Do you recall which small West Virginia town it was that she settled in.
I bet it wasn't in western Kanawha county or eastern Boone county. An
interracial couple would be asking for trouble there.
_____
Robert G. Ingersoll
“Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm
of ignorance and faith! Banish me from Eden when you will; but first let me eat
of the fruit of the tree of knowledge!”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works Of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. Iii
On 10/26/2020 9:08 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
What he said about her in the book is that she was the most stable, well
adjusted of his children. That's because she was the oldest and for the first
eight years of her life, she had both parents, a stable family. After that, he
was traveling a lot of the time and his marriage with her mother was falling
apart for a number of reasons. She married a white man and the two of them
settled in a small West Virginia town. Belafonte expected that there would be
all kinds of problems, that they would be shunned because they were an
interracial couple. Instead, he was happily surprised to discover that his
preconceptions were incorrect. They were completely accepted by the town and
raised their children there. I can't remember what she studied, but I think it
was drama, not music and my short term memory issues prevent me from
remembering precisely what kind of work she did, although I was reading about
it this afternoon. It had something to do with helping others.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On
Behalf Of Roger Loran Bailey (Redacted sender "rogerbailey81" for DMARC)
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 8:44 PM
To: blind-democracy <blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Patricia Arce interview Bolivia MAS
As long as you are mentioning Harry Belafonte, let me do some name dropping. I
attended school with his daughter, Adrienne. She was studying at West Virginia
State College at the same time that I was. I didn't have much chance to get to
know her because she was a fine arts major who spent most of her time on one
end of the campus while I was a biology major who spent most of my time on the
other end of campus where the science building was. I say fine arts major
because I don't really know what her major was. It was probably music, but she
would have spent most of her time around the fine arts building which was
located on the far end of the campus from where I spent most of my time.
However, I did meet her a couple of times. I can report that nothing struck me
as outstanding about her. She just came across as a regular person. Okay, she
was the daughter of a famous person, but she just came across like anyone else
to me.
_____
Robert G. Ingersoll
“Give me the storm and tempest of thought and action, rather than the dead calm
of ignorance and faith! Banish me from Eden when you will; but first let me eat
of the fruit of the tree of knowledge!”
― Robert G. Ingersoll, The Works Of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. Iii
On 10/26/2020 4:59 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
Carl,
Glad to know you're still there, checking in. I have been completely absorbed in a book
which appeared on BARD last week, My Song, by Harry Belafonte. It is a memoir, that he
wrote with the help of a ghost writer, I gather, in 2011, and it is very long and very
fascinating. I remember his songs and one movie, and a few years ago, he was on Democracy
Now. He's now 93. Reading this book takes me back to the things that happened when I was
in high school, college, graduate school, and so on. I remember Belafonte as a singer. I
had no idea how involved he was in the civil rights movement or in so many social and
political movements that followed. All of the things he writes about were so important to
me in my life, but to most people, they're things that they've just read about or that
happened when they were children. All the people he knew: politicians actors entertainers
folk singers, and the incredible amount of money that he earned and then used to support
the causes that were important to him. He's also very honest about his personal
shortcomings, mistakes he's made, the years and years of psychoanalytic treatment he's
undergone. It's really an amazing book. Reading it is a much better experience than
reading articles about the current election season. But reading it is a reminder about
how "the more things change, the more they stay the same".
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, October 26, 2020 3:48 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Patricia Arce interview Bolivia MAS
Try as I might, there is no way for an American White Older Working Class Man
such as myself to relate to conditions faced by Patricia Arce, in Bolivia. But
as a Blind Man, I know discrimination when it raises its ugly head. I can't
feel the physical torture, but I can sense the mental anguish.
As a Species we Humans are a cruel vindictive bunch of Critters.
This week I am not spending much time on the internet. The Washington Council of the
Blind is holding its first "Virtual Convention". The pre-convention Board
Meeting takes place this Thursday evening, with the convention to follow on Friday and
Saturday. I think I'm going to enjoy not having to negotiate long walks from the
convention center to the men's room, or the late night parties in the rooms next door or
directly above us. I've gone from being one of the last to turn in, to being one of the
earliest to hit the sack.
In the meantime, we are working hard to establish a central core of members
from our Jefferson County Council of the Blind(JCCB) chapter, using Zoom and
dial up telephone in order to keep an information line open into this rather
isolated part of our state. We might have a group of ten or twelve members who
have the skills needed to use Zoom or Dial Up. We're exploring ideas for
expanding our meetings to include several folks in Assisted Living Facilities,
gathered around one computer or one telephone set on speaker phone. At this
time, with no leadership from our National Leaders, we have all agreed that we
do not need to risk COVID-19 in order to sit together over lunch.
So it means a more formal gathering than what we've been used to.
Anyway, for me it is a busy time of the month...and no trick or treat about it.
Speaking of that, we moved from a neighborhood in Renton, Washington where
each Halloween dozens of little Goblins and Ghosts came trooping to the door,
to here, on the quiet Olympic Peninsula where we've had zero visitors on
Halloween, over the past 25 years.
But what I started to say was that even if I am not so visible for the next
week or two, I'm still lurking and checking and reading the many interesting
posts.
Carl Jarvis
On 10/26/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Patricia Arce interview Bolivia MAS
How Bolivia’s new socialist senator resisted coup terror: Meet MAS
party leader Patricia Arce MAX BLUMENTHAL AND BEN NORTON·OCTOBER 25,
2020 BOLIVIA
The Grayzone traveled to rural Bolivia to meet Patricia Arce, a
former mayor who was publicly tortured during a US-backed coup in
November 2019, and is now a senator-elect from the indigenous-led
Movement Toward Socialism party, which won in a historic landslide
election on October 18.
By Max Blumenthal
Video and translation by Ben Norton
Transcript
MAX BLUMENTHAL: Just a few days after the dramatic landslide victory
on October 18 of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party founded by
Evo Morales, I traveled 3.5 hours from the Bolivian city of
Cochabamba, with The Grazyone team of Ben Norton and Anya Parampil,
to Chimoré, here in the tropical region of Cochabamba, that’s a base
of support for the MAS party.
We attended a gathering of regional party leadership, including the
mayor of Chimoré; Senator-elect Leonardo Loza, who is filling the
role of Evo Morales in the Senate; and Senator-elect Patricia Arce,
who has become a symbol both of the terror and cruelty of the
(Jeanine) Áñez coup regime and of the dramatic revitalization of her MAS party.
LEONARDO LOZA: Here we put our luck on the line, mainly the most
humble people, the poorest people, the most humiliated, marginalized
people, not only today, but for a long time.
And we, these people, we have won. Not with 10%, we have won with
more than 25%.
The humble, the poor, the natives of this land, we are the majority.
Sister Patricia knows how we have suffered, in Cochabamba primarily.
Every time I spoke, the next day I had a new criminal charge. And I
never stopped speaking. I never went silent.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: Senator-elect Patricia Arce, thanks a lot for this
opportunity to talk to you here in the tropic of Cochabamba. Before
we get into the October 18 landslide victory of the MAS party that
you represent, I think that it’s important to talk about the events
of last November, of the coup, in which you were assaulted in the
streets of Cochabamba. Can you tell us what happened there?
PATRICIA ARCE: The 6th of November, for me, marked a very critical
stage in my life. It was something very difficult, what happened to
me. I never imagined that all of that could happen.
They found me in the mayor’s office. We found out that a mob was
coming, of this badly named “Cochala Youth Resistance.”
And the workers in the town hall started to shout that they were
setting it on fire. And we got everyone out of the office. And when I
left, a mob grabbed me. And they beat me; they punched me.
They threw oil, gasoline, and red paint on me. And they cut my hair.
They made me walk nearly seven kilometers, barefoot. And the whole
time they were hitting me.
And I was not able to understand what human beings would do this to
another person, who is also equal to them.
That day said a lot for me, because, never in my life had I thought
that would happen. Young people, who could be my children, my nephews.
I mean, there was no explanation for everything that was happening.
They took me away, to a place called Huayculi. It’s a river. And
there, they wanted to make me beg forgiveness; make me denounce the
process of change; make me speak badly of the president [Evo Morales].
And, well, I can’t. I can’t do it. I can’t go against my principles.
I can’t go against my ideals.
And that is to say that, that 6th of November, for me, it has marked
my life, and the life of my children.
And all the while, for the entire year, we have suffered political
persecution, legal persecution.
They are making up a ton of cases against me, of “sedition,” of
“terrorism,”
claiming that I carried out false flag attacks on myself
They have targeted my house. They have taken us out; they have forced
us to sleep a night, two nights in a police cell.
They took my youngest child to a center for delinquent youth, as if
he were a criminal, claiming it was punishment for us having violated
the quarantine, and “crimes against health.”
And there’s more. (Interior) Minister (Arturo) Murillo, in all of his
public addresses, he threatens me, saying that he is not going to
stop until he sees me inside (prison).
They have made up a ton of cases against me. They have not been able
to prove one charge, because they are all fabricated.
And for us, truly, this year has been very, very hard. For all of us.
Not only for me, but for all of our sisters with polleras (indigenous dresses).
Women, young people. Young people who have lost their lives. Mothers
who have lost their children.
And truly, our country will see that, with so many sacrifices, in
these 14 years (of the MAS in power) we have built up our country,
with a lot of love, with a lot of compromise, with a lot of work. And
with a lot of dedication.
To see that, in less than one year, they have destroyed our country.
And it is unfortunate that the OAS (Organization of American States),
with (Secretary General Luis) Almagro, has lent a hand in all of
this, this pain they have put on the Bolivian people.
Truthfully, it is very, very painful. I don’t think anyone deserves that.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: What do you think, after all of these crimes that you
just described, after all of these injustices, what do you think
needs to be done now that the MAS party is back in power? A truth and
justice commission?
Jail for the perpetrators of these crimes that you described? What?
PATRICIA ARCE: Well, we, we have to work a lot first to rebuild our
country, to bring back stability, tranquility for our people, so that
all of us Bolivians feel free. And so that, so we can all walk the
streets, without thinking that someone is going to come and attack us.
We have to work on that, and also we have to make fundamental
adjustments to what is justice. Because those people who came to
power in the name of transition – for us, coup-mongers – they have
used justice to be able to persecute our brothers and sisters. And
that, we have to change.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: And the interior minister, who is considered the
enforcer of the (Jeanine) Áñez administration, Arturo Murillo
specifically?
PATRICIA ARCE: Yes, Mr. Murillo. The only thing I hope is that
justice does what is has to do.
We are not demanding revenge. Because we are from a culture of peace,
a culture of love, and a culture of work, and of unity.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: How would you say that life has changed here in
Cochabamba over the last 11 months, since the coup?
PATRICIA ARCE: It has changed a lot. In these 11 months, we have seen
first-class citizens, second-class citizens, and third-class citizens.
The government has only worked for one minority group. And it has
been very rough with the majority group.
For those of us who are of indigenous descent, (WHAT?) and that is a
product of, as I said, very difficult for us.
We have not had access to healthcare, in this pandemic. They have
canceled our school year. Our young ones, they have taken away their
right to education.
They have taken away our right to healthcare. And they have also
taken away our right to the freedom of expression, because we think
differently. We don’t think like they do.
We have been persecuted. And also mistreated, in all of this process.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: After all of this, why did you decide to run for Senate?
PATRICIA ARCE: Well, in the MAS, we don’t decide the positions. It is
the social organizations which choose us. We don’t pick ourselves. Is
it they who choose us. And us, the only thing we have to do is to
meet the demands of the social organizations.
And this opportunity, it is a very big commitment. Because we know
that very difficult moments are awaiting us.
The people of Bolivia have again put their trust in the process of change.
And for us it is greater responsibility and work to be able to move
forward.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: What’s at the top of your agenda after taking office?
PATRICIA ARCE: For me, it is to work, so that not one woman suffers
mistreatment. And to also work for the youth. The least protected
groups are women and young people.
That is what we are going to look into. So that the youth have direct
access to jobs. So that all of the public institutions of the state
are obligated to help young people, so they are able to work.
Because when a young professional goes out, the first thing they ask
for is experience. And if we don’t offer the possibility to have this
experience, where are they going to get it?
It is very important to work on this, and to work to eradicate
violence against women.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: What do you think the importance is of indigenous
people and women in the MAS party and its success?
PATRICIA ARCE: For us it is very important. Because the indigenous
peoples have always been marginalized.
And it is not in the struggle against the process of change. It is
the struggle; it has been the struggle, because our leader is indigenous.
That’s
why.
Here in Bolivia, there was a coup for two reasons: racism, the class
struggle, and also for our natural resources, the lithium. Because of
that, respect is very important for us.
And this, the triumph of Bolivia does not only reflect Bolivia;
rather it reflects all of Latin America, and all of the world.
Women have to play a very important role. We women are capable, of
running both a home and a country, of running a municipality. Because
we have demonstrated that.
And we want to thank our brother Evo Morales, who gave opportunities
to women to fill public positions (in government).
In my country, 50% need to be men, and 50% need to be women.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: On October 18, on the night of this massive victory,
when your party won by 25%, what was your reaction?
PATRICIA ARCE: Well we saw that, yes, we are going to win. Because
you could feel it in the street. We had so much support from the people.
When we talked to 10 people, eight supported us; they asked us for flags.
And we were sure that we were going to win.
And that day was a mix of concern, a mix of fear. Because the same
people who had committed the fraud, those from the OAS, they were
here. And also they, they were preparing to commit fraud against us.
And the concern was that those groups would once again come out and,
with the help of the military and police, they would be able to come
out and attack us.
But the conscious people prevailed over everything. And today we have
a great victory, with 55%.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: Well you obviously know that our government, the
United States government, has been supporting this unelected
transitional coup government, and continues to support it to this day.
PATRICIA ARCE: Yes.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: What message do you have for the American people?
PATRICIA ARCE: Simply to tell them: All peoples deserve respect; all
peoples deserve respect for their dignity, for their culture.
We are a multi-ethnic, multicultural country. And we respect other
countries.
We would not go to foreign countries to determine the destiny that
they are going to give their country. We are very respectful.
And we ask them, those countries that have been part of the coup,
that they reconsider. Because we are free. And we can govern ourselves.
We will not allow, we do not want people who get involved in our problems.
Because we know what our needs are. And we also know what our
strengths are.
MAX BLUMENTHAL: Patricia Arce, thanks so much for speaking to The Grayzone.
PATRICIA ARCE: Thank you.
from The Grayzone
