In the workers’ words: Elimination of shifts Solvent contamination Unjustified firings Refusal to hire women who are pregnant Screaming and other examples of domination Other errors in pay Lack of democracy in the union Insufficient training of workers Lack of unity/solidarity between male and female workers Companies don’t pay profit-sharing Lack of lawyers who seek [...]
Posts under ‘Uncategorized’
Transformation
My colleague yesterday commented that “In our liberal Protestant denominations, we don’t talk much about sin, but this is it…”, indicating the conditions described first-hand by the maquiladora workers with whom we met yesterday, right across the border into Mexico in Reynosa and Rio Bravo. In our liberal Protestant denominations, we don’t talk much about [...]
Angels Staring in Satan’s Face
I saw the face of Satan today. I’m not one who goes around talking, or even necessarily believing in a Satanic being. In fact, I am often uncomfortable when I hear people talking this way. However, today I stood witness to a being that throws away human life, forces people to live in a way [...]
Preach the gospel, and sometimes use words.
As Aaron so beautifully described in his post (http://unionindialogue.org/blog/2012/01/09/a-key-to-social-justice/), yesterday’s experience hearing Rev. Feliberto Pereira’s story of faith and survival in the context of internment, horrifying abuse, and multiple threats to his life for professing his Christian faith was awe-inspiring. Seeing how all of the experiences and stages of his life have culminated in and [...]
A Key to Social Justice?
From what I can tell, Rev. Feliberto Pereira perfectly combines political savvy, theological passion and faith. A Cuban refugee, who left in the 1960s, Rev. Pereira shared the dangers of a Cuba under Castro for a Christian: concentration camps, horrendous conditions and constant death threats. He had to leave, and as he tells this story [...]
Fences and the Questions they Raise
Fences. The word in Spanish is “cerca”, interestingly the same word that means “close”. Why else build a fence than because one feels threatened by the closeness of the entities on either side?! On December 17th, at a 6th Avenue and Canal Street in New York City, I stood alongside hundreds of others outside a [...]
Buying Into the Alamo
What’s the big deal with the Alamo? Walking through the “shrine” and museum on Thursday was interesting enough, but I found myself puzzled at the depth of feeling this small site seemed to arouse in the dominant Texas psyche. A handful of men died in a failed attempt to hold the old mission, and…? I [...]
The Symbols We Use, the Stories We Tell
Symbols are powerful. Stories are powerful. When they are put together, they are formidable. Coming back to San Antonio has been special for me. Having spent much of my childhood here, this city embraces very special memories for me. Revisiting this city I love, however, has opened my eyes to the symbols and stories I [...]
“Who Are We?” Stories of Identity and Imagination in San Antonio
Yesterday, our group got its first glimpse at the lived reality of San Antonio—its beauty and ugliness, its limitless potential for new being wrapped up in the stale taste of racial, gendered, and socioeconomic injustice. Fr. Virgilio Elizondo, author of the foundational Mexican-American theological work, The Galilean Journey (1970), reminded us of the seemingly obvious, [...]
Where we’re going
So to give you a rough outline of our trip, take a look at the map. Through the 5th of January to the 14th, we’ll be traveling by van through the south of Texas, taking note of topography, geography and the communities that inhabit them. We’ll let you know, in our blogs, where we are [...]