The Symbols that Refuse to Fade

Photo of Saint Petersburg Blog

(7/3/2017) --- It is quite shameful that the Hillsborough, Florida County Commission voted 4-3 to preserve a Confederate statue in the grounds of the old courthouse - a monument that is a symbol that not all men all treated equal and from a period of history that individuals of different European heritage owned slaves.

The different arguments about how different constituents spoke about how civil rights and how how some of their ancestors were enslaved, didn't faced any of the board that is composed by Victor Crist (1), Ken Hagan (2), Sandy Murman (3) and Stacey White (4), all of them which are at the end of their terms and for re-election by next year, which also new comers such as Angel D'Angelo (5) a new comer who is running also for the County Commission and if you would like to see his points and donate to his campaign you may open the hyperlink.

The statue was dedicated in 1911 to honor the Confederate soldiers and sailor, which on a long term with the rise of civil rights and equality the idea of honoring the Confederation in 2017 is extremely outdated as well it just perpetuates the symbols of hate that are still present; some pro-confederate individuals will argue that Is About Heritage, Not About Hate (6) but the heritage from the confederacy is linked to the hatred of African Americans, Aboriginals, Chicano's just to name a few and seeing a pro-confederacy statue in front of a court house ensures  that not all men are created equal.

If you want more information about the inequality in Florida for African Americans (7) you may click on this link that will redirect you to an editorial from the Tampa Bay Times, where it speaks about the harsher sentences that can be inflicted on someone just by their color of skin or ethnic origin.

Not moving the statue is quite an insult to the diversity that is happening around in Tampa, it could be a good idea to even start an educational campaign that generations will keep knowing that honoring racism is bad, even if it sounds silly; but we have to remember that this pseudo-progressive county area has a Confederate flag on one of the busiest highway that also connects to different tourists destinations around Central Florida and brings people from all nationalities and backgrounds to Tampa Bay.

It is difficult to understand this commission, the same ones that even acknowledge LGBT Pride Month refuse to acknowledge and issue about race disparity, same with Mayor Bob Buckhorn  

References: 

1. http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/government/board-of-county-commissioners/victor-d-crist
2. http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/government/board-of-county-commissioners/ken-hagan
3. http://www.sandymurman.com/
4. http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/government/board-of-county-commissioners/stacy-white
5. https://www.crowdpac.com/campaigns/51570/coloradans-v-koch-brothers-the-fight-for-universal-healthcare-in-co/benny_benassi_video_download_from_filesonic/index.php/candidates/5951927d91ae78728756dbba/angel-dangelo
6. http://www.thedailybeast.com/heritage-not-hate-sorry-white-south-they-go-together
7. http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-unequal-justice-in-florida/2306556

Why Equality Should Finally Be Recognized in Florida

http://equalmarriagefl.com/

Beyond marriage, this is an issue of human dignity that shouldn't be placed in the middle of a debate that has religious overtones. All men are created equal, yet the Constitution seems a document that was made to be adjusted to the some people, and not everyone that wants to improve their community.

It's not difficult to feel as you are a second class citizen everywhere, even if some jurisdiction of Florida had created laws to favor the LGTBQ population; but it shouldn't be laws to favor, there should be laws to show that are citizens are equal, not only here in Florida (hypothetically speaking) but everywhere.

The problem started when we became more oriented towards a theocracy, I am not attacking religion but America is not a Christian nation we are far away to be an homogenize society, as we are plural and not even on the Constitution of the United States says anything towards more support a national religion or any sect.

I guess we can blame the Red Scare of the 1950's as well the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that shocked different two different set of generations, due the proselytistic efforts of the different religious sect that found their way to place themselves not only in the masses imageries but as well into the secular world by inserting In God We trust everywhere.

But what God.? There are different interpretation of the concept and at the humanity is just humanity playing with divinity, only to find several excuses to discriminate whoever doesn't believe into what they believe or what the world should be.

Florida itself has an imagery towards the LGTBQ culture that goes as a tourist destination from inspiration in the audio-visual media, such as A Florida Enchantment one of the first films in modern history that represents (not in a realistic way) the concepts of bisexuality as well transgenderism into the American mainstream culture; up to Le Cage Aux Folles from 1996 where has been one of the first films that play on a more positive light same sex oriented relationship, as they can be functional and experience a set of similar problems.

The list can go and go, even from the sociohistory point of view towards how the Pride Parades tend to boost business and how the different gay villages which do the insertion of creative people, they can improve the local economies as well the neighborhoods. Miami Beach, Ybor City, Thornton Park just to name a few around.

Ybor is one unique case on how the insertion of a more diverse community, essentially has placed the location back on the map, little by little; as many people on the Central Florida region will remember that neighborhood had a decline after World War 2 and in between the beginning of the Cold War; but thanks to two factors which are the urban renewal program on the 1960's and a slow but steady influx of artists and bohemians started the revitalization of the area in the 1980's.

Now in the second decade of the second millennium, the recovery of the area as well the adjacent neighborhoods had started to recover the spaces as well.

There is no reason to debate, but a lot of reasons to finally say yes that humanity is not black and white but a multicultural rainbow. At the end we are just humans, and there shouldn't even be a list on why something positive for us should be given, is an innate right since we are a born. We are all created equal, but yet equality seems to be favored for a few self described righteous individuals who in a mix of faith and hate, they think the world is theirs.

Equality should recognized because we all want the best for our families, for our friends, for ourselves and for our communities, the same communities that we work towards everyday. Prejudice will be always be there, is a part of human race but also compassion and happiness; and beyond any divine reasons we are all made of flesh and bones, we are not Gods themselves, we are just humans and justify hate through something holy we are just showing the prejudice aspect that we justify as if the word of  a God of hate.

The Axiom of the Latino Identity in The States

Tampa, (Fl) -- We are a multicultural, multiethnic society; where we as immigrants who we have the Hispanic roots as well the language. As the Borgs subjugating the humans we have surrender to the assimilation.

Maybe; not assimilation but we, as first generations that we'd came to the country on different times we are letting our children and specially ourselves to lose our history and heritage in order to get anything towards governmental help instead of going out and fight for it.

To define Latino is a double negative, the first reason it's because Latino's are not in the most strict sense of the words people who speak Spanish, Latino's are from Latina - Italy, specifically the Lazio region; but yet it goes in a contradiction that we Spanish speaking people, who we share a language but different cultural factors we identify ourselves as Latino's, a word that didn't had a meaning until the Cuban migration of the 1960's.

Sombrero Vueltiao 

One of the items I always associate with an axiomatic fallacy towards the cultural identity is the Sombrero Vueltiao from Colombia; as I am Colombian I tend to analyze the behavior of my peers more deeply than any other cultural group.

If Gustavo wears a Sombrero Vueltiao means he is proud of being Colombian; but, if Gustavo doesn't wear any iconography then he is ashamed. We can go with the same fallacy to apply it to U.S. born individuals as If they don't wear an U.S. pin in their shirts or any bands around their wrists it means they are not fully Americans.

There is an identity depending on the country were you from and how much you keep in touch with your history as well how that message is transmitted properly to your children and as well future generations, in order to not lose any experience learned around the time living in the United States as a foreigner.

If we go, and make a pseudoanalisis in our axiom about Latino Identity  we can take the concept of dualism and the relation between mind and body as separate substances, if we trans-point the idea of the substance into cultural identity as well personal identity. If we analyze both substances, they can interrelate as they can be opposites reflections because we can make cultural identity as part of our own personal identity, but yet the idea of giving to a culture we are not use to, and start calling ourselves with other terms we are not, is a negative.

Then, there is the point expressed by philosopher Frank Jackson - there are more facts than the physical facts alone, - trying to understand the reasoning on why to betray our cultural identity in order to assimilate, can be expressed in the simple argument the person lacks of knowledge towards of how they are as well what they can learn from their ancestors in order to structure their identity.

I.E.  I go to to a carnival, the carnival is a Hispanic heritage carnival; if I go there expecting to put in within the different national roots and at the end I find that the carnival is not giving me a proper feedback because the music as well social attitudes don't reflect anything that is in my knowledge system, then I can find something else that will make me happy as I can't identify myself with my own culture or the dual culture I share.

The idea of negating any traits and trying to masquerade, can be reflected into how some people who don't know any language of core aspects of the culture they are keen to, feel in close relationship because of banal aspects as pop music vs personal image up to the point of people obsessed with K-POP without even knowing a word of Korean.

Where we can debate if, identity as we know it can be summarized with a signifier.? 

The LGTBQ Victories of Obama for his Second Term - The DOMA Wall

Glaad Image

Tampa, Fl -- It won't be the end of the world, it will be the beginning of fair treatment to the entire population but with every small victory and even if at the DOMA is completely overturned there are still paradigms to break down in the most closed-minded sectors of the population that still see any advance of social rights as a corrupted form of socialism because they don't know the correct definition and see every help, every advance to the population as a form of selling the country.

The main victory of Obama on a long term in terms of social progress will be the repeal of the DOMA which was signed by a Bill Clinton on 1996, showing that even if two people are from the same party they can have a juxtaposition on their beliefs about civil rights but slowly Obama has taken steps into overthrown one of the biggest mistakes that was vetoed by a fellow Democrat.

If it wasn't for DOMA there could be a federal victory regarding the recognition of benefits to spouses, one of those examples that could be turned into a memory are the recognition of benefits for the armed forced spouses who are not entitled because of DOMA on the benefits of their better halves but at the end the overturn of DOMA will be in the hands of the Supreme Court but in the meantime Obama can continue his work in landing benefits to all soldiers equally but the situation can turn complex for the President as the legislative body is composed by the opposition but if he aims towards a congressional law then his odds can turn for better as well the lives of many people.

Employment Non-Discrimination Act can be an issue and one of the failed attempts on the Romney campaign when the former candidate offered jobs to all Americans but the speech of Romney was only half way truth to the reality that many red States such as Florida are oriented regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation and is a common practice to fire someone for being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and the person who gets fired in question have little to no protection to claim back because of the States laws regarding discrimination. That could be one more crucial victories if it's achieved on a Federal Level as it can grant protection to many individuals who feel threaten by their employers because of any biased speech any employee can give against their persona. Is not fair that even 30% of the States offer some protection, people are still getting discriminated against their personas.

Overall there has to be a reform to the immigration laws, that probably could strike as one of the biggest achievements of the Obama administration if DOMA is overturn, yet so far had been a few winning cases of bi-national couples and it could be a major victory because families beyond the hetero-normative standard can improve the economy when the nucleus is kept together and they are offered protection from the government. If Obama can realize that beyond who the person is, what color of his skin, religion, gender identity, ethnicity, if he achieves a general protection and defends the constitution even further then he will be remembered as one of the greatest civil leaders and the first President of the United States who stood for the LGTBQ community.

Let's Talk This Clear

Equality 

OK, you and me let's talk this clear, hate is such a strong word, that first thing; second, the world is more complex than what you see in church or the four streets of your neighborhood; and third people are not exactly like you, they are equal and if they were exactly like you then the world would be a boring place where there are no differences. We are humans and by default we should be equal, because we are equal and those little differences are what they make us humans; but then when fear and intolerance comes because someone who is different appear in your life and you realize the world is not as exactly as your parents told you then you will be starting acting like a bigot if you don't surpass the idea that we are different, or maybe you can realize it and see how wonderful and complex humanity is.

Let's talk this clear, you are not going to be less macho, break the stereotype first for reading poetry; you are not going to be less of a man if you can with your woman to a shopping trip; you are not going to be less of a man if you enjoy arts and ballet, you will be less of a man if you promote hate toward people because they are different. Let's talk this clear, you are not going to be less Christian if you live your life beyond the principles of your religion, you are going to be just a mere fanboy if you decide to use the Good Book to incite hate and wars, you are going to be who you profess if you see the message of the Bible as simple and clear, a message of love, brotherhood and equality, but yet if you decide to use the good word to spread hate, you have to be aware that the world will be behind you, because you are just a player hater.

Why to hate?. Are you scared to face world?. Maybe you are just immature, as simple as that. Are you scared of yourself? And maybe because you are scared of yourself you don't want other people to be happy?. Let's be real, no matter what, there is only one chance to live , and you are not going to be less if you decide to live true to yourself, you are going to be less if you are going to spend hating humanity because they don't think like you.