Tales Out of School: Aztlan Rising

The Telegram (The Telegram Online) ^ | Thursday, May 30, 3902 | Jim Downard

[Mad Dawgg]

Tales Out Of School

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Aztlan Rising

By Jim Downard

Thirty years ago I sat in, of all places, a Taco Bell in San Antonio, Texas. I had finished basic training at Lackland Air Force Base (known sardonically to airmen everywhere as Happy Valley, USA) and was killing time before I started tech school.

As I munched on my tacos two young Hispanics distributed mimeographed leaflets to the restaurant’s patrons. Not to appear rude I accepted one. It referred to some place called Aztlan that would, like Atlantis or the South, rise again. I didn’t have a clue.

Later that afternoon I toured the Alamo and was unimpressed because it wasn’t any larger than the First Baptist Church here at home. I suppose I expected something larger and grander after seeing the John Wayne movie. Outside, I ran into a pal from my squadron and showed him the Aztlan leaflet.

"Where’s Aztlan, Ochoa?" I asked.

"You’re standing on it, man," he said, grinning.

"Aztlan is Texas?"

"Texas is what you Anglos call it," he explained, "Aztlan is its rightful name."

"Okay, but why does it need liberating?" I asked.

"Read your history books, man."

I later discovered that Aztlan was the name given to the mythical place of origin of the Aztecs. Chicanos (that’s what Hispanics were called in the 60’s and 70’s) had appropriated Aztlan as name for that portion of Mexico taken over by the U.S. after the Mexican-American War in 1846.

At the time I thought Mexico had as much chance of taking back Aztlan, or Texas and Southwest U.S., as I had of becoming a four star general.

Now I’m not so sure.

Demography is, as they say, destiny. California is almost 50% Hispanic. The Hispanic birth rate is several times that of the "Anglos." The border between the U.S. and Mexico is so porous as to be nonexistent.

So it comes as no surprise that in San Leandro, California, the local school system is thinking about scratching Abraham Lincoln’s birthday from the school calendar to make way to honor Chicano labor leader Cesar Chavez’s birthday. 65% of the local teachers union support the idea as do several members of the school board.

"The diversity of our community is growing," said Thomas Morse, political action chairman for the Union, and we want to honor our Latino families." School board member Louise Heysteck said he came up with the idea of celebrating Chavez’s birthday after checking his district’s demographics. "I hope our view of history does not remain stagnant."

To set aside a day to recall the life and work of the man who saved the Union is "stagnant"? To encourage Latinos to think of themselves as Latinos first and citizens of the American Republic is a good example of multiculturalism run amok. But as the Southwest becomes more Hispanic and less Anglo ethnically it’s more important than ever that young people learn American cultural and historical values.

Look at what happened to the multicultural approach in Canada. French language and culture were elevated to official status throughout the 60’s and 70’s in Quebec. It eventually spawned a secessionist movement and greater ethnic divisions between "Anglos" and French speakers in Quebec.

Multiculturalism will bear the same poisonous fruit in America simply because every community must have a set of core moral and cultural values that most, if not all members, of that society believe or, at least, accept.

American nationalism-what we usually call patriotism-needs to be nurtured and nourished or Aztlan will continue to rise with dire consequences for our country.

©2002 The Telegram Publishing Co., Inc

[Mad Dawgg]

I've Said it Before and I will say it again, Mr. Downard should write a book! He has his finger on the pulse of Public Education and his philosophy about teaching and what needs fixed in our schools needs presented to the reading public!

If you would like to drop Mr. Downard a line do so at telegram@zoomnet.net or better yet use the above email address to write a letter to the editor of the Telegram. Mr. Keller Loves to print well written letters from around the USA and abroad.

[Clemenza]

The Aztlan types are about as numerous or dangerous as my grandmother with her umbrella. Anyone who thinks that the average Chicano would willingly give up the bennies of living in the USA over "rejoining" a relatively impoverished nation like Mexico is off his rocker. Anyone who thinks the pathetic Aztlantistas are as dangerous as the PLO or IRA is just plain silly.

As far as political leaflets go, you should see the left-wing BS I used to be handed by the various Trotskyite and Greens when I was in college.

[Poohbah]

I remember some of the "Aztlan" types in San Diego appearing on news footage from LA college campuses--they have to pool together in a rent-a-mob to get three-digit turnout at one of their rallies.

Morris Dees has his militia bogeyman--conservatives have the Aztlan bogeyman. Both are about equally based in reality.

[Mad Dawgg]

***PING*** for your Opinion!

[KC_Conspirator]

There is no difference between those calling for and establishment of Aztlan and or the establishment of an Aryan Nation. Both are rascist.

[Poohbah]

Exactly. And both are about as likely to succeed.

They make great bogeymen, though!

[Mad Dawgg]

"Morris Dees has his militia bogeyman--conservatives have the Aztlan bogeyman. Both are about equally based in reality."

I would gather Mr. Downard has the same take but is more worried about the issue presented further into the article (the removing of Abraham Lincoln's Birthday from the School Holiday Calendar and putting Chavez's in it's place) and the Trend Such thinking reveals.

[Captainpaintball]

I HOPE they declare independence and take California! That way:

These liberals will see what it is like to live in a "multicultural" sh!thole ruled by a people who will show absolutely NONE of the compASSion, tolerance or PC feel-good crap that led to this mess in the first place!

Maybe they will complain when they riot and loot their mansions in Beverly Hills and Malibu, maybe they'll change their ways when they have to pay outrageous "security fees" for protection! Maybe the rest of America will wake up and salvage what is left and stop it from happening everywhere else!

Or maybe we'll settle it in a military fashion, driving out (and/or mowing down) millions of unwanted, illegal invaders permanently.

[Clemenza]

Don't get me started on replacing Washington and Lincoln's birthday with "President's Day" to make room for Martin Luther Plagiarist Day...

[E Rocc]

A couple points worth mentioning:

1) The portion of Texas between the Nueces and Rio Grande was disputed between Texas and Mexico. There was a rather decisive war fought to settle that issue. The rest of the formerly Mexican land we got we bought, through the Mexican Cession of 1848 and the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. All quite legal.

2) The Mexicans who have settled in this nation didn't leave Mexico to bring its corruption, rigid social hierarchies, and poverty here. Au contraire

3) The morons in the "Aztlan" movement are merely harmless wackos practicing their First Amendment rights until they actually try to do something about their ideas. At that point its called "insurrection", which is a principle discussed rather harshly in federal law. We have plenty of prison space for them, or they can occupy the land they so fevrently desire while looking up towards its surface. They should be reminded of this, regularly.

4) Any recognition of "Aztlan" groups by public schools or universities amounts to using tax dollars to support insurrection. If there aren't laws against this, there should be.

-Eric

[madfly]

Are you aware of this Border Govnah Gang that the Govnahs of Texax, Arizona, NMex. and Calif. , )and in 1999 G.Bush) belong to?

http://www.bordergovernors.com/welcome.html

The governors of 4US and 6 Mexican border states belong to a Borders Governors club. They will have their annual conference in Phoenix next month.

Here they make use of a new term for the Mexican/American border.
". . .new international geography. The U.S.-Mexico border area. . ."

Welcome and feel free to explore the official web site for the XX Border Governors Conference.

The unfortunate incidents of September 11^th have drastically changed our global reality and with it the border between our two nations. This change creates new challenges and opportunities for those of us who live within the border region.

Globalization will be propelled by the large economic regions that compose

the new international geography. The U.S.-Mexico border,

presents such a region, a land of opportunity for many Mexicans and Americans. Their strong work ethic and attention to quality facilitate free trade as a part of their daily lives that benefits their communities and promotes economic development.

I invite you to browse through this site to learn not only about the great human and natural resources this region offers, but also the solutions that we provide for the day-to-day problems we face in the global dynamic.

With warm regards,

Patricio Martinez Garcia
Governor of Chihuahua
Border Governors Conference

>©2001 Border Governors Conference/Conferencia de Gobernadores Fronterizos

[Mad Dawgg]

"Don't get me started on replacing Washington and Lincoln's birthday with "President's Day"..."

Amen Brother, Amen!

[Ditto]

So it comes as no surprise that in San Leandro, California, the local school system is thinking about scratching Abraham Lincoln’s birthday from the school calendar to make way to honor Chicano labor leader Cesar Chavez’s birthday. 65% of the local teachers union support the idea as do several members of the school board.

"The diversity of our community is growing," said Thomas Morse, political action chairman for the Union, and we want to honor our Latino families." School board member Louise Heysteck said he came up with the idea of celebrating Chavez’s birthday after checking his district’s demographics. "I hope our view of history does not remain stagnant."

To set aside a day to recall the life and work of the man who saved the Union is "stagnant"? To encourage Latinos to think of themselves as Latinos first and citizens of the American Republic is a good example of multiculturalism run amok. But as the Southwest becomes more Hispanic and less Anglo ethnically it’s more important than ever that young people learn American cultural and historical values.

The 'new' disunionists.

[madfly]

"The diversity of our community is growing," said Thomas Morse, political action chairman for the Union, and we want to honor our Latino families." School board member Louise Heysteck said he came up with the idea of celebrating Chavez’s birthday after checking his district’s demographics. "I hope our view of history does not remain stagnant."

No siree, let's get on the ball and sanitize "our view of history". Time to sanitize those text books and calendars so the young ones can begin to celebrate
"The Holiday formerly known as
President Lincoln's Birthday"

This is depressing.

[Black Agnes]

Maybe Mr. Aztlan should be introduced to Mr. Reconstruction (aka, no constitutional rights, military occupation, etc.) as happened in the south after their little 'insurrection...'

[colorado tanker]

You guys nailed it.

[Brownie74]

Remember when the Dallas City Council tried to change President's Day to Ceasar Chavez Day? KLIF radio led the charge and we didn't let that happen. Mayor Ron Kirk went ballistic with Tom Kamb over that one.

There is power in numbers.

[inquest]

The Aztlan types are about as numerous or dangerous as my grandmother with her umbrella. Anyone who thinks that the average Chicano would willingly give up the bennies of living in the USA over "rejoining" a relatively impoverished nation like Mexico is off his rocker.

Good point, as long as those "bennies" remain in place. But with this country getting more and more socialistic all the time, the economic gaps may not be as wide as you may assume, at some point in the not-too-distant future.

[bok]

The aryan types don't have the numbers or resources mexicans do. Their hispanic brothers and sisters have the numbers, they also have the funds, ideology and propaganda machine on their side. The question isn't if they gain political power and have the numbers it will be when, also the nation will be divided up into sections of cultures.

[Clemenza]

Paranoia. Be wary of people who push fear of "Aztlan" while collecting money for their "immigration control" group. The gentlemen who compared Right Wingers who are scared of Aztlan to the idiot liberals who fear the militias (and are fleeced by Morris Dees and the ADL) was absolutely correct.

[Clemenza]

Um, the New England Governors have the same type of club with the Canadians. Pre-9/11, Paul Cellucci was even speaking of "eliminating the border alltogether" in the future. It seems to me, however, that most of the Aztlan-fetishists on this site seem to only care about poor Mexicans coming over the southern border yet don't give a damn about the Asians and Arabs coming through Canada, a country with the most liberal immigration laws on earth.

I'll leave you guys now to be paranoid over some "Aztlan" BS threat. Some of us have more important threats to worry about that a handful of college kids.

[humblegunner]

Bump.

[blackie]

Not a pretty picture...

There's a smell of revolution in the air !!

Stop the attacks by the wacko, PC-nazis terrorist's on our Freedoms !!

Freedom Is Worth Fighting For !!

Molon Labe !!

[BUSHdude2000]

I'm in San Antonio as I type this. Mr. Downard would probably be very surprised at the advancement this movement has made if he'd go back to that Taco Bell. For those not familiar with the Paul Revere Society, it's 3 main points of emphasis are Borders, Language, Culture. Something the Left-Wing doesn't care about and certainly not the invaders trying to tear down this nation's heroes to celebrate their own.

[conserv13]

Thank you. Most Mexicans (and other hispanics, too) are hard working, conservative family types. I would say 99% of Mexicans have no knowledge of this Aztlan BS.

[HowlinglyMind-BendingAbsurdity]

Anyone know the "Anglo" abortion rate in the U.S.?

[ZULU]

Great people the Aztecs.

After migrating from Azatlan, their chief god, Huichilopochtli, the Humming-Bird Wizard, told them to found their settlement where they found a Eagle sitting on top of a cactus with a rattlesnake in its claws (hence the Mexican Flag Symbol). One of the cieftains of a neigboring tribe offered the chief of the Aztecs his beautiful daughter to marry. The Aztecs accepted her, then cut out her heart as a sacrifice to the Humming Bird Wizard. This from the mouths of the Aztecs themselves in their origin stories.

She was the first of many thousands and thousands of victims, men and women and children, who had their hearts removed, their skins flayed, and their body parts and blood strew around their horrid temples until Cortez and his men came along and, primarly with the support of the neighboring tribes who had to supply the victims for these sacrifices, ended the Aztec reign in a suitable bloodbath of the Aztecs themselves, destroying their idols and temples.

Interesting the these people seek to resurrect such a "culture".

[Ajnin]

I have a tendency to believe that MECHistas and Leftist Chicanos are irrelevent until I remember the fact that the majority of Hispanics vote for the Democratic Party.

[Ajnin]

Handful of College Kids? One of these Aztlaners was a candidate for Governor of California. Cruz Bustamante a MECHista is Lt. Gov.

[Clemenza]

They vote for the Dems because they are poor, not out of some racial animus, although many Chicanos couldn't stand Pete "they keep coming" Wilson.

Bush currently enjoys high approval ratings among Hispanics. It will be interesting to see what happens in the 2004 election though.

[Clemenza]

Cruz Bustamente is merely a typical urban machine Dem who will get most of his funding from the Hollywood crowd. To call him a Chicano separatist who will bite the hand that feed him is a joke...

[american spirit]

Well that makes three of you who don't have a clue about what's really happening in the southwest as well as the advance of Mexican illegals throughout the country. There's now whole areas of Dallas that look like a third world, run down banana republic after being invaded by the aztlaners.

[Ajnin]

Not all MECHistas are speratists or racists. Many of them are naive enough to believe that they are really helping the Hispanic community. I have heard from people that know Bustamante and say that he is good person. However, he along with many others including a large segment of my own community support MECHA and other Leftist Chicano organizations.

[medved]

It won't be the chicanos demanding that we hand Florida, Texas, and California over to Mexico; it will be the UN. There might still be time to hand Kosovo back to its rightful owners before that happens, so that we don't look like total hypocrites when that happens.

[Ajnin]

Mayor Riordan of LA, also endorsed the failed Mayoral campaign of Antonio Villaraigosa, the former leader of MECHA, which is the premier leftist/separatist/racist organization among Hispanics.

[colorado tanker]

Uh, excuse me, but I live in the Southwest and travel often to New Mexico, Arizona and California. Way too much hysteria about this. Kinda like Boston when the Irish started coming in or New York when the Italians and east europeans began arriving. Ohio was all atwitter at one time because too much German was being spoken. Aztlan is being pushed by a miniscule group of socialists and racists; its not even close to mainstream.

[Billthedrill]

Well, if we do decide to evict usurping European-Americans from that area that would mean that those of Spanish extraction would have to go as well, hmm? That is, after all, what "hispanic" means...

[bok]

Mexican nationals and other spanish speaking people can be brainwashed. That's whom i was speaking of not americans.

[lowbridge]

bump

[bok]

The way i look at if you have no border you have no country. The spanish language is very pervasive in this country now. It's too late the way i seem and people better wake up to that fact, this sovereign republic is done.

[bok]

It's too late the way i seem it and people better wake up to that fact, this sovereign republic is done.

[colorado tanker]

People will lose the Spanish. English is essential for middle class jobs and a good education. A colleague of mine is third generation and couldn't even understand Spanish. That's about average. The old country language is spoken at home in the first generation, the second generation uses more English than Spanish and the third generation becomes pretty thoroughly Americanized.

For the long term we need to push Fox and the Mexican congress to reform their economy and economic regulations to spur faster growth so there isn't as much of a gulf in the two standards of living. Fox has some good plans, but so far not much has been enacted.

[WRhine]

I'll leave you guys now to be paranoid over some "Aztlan" BS threat. Some of us have more important threats to worry about that a handful of college kids.

You showcase well the kind of thinking that led to 9/11. Very few were worried about islamic terrorism reaching our shores either.

[EBUCK]

If it's too late what the hell are you doing here yapping about it being too late for? If it were to late wouldn't we patriots all be out in the streets If it were really too damn late we would be in prison for our subversive conversations and our anti-hispanic-non-PC attitudes. It's not too late damnitall!!!!

EBUCK

[RnMomof7]

I have one question low..IF the United Staes is a myth..a geographic area with no borders I want to know if Western NY can leave the State of NY ? Perhaps we could join Ohio..Borders do not means anything anymore..maybe we could change the States around too

[remaininlight]

In war the Aztecs aim was to capture prisoners. Not to kill the enemy. And they never vanquished their enemies although they could have.

The objective of Aztec war making was to bring home captives to be sacrificed at the Temple to the Sun. Hearts carved out by priests with an obsidian knife and held up to the rising sun. They believed their Aztec sun spirit fed on the heart and blood.

[Twodees]

Take me off your ping list. You know I despise you anyway.

[FITZ]

The Aztlan types are about as numerous or dangerous as my grandmother

I'll agree with that, the Chicanos are often 3rd or 4th generation Americans who like to call themselves Mexican and most know very little about Mexico. I think Fox and Castaneda are far more dangerous and some of their deals being cut with our own politicians, Castaneda admits they expect to have the "whole enchilada" which means they eliminate US sovereignty and have full access to all the US.

[ZULU]

Right. They called them "Flower Wars" and maintained a class of tribes around them for the sole purpose of providing human sacrifices to their idols, the chief of which was the Hummingbird Wizard Huichilopchtli, their "National" god.