MMMM Tastes Like Chicken

Angry Brown Matriarch: elcocotecomera: peyoteflower: angrybrownbaby: purhepechingona made a...

I used to think that the reason for Mexica/Azteca pride surrounding me was because a lot of the imagery was savage in nature and evoked a sense of power.  To call oneself Azteca/Mexica was to convey that one was capable of powerful brutality, effective vengeful strategy and able to reap the highest rewards with the right sacrifice… whatever that sacrifice may me.   I myself was fascinated with what little I was taught in school because of my fascination with blood at the time and thought there may be a connection.  

With years came an awareness that a lot of guys my age were beginning to get caught up in gangs and as a result, juvie.  A lot of the zines that began to come out of the prison culture screamed hope and the iconic imagery was of course Mexica/Azteca warriors.  Of course a lot of these drawings were sexually provocative which added to the continued fascination.  

Naturally, I approached my parents about our ancestry.  Both of them never denied possible Azteca/Mexica blood… but were always quick to remind me that where their families came from, other tribes were more prominent.  My father could never tell me which of these more influenced our blood as his family was dirt poor and through him I became painfully aware of not just racism and classism, but also ageism and discrimination for derelicts or people with illnesses.  My mother claimed Purepecha and Afro-Greek lineage.  One other thing I am very aware of from that time was my dad refusing to adopt any part of gang culture into our homes.  So by extension, anything Mexica/Azteca was basically prohibited as it had been appropriated by most in our community to symbolize Raza pride unified in illicit behavior.

Now with this question, I have to wonder if the veneration was as much influenced by the political circumstances around us and a way to experience a sense of self however contrived; as much as a way to show resilience gives its own rewards.  I dunno?  Around me I see peers honor the humble side of the Indio.  The side that is careful and wise.  Part of me looks at this as silly if the major part of me didn’t agree with it wholeheartedly.  And I also wonder how the Indio came to be a badge of honor instead of a mark of shame that I remember mi Abuelita doing her best to distance herself and her family from it.  

For myself, I knew I would never escape Indigeno affiliation when barely out of diapers I remember all the hierbas my mom grew in our backyard for remedios and the verdolaga dishes throughout my ENTIRE childhood and adolescence.  As a young 20 something I returned to these same memories as a way to anchor myself in a tech-escalating world filled with social justice competitors who call themselves friends (indeed, they are).  

Pero siempre, until I die, I will remember my dad telling me as we dug new rows for the cornstalks to be… nunca confies en otro Mexicano.  Sera el primero de traiconarte.  Damn.  

Thanks for reading this long and for posing a question.  BTW:  never did identify as Chicano.   Too political.  Pocho 100%.  Ni de aqui; ni de alla.

elcocotecomera:

peyoteflower:

angrybrownbaby:

purhepechingona made a good point about cultural imperialism and people centralizing around Mexica culture.

See, I don’t remember this happening in Mexico ‘cause many people wouldn’t admit they were Native if they could…

Turquoise Traipsing: Tumblr Chican@s/Xican@s/Latin@s/Latinx tiny chat meetup!

tierracita:

Are you Chican@s/Xican@s/Latin@s/Latinx/indigen@s?

Do you want to meet other Chican@s/Xican@s/Latin@s/Latinx/indigen@s from tumblr? Let’s Tiny Chat.

After detribalizedaztec posted this, I thought it was time we made this happen.

Let’s meet up on tiny chat and hangout, make new friends, build…

class rescheduled.  boyfriend out of town.  se me hace como que si =)  i’ll get over my un-fotogenicness to meet otr@s Xican@s.  Gracias por el invite =)

Amygdala dysfunction attenuates frustration-induced aggression in psychopathic individuals in a non-criminal population

psydoctor8:

In a new fMRI study, a Canada/Japan collab of researchers sought to tease out the neural mechanisms “underlying differences in frustration-induced aggression as a function of psychopathy in non-criminal populations.” 

Individuals with psychopathy have an increased tendency toward certain types of aggression. We hypothesized that successful psychopaths, who have no criminal convictions but can be diagnosed with psychopathy in terms of personality characteristics, are skilled at regulating aggressive impulses, compared to incarcerated unsuccessful psychopaths.

The findings indicate that amygdala dysfunction underlies affective deficits of psychopathy. We propose that the insensitivity of the amygdala to the affective significance of social stimuli contributes to an increased risk of violation of social norms, but enhances the ability to attenuate impulses toward maladaptive aggression in successful psychopaths.

Insensitivity & inhibition.