Discrimination

What are you supposed to say when a six-year old asks another girl of the same age if she is not ashamed of having "dark" parents? And what if she tells her "Oh, but you can change parents or you can commit suicide"? This is what happened at school, among the peers of the lagartita menor. And it makes us all wonder what is required for the Mexican society to fully understand the extent of racial, social and economic discrimination that runs through it, and to do something about it.

Mexico is profoundly racist. We talk about "negritos", "chinitos" and "gringos", always implying that we are calling them names because we are joking. We are not. We find "otherness" unacceptable. We think of poverty, lack of opportunities and hardship as deliberate choices that illustrate the despicable nature of those who are not like us. We talk amongst ourselves about a country of which we only embrace small portions. We don't embrace diversity. We refuse to accept that all human beings are born equal, with inalienable rights and inherent dignity.

Many things are rotten in Mexico. But the failure to acknowledge discrimination and fight against it, is one of the worst features of our society. It will take us decades to make progress, because we are oblivious.

If you know about innovative approaches to deal with discrimination among children, teenagers and adults, please let me know. I am on the search.

Una rosa es una rosa es una rosa...

Y esta flor tan espectacular, no es una rosa. Pero ejemplifica la maravilla de la naturaleza, su perfección, y la alegría que nos permite experimentar si abrimos los ojos y el corazón. Como lo había comentado en post anterior, vivimos atrapados en el progreso, en la modernidad, y eso no nos deja salir de entre paredes de concreto y sentir el sol, el aire, la luz y los colores. Esta flor tan espectacularmente hermosa, está grabada en mi memoria, y en la de los patos, los gatos y el racón.

A night at the Hollywood Bowl

For this vacation the Gatos had a quite memorable surprise for us. We went to the Hollywood Bowl to see Paul McCartney.
I have never really been fond of him, but he was spectacular. And watching him playing at the Bowl, after what he called "a million of years", made me have my own travel through time. The Beatles played here in the sixties, and since then Paul had not come back to this magnificent stage. He remembered the crowds back then, John, George, the civil rights struggle and linked this memories back to the future, to Obama's smiling face, and a song calling for change.
Meanwhile, I remembered the height of the eighties, when mum brought me to Hollywood, to see Marilyn Monroe's foot and hand prints at the Chinese theater. Dressed like a mini-Madonna, and endlessly moody, mum made me visit an empty Hollywood Bowl, to see the stage where the biggest ones played. I thought of you during the whole concert last night, mamichi.

"We did not fear the future...

...we shaped it". That is what President Obama said when the Health Care Reform was approved last sunday night, in Washington DC. It is estimated that 32 million more people will be able to access health services in the US as a result of this reform, once it gets fully implemented. A hundred years were needed to actually achieve this. And against all odds, Obama did get it done. Not bad. At all. Ted Kennedy must be smiling.

The sun always shines on TV...

...and in Washington DC! I can hardly believe it! Less than two months ago I was stranded here, in meters of snow, and today it is beautiful out there!

I read this great book last week, which the chicken recommended, called "The Philosopher and the Wolf" (Mark Rowlands). There is no big question mark about the main subjects of the story, since both of them appear in the title. While the story is compelling on its own, and beautifully written, the essence of the book is a philosophical reflection about life, death and the role of human beings and other animals.

After several courses on political philosophy during my studies, I never thought that I could find philosophy this attractive and convincing. This is one of the books that I will keep reading at different moments, and I suspect that it will give me something new to think about each time. I am on the road again, and did not bring it with me. But I will pick up this trail once I am back, to get some thought provoking quotes into the Cosmic Mouse Report.

Look at the stars...

...look how they shine for you, and all the things that you do... (Coldplay). Isn't it amazing how, even if we are far away, we continue to think about and feel deeply connected to the people we love? I would have loved to be with you at the Cold Play concert, Waldo!

Instead, I was still at Mont Fleur, in Stellenbosch, which has a place in history that certainly relates to the lines of Yellow. Around 20 years ago, this place was the silent witness for what came to be known as "The Mont Fleur Scenarios"--one of the first meetings among Mandela, the ANC (African National Congress) and the crumbling apartheid government, to talk about the transition.

It is usual to feel humbled in the presence of superior beings--and I am sure that is what it would feel like to meet Mandela. But sometimes you feel humbled just by thinking that the very spot where you are standing, is a place where historic developments happened.

The heat is on...

...in Cape Town. The first Cosmic Mouse Report came from a snow-covered Washington DC, when the "capital of the free world" came to a still stand because of the blizzard. As ironic as it might appear, a month later I am in Stellenbosch, close to Cape Town, also paralized--but this time by the heat. It is SCORCHING HOT! Today, offices were closed in the city due to the heat.

But it is beautiful! The mountains are breath-taking, the food is delicious and the pool is the most refreshing experience I have had in a long time!

The workshop itself is quite amazing. Some remarkable people fighting the good fight, mostly in African countries ranging from Nigeria to Zambia, to Tanzania and South Africa. When I see their passion and commitment to make health care available to poor and excluded communities, it makes me remember why I love this work.

That is enough of a reason.