C-19 AND WHY RED, BLACK & BROWN?

C-19 AND WHY RED, BLACK & BROWN?

June 1 The Progressive Populist
By ROBERTO DR CINTLI RODRIGUEZ

I spent 29 years as a writer before returning to school to get a Ph.D. I remember the first thing I was taught in working on my dissertation was to focus like a laser beam on the topic I had chosen to study.

In my case, it was the role of maiz in the development of culture(s) in what is today the Americas. Way too broad, I was told, though I stuck to my machetes and ended up creating a dissertation that spanned the 7,000-year history of maiz on this hemisphere.

For 29 years, I had already been doing precisely that, always examining the bigger picture in my attempt to comprehend the nature of social justice. This same idea has come to mind in the middle of the coronavirus crises, in which most of this nation’s citizens appear not to be able to see the forest for the trees.

While we as a nation are attempting to solve this crisis, one of the things that we have learned is that the American Indian and Black and Brown communities of this nation are being especially hit hard by this pandemic. This should come as no surprise to anyone. Also, not to be forgotten is that Asians also are being subjected to unprecedented levels of hate crimes, compliments of the president’s scapegoating of China. THE REST OF THE COLUMN CAN BE FOUND IN THE JUNE 1 ISSUE OF THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST AT: https://www.populist.com/index.html
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The C-19 Apocalypse: Beyond a Sci-Fi Reality

The C-19 Apocalypse: Beyond a Sci-Fi Reality
By ROBERTO Dr. CINTLI RODRIGUEZ
Thirty-seven years ago, I wrote a sci-fi story called nuclear dreams. It was about the aftermath of nuclear destruction, something that eerily resembles today’s reality.

I’ve always been athletic and so I always have a need to be outdoors. Today is no different. I cycle daily because it’s either that or my laptop, TV and Bad News.

That’s not to say that I’m not cautious. Quite the opposite. When I bike, I wear a bandana-covered surgical mask and gloves when I need them, and I always keep a safe distance from everyone, whether I’m biking, walking and especially sitting (I do this because I noticed weeks ago that when people without masks approach me, they usually cough. Cabrones!). FOR THE REST IOF THE COLUMN, GO TO: https://www.populist.com/26.11.rodriguez.html FOR THE JUNE 15 ISSUE OF THE PROGRESSIVE POPULIST, GO TO: https://www.populist.com/index.html

Will We Be Able to Breathe in 2021? BILINGUAL/BILINGUE

Will We Be Able to Breathe in 2021?

The Progressive Populist, July 1-15, 2020

By ROBERTO Dr. CINTLI Roberto Cintli Rodriguez

To describe the current administration as an unmitigated disaster – as a result of the pandemic, the George Floyd-inspired uprisings and the erratic and undemocratic nature of everything the current president does – is now cliché.

He came into office as a narcissistic conman and failed businessman, with totalitarian tendencies. For those that admired that in a new US president, he has not disappointed. And precisely because of his erratic and abhorrent nature, no one can predict his ‘strongman’ antics two weeks from now, nor what kind of country we will be living in, the next several months.

But if we were to jump ahead, say one year from now, and ask what the state of police brutality will be in this country, regardless of who is living in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we should be able to answer that question easily.

If the current president is still in office, things will not be very different than they are right now (bad), though most likely, worse. While this insurrection was initially triggered by the police murder of Floyd in Minneapolis — which highlights the historic brutality against the African American community — an actual breakdown of statistics will also show that the red and brown communities of this nation/continent have also always been subjected to this similar brutality, regardless of who has been in power.

FOR THE REST OF THE COLUMN, PLEASE GO TO: https://www.populist.com/26.12.rodriguez.html TO VISIT THE ENTIRE JULY 1 ISSUE, PLEASE GO TO: https://www.populist.com/current.html