChaFate groups srnce it shows hate groups that other white folks don't support them. I also acknowledge that ARA has done a lot in terms of hate groups (l may be wrong but I don't know of any other group that does this). However, I ihink it's important to question why ARA does not seem to attract more people of colour when it's supposed to be a group that supposedly benefits people of coJour. I personally also feel a bit weird about ARA because as a predominantly white punk group, it comes off to me as extremely paternal. As in, the poor and helpless people of colour needing the brave and mighty whites to come rescue us, Just like in the movies, I believe in agency I don't think oppressed peoples are

necessariy victims. Alihough agency has its limits (due to structural barriers, etc.), I think the most effective key to social change is for oppressed peoples to empower themse ves and fight back We know what's going down more than anyone else because we live lt and struggle through it every single day of our lives.

We need to be the ones directly involved rn changingthings that affect us. For this to happen, we need to be able to speak up and speak out without being stlenced by those in positions ihat oppress. We welcome allies and supporlers fighting wlth uLut we nge! !o!e the ones taktne the front lines. This, by the way, s for aLl oppressed groups - women, those who are queer, disabled, poor, the list goes on.

Lastly, like many other punks of colour, l'rn going through this process of 'unpunking' I want - and need - to see everything without having punk lenses over my eyes, Vly identity is so much more than thai... but punk still plays an important role in my life and I criticize because I care. We'll never move torward rf we simply accept the status .

quo... yes, even the punk status quo,

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INDIAN ATTACK PO BOX 5646 NAPERVILLE IL 60567-5646

listr^s

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2nd issue in the works: interview

w/

NYC

desi turntablist Li'l Jay, columns on speciesism, berng an outsider in India, circumcision; articles on eco-racism, and

forced sterilization of rvomen by the US govemment; graffiti ftLr, zine reviews, more!

We need contributions!

IA will have a

circulation of 1500 copies We also have sonre cheap ad space, write for details. 1st issue still available for a stamp SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

#1 in a series

The Refuse & Resisfl

Real World Dictionary (thc wdr 6n knm) n. phr' [1994] l 1' A war on fielaled to< Neut l4/orld Order" war on drugsf African-American and Latino communities and poor people in general (with a particular locus on criminalizing Black and Latino

The War on Crime

youth and scapegoating immigrants) 2' Deceptive phraseology used to promote the idea that problems in society are caused by "a lack of family values, mothers on welfare, day laborers on

street corners, youth labeled gang members, and immigrants";

blaming the victims of economic exploitation and racist oppression, rather than Amerikkka's white-supremacist, reactionary socioeconomic policies 3. Police-state measures designed to contain the fallout from continued exploitation and

oppressionofthepeoplebytheU'S.govemmentex.a)Clinton's crir. Bill b) 3 strikes you're out c) Boot car:rps forjuvenile offenders d) 100,000 more cops e) Millitarizing the border between the U.S. and Mexico fl 47 new death penalty crimes gJ "Community-based" policing (police-based communities) new 7y' "Constitutional" sweeps of public housing r) building pri sonsT)

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Don't believe the hYPe! people Join with Refuse & Resrstand beat back this attack 0n the

Refuse & Resisf,

Râ&#x201A;Źlus9 & Rgsis! Natonal omce

(21 2) 71

'l: }5657 305 Mad.sonAvenue. sufie

1166, Nev/York, NY 1 0165

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AVERYCOLD PLACE Areport on SCI Greene Shakedown r r zITH NO WARNING, the internal memo t A I came first. A cold, crude, hastily written V V documenf announcing the changes to take effect March 5, 1998l. Starting

with

a general shake-

down of all death row inmates at SCI-Greene in upstate Pennsylvania, all privileges were being revoked (though they rvere few), visiting time cut, personal properfy seized-an invocation that sent an icy chill through the dark, hollow corridors of death row.

One hour later, the confraternity of "shakedown boys" swept into the unit, converging portentously into every pod, into every ceil, pillaging, destroying, rummaging through our personal possessions with the frenzy of vultures gutting the carcass of some dead animal. They deliberately seized photographs, letters, the inmates' artwork, art supplies, clothing, books,

watches, pens, magazines, legal, religious anel educational materials-violating the constraints of their own mandate.

They took everything i had---.eoerything. Even my plays, manuscripts, and works-in-process. I watched helplessly as they raided my cabinet and bookshelf stocked with books on Islam, Buddhism, and Chris-

tianity. Clammy rvhite fingers carelessly

tosser-l

about books by some of my favorite Black authors: Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, Dorothy West, Walter Mosley. I had just purchased Toni Morrison's new novel, Paradise. . It was so cold. Cruel. Idrumane. It lvas inconceivable to me that in this information age with computer disks capable of storing vast libraries and the electronic windows open to new worlds-why they were slamming shut my small, dusky window to all those worlds my books provided. I balked. But I was deal-

ing with the clones of Hitler's ghost-gestapo-like guards corraled fiom nearby counties with the highest adult iliiteracy rate in the entire state.

My protestations drew a cadre of tobacco chewing henchmen who quickly surrounded me.., I felt the presence of unseen angels, flanking my left and my right. And after a fusillade of threats and browbeatings, they left me alone. The next day, numerous death row prisoners went on a hunger strike in protest of the punitive measures constantly being enforced upon them. One of the recentchanges was the CO-PAY for medical services poliry, requiring inmates to pay for medications and prescriptions-a measure that increased the likelihood of death for poor inmates inllicted with some injury or life-threatening diseases.

In this cold place, death looms. An order went out for body bags.

S. Lewis, #AY2902,@1998 -Reginald SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

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He hurries ovtuy. | ,,,rish I could escope this ploce' I shoulc{ hqve left long lime ogo.

There ore hours of woiting.

The sleep thot never comes.

Flicking the chqnnel.

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Thc Population Council

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ffiF-': ffi'.'-'f$-** 'J

REDEFINING 66Jf,TSTICE''

ereating alternatives to the canadian 'fust rrs" system Mike Alexander, Swan Lake First Nation, Because of the widesPread andP-.r

nothing to do with regardto rehabilitation.

The problems facing Aboriginal communities have to do with socialization, parenting, education, economic conditions and other forces imposed by the parasite white culture. By having a system in place that enables the community to identifu and

This desire stems from the fact ;' ':' provide assistance to individuals may be that we are a sovereign PeoPle. For us, good, but the interconnectedness ofjuscontrol over justice maflers PIaYs an lmf,# tice/crime prevention issues and economic 'Ole in cullutrl lllrrB l.ial discussions concerning ln OISCUSSIOtIs portant role d e t e r m i n a t i o n .th conditions must be exposed. self -determination

It is important then to define the There are practical *.t^t^tP:Ifr examining solutions and initiatives. I am ii meaning of "crime". There is little rebarely going to scratch the surface on this $ search available, but if proceeding as if one folks, but I'll do what I can to iden- fr aboriginal and non-aboriginal ways of tify some imPortant issues. E' dealing with crime and disorder were the We know that chronic disruPtion P, same does not seem appropriate. Ultidue to crime and disor- ''' mately, it should be communities that decommunity in the der may be a symptom of deeper prob- i.l termine the guidelines for what behavior deserves the designation of "crime", the lems. The "real" issue is the absence of degree of seriousness of particular numbers large for alternatives productive acts, and the appropriate limface often youth, who of aboriginal response. community education. to access and ited employment and some Some communities cula on reliance a heavy We know that in a caught members will feel community "Correcwork. prison not does ture of and modern between traditional conflict has Canada" tions SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

sources. For remote communities with little or no economic base to support the community, providing the required ser-

vices is impossible. Maintaining strucapproaches. A retum to customary prac-ft tices will seem logical to some, but othersffi will want new approaches. It is importantf that there be community consensus aboutl the role that the spokespeople and mem- I

tures over the long term is one ofthe greatest challenges to native people. It seems

though any time we do something that works, the state employs whatever means available to them to extinguish it. Presently, communities rely on outside help to deal with issues such as complex in,bers of the community will play in thelvestigations, decisions about fitness to community's system of social control. lstand trial, medical care for offenders, Obviously, not everyone will I such as offenders with AIDS, substance agree about rules and how to handle dis- labuse problems, and mental illness. The order. Aboriginal women, for example, f dilemma for resource stared/stolen abiginal communities is how to respond may feel very strongly aboutthe treatment rape' or violence family ffectively to offenders. There is still of perpetrators of be shared not possibly These views may ffvery little information about the of segments other by to the same extent flleffectiveness of alternative programs unis offenders. with community No the community. $dealing comfew involveF as the Initiatives such Fortunately, touched by abuse. ,,

ffi

as

# i.; #ffi; t 1::*".:l : f d ry* "itL" -fficils

the past two decades where "women's issues" have gained recognition. The social

jf

.

lll

,:i

:f desire 111 :11":' ::17 effor more reflect a growing crime and to positive responses fective,

:*ffJiii:Tf il:,::T;,ffi ::il'T"J:Ill':ff :i,li'i:ffi il:iiffi ::ilif ; "'-"'?..,ii,"J"Tr"liT#,lli'?;I|;*Ut"#ff illil?Xil'::ffi Xl'g; would be with those who hold elders in lthe unique characteristics of offenders and

high esteem. Placing elders in the admin- ! offenses before deciding upon an approcontu Lvrr-!prlateCornmunlryresp rrstr to communityresponse. These considrftL lstratlon OtJUSIICe f justice may give e;lve rise ' ' flicts of values. The younger generatlon lpriate Ierations may include sex, education. class, traditions and culture their [g$ who have lost fi! criminal background, and the circumnotffistances and practices traditional of the offense and may reject

factors. other hold elders inhigh esteem' The older gen- Edmany frigtr in elders hold who has the obalso ones The community erations, the $ coninto come to kind of the likely less esteem, are S ligation of deciding upon I in selecting Therefore, offender. law. the flict with the relationship it wants with community members in the local justice Too often, there is a tendency to persystem,

it is important to consider bal-

anced representation that reflects

the

diversity of the communitY' Aboriginal leaders have manY

pressures placed upon them and band ad-

ministrators are frequently overworked' The creation of a new justice system would deplete the available human re-

ceive the offender as an "outsider", as a member of an isolated group that de\

A gavl. ?t ,*liS ess"J riThf h&, E* tntssi'{ ig

(oogst.

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\l'r an organized system of crime preven-

tion and community based altematives.

The mindset of course, being having a process that facilitates, enables, involves, mediates, and coaches, rather than helps, fixes, directs, or takes over.

Successful neighborhood organizations are based in areas where residents share

a definition of what the problems are and who is responsible for them; they share living conditions and similar ex-

periences. These residents exercise control that is more informal and are likelyto intervene when problems arise.

Yet if these programs are to work, offenders have to be reasonably stable and must be provided with reasonable

opportunities for a legitimate

and

satisfying t

livelihood.

F.-f'

to sitting in a jail cell all day. Alternative dispute resolution has become the

hope

of criminal justice reformers.

While I harbor major fuckin'

concerns that this system cannot be reformed, I don't see many punks who

This refers to altematives to jail that

have many ideas of creating a brand new civil and family law I think that there has been a lot of progress made in the area of Aboriginal Justice in Klanada over the past few years. I think that First Nations people are realizing that future initiatives will incorporate mediation and restorative measures in

sively community based. Treatment * alternative dispute resolution procannot be effective without adequate ,. grams. We still have a long way to go aftercare. There needs to be centers '\ and a lot to reclaim from the parasite culture. The Anishinabe are a Soverwhere residents would receive a varieign People. We will decide what our ety of services including for example, agenda is and we will make all the group therapy, skills training, anger fuckin' rul es ourselves. ment, and life skills as SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

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Smash Whiiey Using His Own Tools

-- ,o the time tni, i, pr.int"u and has reached the hands of punk rock fEl | 6 I fiUr across the globe, an article will have appeared in vrce magazine | - | ivot 7 No 1) featuring my band Weights & Measures. W&M play instrumental music that I -,}l rncludes myself and two friends and we post-hardcore. However, post-rock or call types would critic music I I

is hardly what makes us unique. ln a mostly white middle class genre, my band has been formed with brown kids as the dominant race. Myself and the bassist are brown and the drummer is white The article which appears in Vice is humorously belligerent in tone as tt asserts our "brown-ness" (as our drummer, by virtue of his spazzotic playing has been granted "brown status") and our desire to "smash whitey using his own tools", Allthis we thought was fine and funny and I never really gave much thought to politics behind it untilthe deadline for this zine came up. Bear with me...

that

-

Which Came Firsl: Being Brown

0r

Being Famous?

Race is a tremendous issue in the music industry, rt is perhaps the single largest factor used to create genres and create marketing trends. one only has to look as far as the recent'latin explosioi'to ,u*- l?" how terribly wrong Jlis g1n get. Ricky Martin and .lennifer Lopez piayed ad nauseum on MuchMusic here in Canada and l,m sure , on MTy (when they get around to actually playing music) too; plastered :i.#l and airbrushed on every conceivable magazine cover, Besides their horribly bland pop, what made it even mtre appalling was that it was being dubbed as the 'latino' sound, Sorry folks,lhese were iatinos playing pop music - it is hardly true latino music But r guess exoticizing culture sells more records (.1ust ask Madonna), I wJn,t even get into the fact that most latin amerrcans hardly live 'la vida laca' like Ricky and Jennifer - but that's another issue ior another day, simply, the white music industry is stiil afraid to have people of colour behind microphones and on magazine covers, and if ihey must, the context.must be changed. Monica and Britney Spears both sing pop songs about boys but one is considered an R 'n B artist and the-ther ts, well, a pop singer. Get the picture?

'..

Figute 1: Punk Rosk

The punk scene is different and more inclusive, but is for whatever reasons, still a mostly white, male, straight 9enre. l've given up on music being the bearer of politrcal change, though it is a good tool for awareness I'll agree. l've been lucky living where I am At the young age of 21 l've played in five bands of which three have had at bast iwo kids of colour. I don't think it's necessarily important that punk rock try and be more inclusive to coloured kids or queers or girls. I firmly belreve that the scene is open enough that when those !roupt want to participate they can in a space that is eight times out of ten inclusive and suPPortive.

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Figure

2: Particip-ACTl0Nl

But what does it mean that anyone can come into the punk scene and be a part of it? As a coloured kid it means that, in a similar tone to mainstream thought that punk tries to prove it has shaken itself from, punk will still contextualize it or perhaps more damaging, the artrst will contextualize themselves. We have arrived at a time in punk rock when it's no longer necessary to say "l'm a riot grrrl" or "l'm a queer punk" or "l'm a straight-edge vegan warrior", Myself, I'm a guitar player in a band, That's it. lf lchoose to voice certain political beliefs, it will not be based on the colour of my skin or my sexual orientation. As a brown musician, lcan't ignore the fact that I'm operating within a space mostly contained with white males, but have to be carefulthat l'm not judged by that fact, I want people to say my band rocks because we fucken rock - end of story, We've beaten everyone to the punch by coming out and saying we're brown first. We're setting the definitions for ourselves rather than having them set for us, But we won't be contextualized nor will we contextualize ourselves, Fuck the rules.

I

Figure 3: The Futqre

So what does being a coloured kid in the punk or underground scene

mean to me? lt means it has been a place where l've forged my path, and hope to continue dovr,'n it rn the future. lt's a place where l've come to learn and be inspired and figure out myself. The clichd that everyone must write in their young life is true with me too: punk rock saved my life, lt means not having many simiiar role nrodels but being orre; and being a little bit proud watching my y()unger brotlrer follow in similar steps. I played in a hardcore band r,vith hinr for two years and since it broke up he has gone on to form h s own band and even set up a screen printrng business, doing punk rock shirts for friends, The future will hopefully hold for me the same ir'rspiration I've derived from the punk scene for years to come, And jr,st loori<ing a1 my younger brother, I think it will.

T\e Weights & Measures self-titled ten song CD will be available

v,,hen you read this for $12 postage paid (Canadians in loons and e,/eryone else in American please). t don't do zines anymore but I do have: a few copies left af the super limited edition (75 only) "The Aeed/e & The Horiz<:n" I did with molly of Tyger Voyage fame. lt c:sts $jl and comes in a personalized envelope. The cover is e,nbossed. Fans of .lune of '44 and leanefte Winterson will adore.

Il you vrant niy brother to screen shirts for you, you can reach him a l; tnfs,-ree/'l p::rinting1@pcpostal.com. To contact me via snail mail v, rite t c, Kev i n /6 A t= oxf ie I d D r ive/ Ne pe a n, O nta r io/ K2 J 1 !-7/CANADA or entail jaErockphoto@yahoo.com.

1

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Ft*"

'(0.. Mi$trt

\

*s hell Liw*g

Leurc,, l.4qrtin

.

co-opt (v): 1o: to choose or elecl os o rnember; b: to oppoint os o colleogue or ossistant; 2o: to toke into o group (os o foction, mbvement, or culture): bl to toke over:APPROpRIATE.

ABSORB, ASSIMILATE;

oppropriote (v): 1: to toke exclusive possession of: nruruEx; 2:,to set oport for or cssign to a porticulor purpose.or use; 3: to toke or moke use of without authority or right [from Websten's New Collegiote Dictionory]

t"en thinriie obouf is how thinss ,,r.,_;" ,ll.Tl!,19-]ty" hove recently been used fo morket

^ston'

certiin

r," prinre exompte is fhe wu-rons nt::l_1":I]ll Lrqn, who nqmed f3n, their aroup oftgr q korute flick, dubbej j!:" !^tl boroush "r it"i!" r"l";ffi';"';2w titte of

"Shcolin,'. qnd somole clips from horfiql qrts-rnovies. nlso, ,ga

"o1'*, *'" iueusi

].::

irsu"

oi@ *iorin" onj

was surpriied to find on orticle obout Bruce Le-e, photos

*: htt: Lotino ropperl dressed *

of

.r"o ,rrrr-tu.r, o wh.g col ls h mse lf ',Chqi rman n4"r,;."a1 i"#r-obort -' qrri cte enritted,,nncie# Hist o; ;; ,:,K'"_11I l:bli:h:l wnrch, occording to the wliter.

i

retter-writer, described

the essence of Shoo Lin,,, ,,the history of the worJond

n n fr

""

:;iil.*'H,:[:'fii :"i":t iFl,i;:i might nof otherwise see ourside

ffi:l."X^"

lheir

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*,

own

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I

haven't quite iigured out what to moke of ott ot oppropriotion? Co-optotion? I'd hqve on eosiei fime deconstructing this phenotnenon if if were rich whifg people sporfing a new trendy Asian theme. There

this. Is it

definifely is evidence of Asiqn populority in the (lorgeiy white) rnoinsfreom. There's Madonnq of course. who chants in Sonskrit on her lotesf clbum, ond for the record I do think thot's fucked up. There's also 'Mulon,' bomboo-

-

cnd-velvet thongs, Sonrio ond other Joponese onime. ond the trendy Free Tibet movehenf thofs got Brad Pitt and nll the rrrh!tr" nrrnk ro"kens nnd olternakids "politicol.'

5

-

'

deolt frustroted thqt rqce qnd culture we?e nevet fully obout I wroie poper finol my with in the clossroom. 5o for

of the the "performdnce, representotion ond co-optotion

'Other"'.

It begins:

uOfhar' is perforned and represented is an^ orfisf inporfant lhene lhat deserves discussion' l'l/hen an a or a subiecf to revolve his or her work around "hoo"."nof within his or her own communi*y' what are fhe i*pb 'ipti"otionsz Do these perfornances evoke co'opfafion ond fhe oppropriafion-a neocolonial relationsh ip between Other? centered artist and lhe obiecfified How lhe

i .o^" to tha conclusion

thaf yes,

ii

is often problemcti:

when ospects.of "the dark Other" ore incorporofed into performances, like when performonce ortist Schneemon (who just hoppens to be o Bord gndd' Hohl) smeors herself with red point ond colls it o "shomonic

cgF:/Sj.. '''

rituol."'The problem comes when Othered communities are misrepresented,fetishized into o single ospect of their identity, and/or objectified, ond when ihe power differencesbelweenthe performer ond the performed are in not criticolly exomined. The performonces con be ploced hooks' in bell a "contemporory norrotive of irnperiolism," words [check out her essoy "Eoting the Other" in Block

Looksl. The some goes for white ki!1spo'"ti4 dresdlocks OiTim";;f ah@G/JoPanese/wloteveFifqroctursond called conot knowing the significonce oid meanings" It's it! to used 6et optotion, filks! Aplropriotionl . But whot hoppens when o rwrgina.lized/Othered

:

perforner performs c Doninqnt identity? An exonple would be inthe fihn "Paris is Burning, " in which working-

closs and poor Africon-Atnericon ond Latino goy men perforrn os upper-clcss heteroiexuol white men and women SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

in the Nlew York druf boll circuit. In these csses the guestion may nof be so much whether the subordinote subject is objectifying fhe superordinate, becquse thof superordinote.subject is clreody held up os the ideql in society. More ielevqnt questions to osk moy be: is the performonce subversive in its tnocking of the idealized subject? does it guestion the Dominant's ploce os o doninanf identity? or does the performonce just serveto moinioin the stotus quo? does.the performer long.to be thot which he or she is performing?

So now cqn you see my confusion when it cones to hip hop's incorporction of the"Orienfcl"? The power dynamics ore harder to identify when it cohes down io . locoting the differing stotuses of African-Atnericons.

Lotinos, and Asion-Americans in this couniry. Identifying "who's on top" is not.q simple tosk when one considers economics, electorol power, politicol representotion,

Justice qnd. crime stotistics, demographics. history, etc.

It would be incorrect ridiculous) to just soy "Oh,

W,IE

Vibe is porticipating in on imperiolist dialggue with Asians!," or "Oh, Wu-Tong's 9ot on inferiority complex-' they just wqnf to be Chinese!" The oppropriation is more, say. iorizonlal, if you will.

The menbers of the Wu-Tqng aren't rich white lodies like Modonnq; they ore young black men who grew uP in the projects of Stoten Island, who probobly grew up wotching the same martial oriiflicks on chonnel 11 thot my brother qnd I would ritually wotch every weekend wheh we were little. I like Wu-tang,I like thot they pui Stoterl Island on the map,I own the "Enter the 36 Chombers" CD, ' I even boast-o Shoolin potch on tny bockpock. But when rrpi.rs ond hip hop mogazines.stqrt invoking the Orient, why then, do I stomoch?

I guess

still gef this incredibly

queosy feeling in my

I should return to rny eorlier discussion fioround performonces of the "Other". Politicol Power wos one ospect, but so wos representotion. The ploce of lilexominotion is not necessorily in locoting the differences in pouyer ond stqtus between Asiqn Americons, AfriconAnericons ond Ls*inos (which is very keY when one looks ot how white performers invoke the Other), but in looking ot how indeed hip hop'is using fhings "Asion." Fron whot I've seen with the Wu-Tong Clon, and with Vibe mogozine (ond moybe I'm just not looking in the right ploces or my rrAcinnl performonces ore , .:'i'r:l ara being beit used is off), ;$;l ;-+^*-+a*iar interpretotion ie ^ff\ "Asion" nanfanmnnces

-lS

ot the kitschy foreign Other,ond

hos

the problemotic

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iln+endencv of reinforcing the stereotype of Asian korste an oncient/mysticol nnriant/rnvSti L-l^^^inn to {a on t t' A -i--F as -a belonging hosters ond/or- Asions post-tense in o Post-tense solely ::;; T1 ;o i^lca tn nlace'Ations'solely culturc. 11 is false t- Place' contemporory ignores it becouse Eqst versus West context contributions of Asions globolly and specificolly.Asion .i*rt"*ir"this countr"y' The questions must be asked: being reduced Are Asiqns being misrepiesented? Are they c? to one stereotypi c chorocteristi

i$'

of should be ioing through severol issues

l;;l;p

to whiie

#e" )in"", onlnot jusf the

@ond other r had occess

one iss13

this essoy' but from what I've seen ond f-tn'nt I'd feel less worried obout the use of

,iting

fr""tJ t" fo.,

if Asions qnd Asian Anericons were n,"[ ."^pt"ft"*ibly'."pt"sqnted' Pr1Ps. to Vtbe for

;;;;t;;"in

hip hop

their

mogozine' woy mogozine (oh more thon theaverage moinsiream "white"

oll in hoving onything obout Asions at

issue's ;"n, i t"tt"t the RJllinq Stone August 6'1998 me' pleose!!)' on ih" tib"ton Fr"edom Concert-gag

"ii.r" anything Asion in Vibe's i"i Y every referenceto "*.i'""ff issue is reloted fo martiol orts! nuorst "-J--' ploce in this music mogozine where

The only tied together is in o shori Asians ond music ate specif icolly ng: Americ.o' s. moinstreom is

o.i,.t" entitled "Indio-Trippi port of the ii"rJ.a with gifts from the Ganges)' While sitors

mixing orticle is obout Indion musicions in England it olso talks o1!51SSoe' tro-y. ondfunjabi folk tnusic with hip

lr

,it

jl5-'=

:

-+

\t

'r

'- -

obotf iTri nea-populority of hennq dye tottoos ond bindis(tto"" dots Hindu wohren wear on their foreheod) with nonIndion musicians like Gwen Stefoni snd Jonet Jockson (ond qrticle is not of Midonno the neo-Indiophile). The "ours" word "oppropriqtiont prcctice, ond.the critical ot oll of this

I I 'l !

I

is not used, olthough the cppropriotion 9oin9 on obscenely obvious, at leqst to nre.

\:

is , , .'-

\ r se. While fron ny poinf of view the representation of Asions ond Asiqn cultune in hip hop hos not been entirely t l oositive. I do think thot the work so fqr con hopefully 7 lGJ-rort", iiterest in the communities to 9o beyond the ffi martiol ot'fs, oncient/mysticol ond decorutive cngles ond .\ ffi rart exploring cultures for reols. I think cross-cultural if tokes r:

r.t

'Bi

irredio con be

ireat

ond subversive. especiolly when

rnarginoliied communities out of the morgins ond into +ho fanefnont ar when it's expressly exnressly or even subtly thg forefront, or

r&*o II

like sone super high-tech multi-medio coolitio;-' flAulai"gocross cultures, communities ond technologies. orexomple, con Wu-Tang's use of marfiql orts be read os

llititicol.

f lf

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-

lsuUGrting ond debunkt'ng-th-stereotype of the weok

rr m:*5,:' *:;;r,lr ;ml: lff'.r ffi,

rces ond

:*"*":

:,

5o yeoh. Those ore my thoughts on this for now. haven't fully comprehended the meonings and proctices, qnd will keiR mV senses open for more medio productions to criticolly anolyze. Sotnething else I'd like to sfqrf thinking obout is the reverse prcctice of Asians onid Asian Anericansapproprioting hip hop ond/or things Africqn-Americon, ond just the entire phenorrenon of inter-culturul oppropricfion. Thonk.you!s to Elisso ond Yotes ond e'ierybody else I bounced ideos of( of in deoling with this still sonfusing subject. You got ideos obout this?

Better write'them down, sucko, ond send 'em to mel

I still

**inoL*** re,cenlly flipped through the September issue of Vibe qt f don't"hove it in front of me so I cqnnot, .deconstruct the entire mogozine for its Asion coritent, but sotruthing that jumped out at tne in thc bookstorE-lvos o grucel-r;e fashion spread. A Chinese man wiih o Bruce Lee hoircut and komfe ponts doing kicks ond chops in the air, ond ossorted ladies surrounding him in oncient Chinese dresses with nice weeping willow tree.backgrounds. UghJ T.

o bookstorc.

J

a qoo\ :o.i"\ 9.!. t 1^.3i, r<:<a<I r^ou\\

l.

t.itt\,:{ r^.Jl t"o..," a ,-* ra*glg,Lrt o lrod.sL\"^1

hg. s\^*\r.r.o<Y-in5lc-6 eâ&#x201A;Ź zi^q.

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b'r

I'tedhu" I(f Jrslnfi,an

"Haw can you be so co/d? You are the meitnest girl I've ever met. What makes You so cold?.

I rr:memtrer the niglrt my t:ld frielnd setid thc'se wcrds to me. I remernber looking around whatever clark club, reeking of smoke, that we'ruere in and thinking thitt my fniend was eibsoh"rtely right,

and that I was absolutely caugtrt -- ctlld, m{-ian, and hiding behind fast grcwing walls of nihilism 'and cy,nicism, lfett lit<e I'd bee,n foutld out, revealed' ,And I remernber thinking that there couldn't be el single persion in that steamy, crr:wded roonr who stood half a chanse at smasliing tl're brick w;:rll I kept wrerpped so tight around rfle into the ntillion pieces I w:ls dyirtg for it to fragment intc,.

I remember sclme other thrngs, too.

It'ri the same old story. Yctu knc'w it, sio I'm not going to wast': anyone'r3 time by repeatirrg it. Trust nte, it's probubly better this w;ry. Lelis just keep it simple*disaffe*ted (pre)teen in the thloes

of mental anguish and sorne precocious form of existential angst firrds solace irr the fr:bled fairy tale lanc{of Arnericern subsulture, where everyone is embraced, loved, and res;pected, simply by virtue of their existence within sericl subculture. Evtlryonel is equal. Everyane has a voice, and everyone counts, n* matter whiat the majorlty or rninority may say. Ther only thing is, thert's not quiter the whole story. ln fact, it doe'sn't even r;ome ,;lose. all bercauscl of one simple but so funrJamelntal clifference: I am nert while.

My "disaffecte'd youth" w.!$ one that, on the surfelce' was replete every privilege one could hope fcr, and I admit thiat quite a bit of that privilege \vent fi:r deerper tl"ran just the surface. Rich, suhurban Boston, huge ftont la'ryns to run and pl;ay in, and one o1'tlre best public school rsystems around characterizerJ my clrildhood. l, as an Indian child, was one ol perhnps three nr:n-white sturJents in my school, throurghout all thirteen yeat"s thpl, I spent in public education, from K to 12- This had the curious side effect crf making any anc{ all discrimination and rar:ism that I experi*nced alitne more implicit, insidious, ancl hurtful in its ni:rture: to everyone else I was an "honorary white kicl," ancl any non-white/non-hornoge!'lou$ tlspects of my home wi1:l"r

that leaked into rny social lil'e were either swelpt aw'ay conrplet,aly, or subtly filed away as some kind of ioke And so in lifer

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io that old tfir: end, it, andl, jGfinined 6ack :P:^t:1? not iust as th:? pru",uin oi"n Y:ld Te' lljil3lil;il

il'i'ir'*t

ffi;i;ll;;,"urri*l,it"o-cluasr-rvhite

l:

l<idfnovelty l'igure

punk rnck was sonre intangible What I tlrought I wc'uld fird in (crr' at very least' thing that would t*t *J iinJ "p'p'""iation punk WL;t lthcught.l woul'l find in understanding)for coldneis I felt scl acutely' both rot:k was something t!"irt'i* irtforervel toucherJ by towards my own ",r*t*'i"nitn".n11,t"1me rest'ot the wo,rld, which I felt could that culture) ano torvariJ'lne rlo it fr:r me neoer unO.istand tlrat or

t";;li'

{iras nlore of the same' I What lf,:und in punk roclt' however' avcridance of race and found, in place of outrigl'rt ignotance.cr tired Po rhetoric about how ild;ili.;riocr;, the reqii"iie, is equal"' etc ' only to see the "râ&#x201A;Źrcism is bullshit" ail;;;;i;n; the iderals turn around and worship sarne ktds who touttld those I brerath next the pale-skirrned' reo-ripiei-io"'i"jnii1----------------11in "discourse" on self-congratulating e,nd found a whole lot ot iJt rest of the past the r"tas evciived how great it is that f"itil if"ft exist raci:lm of *n* of the problems wcrld becau*r, of who people "oJ"u' lfound tl're sante in the punkworld, ;;;; on how the whitest of skin ano clelimed these things "*"iui*ing in a person lfound that lisht, lisht hair are tl;;i;;;ti;;t'iraits this made me feel' I'cl be when I brought up t'tl Oiscorntc'rt too sensitive' simply ilttiiiv [iu*n*o on, toro lwas being tnat [.was trying to strip away humore<lo, pruon'iJd *'*u*n (white) rigrrtlo ineir own standards of to the si:me old exposed "ttiriiJ-"pr;'s' acceptability tn srrcri, iiit"o myself l'nad tlrown up with- lfound backhanded, ingru'ii;o ti"it* white one" again' myself rreferred to as the "honorary

still'.1 grow cold' and colder And so again, I grew cotO nnO now reinforces the same mantra that with every action, *"tC ot look of color' do not count woman a wiin: tnJ'i t, as i;;i assimilation would important That my identity i* noi"* "1.*y There is a responsibility to be, to ease the discomiort oi otners' turn into educate, but when erducation arrd communication the wall' I think it's time to cut cvcles of beating *V il"d

i&;;p

"gainst my losses and Pack mY bags'

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The main prohlem with the duality of being a person of color involved in subcultune is that the nature of many subcultures is so strong that the members of said surbculture are expected to completely identify within it, and only it, primarily, even at the ex$lense of every other faset of their identity. Even when you try punk to identify as both, you're still qualified as the kid." You are neither here nor there and not fully accounted for in either place.

"__

So my friend wanted to know how I could be so cold, and this is how: I cannot be a "true" lndian because lwas/am involved in subculture (which is a whole other story * the stereotypical notion of the typical, preppy semi-conservative lndian girl in modern America). I cannot be a "true" member of suhculture, in my case punk rock, because I do not want to ignore my culture, because lwant to hold it in my life as more than a fashion accessory or occasional pastime, much like I cannot be a true rnember of mainstream culture because I do not fit any of the typicalpre-requisites for mainstream American culture. I am neither here nor there, outside in both cases. How can you be stuck outside for so long'nithot-tt turning cold?

, DFillo AWrUtliNli$$ l$ A Cl?lMli TN'l: lAltEl. gillAlcllTx llDcl! lr^Rr) coRE I'trNK / CRiTST / GRIND CCIIE F/Si' $ORE

/ KlWEll VOUiN(:E , NOISE 't ANrlltCHC

PtrNK

Il'e tlistribute anylhingi a,enthing - c'assettes, compact discs, vinyl recatds, ilewslettqs, 'ziues, eE. (.'onryletely bared at the DII' ethies' BawJs i labels / zirre ditug rw watrt kt disoibure pnry nsterials (N0 pro-life, nazi's, hanopltobic thit!.) Please serul 1'ttur fitffs to the a&lress below. lVe like it, ue'll tske il, dwl?:

Eddie, Lot 2341-D Off Jalan 1, Green Wood Park, 68100 Gombak, Selangor, MALAYSIA. E-mail :, {ixxEVxlx@Hotmail .gom tt* .,1 buc* gets yrlu a list, or nice kng letten uouhl do iwtfne no.

t** Ltxul / Asian oxlers uily!

Sup1nft the third worhl punk scane!!

ItotilG

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hy t,cky

W*er,

Jr

Well, I guess I should start off by saying a little *ornething about myself. I am eighteen; I am vegan, straight *Cge, African-American. I try (often unsuccessfully)to do a little actlvist work. I am into hardcore. I have listened to punk rock for atrout five or six years. I got into it like I think a lot of kids do pr*tty much just listening to commercial bands (Epitaph stuff, etc.). I reallyenjoyed the music based on its musical merits, but I u:rderstood that there was a general idea of non-conformity an,l often, political and social consciousness in the music that I for-rnd attractive. That, I think, more than anything is what s',r:ltained my interest in the genre, scene, whatever you want to cri!l it.

What is kind of weird is that for maybe two or three of thcise five or six years, I was ten times the hip-hop fan that I was tire punk fan. I remember in eighth grade, practically the only tape that stayed in my radio for half the year was a dubbed copy uf Chef Raekwon's "Only Built For Cuban Linx." lt was wrought r,r.ith misogyny, homophobia, and tough guy macho posturing an* it was, to that point, one of the best records I had ever heerd. I considered myself a pretty non-homophobic, non-sexist peison (lwas wrong), so these elements did leave a sour taste in rny mouth. Actually, they bothered me a lot' Nonetheless, this re*crd was good . . . and, besides, the artists were just doing a litiie bit of audio role playing . . . and, besides that, this shit was frorn the streets - they have a duty to keep it real' Also, why in ihe hell should I have to worry about being 100% consistent? !'m 13 fucking years old. That was my rationale.

Eventually, I did a little self-evaluation' I realized that rJespite being against anti-gay hatred, lwas guilty of honophobia. I acknowledged that despite my "respect of \uornen" I had said and done things that are sexist. I severed my iies with a lot of things that are bigoted and I became more rrrvoived in the punk rock scene. What is disheartening (to say ih+ very least) is that I found that a lot of people within this "progressive" scene have the same "why should I have to worry ai:out being 100% consistent?" mentality that I had when I was tg. fne sEme way I thought not being a "homo'-hater and not calling girls "bitches" was "good enough" is the same way t[a1 lots of kids in the hardcore scene think that going to an ,nti-Kt"n rally and wearing a "Fuck Racism" patch is "enough " The same wiy I passively invalidated girls' complaints about sexism by laughing at jokes about feminists is the same way white kid! invalidate me by dictating to me what is and is not racist, scoffing at my claims of racism and proposing to have all SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

the answers to ending racism, often giving me a spiel thaT sounds like a fucking after school special- How absurd is that?

The alleged perpetrators of racism being the sore arbiters of what is and is not racist and then making bold assertions of their

anti-racism.

What never ceases to amaze me is that despite the clich6d "open-mindedness" and ,'ability to question ihe way things are" that I constanily hear white hardcore kids drone on and on about, it seems that any indictment of whiteness as a collective entity, the white power structure, or white privirege is met with accusations of (conservative buzz_word) "reverseracism." There's an underlying imprication that there was ever a time that my white counterparts and r were sociar equars. r feer qualified to say no such time has ever existed, still, even in the most left*leaning and underground of circles, l,ve seen people making a mockery of ethnic minorities' assertions that they,ve been slighted or been dealt a raw deal by white folks. Any indictments of white privilege become laughable anO peopte who made them are ostracized or made to look stupld 1i.e.

Charles Bronson's asinine anti-Racetraitor song). Fuck, people still cover Minor Threat's',Guilty of Being White.;' Even more subily racist is the general "fuck humankind,, trend that is so popurar nowadays. r guess it might not be fair to label everyone who is frustrated with "human nature" a racist, but what sickens me is the insane ethnocentrism with which people toss concern for humanity to the wayside. Nine times out of ten it comes from the mouths of white kid! who prace all of humanity into a box labelled ,'guilty,,which enables them to show no concern whatsoever for human suffering. When one looks at the fact that the majority of the world's human sufferers are people of coror condemned to rives of misery and squaror bv tire greed of the predominantly white western world it's e-sy to see this whole "l don't give a fuck" (TRANSLATION: "lt's not my p:roblem") sentiment for the racism it is. I read a recent MRR int*rview with Enemy Soil where the singer/guitar player said, "l tlrrnk war is great. lt's good for the warring country's economy if ii'o a superpower and it helps the global population problem."

What the fuck is this nazi-bullshit? That sounds a hell of a lot l;ice Manifest Destiny rhetoric to me. When in the hell did Social [-:arwinism become tolerable? The slaughter of the people of the iiouth American rainforests is "OK"? The colonial exploitation of ile Ogoni people is "alright?" This seems like an obviously rn*ist statement, not too far off from something you'd expect to h*ar on a Pitboss 2000 (rabidly conservative, homophobic, x,:nophobic, sexist hardcore band) record, yet I'm sure Enemy $,oil (or Blower or whatever the hell they're called now) will still r*ceive rave reviews in MRR. SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

Let us not forget the ever so popular gore-grind genre ru;hich features a lot of bands that put a lot of pictures of a lot of h"utalized/mutilated women and people of color on their records with little or no underlying political/social message that would in a*y way legitimize their usage of said pictures. Dahmer (whose r**mbers' individualethnicities l, admittedly, do not know), for ii-rstance, is a serial killer worship grind band from Canada wl'lose most recent LP "Dahmerized" features a picture of a Lliack man's dismembered head, hands, and penis on the cover - a Jeffrey Dahmer victim. Of course, this band is totally "OK' b*cause of their disclaimers "no racist should hold this record in their hands" and "Homophobes, we're 3 queers."

It seems to me that a lot of white punks are just the hipper equivalent of my high school sociology teacher, a white

liberal who rambles on to the class about issues like racism of ,r,,hich he has only the most rudimentary of understandings Sasically the type of idiot who thinks that wearing an "End Apartheid" T-shirt actually contributed to ending the regime, that waiching "Roots" means he knows all about "the Black ,+rperience," that recycling is tantamount to "environmental *ctivism," and that his guided, luxury tours of prison and an impoverished South American country constitutes experiencing what it's like to live in both environments.

It is frustrating to be expected to sit back and listen to the same regurgitated "anti-racist" drivelfrom people who are totally unwilling to entertain the notion that maybe they have some subconsciously racist attitudes, and to then be branded with the scarlet letter of "political correctness" by the very people who can't believe that a Black person would be so insolent as to question their authority on the subject of racism.

After all, they allow me to come to the shows, and fhey didn't burn a cross on my lawn - isn't that enough!?! And, of course, these people will go entirely apeshit when I or someone who actually gets it says, "Shut the fuck up, cracker." I think that's something that needs to be heard a little more. Yes, "Shut the fuck up, cracker." Of course, I'm not all that fond of having to explain what the word "cracker" means to those who accuse me of "anti-white racism" for saying the word after each time I use it.

Using the word also makes it easier for someone to not listen to what I have to say. Basically, it seems like if I speak up about the issue, regardless of what I say, I'm the angry Black villain with "a chip on his shoulder." l'm not suggesting at all that the subject of racism should not be addressed in songs by white members of the punk community, but rather that those who address racism should realize that it is an issue as multifaceted as politics, SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

environmentalism, etc. lt is not sufficient to have a thirty-second song whose only lyrics are "Fuck racist scum." That is not exactly what I would personally call "empowering."

Collectively, the "scene" needs to realize just how limited it is in scope. This is only perpetuated by the elitist, "punk rock" practice of only handing out flyers to visible punk rock fans. How fucking dumb and insulting is that?!? "You don't look like you would be able to enjoy punk rock, hence, I won't let you know about upcoming punk events." Yeah, great way to win more supporters from the ranks of the uninitiated. Now I am not suggesting that everyone who receives flyers, etc. is going to welcome them with open arms. Most people are not going to come to punk rock shows so I can see-lhe importance of ,:r,r,**tuitig cne's limited resources' but is it such a bad idea to protests, etc ? iGlt.$Pl iei mors people know about shows, I thinl't th:"it it is time to hear a few more voices Voices ;:nd Ferspectives that are not heard all that often. I do not think ihat I am aione in that assessment.

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by Choi, Woo-Hee {Elizabeth h/lcAdams} l-ately, $'ve been thinking about her a lot' Within the past few *ontt o, she's slowly cnept into my thoughts' in brief

mcments;andslorvquietsecondswhenlhav,eplentyoftimeto of anialyze in detaileverything on my mind' I get these images she in detailwhat know I almosi think I n*i iii*V head, where ioc,xs

liki or looked like when she was

yoLlnger' Probabty

nose"' similar to rne. Short', small, with cat-like eyes, a button

maybe even the same kind of rnouth and attached earlobes' af her on I create these stclries in my head, fantasies vain the other side of the ocean ancJ what n'lust ["rave happened. little uttu*ptu to answer for myself what drd happen, the with *V"to*u of rny life Each time they become more compiex' of the intimacies miie er,roeilishment on the plot I focus on the would else anyone .ii,,"tlon the tiny delicate distinctions that to know toss asicie. l'm riot interested in the 'big picture' l want he did other' each ev*:rything, how they'met, how they felt for when morning in the nof oh"t 6incl gentty and kiss her cheek inuv wofo" upf-Werb they even in |ove with each other?

Ithink abCIu{ her more tl'ran I think aboul him' I rarely really spend any energy trying to make up what he was like lt's is she rlf me as just ae much nor t"it, cbnsioeiing he's ii,tf,trf fV I resent i'lirn to-*ome degree. ln rny imagination, 1 ...

ha.yeitatttiguredout'Helefther.Hedidn,tfoltowthroughwith For ni i*iponriuilities. He ran away in sorne shape or forrn. him' onto feelings place my sore to **,n* i*"ron, l've learned have could she truth, ln with her' sympathy ti,,l *V heart and

screwed beâ&#x201A;Źn a not-so-great person herself' She. could have stuck me situation' compromising a into gotten herself around, thing' in inn orp-hanage and washed her hands of the whole why" wonder She didn't have an abortion and I aiways piaces. tt: many Pe rhaps it was part cultural andi there weren't be would it have an abortion there. or she could have thought Regardless' J*lg"rout to her health to have had one very bravedidnlt which makes rne think she must have been a *o*"n, to live in Korea in the late 70's as a single pregnant *o*an. To do it torlay would be difficult enotrgh considering until Kcrean-{}onfucianism still requires a woman's virginity narriage.

tlt-

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Three years ago, my older brother found his birth family.

Our parents hetped him search for them, filing all the proper paperurork in the Korean r:rphanage he lived at. They are the ones who made arrangements for him to fly to Seoul, and then take a tnain sr:uth to the ocean and Pusan to meet his uncle. I saw a picture r:f thenr standing together. lt's incredibie how much they look like each other. Both stocky, with the same kind of wide shoulders. Neither one of them could speak the other's language, but somehow they clumsily made it through the help of an interpreter. My brother had so many questions, which I think for the rnost part were answered on that trip. Looking back, though, l'm not sure how great it is to finally have your questions answered. The answer canr be more difficult to handle than not knowing. The little mysteries I've always had lvith rne would no longer exist. My fake truth the one stored in the baek of my imagination, rnaY be proven false.

I have a lot I want to iell her. I really have a wonderful life with great parents who support their children through everything. A brother and a sister who I think of in every sense my siblings, despite not sharing anything biological other than the slant of our eyes. I live in a fantastic city, filled witlr culture and diversity and am receiving a superior education at a well-known university. l'm in love with a person who lwant to spend the rest of my life with. I have amazing, inspiring, and creative frienrjs whom I am able to trust entirely. I want to tell her how much I appreciate her for giving all of this to me, that it means everything to me that l'rn able to love these things, these people because of her.

Sometimes, I ffade places with her. I have this game where vve switch and l'm the one who has to make the decislon.

I find out l'm pregnant and think about all the options available to me. I pretend I'm her and I know then what fear must feel like Not the about-toget-mugged kirrd of fear but the fear tlrat's part hopelessness, part despair, part frustration, part agony. The kind that doesn't scab over and go away brrt strcks around to haunt you. All revolying around one decision... lwoncler, how much of her strength did I inherit?

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ly lynn h" ideally, punk was supposed to be a safety net where i could channel my anger through femininity perversion, challenge social constructions of thinking, resist multiple forms of oppression, and maybe make a dr{ference for a community. feeling way out of sync with practicaily everything, punk gave me a rare opportunity to vent and stretch my repressed emotions at the world without berng too self-conscious and mpybe find a support network. musrc was an aggressive contribution to nly awakening; it empowered me by fuelling energy rn my gut. it aiso introduced me to underground zines where i learned about various political ideologies (especially about anarchy), do-it-yourself aesthetics & ethics, the corruption of corporations, and miscellany.

but i did not expect to discover a dynamic and complex dilemma in a subculture that supposedly accentuated this universal concept of all punks being oppressed the same. just like the real world

frighteningly, pLink was/strll is this straight white boy hegemony with bizaire mohawks

and anarchy signs and hardcore masculintty. in my eyes, punk is constructed for, made for, reseryed for angry mrddle class white guys who can frnd refuge rn to resist the structural oppression they face. does that mean a girl faces the sgqe how about a queer, disabled 35,3;r-.1r-,p1ca,r

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enter riotgrrd into the piciure. itwas a cultural, although temporarily and shortlived, phenomena that paved the way for girls who felt angry," rsolaied, and repressed about many issues like being excluded from the punk scene. a break away faction, riotgrrrl protested how punk was hrdeously dominated by straight whrte mrddle-crass boys emerging from

srburbia (how many times do i have to say it?) r was extremely grateful for the space to communicate with other girls. at last, feministinougnt could not be scr:rned at, brushed away lrke dusi, rudely ignored. beiause

p!1k, sqdly, co_uid be reduced to sqlelsm3nd misogrny, considering that gender ro'rcor fo'nity isr't a stresse'j part of what constrtutes pr.,nk" riotgrrrl helped resist the infamous cock-rock idiom, which postulates that women can't play as good rock as men, and i didn't really identify with testosterone overload. in the musrcal aspect of it, r never wanted to be a groupie - not that r could be due to unequal distribution of accessing the backstage - but i fantasrzed aboLrt being on stage, yelling what was on my mind and how r saw the worid in the microphone. problems quickly emerged from rir:tgrrrl. take this so-called concept of sisterhood, for instance. it largely ignores jhe fact that we, especially girls SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

of coloi and various mrrorLties (seiuality, class, etc ) are commg from different socioeconomic backgrounds and experiences. it does not privtleges, recognrze that a white uppeFmiddle strarght class has more a black than, say society, in thus asserting more power and freedom an itwas originally working-class lesbian. the irony of rtotgrrrl is that and right?) avenue of resistance to punk (but the boys are our allies, maybe a social club for grrls who were being silenced and marginalized in the sea of testosierone. after all, ihere is an overlapping branch of sexism and racism. conflict of perspeciives lent to invisible divtsion of giris themselves.

because of my physical disability, I had the honor of receiving smothering treatments of pity and ignorance and distance from peopie without even bothering to get to know me. nobody lrstened to me. nobody took me seriously. nobody could speak fcr me, an example is eating dtsorders, they were emphasized to rllustrate that people were not taking young female adolescents seriously and ihLrs the american culture was responsible for vrctimizing them into the beauty myth so self-proclatmed riotgrrrls spread the philosophy of freedom to do anything, nonconformity

and individualism. comtng from a diflerent school cf lhought shaped by my living as a minoriry, i point out that many impoverished welfare mothers, more likely colored, suffer from eating disorCers as well because they depend on food as a coping mechanism from the stress of daily life (working minimum wage jobs, taking care of children wrthout husband's support, financial hardships, etc ) i add that they cannot afford therapy as opposed to many young females for their eating drsorders because the rnedical estabiishment loves to profit off our psychological problems and that riotgrrrl-ism can't really help those people out there' guess what my point of view is invalrd - gone tnto dust to dust and ashes to dust

sc i became drstllusioned and alienated wrth the concept of rtotgrrrl in no trme, i lost faith in tt because the universal belief of sisterhood excluded rne. i did noi follow the law of coolness just because i didn't sporl nrultrple body piercings or brlght pink dreadlocks or participate in the wrld life as a scenester and on a poliiical leve1, my critical thinking did nct float on the same wavelen$hs as everybody else. even more, many riotgrrrl chapters went defunct because everybody got too concerned with marntaining stabili$ and productivity in their lives instead of sacrificing a substaniral fraction of their trme to do communtty service cr get involved in street activism.

racism is prevalent tn riotgrrrl, what do i find in punk, then? how do begin to articulate why race is important to me as well as sexuality, class,

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gender, end disability? why do i have to address them at ail times? because it is a brg chunk of my lrfe race totally affects my way of tnlnKing and my way of seeing the world heck, alfrrmative action and race profrling can determine what kind of life i'm gorng to have. the canstruction of racrsm drd not happen by itself overnight; rt's an inevitable part of socrety. for starters, we people of color need to get together and have roundtable dralogues and communicate and see how can we make a drfference in the punk scene, if not the world.

Drearns are the answers to the questions we haven't learned how to ask.

- "The X-Files"

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L:y -Dsn

Tres ako I Self Ro {UZlrl ch 30) Do you notice how older people reccl when you mention

ierrn'flip-Flop?'A grect number of times, I hove seen on elder's face contort os llrey respond, "l do not wqnt lo listen to ihot vulgority," or, "iicr,v con you lisien to thol lrosh?" or, "in my doy, we mode songs lhrt respected our wcmen." My mother" used to beot me for listening to liun DMC. These comments ore but o few of the ones we mqy {he

hoye heord. Mcrny find thot the younger generotion's rebellion ogoinsi the older generciion's music ond ori contributes io the gene.roiion gcp. Not oll of our elders reoct this woy. The reoctions v;e recerve from our elders moy be negolive, so ol times we moy not even mention the foct ihot we listen to Hip-Hop music ot cll. i deol wiih mcny of oui' community elders ol o time. i did not wont to hide the foct ihoi I listened to Hip-Hop music. I wonted lo demonstrcie the gcoe'l tlrat Hip-Hop culture hos done for our generolion. Mony of my peers hove osked me how to do just thct. ihe first thing we need to understond is ihe history of ihe reioiionslrip between the older ond younger generotion when it come to music or its culiure. When Blues becorne populcr omongst the voung people of thoi generotion, their elders described their music os "seculcT." When iozzJusion come into the scene? mony of the ovont gorde ond post bop musicions qnd fons frowned upon their conle rnporories who were involved in thot genre of music. The fons of {orrre' gerrre of music were older thon thosb of the lotter genre. Miles Dqvis lcst mcny of his fons in the United Stotes because of his "s'.oriich" from hord bop/post bop to iozz fusion, I come ocross mony {bns oi N4lles Dqvis in their eorlyio lole fifties.who do not own ony of his clbums ofier "Bitches Brew." When Mqceo Porker siopped blo',r;ing Blues through his horn ond begon ploying funk, mony of his r,t:ei.: frcvr/ned upon thct os well. The elders of his iime who listened lo'iazz cnd old soul music sow funk os "dirty" or "not music ot qll.' if one vrere to look ct Porlioment Funkodelic olbums one con see why. l{ crle were to speok to on elder, these onologies con be brought up.

Tiri-' is o cycle thot moy nol end with our generotion.

We hove ro oomir thct-here ore o4isls in Hip Hop muiic who mony of us moy feel do nol represent the Hip-Hop community os a whole. I om sure Blowfly did not speok for his peers os well. At times, elements in ihe medio tend to show imoges ond sound cllps of so cclled gongsto roppers. Congress octuolly held heorings on the SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

@

aboutihe untit" ittu" isthotwe

hove o generotion of young ond old people who cre noi educoled on Hip-Hop cuhure. You hove C. Delores Tucker, on elder I respect very much, wlo did not educqte herself on Hip:Hop culiure, ond you hove politicions who reolly do nol core what Blcck ond Lctino children in the ghetto ore doing os icng qs it does not bother iheir children. We con cleorly see whcl hoppened. Ms. Tucker did not toke the time to sii with young people who iislen to Hip-Hop music to ieorn'obout it. On ihe other ho,rd, young people did not either. The scme diologue thot we rend to neglect between our genetotions thot is lost in our communities is lost here but on o much lorger scole. We cqnnot help the foct ihot rodio stotions ond video chonnels only put out ihe music thot they know will gcin o bigger oudience. Whot we con help, however, is whct we punlp out of our stereos ond cors. ' When I gef ihe chonce to speck to on elder ond our conversoiion heods to music, I rnoke sure to tell him or her qboui which crtist or bonds they should check out. There ore mony oriists who put out good music ond toik cbout issues perlcining to our community. clwoys poinf out Biock Stcr to my eld-^rs beccuse o{ the heovy Morcus Gorvey influence. i con't forgei Public Enemy, Queen Lotifoh, A Tribe Colled Guest {first 3 olbums), Eric B. ond Rokim, the Coup, Grond Ron, Deod Prez, R.ho Goddess, the Roots, Jeru Do Domojo, Gongstcrr, Afu Rq, Brond Nubion, ond Louryn Hill. i know forgot mony more. There is o negotive elemeni in Hip Hop music, bui I olso stress thot there is o consclous movement in Hip'Hop thoi is o spin off the Block Power eto ol tire iote 60's. lf one were to look ai Amiri Boroko, the Lost Poets, the Woits Prophets, or GiJ Scoil Heron, one would noie thot they rhymed over beots.

Mony songs in Hip-Hop music ote somples of old records.

Cld Blue Note records, Porliornent Funkcdelic, Zopp, Jomes Brown ond countless others hove hoci ilreir music sompled by HiqHop producers. I hove lesrned thor if I went bclck ond found out who lhey I

sompled onC whcrt olbum ihoi song ccn be found on helps to bridge thot generotion gop. At times I go out ond purchose thci olbum.

Among Hlp-Hop oficionodos this is colied 'digging in the crqies."

Usuolly, when people heor o song thot disiinctively hos ihe some boss line or beot of on older song, one will wiiness on immeciiote heqd nod. This hoppens even if the performer sounds terrible.

Cne thing we olwoys seem to forget {or not reod up on) is lhot Hip Hop hos more thon one form of expression. We should not woit fcr the television or the rodio to educcle us on onything. When mcny peopie use the term 'hip-hop," they tend io nortow the

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definition of it io iust MCing. I see this irend rising omong the teenoeers cnd even some I B.la 2l yeor olds. T"h"y n",iu, fo.r, on ihe B-boying, DJing, ond Grof-wriring forru oiH,p Hop. The ,,_" eliort ihot b boys lcnd b-girls), DJs:;d grof_,arriters ore invesiing in"ra

tl^eii ortform is being neglecteo.

This

i.i rwu cnd eosy;.y;;"" go rhe.oy oithe do-do. When we use fhe term :,:,:rltrf hrp-hop, we need to be owore of it,s definition in ii,s proper

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conlext "^ everyone else in berween rhink.f "nf .?rr::]f.:': "hip *,". sov hop." ihese ideos hove ro be clelr ,rih"n )tn",n *" o," -voived'r o ciiologr,e wirh on elde, o, onyone else Io,rho* _or.e,. * moke ossu-p,;ons'o,,. o, 'eno o..u -o r"o ctrllure rs iooked down upon becouse of thot ,lVe tcve icncrorce. " : borr sides o{ t.e ge.,e,oi,o,r gop ro b oare There ore mony olher woys to educcle one snother on ilip l-lop cuhure. We hove io undersrcrnd thot like i".; bi;;, Hof music is on oppressed creciivity. Thot is where"; ihe simiroriries ]-r;p ceg l. 1^e -c'or.5gr'9n of old lozz g1ti5r5 1ar.:_ 1 sroge con l:e identifiec'in iie:.ees've:^/me ot MCs lls :133- r ].i.J,uJ, heord in c jchn Coitrone solo ccn be ccmpcrec:c ire scrcicning cr o turi'rtoblist l know there ore o myriod of exomples thcr cqn u" r:.*a in mony music genres. in ony conversolicn, we mlst express ihe importonce oi Hip-Hop music in the hisrory of this couni,y. This is very t irnporlonl since it is the voice of this geneiotio. llcny oeople iesoecicliy .nosi ol our- elders) hove"written o# ;i:. ^^--.^_r^. \A/^ " connct oliow thot eiiher. In ciosing, we should i":;:.:_.^ lu '' of ihis music ond it's cJnlribution lo cu!. 'rsefulness conrnur:iiy. Vve connct do thoi without educotinq ourselves

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Interested in having your zine, self-publishecl book, comics, spoken word reeording, or other DIY literary

project distriluted? Send a szmple copy with wholesa1.e infornation for conslcleration. I am especially interested in non-fiction writing--personal, political, cultural, etc.

I would a1-so 1.ike to develop a good colLection of writings by people of co1or. Fiction and poetry will be consideredl but are not my main foeus. No sexist, racist, homophobic, hateful materials need. apply. If you have fliers, project announcemenfs, or acls for your stuff, I rl1 accept copies to insert and senil off with orclers.

Send to: CELIA PEREZ / 2f4 S. Ceitar St., #3 / fRnryt, FL 33606 or email PEREZEEB@YAIIO0.COM for more infornation.

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wHrnr wrls Tllt c0d0n l;r stArTrE? Looking for reosons why the Greof Bottle wos so white

by Elizabeth (Betita) Martinez Reprinted with 1:ermission fro.m wwr,v.colorlines.com

"l was at the jail where a lot of protesters were being held and a big crowd of people v'las chanting 'This ls What Democracy Looks Likel'At first it sounded kind of nice. But then I thought. is this really what demcicracy looks like? Nobody here looks like me."

-Jinee Kim, Bay Area youth organizer ln the vast acreage of published analysis about the splendid victory over the World Trade Organization last November 29-Decemberr 3, it is almost impossible to find anyone wondering why the 40-50,000 demonstrators were overwhelmingly Anglo. How can that be, whern the WTO's main victims around the world are people of color?

Understanding the reasons for the low level of color, and what can be learned from it, is absolutely crucial if we are to make Seattle's promise of a new, international movement against imperialist globalizatiorr come true.

Among those who did come for the WTO meeting were some highly informative third world panelists who spoke Monday, November 29 about the effects of \l/TO on health care and on the environment. They included activist-experts from Mexico, Malaysia, the Philippines, Ghana, and Pakistan.

On Tuesday. at the huge rally on November 30 before the march, labor leaders from Mexico, the Caribbean, South Africa, Malaysia, lndia, and China spoke along vrith every major U.S. union leader (all white).

Rank-and-file U S. workers of color also attended, from certain unions and locals in certain geographic areas. There were young African Americans in the building trades; blacks from Local 10 of the ILWU in San Franci:;co and Latinos from its Los Angeles local; A:;ian Americans frcm St.lU; Teamsters of color from eastern Was;hington state; members of the painters' rrnion and the union of Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (H.E.R.E.). Latino/a farmworkers from the UFW and PCUN (Pineros and Campesinos del Noroeste) of Oregon also attended. At one point a miner from the South Africa Labor 'Workers of thq Network cried, "ln the words of Karl Marx, people cheered. world, unite!"'The crowd of some 25,000 SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

Among communlty activists oT color, thElndigenous Environmentar Network rrrrvt oe[gaiioi'r"o by Tom Gordtooth

conducted an impressiv"

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with Native peoples from all over the U S, unJ i',""-u.nts *orfO A 1S_member multi-state delegation represented tfr. Sortf.,*est Network for hnvrronrnental and Economic lusti." n"reO in afLLq";.r;;,'"' which embraces 84 organiz.ati.r, pri*rrlty of color in the U.S. and Mexico; their" actiiiities in s..,ii.'*"re binatronal.

Many activist youth groups of color came from California, especiailv tf," gr1lthey have been working on such issues as free trutumia, affirmative action, ethnic studies, and rightwing ruwr ii[. tte current proposition 21 "youth crirne" initiStive. s-"itl"-o.r.i t=or.., of coror that participated activelv .fr"-fif,p,r, iommunity Cenrer and the international iytuUg{ people,s nrr.nibjyl *f,i.tl led a march on Tuesday despite being the onty on";;;;"1 a permit. The

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the protest. but tia crrin! crren of the thp Bay Barr AreJ,s Aroi," rhird ,^,-]r'::.lqt,to rve rr.,r;;;;Jiil:'ilJ!ili,;:lffn.n. person of color involved in DAN,s."ntirr planning.

Seattle's 27-year old Centro a" f. n-ri, a Latino contingent in the labor.march "rganized groups, fo.liuniversity includine MEChA (Movimient" "na iiiriLriir chicano de Aztran). hooked up with viiiting ,;iil.r-;;;il,. ar..t activists who fis,tine roi"n ai..tun"l;;;;..n !:y*:Sr Heritase Museum and Cultural Center in Seattle *"r" lf,.i* Hop Hopkins, an AIDS activist in Seattle,,also btact, mri"".onr,unt personal efforts to draw in people oi.ofoi. '""* Still, the overallturnout of color from the U.S. remained arounC five percent of the total. ln personal interviews, activists r"ir x*"lro the southwest gave me several reasons for this ".'il"v Some rr"no"n"O concern about the likelihood of brutar porice repie*ion]otn",. obstacres: rack of funds for the trip, inability t" [. rnr"rt tro, ilrkilnl." the wee.k, and problems in finding ;l"il:;r.

Yet severar experienced activists of coror in the Bav Area who had even been offereu tuttscrroiairnipt.r,.r""li, ao go. A major reason for not participating, and tl.re ,;;;;; ;i;; by many others, was rack oi tnow.jgJ.Lor, the wTo. As one Filipina said, "r didn't see the poritlcai signiri.an." ;i;;.* the protest woutd be anti_imperiiriri. w"'iiir,l WTO gxiepJ that lots of p.opi. were going to the :boylthe meeting." one of the few groups tf,.t iiJ feer iniorm"e;, did participate, was the hif_hop g;;o ZJrpuny of prophets.

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According to African American member Rashidi Omariof Oakland,.this happened as a result of their attending teach-ins by predopinantly white groups like Art and Revolution' Company of Prophets, rapping from a big white van, was in the front ranks of the 6 a.m, march that closed down the WTO on November 30.

The problem of unfamiliarity with the WTo was aggravated by the fact that black and Latino communities aiross the U.S. lack lnternet access compared to many white communities. A July 1999 federal survey showed that among Americans earning $t s,ooo-$:s,000 a year, more than 32 percent of white families owned computers but only 19 percent of black and Latino families. ln that same income range, only 9 percent of African American and Latino homes had lnternet access compared to 27 percent of white families.

So information about WTO and all the plans for Seattle did not reach many people of color.

Limited knowledge meant a failure to see how the WTo affected the daily lives of U.S. communities of color.

"Activists of color felt they had more immediate issues," said Rashidi. "Also, when we returned people told me of being worried that family and peers would say they were neglecting their own communities, if they went tg Seqtle. Ihey wpuld be and help asked, 'why are you going- You should stay here vour oeoole."'

--itong with such concerns about linkage came the white.as assumption t-hat the protest would be overwhelmingly

'-"'

itwas.CoumbaToure,aBayAreaactivistoriginallyfromMali' will w*Jnti"u, said she had originally thought' "the whites more were Others take care of the WTO, I don't need to go " carlos ("Los" for short)^ ;;;V tpatehenstve. Forof example, Prophets told me' "l thrink even Bay Windham'of Company nr"r ..alriits of color'who understood the linkage didn't want . trotest dominated bv 50,000 white hippies'" to be i;;; '- "- *--p"iple of color had reason to expect the protest white-dominated.RobertoMaestas,directorofSeattle.sCentro press coverage de la Raza, told me that in the massive local of color person before the WTO meeting, not a single "Day after day' opposition .oo"rt"a as a spokesp"iion for the a real publicitv.was in the news rhe ;;;;;;;ir*i'it" faces or unions of the lli"tt"nt to people of color, I think some .f'uilftgtorps should have had representatives of color' to *n.ourJg. people of color to participate'" Four protesters of color from different Bay Area organizationt ttlk"d about the "culture shock" they

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experienced when they first visited the "Convergence," the protest center set up by the Direct Action Network, a coalition of many organizations. Said one, ,'When we walked in, the room was filled with young whites calling themselves anarchists. There was a pungent smell, many had not showered. We just couldn't relate to the scene so our whole group left right away." "Another told me, "They sounded dogmatic and paranoid." "l just freaked and left," said another. "lt wasn't just race, it was also culture, although race was key." ln retrospect, observed Van Jones of STORM (Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement) in the Bay Area, "We should have stayed. We didn,t see that we had aiot to learn from them. And they had a lot of materials for making banners, signs, puppets." "Later I went back and talked to people," recalled Rashidi, "and they were discussing tactics, very smart. Those folks were really realyTor action. tt was limiting for people of color to let that one experience affect their whole picture of white activists." Jinee Kim. a Korean American with the Third Eye Movement in the Bay Area, also thought it was a mistake. "We realized we didn't know how to do a blockade. We had no gas masks. They made sure everybody had food and water, they took care of people, We could have learned from them," Reflecting the more positive evaluation of white protesters in general, Richard Moore, coordinator of the Southwest Network for Environmental and Economic Justice, told me "the white activists were very disciplined." "We sat down with whites, we didn't take the attitude that 'we can,t work with white folks,"'concluded Rashidi, "lt was a liberating

experience."

Few predominantly white groups in the Bay Area made a serious effort to get people of color to seattle. tuliette aeck of Global Exchange worked hard with others to help people

from developing (third world) countries to come. But for U.S. people of color, the main organizations that made a serious effort to do so were Just Act (youth ACTion for Global JUSTice), formerly the Overseas Development Network, and Art and Revolution, which mostly helped artists. Many activists of color have mentioned Alli Chaggi-Starr of Art and Revolution. who not only helped people come but for the big march in Seattle she obtained a van with a sound system thal was used by musicians and rappers. ln Just Act, Coumba Toure and two other members of color-Raj Jayadev and Malachi Larabee-pushed hard for support from the group. As a result, about 40 people of color to go thanks to speeial fundraising and whites

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ai people'- homes in Seattlsso their hotel money could Ue isJa initead on plane tickets for people of color. Reflecting on the whole issue of working with whites, coumba talked not only about pushing Just Act but also pushing people of color to apply for the help that became available.

One of the problems Coumba said she encountered in white doing this was "a legacy of distrust of middle-class 'being used'' of activists that has emerged from experiences people of.

Or not having our issues taken seriously lnvolving Whttes space. color must bl done in a way that gives them real must understand a whole new approach is needed that includes respect (if you go to people of color thinking you know more, it creates a-barrier)' Also, you cannot approach 'let's give 2 people simply in terms of numbers, like scholarships.i People of color must be centralto the project " Jia Ching Chen recalled that once during the week of . protest, in a jail"holding cell, he was one of only two people- of color amongmany Rnglos. He tried to discuss with some of them the nJed tolnvolve more activists of color and the'W9 importance of white support in this. "S9T" would say, *unt to diversify,, but didn't understand the dynarnics of.this." ln other words,-they didn't understand the kinds of problems described by coumba Toure. "other personal conversations were more productive," he said, "and some white people started to recognize why people of color could view the process of devJloping working relations with whites as oppressive." Unfortunately the heritage of distrust was intensified by some of the AFL-CIO leadership of labor on the November 3b march. They chose to take a different route through downtown rather than marching with others to the the ConvJntion Center and helping to block the WTO' Also' on the with march to downtown they reportedly had a conflict inlrJ worta people's Assembly contingent when they rudely be in the totO itre people of color to move aside so they could

s-taying

..

lead.

Yet if only a small number of people of color went to

Seattle,allthosewithwhomlspokefoundtheexperience They spoke of being changed forever' "l saw the ,'l "*tr.oidinuty. future." saw the possibility of people workrng together.".They .;il;J the giant mobilization "a shot in the arm," if you had been feelirig stagnant. "Being there was an incredible .*rt"ningl NaJmi, a Filipini dancer and musician, recalled

grumpy' wanting'to how "at first a lot of my group were tired' with us, who the of one ;;';";". ihat really .r,*gua. activist' arrists to get wants now political a il;;;.";tlJerea r,ersett SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

involved back in Oakland. Seatfle created a lot of slrong bonds in my small community of coworkers and friends." They seem to feel they had seen why, as the chant popularized by the Chicano/a students of MEChA goes, "Ain't no power like the power of the people, 'Cause the power of the people don't stop l" There must be effective follow-up and increased communication between people of color across the nation: grassroots organizers, activists, cultural workers, and educators. We need to build on the contacts made (or that need to be made) from Seattle, Even within the Bay Area, activists who could form working alliances still do not know of each other's existence. With mass protests planned for April 16-17 in Washington, D.C. at the meeting of the World Bank and the lnternational Monetary Fund (lMF), the opportunity to build on the WTO victory shines brightly. More than ever, we need to wc,rk on our ignorance about global issues with study groups, youth workshops, conferences. We need to draw specific links between WTO and our close-to-home struggles in communities of color, as has been emphasized by Rajjayadev and Lisa Juachon in The Silicon Valley Reader: Localizing the Effects of the Global Economy, 1999, which they edited.

Many exaniples of how WTO has hurt poor people in third world countries were given during the protest. For example, a Pakistani told one panel how. for years, South Africans grew medicinal herbs to treat AIDS at very little cost.

The WTO ruled that this was "unfair" competition with pharmaceutical companies seeking to sell their expensive AIDS medications. "People are dying because they cannot afford those products," he said. A Filipino reported on indigenous farmers being compelled to use fertilizers containing poisonous chemicals in order to compete with cheap, imported potatoes.

Ruined, they often left the land seeking survival elsewhere" But there are many powerfuiexamples right here in the U.S. For starters, consider:

WTO policies encourage sublivable wages for youth of color everywhere including right here.

T

WTO policies encourage privatization of health care, education, welfare, and other crucial public services, as well as cutbacks in those services, so private industry can take them over and run them at a profit. This, along with sub-livable wages, leads to jeopardizing the lives of working-class people and criminalizing youth in particular.

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Workers in Silicon Valley are being chemically poisoned by the chips they work on that make such wealth for others. WTO doesn't want to limit those profits with protection for workers.

WTO has said it is "unfair trade" to ban the import of gasoline in which certain cancer-causing chemicals have been used. This could have a devastating effect on people in the U.S., including those of color, who buy that gas.

Overall, WTO is controlled by U.S. corporations. lt is secretly run by a few advanced industrialized countries for the benefit of the rich and aspiring rich. WTo serves to further impoverish the poor of all countries.

Armed with such knowledge, we can educate and organize people of color. As Jinee Kim said at a San Francisco report-back by youth of color, "We have to work with people who may not know the word 'globalization' but they live globalization.

"

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I'm Spanish-Venezuelan. raised in the USA. In other rvords, one of those many rvorld concoctiol]s tllat can occur rrhen presented rvith unique life situations and the great invention of transatlantic transportation. This not only makes me a hybrid of sorts, but also very confused most ofthe time -- a walking identity ctisis. one rvho is often confused for an Indian or Arab, and overall, a person constantly looking foru'ays to apply many worlds and identities to daily life and creative efforts. And after most every day, I either feel terribly satisfied and glad to have so many perspectives and experiences as part ofmy life, or I feel extremely confused about the rvorld and why I sirnply don't fit in nicely an)'where like a puzzle piece should.

But then I look around and realize that norvadays most people in this country even those rvho have been raised in a nice stable home in a nice stable torvn going to a nice stable school and kno$'ing all the same peopie most of their stable growing years. are just as confused as me, and sornetimes even more so than me. We all seem to be in this uphill battle to find our identities in rvhatever we do. It just so happens that I have one too many identities to figure into my life.

I was bom in Madrid, Spain but have a Venezuelan passport. My mom is Venezuelan, but

she was raised in Spain, except for when she and her sister lived in Venezuela with their mom.

I lived in Catalufra, Spain with aunts and uncles most ofmy younger years, with occasional months here and there where I actually lived with my mom in a variety of places ranging from Madrid to the

Canary Islands to Caracas, Venezuela and finally back to Catalufra.

I had the most fun in Puigcerda, Catalufla -- a mountain village tucked away in the Pyrenees

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treated bordering France -- because my aunt and uncle and four Beatles-obsessed teenage cousins even But mom' my with USA to the tnoved I finally me like u"prin""rr. Oh, and when I was eight Pennsvlvania the to out I moved before years fol three in the USA, I only iived with my mom countryside with my mom's bofriend's Quaker family. confused? Me too. imagine After a lifetime of moving around from place to place and fanrilr to familr'' vou can this doesn't and home is l'hat and I belong. where am, I all the questions I ask myself about lvho rvhen I once met I only who dad my Venezuelan about have even include the kinds of questions I being with terms to coming has been country in this living was nine. The most trying ihing for me only I rvill tl.rat realit-v the sad Beyond Atlantic. the separated from Spain anj *y iunrily across the understand to trying of struggle constant the is have a limited relationship with Spain, there leamed I the values rrith clash tirnes so often that many contradictory r,alues of th" US culture in August of 1998 at the along th" *ay regarding family and affection and life in general. So finally in hope offinding oftime amount a substantiai for Spain ug"ifZSt alc;aea tlrt I had to retum to myself' some answers to my many questions about even consider Am I Spanisii -- that is, from peninsular Spain? Cause some Spaniards don't a Spaniard' me calling to hesitate tend they even and me Spanish -i unless it's my family, of "orr.", and round dark -short.

Spanish than Venezuelan more look Am I Venezuelur.Z i -"u',, I dance can't I certainh' And Alexis. uncle Venezuelan my everywhere -- but speak nothing iike make arepas I Nor can butter' as -smooth can Aracelis wife Salsa anithing like Alexis and his life' my -to save is there - one ofthe simplest Venezuelan foods can this be? Especially So then am I American? Am I "una gringa?" How embarrassing

Americans are stupid, when I'm in Spain being bombarded with accusations by Spaniards that all and clinton Le}insk-v the like things to response as a ignorant, ridiculous and lacking culture Hollywood style soap oPera affair. myself being stared Since I'm more American than Spanish in the eyes of Spaniards, I found

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at as ifI had to give an explanation for these bizane happenings in American culture. To Spaniards and some Europeans, the Lewinsky-Clinton affair seemed to define all Americans. How

ignorant is this?

There I was, trying to explain to Spaniards that there \\:ere many people in the USA who felt the media had gone overboard on the Lewinsky affair. Furthermore, I explained that many Americans really do have concems beyond scandalous media stories and are active in social worko

education, human rights. the environment, etc. etc. But then NATO (with the US at its head as aluays) decided to inten-ene in Kosovo affairs. At this point all Americans were being bad-mouthed on a daily basis. And what couid I say besides "don't confuse Americans with US govemment policies." After all, it tends to be US govemment policy, T!- shows, and media coverage that reflect the US to the rest of the world. And this certainly doesn't give the world a true representation of ail the diverse population and ideas that exist in the USA. You can see my frustration.

After spending nine months in Spain it became very apparent to me that I would never be able to assimilate my so-called identity in a single dimension. After all, I went to Spain to reclaim and understand my Spanishness and ended up explaining and defending America and its bizarre culture to Spaniards in such a way that for the first time in my life I began to value the USA and its acceptance ofpeople like myself.

In other words, in America you lvill generally be accepted for lho,vou are -- ChineseAmerican, Chicano, Native American, etc etc. This isn't to say that racial and economic discrimination doesn't exist in this country because it obviously does. But a democratic system that includes ideas like "all people are created equal" and "freedom of speech" -- to some extent -allows people of mixed races and identities to empower themselves in many ivays. The art, punk and political activist communities were some of the first communities where I felt comfortable in because they seemed to accept people rvho were not only a bit different from the norm, but who aiso had different ideas about the worid and ways ofdoing things. These communities indirectly en-

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rvhich I later develop my ideas and bring them to life -couraged me and gave me the confidence to punk shorvs' did th"rough fa.trines, radio programs and booking I of them. In fact, I didn't feel Spanish at aii' one I realized that in Spain I wasn,t seen as

-- and had daily life that I felt comfortable and familiarrrith "isor"i*r.

But overall I begar to see myself as a mixture actualiy incorporated into -y duily life in America.

I saw how place I felt the most at home at was the USA' of worlds and ideas, and it .eemei that the extremely status quo and I found myself getting Spaniards were very rooted in tradition u.,,1 th" DIY/art community in America are constantly arxious for the kind oi p-;""t. and activities the

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,,tapas" like olives and alioli potatoes. And this is al1 good' tn Spain this country rfould take time to do on a daily life and sharing ideas, which I wish more people in What became apparent was that enjoying basis. Here it's the other extleme: productivity nonstop' ihut urgency to work and create new things' life was good and all, but what t nua i' my bllod *u,

wine and great

ThisiswhattheDfYAmericancommunityhadtaught.".k'theUSAthisisalsovaluedand wonT about getting te1l you to chill out 1{.no1 encouraged, where in Sp"i" p""pf" *ightlutt nosotlos chica" - "take it easy' take life b"b",tn uir.ito things donejust "tomateio "on "on "ul*u, drink a little wine with us chica'" "ul-ly,So,myjoumeyinsearchofanidentityhasbroughtmerightbacktothegoodoldUSofA

in Arizona. My students and I share one thing; we're where I work with th" M"ri"ur] community also ,egardless of horv.h,ard it is to retain them' I immigrants and we don't want to loose our roots always is that of that good o1d DIY tlpe stuff play in a band, b""k .h;, ;;ery so often and doail inspiration and energl' atrd ways to incorpofind to so satisfying. Between th"r" *orld, I manage so it goes. .*" *y ,oJoimes_confused self into this meiting pot of a country. And

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lwas not in the punk scene, much less the hardcore scene, but the local music scene was relatively small. lnevitable interactions caused by whether gig organisers deciding for obviously stupid reasons to hold gigs putting indie and hardcore bands together fuelled my observation as a late entry to the local no-scene.

Local hardcore is as perhaps not as old as other genres in the local music scene (consider the Quests and other 4-piece bands predominant in the Beatles era), but it certainly is more violent and insidious. Local hardcore is somewhat like old terrorism -- it incited an overthrow of a colonial power (being especially relevant since we were once a colonised setilement, haha) and hardcore lyrics were keen to draw attention to those aims. With such a specific manifesto in mind,:however, it was unfortunately not effectively carried out nor sponsored by anyone other than the fistful of kids who supported these bands with steadfast but futile loyalty. (Local) hardcore, while having a clear manifesto as a prototype, had unclear perpetuations with no realistic power schemes. What perhaps vindicated such a futility was the stultifying government system they were in, where leftist political agenda was nipped in the bud even way before any seed was allowed to be sown. Considering also the inanity of the askewed notions of straightedge that a lot of the hardcore kids held -- "hey let's not eat at McDonald's; they're labour-exploitative, man" "yeah man! down with corporate establishment! where're we gonna eat?" "l dunno, let's eat at Burger King." -- it was perhaps not a bane that hardcore remains a minor force to be reckoned with. lf majority of the hardcore scene elsewhere (say, in USA) is a largely white population, it is a contrast to the local hardcore scene where it is made up of mostly Malays, a race only 2nd in number to the Chinese.

Ooei tnat say anythrng? ls hardcore a sort of vent toi ihe racially marginalised? Do hardcore bands play exclusively to the underdogs? I don't know, and perhaps I am being too liberal in analogously purporting race with subculture. The hardcore subculture is certainly resilient though, as cornpared to other extinct local music genres.

I don't identify with hardcore because of the insurgent and reckless anger that they exemplify, more so exaggerated by the clumsy conduit of inadequate lyrics. Poorly-articulated lyrics are informed by poorly-formed theories. While I can understand their appeal, I believe that there must surely be a way to reconcile hardcore and lifestyle, but such a happy compromise with the government will not be that easy.

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by Gelia C. Perez

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I am a zinester of color. That,s night, I m Mexican-Cuban and I nrake a zine. Like other zinesters, regardless of color I suppose, I like to think ttrat in putting out a zine I am part of this community of people who.have taken publishing into their own hancJs because we feel that our views and interests are neglected by the mains;tream media, because we have a voice that is not being heard. As a zinester of color, I think this applies even more so because of our society,s structure - put simply, power lies in the hands of white people.

Regardless of how you want to look at it, people of color don,t have much of a say in this country. So irr my zine I get to bitch all l-want about being looked at funny, heing asked what country l'm from all the fucking time, seeing my preople portrayed as sneaky little bean-eaters or boat people in the media, having my intelligence or abilities questioned because of my name or riy

So once upon,a time lwas slighfly

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society in generat in its ideas about a-nd tr""i,n"nt'oib-"pi"""i;;il;'t 'tt Even with my sneaking suspicionln"i"iv as fawned over as zines.,RuJ =in* wourd never be out by wnite g-irls; who write about their record collections.their cardigan *rnJ"t.,r*, and encounters with sexism, il wasn't a uig oeat be-c;;';;, can,t make people everythingl I figured ilriswour'Jespeciatry :::^ ?!"yt be the y!: just coulrrn,t ioenti[ wiilr sruff I wrote about i::o:Tp rea y, h o*'r" ny ;'^ ilJfi ,ffi , ili::: ff !:::yse,insecurities = ;,''. ' r povedy, aboui how socilty views you no."rru o, .-. y3^u1_elhnicity, loss of one,s famity laniuage, erc.?

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(a Onelist nessqgg broard for people wh,: make zines) that made me completely re-evaluate my viervs on the whole zine "iommunity.r' I don't even know how thewhole conversation treggq but]heg1gr.qnglt basicalty focuseqt on ihe jsquq o.f "white pride" and a contingertt of zinesters who belteve it is no different than black or Latino prrde or Asian pride.

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ln the course of the argument, peoFieliiedlo "whiteness" as a "culture" while never really giving any characteristics or traditions. Zinesters proclaimed that.white pride" meant not being ashamed of being white because, apparently, there is a tendency for whites to be made to feel badly because they are privileged! Gasp! Boohoo, lfeel your pain. Zinesters agreed that many "not so cool,,things like slavery had occurred at the hands of whites but this was no reason for white people to have to "cower and feel inferior.,, Oh, l'm so sure white people are feeling oppressed and less-than-human ALL the fucking time! One zinester in all her pro-white pride glory couldn't even get nationalism and Hiiler,s National Socialism straight--comparing pride in one,s ethnic or national origin to Hitler's belief that the Aryan race was superior to other races, and claiming that Hiiler used ,,a doctrine of German Supremacy" to gain popUlarity when, if this had been true at all, he wouldn't have lceen killing GERMAN Jews left and

understand oppression. lt,s like white women who compare sexism to racism and think they can understand it, when even as women they are still WHI1-E women, and thus, they exist within the power structure. a",,

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'

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Whenlsaf zihesGG' I certainlv don't mean

that all of them were in on this absurd white pride crap. I mean, some of them chose to simply not involve themselves in the conversation at all. They probably put all their energy and thought into postings about mashed potatoes. And this fact in itself is another sign of existing within the power structure, when one has the option to partake or to be removed from such a dlscussiqn, As a ry!{gperson, you don't gain or lose anything by involving yourself in the white pride argumetnt 'cause it s all about you anyway.

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I read a-nexcellenGssay in whic:h the author brings up a lot of key points; that no one on the white prirJe side of the argument seemed to understand. One idea is that white people, unlike people of color, do not view the world through a "filter of racial awareness " lt is their ability to ignore the fact that as white people they 6sr* the privilege to not have to clo that which gives them an advantage no matter how sad and uncultured you feel. (Grillo and VVildman, 86-87) How often do you stand in line at the store and wonder what people are thinking about you because of your appea!-ance (and your piercirgs don't count)?

How often do you wonoer if preople are questioning your intelligence or your ability to cut it in college?

When a l-atino perser-r saysJhey have Latino pride it is a statement of self-validation in light of a past, a present, and a future that makes Latinos out to be dirty, lazy, "bean eaters," dumb, ugly, loosâ&#x201A;Źt, baby machines, servants. This in no way can be compared to someone saying they have white pride because they're proud to be white even though they're made to feel bad because of things whites have done in the past. lt's just a flat out stuprid argument.

Even the semantics of the whole Zinester list discussion was fucking scary" Evern though some proclaimed that they didn't mean "white pridr=" as in "white supremacy," as a person of color if I were to see someone wearing a shirt saying "white pride" it would scare the shit out of me because the connotations of that term and its usage is one of non-white-hating skinhraads, not someone who is pr,cud of, say, being lrish-American. Now, honestly, how many white people find themselves f'reling afraid of someone wearing a "black pride" shirt?

Several z:inesterrs of color opted to leave or take a breal< from the list because of the whole argument. ,\nd not simply because of the numb skulls who argued for white pride but because the conrrersation started to take the tone that they shouldn't be outraged at the whole thing. They were made to feel that they should jurst chil! and t:hat about it as if it were qolnq lqq|Eg tea_a! frlgh noqn!! something, like once the topic at hand went away they could just go on about their business like it's not something that affects them on a daily basis. They were made to feel that THEY were in the wrong for getting upset, for showing anger and frustration, and for veiOatizing

those feelings.

And the sad thing about this is that one can expect that kind of fucked up bullshit in numerous social situations and with numerous social groups, but zinesters? I think that's one of the things that really stumped people, that these people who talk jive and kiss your culturally diverse ass start showing their true SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

fn tneGrif fo anO Wildman essay I cited earlier there is a quote that sums it all up so well: "Trying to educate whites about race is a great risk for people of color. They risk not only that whites will not care and will prefer to perpetuate the status quo, but also that even caring whites will not hear or understand the pain of racism," (97) Here we saw a handful of white chicks who l'm sure many thought of as open-minded and understanding throwing a hissy fit about their right to "white pride" (which, to reiterate, for the love of god, is not the same as saying, "l'm proud to be of Lithuanian," or German or French or whatever the hell ancestry, kids).

The zine "community" is one in which everyone comes off as being full of honesty when, apparently for some people, this only applies to issues that will not result in any toe-stepping. lt's a good thing to know that there are plenty of zinesters out there who are making an effort to understand and intelligently discuss issues of race and power without ego trippin' on some crazy notion that minorities are taking over and making them feel like crap for being white. But for that whole "discussion" to occur makes a pathetic statement on the zine community.

colorg

Source Grillo, Trina and Stephanie M. Wilderman, "Obscuring the lmportance of Race: The lmplications of Making Comparisons Between Racism and Sexism (or Other lsms), PrVtTege Revealed: How lnvisible Preference Undermines America, New York: New York University Press,

1996,85-102.

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stop talkar€ about race, gender, ethnicity, wc cla3s & sexlality al.Ilnth€sarnebrcath. shall aoo. sol0e rrlore to the rtj-xture? shaKe trn].r€s r'{}r a bit more'i how I bout religion, natiorlnood', ldis)aoiIity, d8e, size, s[in coIor, blah dee blah blah BLAH questionr whrch coruYs f irst'? la) your race reJ-igiorr \o) your (c) your gerrder (d) your class (e your sexuallty aII of trne is 1f ),,,nrrrnotherfucxer. the Lnswer .'y,n ,irr^r'^ 4'^n.r,.+ i + ^nt-F you f'orget it. arrd above, don't ,.1

r wili- not d.eny rny rnultiple selves for your arrn not jrst a girl, not just a dyre, flot j.rst a ! stud.ent cfl coLor. ' you wilL not toitenize ile. you will not gloss over issues that do rot directly af'I"ect you. you wlII not ruh rne ragged doing g6od deeds for your revolution & then ta.Ix shit about rne oehrno.

So rny bacr. wherr i call you on sornethirg you wrll not say 'ohirrigod i diqn't everr realizc, i'in so sorryr and continue doing what i caIIeO. you on" you will not asK rile (or people Lirre rte/ to eCucate you. you will rot talr bout rac:"sio, seir-srn, c holrophobia as if' rt only exrsts J-rr nazis oc f'rat boys and rot within yourselves. you will not oefriend, rne to prove that yod are not racist, serist, hornophobic or antr-serur.rlc i do not care acout your so-calleo solidarrty, and. i donot give a shit about your internalrzed whatever that you are worKing on" ] itu o+Iy,2l yearq. olo & all w4y too Dittef cynrcal. alreaoy. tnan{s a wnole I'ucKfn J"ot.

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by irl'm, ftuyen I hove to recruil Floyd 1o corry ihe projector the three long blocks beiween my cor ond Mission Records, teoring him owoy from tl',e g'rn,u on lhe t,alevision obo'ze the bcr. (l hove oboui three muscles c,nd the sum c,f lherse is rlet snor:gh for the tcrsk ot hond.) Seon hod crlled {rom work to osk me to come L>y lhe Maxinrum compound ond pick up the ecluiprne nl for the screening; ond os Flcyd cheerfuly hoists the projector ,rut of the trunk, l'm wondering how tlre kids will tcrke lc the purk rock pedogogy to come.

But the Mission Recorcls screening is o rore occosion. For once, fcrr the first time in o long while, I feel comfortoble with my punk rock sunoundings. A dork, somewhol donk boc[ room, furnished with rr.rtty ,::ouches ond much-scrcwlerd wolls? Per{ect. With the store spoce quickly filling up for the show, t\4oriin orrives ond we weigh the cptionsr VCR cr prolector? Sho'arer curiain c,r-? The boy behind the cgunter is h<;lpful ond solicitous; he rummoges in the bock room ond excovdtes lron o seemlng iunk heop u working screen, iury+igs the s,ounci yrith o series ,rf corr:js cn,j power strips. The room fills with punk cnd indie kiJri settlirrg on floi cushions cnd concrete floors in this, o c,)mn.runol livirg room, ln front c,f the L,lonk whiie screen.

Mos Allo cle los Grlt'os / Beyond the Screoms is q hollhour video docurnenlory oboui Chic,:no/L,rlino poriicipction in U.S. punk ond hordcore, o stolemenl whic,h hordly begins 1o encopsulote the project begun here. Brocketed by ih<; eorly Eosl L.A. punk scene {leoirrring too-short interviews wiih Alice Armendqriz from The Bogs ond Iereso Covorrubios from Tlre Br,rt) ond '9Os lJ.S. hordcore, N4ortin lSorr,>ndeguf iraces the historicol troiectory of Chicono/Lotino punk rcck on<1 more , iis ,:lwoys-emergent body politic, wiih brilliont

*itt ln',,oice-cver (os boyr in o pit mosh in slow motion), Mortin the premise of Mos Allo. "The Lotino punk scene in the eorly outlines 90s.. reolly e>,ploded be,c,:use cll of o sudden we hod o hell of o lot to sing obout. Whot stcrled hoprpening politicolly in the U.S. pissed us oFf so much, qnd we were feeling tcrqeted ond we were feeling cornered osci commun,ty&lt. begon writlng songs oboui it.'

As such Mos Allo is incredibly moving ond effective, ond on q number of levels immediote cnd for-reoching. Well-edited inlerviews, stllls ond show footoge moke for o dense but riveting thirty-nrinute record of Chicono/Lotino porticipotion in punk rock, indexed here os o cuhurolly vilql ond polilicized counterpublic, o kind of punk rock "teoching mochine." Members from Sqbsistenci, SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

ondCircuits, Los erudos o-ndHuosipungo discuss the poliiicol noture of their everydoy lives ond ort, ihe implicoiions of ,inging ln Sponish ond diologuing ot shows, ond the,mechonisms,of boih Juuluol ond insurgen.y. N"w,tu"l clips of border potrol ond police brutolity ore mode thqt much more hqrrowing by Revolucion l', ,nor-l-dulivered cynicism, the words scrolling ocToss o funereol block screen:" Killing Mexicons is loo much fun/' lolin Americon

dictotorships, NAFTA, c slew of onti-immigront meqsures fuel the gutlevel roge cnd criticol impetus; corresponding resistonce ilou"t"ntrlnform this unoboshedly lefiisi onolysis of punk os being possionote politics. with oll the revisionist timelines of punk rock of contextuolizotion o'nd recovery importont published, ti i, i, on result oiherwise hidden histories ond unocknowledged influences. The tronsnotionol wilh is o collective self-portroii of od os octivlsm romificotions ond impressive vision.

But while Mos Allo posiis punk rock os o potentlclly lronscendent subculiure from which rodicol politics eosily find rool ond emerge, l'm not so sure. No, check thot: l'm positive Punk rock is "neutrol' quolity; it not, qfter Jll, o "n"rt,ql" spoce ond rebellion not o hisiories ond cumulotive underplnnings, is weighted'with ideologicol

certoin'modes of op",otion ond vqluotion, oll of whlch beor close lnlerrogotion. The politicol connections mode ln the video, I think' hou" lJu, to do wiih qn inherent punk rock sensibility ond more to do with the qrtlculote, impossloned individuqls moking those connectlons.

Thot is, ond it hos to be osked: whot is it obout punk rock thot requires on interventlo n like Mos Allo tn lhe first ploce?

Cr qs Michelle Christine Gonzqles wryly notes in Mas Allo' ,,people ihe punk scene ore notorious for soying 'rocism sucks,' but in

when ii comes down to hoving friends of color, it's cool uhtil they qnd there open their big mouths. There ore desiroble people of color qnd t9o qqundqqrrlblq pggPle of color, !f yoqlre ioo brown 9t , dt*tilh;. you're going to piss somebody off or moke somebody uncomfortoble."

And so is it ioo much to qsk for, punk kids respectfully engcging on importont inlervention l\ke Mos Allois -? The Mlssion n"Ioidri","ening feels good; ofteword, there ls some discusslon' bills' the much proir., qnd"on ,pd"ot* on dongerous youth crime benefil future ond shelier, youth queer locol ;t;;g'L io estoblish o oll the would' rock punk i wish how ond rqllies. lt feels like

,hoir",

meon the time. But I wonder if the experience of seeing Mos Allawill overheqd be might .orn*lor- everybody in my more sour moods,-I o Los multerlng, 'Will th"y congrotulote themselves for owning 'rodlcol"' ond go i,rdo.ii', congrotuloie punk rock for being so SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

home ieeling sofe ond sec,,te?" Moybe it's rust thot l'm o skepticol qnd girl, bui I w*t to push butions ond smosh lllusions, rcise c fuss ioint {ingers, to moke others feel qs unsettled os I do, oll the time. leel this is whot it will take, before something chonges' And the night before ot the Gilman screening, the bond lollowing the video begon tuning os the losl of ihe credits were rolling ocross {rw.n', showeicurtqin, noiled to the woll, leovlng no room for discussion. Did you get thot? Too onxious lo rock out, while boys climbed on stoge ond curtoiled the possibilily of diclogue with their noisy feedbo"k ond chord progressions. Hqd they been wciling for the end sequence, impctient cnd bored? How mony others, too, orms crossed qnd unmoved? Smoking cigorettes on the sidewolk outside, Bicnco ond Chondra tell me they heord muttering, o few snickers, cnd moke bitter comments obout white people.

To be truthful, ii might be too ioie lo sove me' Cr more, loo lcTe io sove punk rock for me I still hove vrhot I consider to be punk-rock reflex l toke uncrnrbiguous pleosure ln xerox mochines, roucous vocols, house .how, ond more, I con't begin to exploin the why or how of it lt bcffles ond omozes friends ond somelimes even me, in my more criticol momenis. So ot the some iime punk rock is nolo home, nor is it I

spqce from which I might ioke o stond.

Thct is, my identificotion is precorious, portiol and proceeds ot poce with my simulianeous deprogromming. {lt's true, I tclk myself ori of it oll the time.) l'm olwcys one sleP owoy from wolking out, like

cr

I did before. Cnce, when o slrolght, white punk boy wrote o song obout wonting to rope me, I did. Arrd when o friend honded me the

r.ecord o.rorr-thu toble ot on Avenue A bor ond osked me not to look ot it in front of him, he wos so disgusted, ond when I sot down loter oi o burrito shop to reod ihe lnsert under bright fluorescent llghts, this more I thought io myself, "l om not surprised. Punk rock welcomes lidoes me." I turned it over ond loughed, becouse there wos no

than

illusion then of hoving been pori of something rodicol, someihing dlfferenf.

And now, thinking a6oti *tls. And lt is nct o coincidence but o smoll port of o for-flung pottern thot on the zinesters listserv, c white

girl with o zine ond o .n!ii or"d", wonts lo know whot's wrong with ;white pride," ond crgues block notionolism is "lust llke Hitler'' Wor.ru, others ogree ond wani to know, too, why people of color ore olwoys tokiig whites "feel bqd." {These missives invode the scfety of my living-room by wcy of my computer, ond I con only feel fifteen as if ihqve'b"un-b,-okun into.) How is it thot I feelterrorized by throw to entiiled being yeor-old white girls? Her sense of sofety, of such looded phror"., thick'#ith histor-ies of blood ond rope, inio SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

prbiic spoces wirh such cosuor ecse is o morker o{ how for we hove not gone. And why would I v,zorit to be in o spoce in which such "opinions" ore so blithely engoged, os if I didn'i gei enough of ii everywhere else in the worid thot I need tc orgue too, in ihis more inlimote spoce I once held so much closer?

Thumbing through my coche of punk rock propogondo reminds me why I become on expctrioie in the first ploce, why continue to hold /ct orm's lenglh. Nor is this simply o comment on rqce, qs if I could even imogine Toce os o discrete cotegory oport from others, like cons in o cupboord imy usuol cnology). There is qn unmistqkoble coniinuum I could iroce, like o spiderweb or o breodcrumb troil, winding {,:r bionketing, moybe) qcross the londscope of punk rock cuiturol crnd politicol production. "Disco is for blocks ond homosexuols," a 197Q fonzine sneers; moybe it's no occident thot it wos colled Flnal Solution. "The United Negro College Fund is o sublime obsurdity," lambastes a Hilistmagazine columnisl in this new yeor, ond I remember that the some writer once orgued feminisis were ioo. There cre the presumptuous disovowols of toth r.'cism ("punk is on+i-rocist") ond roce {"rl",uir.. roce bul the humc,r, roce"), fomiliclr reformulations repeoled when gender or closs or sexuolity or borders ore invoked. And once swostikos were worn qs cc<:essories, coulcj the iconic monipuloiion of Third world suffering for record sleeves ond goiefolds be for behind? (ln this sense, prnk,l"k follows in fhe trodition of ihe white Europeon ovonr-gorde ond iis loundotionol myth of originoiity qnd refusol of accou"ntobility, but thct's o whole other siory.) Indie rock girls osk why goys ond lesbions wont "speciol rights," punk boys rope or beot girlirlenjs ond ocquointonces, queer kids deny rocism ond their closs privileges ond in befween there ore the innumeroble insurts, the srips of tongies, ond ihe violent gestures.

I

And it need not be on extreme exomple. Recently intervlewed lroyc Robles ond Gory Fenbotfrom the defunct queer-pop quoriei Sto-Presi, nesting in my living room io diologue oboui-punk, performonce, pop ond politi.r; they orrive ormed"with o poir cf lecther ponts (for me) ond o tope ,".orj"r. {Mork took his on tour)' rhe Sto-Prest codre hos olwoys been porticulorly oslute when deconstructing Iiberol culturol politics, ond lrcyo mokes with the stinging one-liners, her specioi skili. A queer Filipino mestizq with I

politiccl consciousness tucked into her iumpsuit pockets, she mokes o deprecoting gesfure ond _quips, "Beck ;discovered, mulqtions only o few'yecrs ogo, l've been o mutotion oll my life., nod ond {l SiSgL wickedly.) Gory describes doing the ,white on white,,,th. n;;; fhey've given to o iqciic of whire occountobility ond consciousness-roising. I osk for o scenqrio qnd he gives me the SCANNNED BY POC ZINE PROJECT poczineproject.tumblr.com poczineproject@gmail.com

simultoneou$ incredulouiond frustioteJ stqre thoi is so Gory ond scrys, with force {referencing DC hipsters The Moke*Up},"11's not okoy for q white boy to pretend to chqnnel o blqck slove picking okrq in q fleld.'

I tolly the evidence like colculus; it gets to be too much io ignore, overwhelming. lt tqkes something like Mos Alloto pull me out J rh" rr"k, even if iusi for o little while, long enough 1o cotch my bi'eoth before woding bock into the froy And I do hove punk rock ollies ond I respect ond opprecicie enormously oll their efforts io turn the tide, to crgue for o more rodicolly democrotlc subculturol spoce thon wlot w9;ve got now. Still, mony hove le! p11k roc!1qryqwhgp qnd who con in the dusi ond detritus, lroyo ond Gory included, blome them? For their poliil.crl cnd personol integrity, I om infinitely groteful. (Thonk you.) " Prnk rock proves to be os conteniious o culturol, politiccl ond sociol sphere os ony other, lnciuding o notionol one' As such' punk rock is noton exception to the r"ule, to the so-colled ;mcinstreom," and neither cre punk rockers This {cnd I gesture widely) is yet onother pop-culture bottlefield on which struggles for po**r onj meoning ore fought, hcrdly on "oliernoiive" bul o subsidiory oI morei o porollel publlc And ,o neither do I feel community here: I used to believe bul I don't ony more. (l don't miss the illusion, l'm done being discppolnted.l And to "community" is o double-edged sword' o form'otion dependeni on o cleor-cut perimeter, borders thot con be defended ond enforced' ln o sense, o communiiy operotes with quolificotions for inclusion ond more, criterio for exclusron; so my "punk" the reloiionship with punk rock ls not like yours' we ore not cll scme ond some punks ole more equol thon others' (So certcinly not punk rock, but not riot grrrl or queercore o,nd either, those spoces where rhe srumbling block of roce persists "girl when love" refuses l'm forced 1o ploy the bod colored girl who white girls blirhely fly the flogs oi their privilege Revisiting Bikini Kill-zine, some things feel for too fomillor: "And see, I hove come to the conclusion thot we ore bonging our thot hecds ogoinst o big woll. We cre trying to find thot mogic word through fit to trying ore We see. them moke will chon"ge their minds, the doors-of a clubhouse thoi is smelly ond gross inside onywoys' We only wont in cuz we've been tought io wont it We chonge ourselves io fit, olter whot we scry, how we soy it, ]ust hoping, hoping ,

)

they will chonge lheir rules." ' the {Andlhe rules hqve nol chonged, lost lime I checked book.)

It's not Tuslo motter of de mogrcphics, or os Sto-Prest might hove li, 'Let's be friendly wiih our' friends / I hordly know onyone who

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/

the populclior ;n rny' he rd "lt's rot thot simple. D'scourses focused on exclusion often push for "inclusion" os o solution, bui meonwhile recruilment or "discovery" l"Look, there's o person of colo,l") is l"o,dly oq odequc'e resoonse. Cr os Sourl^ Asion femir,st tlreor-ist Chondro Mohcnty orgues, "The centrsl issue...is not one of mereiy ocknowledging difference ," bul how and which differences ore recogr-ized ond engoged.

Does my presence necessorily or outomoticolly crilique punk rock hegemony? Did the presence of women in punk rock meon thot rioi grrrl did not fundqmentqlly teor ot the sociol fqbric of unquestioned moscul;nily ond privilege in punk? Does the foci of Latino or Asion Americon or block or queer portlcipotlon within the spcrn of punk rock history negote lhe mouniqinous evidence of rcclsms ond homophobio? {Answer io oll of the obove: NC.} Withoul downploying the complex ocrobotics of identifying, whoi cre lhe terms ond logic of inclusion? Whst do I hcve to look like, oct like, speck iike, in order thol I might become one of the gong? Cr canslder; do you reod my presence os o reoffirmotion {1o your relief) of your punk rock {ond Americonist) bootstrop ideology of excepiionolism ond self-mcde individuols? 'Oh, she's dl{ferentthan the others." {Thot's nolmy ideo of o compliment.) lroyo ond I hove gone over this before, o million times ond even ocross thousonds of mlles. And whiie I continue lo believe thoi the wcys we took punk rock ond tronslofed ii through our experiences ond polltics os colored queer girls hod legitimccy, Tesononce, cnd meoning, our identificotion with punk rock wos (is) on incomplete circuit. There is siill the conlrodiction ond lhe loss we experienced in ironslolion, and whot could moke up for thot?

So honestly, l'm tired of "discovering' myself ln punk rock, cnd over. lt gets me nowhere. There is q difference between over olfirrning on identity wlthin punk rock porometers {"1'm c bi-queer Asion girl ctndpunk rock! You con do it tool") ond thinking criticclly obout the ollowonces ond limitotions of one's mobility through the wcrld, ond i'd rother the lotter. The first gets ioo slippery, too unwieidy when uncomplicoted, ond the second ollows me 1o wondet obout power ond hegemony ond soclol ond psychic space. Does it notter thot I might b'e rore ordoes it mqlter more thot lwant io deslroy pu1! rocl<?

And there is something to the rioi grrrrr formulq ihot stiil ogoin Thot is ii purk oppeols, thot needs rep,ooucilg, ogoin ond :t ,.,.k'. no, o "sole spoce" ior me, why should be {or you? ,"eflec's

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Jose Polofox conducted o lengthy, lwo-port interview wiih Mcrrin Sorrondeguy \n Mqximumrocknroll o6ovl the premise, pclitics crnd

production of Mos Allo de las Gtilos/Beyond lhe Screoms'The interview slorts in \ssue 2O2/Morch 2000 ond continr-res in 2O3/April2O0O. You con olso purchose the video from his lqbel Lenguo Armodo for iwelve dollors to Mortin

So,r""ond.g, y, 2340

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certqin types such qs conltnuour; vulgurity ghring me gripes.

Soon lo see rny future contrqdict my posl br.it thots moturiiy in some detqiled conlr,cst.

Entering metomorphosis goining enduronce os o purist.

I think it's been 'nuff sqid ubout the orgonic sqmb'as of rny sislers

ond brol; such qs clolhes I lough ot Wh,rl They Do wifh The Roots qnd whot they chew too ln this discussion of surroundings, so I ioywr:lk oround tings Like thor;e witllout q versqtile eor to hr:qr bqnds A'ND clons Soying its solely for W.A.S.Ps olong vrith the lifesfle 'cquse its not o pr,rfile of blight, which is the slereotype (porosiles) Hence ttris noble is censored in the qftermcth illegitimotely...

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F.ecently Rosey and I heard acclaimed photojournalist Eli Reed discuss his work. Rosey works on a project devoted to documenting grassroots community efforts at twelve sites in the united States through oral histories and photography. Reed was one of the photographers who worked on the project" After expending two and half carousels' worth of slides accompanied by unsteady narration to the almost entirely white audience, Reed concluded the evening with a very safe Q&A session consisting of mostly technical exchanges and only a few general questions which Reed chose to skirt, leaving us both very disappointed and a little angry.

F.eed, himself an African-American, published a book in '97 *ntitled "Black in America", a photographic exploration dating from the '70's to the present. The bulk of the images he showed were from this lengthy project and depicted "everyday" scenes interspersed with portraits of celebrities like Bill Cosby, Tyra Banks, and John Singleton, along with headline events such as Yusef Hawkins'funeral and the riots in Crown Heights, followed soon after by a picture of Al Sharpton. ln discordant conjunction were photographs he tooh I suppose, in Malawi at camps for Rwandans fleeing the genocide. The images disconcerted because of their unexplained inclusion amid a body of work shot entirely with an American subject which implied a self-evident connection between African and American experiences.

Further, there was an unchallenged authority in Reed's and the audience's monopoly in creating "American" images and the associated narrative made more acute by a lack of self-reflection on Reed's part. The pictures featured mostly clrildren in the various postures of African despair and injury, irnnges of a type made nearly banal through their relentless use hy relief agencies. Reed gave little explanation of the scenes, paasing over them as the audience sighed in collective sympathy at the well-composed depictions of pathos. There was something disconcerting in the unremarked fashion in v*rlch these images were nestled in against slides of impoverished kids in Harlem, victims of school violence at

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Thomas Jefferson in the Delta.

H.S,i;

NYC, religious services, anJfamilies

Reed is a member of Magnum, the most prestigious photojournalist agency/cooperative in the US, and a regular essayist ior mainstream magazines such as Life and Nitionat Geographic. Reed and his colleagues generate a tremendous amount of the images Americans consume; pictures which inform both about our nation and neighbors, but also issues and events far removed from us. with this dissemination comes an enormous responsibility towards honest portrayals and whole story telling. ln the lecture Rosey and I heard, a void of acknowledgement existed, a silence and distance in which both Reed and the audience accepted and participated' The images appeared in series, a sampling of a professional life speit docrmenting other lives, photographs which seemed siarkly muted, stripped of their possibility, of their political voice by the assumption that these lives, these events, existed only for us to observe.

Reed ignored opportunities to discuss the implications present in the iirages, perhaps assuming a shared understanding with the audience about their meaning. For example, there was no mention of the primary role UN nations took in decisively ignoring the vast and brutal massacre in Rwanda, which began Jn npril Otn, 1994. Leveraged by and challenged with the photographs he took and the accompanying experiences, Reed had thl opportunity to critically question our nation's position as knowing bystander to this atrocity and his citizenship within that nation Js juxtaposed with his presence among the living victims of the Rwandan holocaust. Further, he didn't query Amerika's relationship to minorities nor his identity as an African American man who is buffered by the privileges of class, as are some of his subjects like Bill CosbY. I I work with kids doing documentary projects about their lives. it important how work this explaining stress to grown-ups when is for the children to have ownership of the image, from conception to final print, how unspeakably powerful it is for them to portray themselves and their world in the ways they want to be seen, distinctly apart from adult representations of childhood.

Explosive realisaiions occur and nictyrelqlo wrllqg' wf i-ch overthrow ordinary conveniions are produced, yet because it's the work of children it is easily trivialised or gently smiled and

noddedintotherealmofthecuteandharmless'Thisdismissal

cannot diminish the inherent, crucial resistance which comes with self-representation and how that act challenges the detached, vicarious nature of our seeing'

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It's through this work I've come to understand the high degree of Amerikan society's visual sophistication. Yet it's a sophistication of discrimination. Kids can quickly discern between the "coolness" of a well-crafted Lunchables commercial and the un-hip failings of a Doritos ad, but the critical reach does not extend beyond a choice, the established parameters of the media marketplace. As a culture we use a highly refined process to choose from a plentiful media what images will represent us. And from this self-referencing selection, we also choose images, which tell the stories of others, following dominant cultural precedents and codes of portrayal. ln the darkened auditorium, Reed showed a particular edit of unchallenged observation which we, the audience, scrutinized for its fit within the stories already known, told in voices we've already assumed, thus completing the cycle of complicit, passive spectatorship.

How do you think about the visualworld around you and how do you come to agreement with the messages and stories, iruthful or othenruise, encoded in images? ls the pictorial, televised realm too vast to be effectively subverted or are there ways each of you resist, not necessarily in an aggressive way, but in a conscious, pro-active sense? How have you dealt with misrepresentation? lt seems these are crucial things to talk about as "citizens" and consumers in the intensely visual culture we inhabit and as alert saboteurs and critical viewers. Reed failed me in connecting and threading events and cultural implications. ln a closing comment he claimed Amerika as "a 'Land of Opportunity', where people can help each other out", perpetuating the rhetoric of politicians and canonized textbooks.

I'm left wondering what some of the kids in Thomas Jefferson H.S. would say, were they freed from Reed's precise frame and able to turn their eye upon us in our objective disregard.

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Being a black female rn the punk-activist community can be extremely frustrating and exhausting at iimes. You get to experience the group dynamics of power just as they exist in the real world, yet wrapped up in the illusion that we are above societal power problems, that the communlty is perfect, and that most of all, rt doesn't need some "outsider"' saying that there is something wrong.

For the past year and a half, I have been working in a couple of predomrnantly white organizations comprised mostly of males of the punk/hardcore community, who are also acttvtsts. I got into the groups thinking that it was going to be wonderfui, yet soon I saw just how fallible and controlled people were, The pioblem was group dynamics and power As I would go to nreeting after meeting, I would nottce that only certatn people were really

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realrzed that rt drdn't malterwhat I was saytng because in the end, wasn't the one that was gorng to get the respect. i started to notice that no amount of work that I did would be recognized as such because the := white male leacier was not there. lt wasn't lust ihat within the group I felt this overwhelming feelrng of being invisible, it was in public functions as well. The man always*trumped whatever I had to say. .

For example, on a few different occasions we would have to go or protests as a group. There would be me, and the perceived to demos =,.+.=, eader, even though we all were said to embrace the idea that our group had no leader. My, how people fool themselves. So, we get to the demonstration and everyone is lust standing around while I say that we should go in. Well, people do some more standing around and ask each other whether or whether not we should go in, ersh,vhtle, I am statrng that we shculd go in and I am maktng gestures of walking towards the ., entrance. Finally, they break down and ask one of our more vocal and very organized whrte male members whether he thinks that we should go in or not. All await hrs answer because itwoul0 be the dectdingvole qg i

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to whether or notwe should go in. He says, "l'm not the fuckin' leader".

I stand by rising to a near boil while they wonder rvhy he got so angry when asked this statement. I had seen it all before though. Them ignoring me, and him trying to deny hts perceived leadership role. I tried to reconcile the idea in my mind thatwe were without a leader, and thai we were lust young activists that would grow out of this with the rdea that we all said we were punk, meaning part of an enlightened community.

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Lastly, I tned tc reconctle rt with the idea that this was zup anti-ractst organization that ignoreC cclor iines. How funny it ts that we were mlmicking the system On another instance, I had said something over email about the problem withln the punk/HC community, not about the ieader issue. but on a different topic 0ne reply, from a r,vhite-male, said that my emaii message was "funny", dismtssing what I said as a loke Another whrte-male me: me w th a searing repiy tf at I should stop blaming everything on punk rock, Sc, because I had spoken out about a probiem within our sacred and utoprc punk rock community, was chasttsed as "blaming everythrng on punk rock". Hcw smugl How can any scene or movement become what tt should be wlthout noticlng problems and hypocrrsies within ttself? We fool ourselves if we think thatwe are so much above everyone else in the world thatwe can not make any mistakes. lt wasn't so much that thrs remark was totally off the mark, yet that had it been said by any of the guys in the group, it wouldn't have been shot down as it was.

0n yet another occasion, we ail decided to rent a van to go to an Antr-Racrst conference. I deciied io get everyone together, and resen/e the van wrth my credit card So, i r.vcrxed on frguring out who was going, and making sure that there was enough room for everyone: lei everyone know what was up and hovr much money they would need for the trip Weii, we drive up to the conference in the van that I rented, and everyihrngwas cool. We were klnd of crowded, but no one complained. So, we go to the conference, and we are aboutto head back home when someone asks my whtte-male comrade if we can take an extra l,vo people backwrth us (the same one that is always addressed as the leader). He says that he didn't rent the van, and refers him to me. Well, I hear about this, and I am exti'emely mad Finally, the guy I

comes up to me and asks if its okay b,ecause so-and-so haci sard that he

drdn't rent the van. I couldn't contain rTry anger, and I let hrm know that I hari done all of the work, He claims ignorance, and I lust walk off to lick my wcunds. The story grows old Whenever group members and myself go to community actlon fuictrcns orwe are in the plblic eye, ourwhite male comrade is always acproached first to comment on somethtng or addressed as the person i, charge So, not only do I have tc contend wlth thls happeningoutside it lhe grorp within the whole activtst communrty, yet it happens insrde of rhe group, too, What is a minorityto do? Well, l'm notthe silenttype' so i rave to call people on their actions sometimes, whtch doesn't always i,r,,:rk because people fail to comprehend even the simplest of issues at t res, especially when it is comlng from a minority perspective Thts ieaves me feeltng even angrier and more frustrated I try to seek out sonleone to vent

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tire same kind of alienation, due to their color and sex, So, struggle alone, and try to help those makrng the mistakes understand expene-nce

1

their folly.

When I did have the chance to discuss this with another minority, I only came to learn that this was why a lot of minority groups choose to work outside of mtxed cornpany, [ven though I can understanc why they would want to separate themselves due io the group power dynamics, I stiil couldn't go for that. We will never get anywhere by always resorting to isolation. We have to work together to help everyc,ne understand and grow in our communities and organizatrons By separating ourselves for the sake of escaping frustration and anger, we are only grving into resentment and societal hierarchies of power. ltwould be us gtving into the old drvide and conquer of the powers that be, and that isn't what activists and revolutionary-minded people need to do. Plus, don't think that those who cppose us won't try iherr hardest to dlvide and conquer because they have done it so many times before Minorities need whites to stand together wrth them in the strurggle, Some days, I just want to srt back and watch our foundation

crumble as the same people are continually addressed as the leaders. want to laugh at how foolrsh it is for us to keep on mimicking the oppressive system, but I don't because this is where my heart is. I don't dare do these things out of my exhaustion and frustration because i am I

a revolutionary. So, I go back to the group and speak my mind l-rcping that everyone wrll iruly realize that we are all equals, and that the white-male power status has no place rn our group.

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I see now thqt the blood shed of the deqd is symbolised by those who leqd

(ond continue to leod, thus we still bleedl by the siripe: of the reds crnd whites.

And the resf represents doy & night verses the culprits lost our fights.

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thanksHelenfot ' the oPPortunilY to be

First Nation' He runs a jnvolved. He ts Ojrbway anO-originatly from Swan Lake tn ior Thought Records (see ad elsewhere srnall record label called Aua f"ootf please get touch' in lf you would like to this zine for info on reieases availabie) can out www freespeech crg/hhc He check or com email defechrist@hotrnail St Sherbrook i16 at PO Box 260141 also be contacteo ttrrougn tne mail Canada' 4K9 R3C Winnipeg, MB

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Po Box 5002

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be reached at V I f$e EN{T e HUNG can net and vrncent@punkrock at inteinet ttre Zllf ZllLTn or via email list for peopie of

the lnvAsian www4.ncsu.edu/-vcnung He also runs i'Singb Chinese Male' 20' graphic design siudentwith *orO,' own colour. ln his the South' and bags Looktng for an inciination towards tne quiriy eccentrtcs' parties l have hobbies " with any rnterested correspondence

VE'R0Nl eA BEL REn[-

teaches Englishasasecond in Tucson' Arizona She is Language to adulis ot *ouTtylr'lu'itui-outt*g'ounds to Mariah Carey and the listens in a band' Spanish-Venezuetan, ptays irums newborn tomato and her with u lot of Sonics a whole lot, unO 'puoJt com pfunts. Email her at vdel-real@hotrnail

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p.ppe,

grew up a of distinctly Eyrogean parentage' live and travelin Asla fortwo to punk rockArmy brat, *tttt"ii;l'ftmingAmerika istronaut Ettquette 'zine and lives tn and a haif years He ,onttiitut ioes ' Project Coordinator ior [iteracy Through Durham, NC where t t *oiftt ut the can You Studies' at Duke University's Center for Documentary

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edu' email him at dedixon@acpub'duke of is a member otthe Louisville Chapter a writer lor Brat zine' and on League' Antr-Racist Action, buitural Center She is working on issues the board of Bardstown noad Youtn Complex' and welfare She is surroutiding sweatshop ftn"i tnt Prison'lndustrial

iRAe HEL L A 'FA v E

Autono*o" Wotyn''

anAfrican-Ameri.unwnotontidersherselfanaciivistandarevolutionary'You net' can email her at neohavok@disinfo

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Berkeiey who does a is an undergraduate student at UC

when she rs not out on a limb crusading politicalas-personat zinel-aiLO iianide shelters She is a second generation tor guinea pigs to r.scu"lionn animat at 2i2 as queer and disabled Write her Chinese-Arnerican who ideniilles herselt or emaii gA4O2'2520 USA / iSti S / Santa Montca, CA juier@uclink4 berkeleY edu'

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KEVI N JAGE'RNAUTH

is a Guyanese{anadian who is quite charmlng and some say handsome. He is ihe guitarist for Weights & Measures who have a debut CD available now from Matiock Records. He's dcne such zines as ...and myfootgoes forward and ntlnors and llght. His laterst is a super-linrited ad prolect done in conjunction with molly lyger voyage callec The Needle and the Honzon It is available for $2, For correspondence, write tc, 61A Foxfield Dr / Nepean, ON K2i IL7 /Canada or jagrockphoto@yahoo.corn His

band's website is http://members.tripod,com/weightsandnreasures,

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SHNSf\l

likes staying up all nrght, sleeping all day, K,FN I MA E and living the rock, but realty she mostly just works, goes io ciass, and does the whole starvingstudentthing. She used to do a few zines, bands, and other projects, both artistic and musical. lf anyone is interested in seeing anything she's done, or getting copies of anything, feel free to email or write for details: mkrshn@stanford.edu or PO Box 13231 / Stanford, CA 94309 USA.

/

l{E L Et\l L t !t-, movlng

is a Vietnamese/Chinese troublemake r, does the zine

parts sporadically, puts together comp zines such as ihis one, anc

writes for other zines on occasion. When she's not bLrsy corrupting'youth, plotting to overthrow the government, taking over the world, or being a general nuisance, she enjoys beingfascinated with the underground and keepin' it real.

You can reach herr via the contact info gven on page 1 of this zine.

L AtTTFNEI\I MAFNrf I [\l OR 972Q7

/

can be reached at Po Box 596 7 Portland,

USA or ymawl@yahoo.com. She is currently seeking submissions

for a comp zine by/Ior/about tough girts called hard as nal:; (deadline is August 1, 2000). She ls Chinese/Jewish

EL I ZABETH (EET I TA) MAFIT I NEU

iSAChICANA

activist and educator who has published six books on social moverrents and serves as cochair of the lnstitute for Multr-Racial Justice. Her latest book rs De Colares Means All of

Us (South End

Press)

EL ZABETH MenOAMS

(CnoiWoo-Hee) lives in Chicago I and is studying history. She is a 2l-year-old lrish-Catholic/Korean adoptee These days, she has a vague association with punk n:ck but she does participate in the lnvAsian listserv - a discussion fc,rum dedicated to widenlngihe prock dialogue with an Asian slani, Enrail her at lizmc@postrnark.net.

AI\lCE

L ME n D o WS attends Nortolk Srate Universifu in Norlork, VA and rs a member of the Dlvine Techtonix there that has made the poetry scene on the campus renowned. When he's not there he dwells rn the outskirts of Washin$on D.C., mainly in the suburb of Alexandria, VA known as Cybertron to his 2nd family. 4th Dimension He is Trinidadian, has been scribingsince lith grade and has been an advocate of the "scene" since '96. [mail him at Co m mod ity@coilegeclu b.

com

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I

MIM is Vietnamese, a phD student in comparative NCt v ethnic studies, and a colurnnist for punk pranet. she rikes pigtairs and pinbarl and maybe you shourd write to her about her zine srander, oi the compilation zine Evalutksn ora Race Riot.rhe second issue of Race Rrot is dueany mi'ute now, with more contributions and reprints from zines by krds of coror and a huge project directory that's part history, part nehruorking fun Reach Mimi at poB 11906 Berkeley, Ca 94712 tSA

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Assertlve and prcafror, as weil as the ownerlsore emproyee of the Frida loves

Diego Mailorder (see ad elsevrhere in this zine).

When not v,rorking on zine-related stuff she attends graduate schoor for ribrary ancl infonnation studies in the hell that is Froricra she is hart cuban (father) and harf r!4exrcan (mother),

with a dash of chinese (father's grancimother) [mail perezeeb@yahco com

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J (Dan Tres) was rhe first born r:f Flo I two Dominican immigrants in New york ciry in ioz: He first dove into Hrp Hop culture at age six. He joined the US Naw in 1990 and was honorably OrsctrargiO in 1996 He moved tothe Hampton Roads area of Virginia to be near his first born son, Xavrer. He is an MC/spokenword artrst/B boy/ photographerlradio comrnentator in no particular order. H js email address rs LoopGaroo@collegecrub.com. check out his webpage for spoken word artists in the Hampton Roads a rea horne collegeciub. com/ LoopGa roolwordpro. htmr ,F

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et< WA L K is an 1S-year-old, vegan, skaight edge, J African^American maie who rives in Syrvania, ohio ia smail suburban to,insnif outside of roledo) and has been rnto punk rock for about six years. He does the the ohio chapter of Education for a sustainabre Future, an environmentar/soclar advocacy group, and wiil be attending the university of Toledo in the fail t, ,rr",. in political science. He is interested in various human rrghts, animar rights, environmenta l, a nd other socia r issues Ema il refusa l2cornply@hotma iicom.

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is a Chinese Z}-year-old who gracluated recenily irom the L W0 f.lational University of Slngapcre with majors in English Language and

Philosophy He is currently dorng research, writing at a videolfilm production house, and used to do a zine in his free time He likes indre music and loungeltango a lot. Email him at lockjaw@srngnet.conr.sg or check out his v,'ebsite

at http: l/wrruw.

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