Whose Side You On Anyways, Ese?

I must honestly say that the news of League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) accepting money from Corrections Corporations of America(CCA), the very people who run the children's prison in Hutto Texas, is not just upsetting; it is down-right infuriating.

This news makes me question how many pockets, does the corrupt and illicit hand of corporations go into and how deep do they delve into those pockets. Is "big money" buying off or hushing up such organizations, "for the people", such as LULAC?. Also, am I to believe that a national organization such as LULAC is not aware of CCA's role in Hutto Prison, when I personally found out about Hutto and CCA on "MySpace."

Let me say that the name, Corrections Corporations of America, alone should have caused a refusal of any "contribution" or "sponsorship" money, especially since the whole corrections system is used as a tool to institutionalize and disenfranchise LaRaza, almost guaranteeing returning prison sentences.

Not only is LULAC accepting money from CCA, which could be chalked up to a one time honest mistake, but it is also accepting money from such corporations as "Wal-Mart", one of the biggest oppressors of the poor especially within the Latin community. Wal-Mart commits not only immoral labor practices, such as, locking in the overnight cleaning crew as if prisoners, but committing illegal business practices such as, stealing worker's overtime money, which was the basis for a law suit that was filed on behalf of both ex- and current employees. The Wal-Mart Corporation is known for exploiting immigrants through lies and employment threats, not to mention discriminating against minorities and women, especially in the areas of promotional mobility. And LULAC is o.k. with all these atrocities Wal-mart commits?

Is LULAC saying that, "As long as the money is green. You can hide your doings behind our brown skin. As long as the price is right, you can mask your true corporate face of exploitation and oppression with our name and latinismo."

Furthermore, LULAC accepts money from beer corporations, who have made profits off of capitalizing from child abuse, domestic violence, and even sexual abuse happening in families because of alcoholism. These abuses were all too common in the families of Farm Workers, especially during the 30's,40's,50's and 60's, (continuing to this day). The poor living standards, hopelessness and inward self-hatred of being Latino during these periods were created by the racist White American society and their ideology, but the tool and the enabler of the sufferings in the Latino Farm Worker family life was alcohol, which only made the products, mentioned above, of racist White America that much stronger and made vast the sufferings of children and women with an alcoholic father/parent or husband/spouse.

Knowing LULAC is condoning all these atrocious and inexcusable actions of these mentioned corporations along with other unmentioned corporations, and overlooking the past sufferings of our history and Raza due to alcohol and alcoholism, I must stand up and speak out against LULAC and say they are not on your side, mi gente.

 LULAC accepted money from 1-CCA, 2-Wal-Mart, and 3-beer corporations; since LULAC is in bed with CCA, the people who like to incarcerate the poor, I will put my position in a way they can understand, "3 strikes your out."

With LULAC accepting money from all these other places which are no better than CCA then I must ask, "What or whose side is LULAC really on?"

In Solidarity,

BiGiDiE