Super Friends and State Foes

It's been a bit since I wrote. The long and the short of it: grandma was really upset when I went to take fatty kitty Amelia, so I left the cat with my lovely grandma. It was the right thing to do, although I miss having a pet. The apt. is coming along nicely, but it would be downright stellar with a kitty to cuddle. I'm glad grandma has company though, for sure.



Topsy turvy times. The more I read and get into my job the more I am firming up my politics. It finally dawned on me that I just don't support the idea of the state. That's why I get all tied up in knots about voting, etc. It's that (es de....) the state doesn't work for me in any version. And so I fall more and more in love with zapatismo. Read a great article that describes it all really clearly by John Holloway that put words to what I feel and what I want to see.

"The great contribution of the zapatistas has been to break the connection
between revolution and control of the state."

Remaking the world without taking power. Imagination. Process. Love. It's an incredible thing. When I need inspiration I have a new place to go. At work I've been involved in protecting/supporting Elvira Arellano, here's some detail about what she's been going through. The short of it is- she's an undocumented worker that faced deportation in a round-up (yes, they do that folks) has a U.S. born son, didn't go and instead sought sanctuary in a local church. She's become quite the symbol for immigrant rights. Our organization is supporting her, so we've gone to volunteer at the church, help out where needed. It's alternately really interesting and somewhat boring. Her story is fascinating, but her reality is sitting in the house a lot and sort of hiding so she doesn't get messed with. There have been threats and such against her as well as a lot of support.

Again, one of the major efforts they are making to support her is by registering voters. That's where that 'sigh' graphic fits in. How depressing to me that one of their only hopes is to get (citizens) to register to vote in the hopes that they will vote to re-elect Il. Gov. Blagojevich so that he will support pro-immigration laws. The long shots and the time involved are eternal to me. Not to mention the whole state crap. I'm not going to tell anyone not to work on this kind of stuff, but I just get depressed thinking that this is one of the few measures to deal with it. How pathetic. Between a rock and a state place. No me gusta para nada.

So, I'm there to volunteer with what they determine they need help with (they being Elivra and the org. she works with and is providing sanctuary to for her Centro Sin Fronteras). That's the grassroots way, right? But I said "no" when they asked me to register voters. I told them I would do other things, especially things that had directly to do with supporting Elvira herself, but not that. Can I do that? Is that grassroots (poltical) correctness? Aren't you supposed to go with what they ask? But what if you don't agree with it? Another sigh.

On a different note, I had an unsocial lull there for a second (pms, anyone?) and then managed to connect with a whole host of good, good,good people all at once. I had a good vibe capoeira class (it's been a while), rode my bike over 100 miles in a week (go on with my bad self) and got to see my baby friend, my music friend, my best friend, my philosopher friend all in succession and had great conversation with all. Especially baby friend, as

you might imagine. Can you guess who is who?

I do like my friends. They give me so much to think about. Our conversations ran the gamut between sesame sticks, true love, collective living, tantra, computing, war, solidarity, texting while driving and how bouncing can make you stop crying. It was nice also to drink beer and take walks and go to new bars and question the reality of the people around us and swagger and chew gum and poke into new stores and cook food and get a smile and pass gas and just generally feel like it's okay that I'm single and that even though my family is far away I have these people that I've met and stayed friends with and love spending time with. Thanks be to pals.

And that's enough ramble for tonight. My brain is shutting down.
.goo.