Music and More

How you see them contradicts how you see them

 Criminal                       Pioneer Mother

Above you can see the advantages of being of the dominant white culture.  In these images I see a contradictory perception, belief, and prejudice towards the emigrant.  I got some parking tickets and had to go downtown and pay to have a boot removed.  So as I was walking toward the payment location I saw this memorial to the "pioneer mother".  How romantic the word pioneer is, yet equally unwelcome.  This infuriated me because once again when a white soul is restless it is memorialized, honored, and even encouraged.  But when a darker featured soul shares the same passion, we are seen as a nuisance, a burden, and criminals.  The placard below this "memorial" to white emigrants read “To the pioneer mother of America, through whose courage and sacrifice the desert has blossomed, the camp became a home, the blazed trail a thoroughfare.”

I say with slight hesitancy, "Fuck that!"  It should have read, "To the struggling poor, restless, and desperate refugee, may she remind her children that her reckless survival will lead to devastating demolition of many cultures and beliefs, while her offspring will exploit and disregard the hope of others who are still emigrating from despair and distress."

If interested or by chance you are on 4th street and Lomas this statue stands facing west about 200m north of Lomas.  Likewise, you'll likely never see the other woman and her child, because they are being taught to hide, evade, and be ashamed.  For the struggles of emigrants who are seeking a meaningful life, I honor you, and hope your humanity shines its best light.


Immigrating Without Borders

      I immigrated from Albuquerque’s city life to a quieter Santa Fe.  Santa Fe is 50 some odd miles north of Albuquerque along the Camino ...