6/17/07

Eastside vs. eastside CHINGAZOS

Throughout bloglandia there has been an upsurge in the battle over what is considered Eastside spurred on by a new rag, which will remain nameless here. This rag claims to reflect the views of 'eastsiders' in neighborhoods such as Hollywood, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park and Downtown LA.

One word that all the discussions like here, here, and here have pussy footed around is RACISM/WHITE SUPREMACY.

This re-imagining of LA is fueld by racism/white supremacy. Yes there are and have been Chicanos or hi-spanics also claiming Eastide on the westside of the river, but racism doesn't just come from white toward people of color, in its most insidious form racism/white supremacy manifests in the minds and actions of people of color who agree with the lies and views of reality from a white is always right perspective. Think: dye blonde hair & blue contact lenses on a person of color and feeling safe around white people as opposed to your own people of color.
Blonde Asian?

How is this racist? Well when did the term come up in these areas? When there was enough white people in these areas lower middle class sections to make them feel they had a community. Up until then they were just a few gringos in the middle of brown working class areas. They learned the language shopped in the 'marketas' and blended in. Yes, there have always been white people in the hills high above Echo Park & Silver Lake and Los Feliz is primiarily white, but those folks don't worry about stuff like this, they got theirs. It is the ones who are trying to make a buck by labeling their area into a demographic to sell and to sell to.

Funny how these folks from the rag don't include Thai Town, Little Armenia, Korea Town or Philipino Town in their view of Eastside. uh maybe because there is not enough white people in these areas? Just like the 'Westside' does that include Mar Vista, the brown and black areas of Culver City? What about Palms? NO. Not enough rich white people there.

These terms and attempts to change cultural, social, political and plain old LA history is what racists do.

What about the dang Nayarit bar in Echo Park? Oh yeah we agreed to call it the Echo.

Folks blame immigrants for coming here and not learning the language and culture, but they are only doing what they see others doing. They move into our areas, once they get enough of them in, they start changing names, opening shops that only cater to theirs and stop trying to learn the local vernacular.
So it is.

East of...
...where you use to live?
...where you wish you lived?
...what you know?
...where you are comfortable?
...where you always go to?
...where you feel safe?
...where you always find and take a date?

4 comments:

Wendy Carrillo said...

whats wrong w/ blonde asians?!

I understand your overall point, but i hope that we are not to quick to judge others before knowing why they do things. For some, it could be asthetics, for others, a form of fitting in. Not that one is worse/better than the other... but mostly... i think you want to focus on what "East" of "East" really means. For those of us on the "Eastside", we know, sometimes its difficult to educated those that want to twist history to fit their own ideals.

Pachuco 3000 said...

I think I did focus on the debate about
Eastside.

The blonde asian was an example of how white
supremacy has infected the minds of people of color to the point where their natural state is altered to "fit
in" with whites because "aesthetically" they are
presented as superior or the model of beauty.

Wendy Carrillo said...

I think I am over being mad about people of color that choose to go blonde.
I say to each their own. As long as you know who you are on the inside, then who is anyone to judge?
Maybe thats more passive, but I dont think its worth focusing on. Much like the Mayors divorce. Movin On...

tacosam said...

This morning on Vista L.A. the reporter signed off as follows: "This is [Name] reporting from the lake at Lincoln Park in East Los Angeles." I laughed and told my wife this reporter needed to look at a map.

Many more examples of how white supremacy has "infected" the minds of people of color can be found all over Mexican TV. Just watch a Telenovela or the evening news on Univision. Blond hair and light colored skin everywhere. Even the Cuban "Oprah", Cristina, looks very white with her bleach blond hair. There is no Oprah or Obama in Mexico either. No one on TV or in Mexican government looks brown. The last dark brown Mexican President was Benito Juarez.