Editor’s note: Amigos805 welcomes guest columns, letters to the editor and other submissions from our readers. All opinions expressed in submitted material are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the viewpoint of Amigos805.
Armando Vazquez.
By Armando Vazquez / Guest contributor
I love words. I am a writer. I believe I understand the power of words. The hermit that coined that moronic phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt!’ probably survived in a pitch-black cave isolated from all humanity. Words, as we all know that live in this chaotic and troublesome world, can start insurrections, wars, the collapse of nations, and they may even send a corrupt, immoral and evil ex-presidents to jail. On a personal level mean, abusive and cruel words are like a million vicious paper cuts that will inevitably destroy the intended target. On the flip side loving, kind and affirmative words can help heal the most broken soul, and give hope to a people, and perhaps save a nation and the world.
When my family immigrated to this country from Mexico in 1958, we were, of course, defenseless again the institutional and pervasive racism, encoded in the Gringo’s English language of exclusivity, privilege and power, that was leveled on us. I came to the realization very early on that if I wanted to survive this scourge, I had to learn the English language, de volada. I knew I had to break their coded language.
In less than a year in this country I was speaking fluent English without the trace of accent. I knew that If I wanted to help my family, my community fight the racism that raged around us I had to master the English language. With the help of my little dog-eared dictionary, I started reading every book that I could get ahold of. I spent all my free time, when permitted, at the school library. I got a parttime job delivering the Herald-Examiner newspaper in my El Monte community.
I began to read the paper from front cover to the final page every day. In the beginning the content in the newspaper was foreign, and for the most part oblique, a conundrum that I could not unravel. I understood almost nothing. Eventually I started to understand what I was reading and I began to connect the dots. The report, stories and by lines in the newspaper were fascinating. Whether these written stories and reports were true or not I could not tell you, as at the time I had no point of reference. What I have come to understand, very clearly now, is that almost all media in this country take their marching orders for the powerful elite class. So, the words, the language, the “news” that the media outlets run with is what the elite want to be published which is mostly propaganda. Over the year, and even more so today, I have come to believe almost nothing that I read without first vigorously researching and checking out the sources. Nonetheless, I was hooked, my love affair with words, language and communication has been a lifelong affair that only get more passionate and intimate with the passing years.
We know that words produce language. Words (sounds) send audible messages to our mind, that in turn receive and interrupt these “command sounds”. With the initial prehistoric grunts, groans, and utterance of the early upright apes, and then over thousands of years, we humans have “refined” our method of communication and ultimately began to create ideas, pictures, visions, dreams, philosophy and finally culture with our words and language.
Fast forward to today’s precarious and violent world disorder, and individuals, groups and whole countries that have experienced discrimination, exploitation, enslavement, colonization, or war, fully understand the absolute audible power (often coded words and language) that emanates from the mouth of the conqueror. Dictators, tyrants, insane, evil and powerful politico, and the ruling class have completely and absolutely snatched the narrative. With the absolute command of the narrative they now control and shamelessly manipulate words, our language to further their insatiable lust for power and domination. These strongmen and politicos ruthlessly control the entire game. Which is the perfect definition for a fixed and rigged 250-year-old experiment we call democracy in this country.
That is why the current insane and totally fabricated cultural “grievance” wars being wage by these MAGA fascists and their violent mobs across this nation are so, pathetically tragic, yet so very predictable. The super rich ruling class (the masters of Capitalism, and by extension the universe as we know it!), aided and abetted every step of the way by their corrupt and sold-out political and media lackeys, have masterfully manipulated our words, our language, our social discourse with outrages lies, fabricated conspiracies. In their unholy crusade the MAGA movement has converted(brainwashed)more than half of the American population.
These MAGA zealots, and have threaten to “Take America Back” at any cost. The obvious question for any rational mind is take back America from whom? They run and control the entire United States government, financial institutions, the police and the military; lock, stock and barrel! So, what is left to take back when the control everything? Evil dictators, tyrants, politicos have always wanted to control everything. They want to control our minds, our bodies, our faith; ultimately, they want to control every single aspect of our lives. It appears that half of this country population has been sufficiently been lobotomized and are now under the completely control of Trump and his minions.
These dangerous threats to re- create a “greater and whiter America” have, of course, gained frightening traction and have ginned up the white supremacist base to the point where that they are ready, willing and certainly able (they have all of the guns, money and political cover, and they have the dominate and controlling narrative) to wage civil war against their fellow Americans of color.
In the end I fear for this country and the direction that it is heading. Make no mistake, words, language, truth has been hi-jack and are now being held hostage by radical elements of the far-right in his nation. I don’t see how we bridge this political and ideological chasm with so much hatred and vitriol spewing from the mouths and hearts of so many Americans. There is, I fear, no release valve to defuse the simmering hatred and tension. I am a WOKE American, and I will continue to keep writing “truth” to power and remind my sisters and brothers of the apocalypse that is heading our way “si no nos ponemos las pilas” and meet this existential threat head on and reclaim our words, our language,our narrative.