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  Don't Give Our Boricuas a Black
EyeWe all, at times, throw the baby out with the bathwater. All Boricua community shortcomings are due to the lack of Boricua unity, caused by the desire to establish one's own sociopolitical agenda at any cost... even betraying those who faithfully serve. In Los Angeles, CA, one group ousted a 70 plus year old couple who drove their president everywhere because he didn't drive... in a van that I donated to the organization. The crooked leadership owed the city close to $50,000 so the city did not allow the annual Puerto Rican Parade. These "bad apples" speak for everybody else because "everybody else" remain silent. That's why the rest of us have to carry the stigma. Maybe you don't want your faults exposed in order not to carry your part of the shame that comes when... let's say... a horde of drunken Boricuas beat up two cops in a post-parade celebration FACT: The traditional "no me jo'a" lust for throwing the first punch prevents Boricuas from turning the other cheek... giving a Black Eye to the rest of the Puerto Ricans throughout the world. FACT: Contrary to popular belief "turning the other cheek" is not standing like a dummy taking punches. The depth of the lesson is in the context of how we are to behave with those who persecute us. Let them slide once ... they might see their errors soon enough and save you a heap of trouble. Revenge isn't sweet. It's costly. FACT: Summers are Puerto Rican season in the USA. That's when we have our festivals and celebrations... that's when we hope to shine our colors to the ever-watching world. But sometimes, something backfires on us and we find ourselves lamenting... "Sheesh, well, there's one in every crowd." FACT: Another spontaneous celebration for Puerto Rican Day in Milwaukee sometime around 2003 got out of control as did the post-parade one in NY the same summer. That was a BIG Black Eye to the rest of us. Many times the world doesn't notice, but I notice. In Milwaukee, Puerto Rican leaders told us that they held news conferences to address the post-parade melee that erupted between police and youths during an impromptu celebration. "We're still trying to figure out what happened, but we want to show our disappointment with the disrespect of the Puerto Rican flag," said Victor Huyke, editor of El Conquistador community newspaper, after announcing the news conference. So, as a Black Eye Punch to the face of the Puerto Rican community throughout the world, two police officers were injured and 17 people were arrested when confrontations broke out between police and some of the several hundred youths cruising Mitchell St. waving Puerto Rican flags in what they called "controlled cruising", but in the afternoon police received calls that congestion on the street was growing with gridlock from S. 10th St. to S. 16th St. Police set up a command post at S. 13th and W. Lapham streets and approximately 12 squads blocked off side streets in an effort to control the gathering cars and crowds. By 6:14 p.m., an officer directing traffic at 12th and Mitchell streets was grazed by a passing car, causing him to fall back and break his thumb. Later that evening, an officer walking in front of 1270 W. Mitchell St. was spit upon by a Hispanic male riding by on a bicycle. When the officer tried to arrest the man, a crowd surrounded the officer, punching and kicking him in the arms and head. The officer curled into a ball on the ground for protection, and the man was arrested by another officer. The injured officer was treated for multiple abrasions and contusions to the face, neck and body. It's curious to notice that most of those who congregated on Mitchell St. were between the ages of 14 and 21. Fifteen of those arrested were cited for disorderly conduct, one person for a state disorderly conduct charge, and another was arrested on a state warrant for bail jumping. STILL... later, a newly formed Puerto Rican Cultural Committee held a meeting to plan a Puerto Rican parade later that summer in conjunction with the Boricuafest held on that day by a Latino Community Center. Big Puerto Rican communities such as the ones in Chicago and New York hold Puerto Rican Day parades and festivals in June to celebrate the Puerto Rican culture. Still it is you and I in boonyland, who work hard to seriously promote culture and well being, who end up with the black eye when some of the leadership in these not-so-fortunate communities pass the hot potato as "a lot of unchanneled energy" when the participants take it upon themselves to have their "own" parade. The incidents are unfortunate, to say the least, but the local community leaders must work harder to raise the awareness and commitment to obedience of municipal laws and ordinances as well as that of Puerto Rican culture. It will be then, AND ONLY THEN, that we will be able to give the community, a good, quality parade or festival. Only then, our Puerto Rican pride will be exonerated... But if you are willing to listen, I say, we still love those who give us the black eye. Consequently, do good to those who apparently hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Forgive those who hurt you. Don't get tired of doing... NOT what you "feel" is right, but THAT which YOU KNOW is right. Peace and Prosperity, Don Jíbaro "Who Dat Man" Barbanegra www.whodatman.net "The wicked run when no one is chasing them,
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