Threatening a vagina is ok, as long as it's brown. South Central (via the Lower Eastside). 12/28

By now we have all read about the tragedy of the Bhutto assassination. We have all also heard the comments of the horrible things they do to people  in the “other” part of the world when there is a disagreement. Disagreements in “other” places can lead to death. Things like this allegedly do not happen in the western or do they?

As a woman of color in Los Angeles I have had a gun pulled on  me and punched by men for daring to having an opposing political opinion. Not for my money, but for political reasons. I'm not in a gang nor do I live in a ghetto, but this is a real reality for women of color. When we do something that people don't like people feel that it is ok to threaten us with bodily injury. And these threats are not "jokes" by opposing political parties or satirists, but real "if you don't shut the fuck up we will help you figure it out by punching you."

Usually these aren't by grown men, but by little boys, but grown men sit by and let these threats go by as not serious and any woman color regardless if she grew up in the ghetto or near one we all know that these threats are real.

Now owing to a disagreement, a tagger left a threat against Gloria Molina. Threatening I am assuming her life.

And from the blogosphere in LA the only outrage was that Gloria didn't let work by the testosterone filled crew stay on a river cement wall.  And I know being a woman of color there is probably much talk about her being a bitch behind closed doors.

That's what women of color are called, not just behind closed doors, but also to our face.

"Shut up bitch!!"

I have heard that so many times, even as a woman of almost 30 years of age. Even though I spent over $100,000 dollars on my education, even though I own my own business I am viewed as some as just a black bitch.

A man on my level would never be disrespected in that manner, but as a woman of color it is completely acceptable for me to be called a bitch to my face and for Molina to be threatened in her own neighborhood with no outcry at all from any men of color.

Men of color you must get that you are not white men, right? You must get that you are in the struggle with us which is why we give you more rope in which to pull yourself up, so you can help us, but instead you pull yourself up and use it as a noose for us.

Maybe I was wrong, maybe women of color are wrong. Maybe the feminists are right and the fight against sexism is a more important fight, because while threatening another race is a hate crime thearts against a woman well, she's just another bitch, slut or any of the other names the brothers give their African-American and Latina sisters.

You seem hell bent on stepping on our backs whenever the corporate machine gives you a piece of anything, even when it's a piece of cement in which to scribble your name (in the background.) When it is THEIR sons, not YOURS, but THEIR sons that headline.  Last time I look there were no Swedish people in Lincoln Heights.

Thanks mother fuckers, thanks a lot for having our backs after we stand by you while you pee on our daughters, fuck our best friends when we are battling cancer, leave us after we stand behind your ass while you've been in jail for the past 20 years, you repay us by not mentioning anything.

I understand the community of color is not one voice, but not a one of you are defending Molina.
With all of the men of color working for the print media these days, you’d think that they would remember to use their power in a way other than kissing up to the establishment and being good little boys.

Supporting an organization that seems ok with our mothers, sisters and daughters being threatened seems to be a step backwards and maybe women of color should more closely examine the F word, since you all seemed so hell bent in keeping the B word in your vocabulary.

by Browne

Comments

[Laurie Avocado]

This was not a disagreement. It was not about Gloria Molina's opinion of someone's art. This was about public art being painted over with no public hearing. If it had been done by someone other than an official, it would have been called vandalism.

Nor was it a physical threat. It was another act of vandalism which was interpreted as a threat.

Lots of people say they are going to kill someone when they have no intention of doing so.

[johnk]

I don't really agree with Avocado. It's a touchy situation. These are semi-anonymous, polarized situations. If there was a conflict between two known parties, and one side wrote a death threat on a wall, you investigate. There's a difference between muttering, "ooh, I'm going to kill her," and writing "kill specific person with whom I have a conflict" on a wall.

Here's a concrete example. Suppose I was having a fight over a Wal-Mart. I could graffiti "Kill Wal-Mart" on it, and it would mean something. I could write "Kill Lee Scott" (walmart ceo) and it would be another. But supposed I wrote "Kill Joe Smith" and Joe Smith was the general manager of the store. It's a far more concrete threat.

If Molina quipped about putting someone in jail, people would take that seriously too.

[Laurie Avocado]

I'm not sure I agree with myself. I mean the cops certainly needed to investigate, but I also think that if something like that appeared regarding a common citizen, they wouldn't bother. I also think someone should have investigated who buffed the murals in the first place, and why. If it was done by mistake, an apology would have gone at least a little way toward soothing everyone's feelings. If it was done by someone other than Molina, it would have been good to expose that person and punish them in some way. Molina denied having it done herself, but then went on to say how unacceptable the murals were. If she really thought the murals themselves were a danger to society, she should have held some kind of public hearing about it.

The murals were doing just fine until she interfered with them. They hadn't been tagged over and no one was killing or threatening anyone over them, in spite of what they said in the L.A. Times.