http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ibb6Um2oR1zW-6TpVu7tNtZrZaGQD97O9NMO0

So I was reading this article on Obama's commentary on the holocaust and I like this quote, "people should fight the impulse to turn away when scenes of horror unfold across the world." The holocaust in Nazi Germany is a well known horror in history.

However, The U.S. needs to stop looking at the past and turn the gaze towards  the present. It also needs to stop shaking its head at other country's mistakes and confess its own mistakes and apologize. I would have been more impressed if the President would recognize how it turned its back on the Jews during the Holocaust.

But not just the President but also people living in the U.S.
- We need to stop turning the other way when racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, ageism, abilityism, etc.  infects our neighborhoods
- We need to say "that is wrong" when we are witnesses of clear injustices. Then educate ourselves about it and share the indignation with each other.
- We need to be more sensitive to each other's oppresssion to unite and resist systems of oppression that continues to dominate us through divisions.
- We need to recognize moments that we have turned our backs to visible injustices or chose to be a bystander.

It is never too late to learn from our mistakes! To learn our unasked priveleges and cause us to belittle the 'other'

My challenge: Talk to your 'other' who ever it may be, for whatever reason. Dare to take risks and discover our prejudices or misconceptions of the 'other'

Let us look at the past, learn from those mistakes--but also reflect in our present and change those attitudes of apathy and fear of fighting for injustice.

BASTA CON LA INJUSTICIA!

heeey!!!
 its 1 am and i am wide awake..sabe!! Actually i should be sleeping like a baby after this week full of activities with my friends.
I had a great spring break and I learned a lot about friendship.

Friendship in the past
 My friends before Mills are more like hang out friends and its not that they are not people that I can't have serious conversations about life and stuff, its just that i have been scared of bein screwed over...quien no? It has happened to me that some of the closest people in my life have totally abandoned me...buts its okay cuz God has totally redeemed this.

Friendship at Mills 
The friends I have been blessed with at Mills have been deep, nurturing, healing, and challenging. I have met people that I never in my life I would have met. People from different backgrounds, beliiefs, and personalities. I have gone through so many life changing experiences and these women are dedicated to support me and hold me accountable.

Spring Break and Friendship 
This spring break my very very good friend Charlotte came to visit from D.C. and I wanted to make sure that her time here was worth her visit. Me and my friends did awesome activities such as hiking, going to the beach, and kayaking. We don't usually do these kind of things but man it was great! I believe that I connected with my friends at a different level because to some of us these activities were of our interest, for others it was a first experience and challenging.

Highlight
 Throughout this week I kept hearing my friends thanking each other, appreciating our presence and contributions, and words of encouragement. So many high fives, smiles, and hugs were exchanged...and I though to myself (Dang God has definately redeemed my concept of friendship). I will always remember this week and all the memories that were made with my friends.

I believe that if I pass through a bad personal experience I give up to God and ask for redemption it and sure enough this week God has demonstrated that my concept of friendship has healed.

So this Sunday was my little sister's 7th birthday. Me and Stephanie (my other sister) planned to give her a bycicle for a present. I planned to teach her how to ride a two-wheeler and then I woud buy my bike and we would ride together in the summer...but that dream got ruined!
 
So we did buy her the bike and it was soo cool! It was shiny turqoise blue with "Jewel" written on the side in fancy letters and design. It was the prefect bike for my Sara. The party came and I pretended that I didn't have a birthday present for her and I apologized (but with a big'ol grin on my face). "Time to open the presents!" I started yelling because I was soo anxious to see her face. So I let her go through all of her other ones before..the BIG ONE! When I brought in the bike her little eyes lit up, she had the biggest smile ever, and gave me and my sister a big hug and kiss. I felt so proud and happy to give my sister a bike, which every child should have (FYI Me and Stephanie had to share a bycicle). Plus me and Stephanie, are working hard for it. Anything for my Sara.

Monday morning: I get a phone call from Stephanie, "Hey, guess what?" in a very serious and low voice. "They stole Sara's bike..."
 "you joking right?" I said.
"No." silence. My face turns boiling hot and tears are streaming down my eyes just to think of how Sara was so happy a couple hours ago.
"Did Sara cry?" 
"Duh, what do you think?" I cried even harder and reality punches me in the gut.

What happened? Well next to my parent's house there is a little laundry room, where I put the bike away for the night. The next morning my dad took it out to get some tools he needed for a side job he was going to do. The bike wasn't put back into the laundry room, and then it disappeared. I think that is the most frustrating part is that it just happened, no one expected it. its no one's fault, no where to put my anger.

Lesson of the Day: Uno pone y Dios dispone...One puts and God takes away. No I am not blaming God, but it did teach me that material things are temporary. Yeah they bring lots of joy to our lives, but within the blink of an eye its gone, and there is a little girl crying because she wasn't able to enjoy her birthday present.

I am so enraged!
 Today I had  a heated discussion in my Spanish Composition class with my professor. I think it is alright for people to express their opinion, even when I am totally opposed to it. But what pushes my ! button is when they give their opinion in a demanding tone that suppresses other people's opinon. And when people are unfairly tokenized*

 My past: My father is a machista=). He always carries the final word and he made sure to let me know that my opinion was either wrong or insignificant (I think it is one of the main roots of my feminist personality). So I suffered a lot of insecurities and stress at a young age because I didn't learn the proper way to express myself vocally. And now when someone has that authoritative tone, it gets me pissed.

Today's topic in class was to go over our the outline for a narrative that we have to turn in next week. However, the entire class we discussed religion, but mostly the professor talked. She stated her opinion that she is not in favor of any religion that oppresses women or any other group =) -fine. She stated that she doesn't understand why in certain religions women's body has to be covered from head to toe and she feels that is a way of controlling women- understandable. She finally stated that marriage is a patriarchal institution and that religion enforces it to be unnegotiable with the excuse of it being sacred-a contreversial topic.

So why am I so angry? Is that she went around every student and asked for her religious back ground and picked on each and everyone- except for one that was all inclusive and doesn't enforce God. Her statements were biased and unsensitive. Yes, the U.S. is all about 'freedom of speech' but she has to recognize the power dynamic that goes on in class. She is the professor in a classroom setting- an automatic upper hand. So if she tries to state her opinion she needs to be aware of this setting and not generalize her statements.

What really ticked me off is that there was one student who is Muslim, and this student rarely speaks out in class. This is when the teacher starts demanding an answer to why do Muslim cultures make women wear a veil and are covered from head to toe. Put yourself in this student's shoes for a minute. How would you feel? I would feel scared, attacked, and mad at the fact that I (meaning the student) have to speak for a religion that varies from region and practice.

So anyways, I spoke up and started to explain what I have learned about the hijab and its original intent but how sexism has manipulated it(like everything else)  to control women =). And I was proud that other women in the class also stepped up and put their two cents in. Now I am no expert in the Muslim culture, but there are some things I appreciate and respect*. Yet this professor continued to rudely interrupt students and put down their agency. THAT IS OPPRESSIVE...MS I AM A SUPER LIBERAL EDUCATED SPANISH PROFESSOR!

So during my air time, she cut me off and started ranting about a totally different subject, when she didn't even let me finish my argument! Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to say that I waited patiently (well actually is was very close to breaking my pen in half) until she was done and told her, "Excuse me, I was not done with what I was saying before you interrupted me..." and continued and finished my point, strongly. The old me would have closed up and refused to talk, then because of so much anger I would march out of the classroom  gone to the bathroom and cried (dramatic I know). I am a new person now, and no one has the right to undermine my agency, especially when I have been respectful of theirs.

What next?: Because I am still encabronada about this and I am working on my agency, my next step is to go visit her during office hours and have a chate with her. If I don't who will? Her conversation mode was not productive nor respectful at all to the classroom environment and basically wasted an entire class time.

Reflection (not that I let out most of the steam): I am glad I went through this experience because I saw that I do have the capacity to voice my opinion in a resonable manner without getting too emotional. I did not let the old insecure Miriam creep up on me. In fact I saw that she is no longer part of me, she is just a chapter in my past. And I will speak to this professor because I want to make sure she understands what she did wrong and hep her learn from her mistake.

Stay tuned...
mir

I want to thank my friends Lu and Karen for encouraging me to create this account. The reason why I am starting is because I just read an inspirational article for my Feminist Social Ethics class "Identity and Free Agency" by Hilde L. Nelson. It inspired me to create a counterstory* of myself. It is part of my journey of repairing my identity* (yes I always have these deep philisophical thoughts).

Anyways to keep this short and sweet, after reading this article I now have an amazing urge to explore my identity and how it has been influenced by my environment* and a major part of this journey is agency. So in some way I am using live journal to endorse my personal agency, even though I am always complaining about technology* and how it is corrupting humanity =).

So I shall see how this live journal impacts my life...or doesn't distract me more on top of facebook and e-mail! 

Hasta Luego! 
Mir

p.s. the asterisk (*) means topics that I want to write more in depth later.
p.s.s. the =) is a symbol of prayer that I will put after every negative thought that I write, my step to make this world a better place.