ears
A comparative review of Skinhead Confessions and Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead
In 2007 I sat down and started writing a memoir of my own. It started with a jot of a sentence. A jot of a memory. Line by line, and not necessarily in chronological order—just things that happened. As one-line memories started to add-up to pages, I tried to flesh-out the glimpses of experience into [...]
Parents, Don't Let Your Children Fight Violence with Violence
My good friend posted a link to an article that was published on JS Online last week and urged me to read it. It was about Hmong and gang violence. My initial reaction after reading the article in its entirety was disappointment because I am not a proponent of any type of violence for any [...]
On Becoming a Food Revolutionary: Baby Steps
Ever since I saw Food Inc. and Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, I’ve been thinking about how to become a food revolutionary, given the fact that I am not a cook or a gardener. Because I’ve been hearing about Will Allen and Growing Power, which is just 15 minutes from my house, I decided to take [...]
Will Fellows: Shall Not Be Recognized co-creator —part II
Will Fellows is the author of Farm Boys: Lives of Gay Men from the Rural Midwest, A Passion to Preserve: Gay Men as Keepers of Culture, and the forthcoming Gay Bar: The Fabulous, True Story of a Daring Woman and Her Boys in the 1950s. Producing a heartfelt written compliment to Jeff Pearcy’s powerful photography, Will completed the gay-straight [...]
¡Bienvenidos a la Vida despues de odio: numero cinco!
In the past 30 days, we’ve celebrated Earth Day and then Mother’s Day. Both holidays pay homage to the being who brought us into being, and both have interesting stories of how they were brought about. Earth Day was founded by Environmentalist and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970. Since then, Earth-conscious people worldwide have [...]
Nothing
She knocked on the door and I almost tripped over myself to get down the stairs in time to meet her in the doorway and head her off before she could start to come upstairs, to see. I greeted her as normally as I could, trying to act like I wasn’t just lying in a [...]
Brick by Brick
Pamas Bhatti is a kind man. Granted, that is a rather bland description by most people’s standards, and Pamas exhibits many wonderful traits. However, after getting to know this man over a genuine home-cooked Indian meal, I believe it is a definitive statement of his character. His congenial disposition sets one at ease right away [...]
Hatred- The Anger of the Weak
“Hatred…the anger of the weak.” Alphonse Daudet A man is a MAN. That was the thought in my family. Being Latino meant machismo. The only time you were soft was around family. These were the ideas I grew up with. My male cousins tried to live up to it, a few even joining gangs. One [...]
Best Friends
Since grade school I haven’t been sold on the idea of “best friends”. To me the concept of best friends implies checking in with the same person on a regular basis, spending most of your free time with that person, going to the same places, doing the same things, and sharing the same interests. I [...]
Jeff Pearcy: Shall Not Be Recognized photographer
To follow-up Natali’s brilliant story on the Shall Not Be Recognized project, I caught up with photographer Jeff Pearcy in his 3rd Ward studio… Arno: How did a self-proclaimed “straight old white guy” get involved in the Shall Not Be Recognized Project? Jeff: It really started when the law passed that forbade gay people to [...]
Sammy Rangel “FOURBEARS: Myths of Forgiveness”
FourBears: The Myth of Forgiveness: isn't a simple memoir; it is a graphically illustrated guide from tortured child, to remorseless beast, to healing and change. This book is about helping others find their way out of their history and into the here and now. Proof that what once held you down can now hold you up. After the book reflects on a horrific upbringing it looks to offer key and ground breaking insights of the inner workings of the mind of a victim and later a perpetrator of hate and violence. Service providers working in treatment centers and institutional settings would greatly benefit from this work. Anyone facing issues with forgiveness and change might find a process toward healing and recovery.
Recommended Reading
Frank Meeink—Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead
TJ Leyden—Skinhead Confessions
Arno Michaels—My Life After HateMusic
Wizard Fingaz & Soul Sathe embarked on a collaborative project known as Tribal Sorcery · deep conscious hip-hop
