There is no international network of Latino gangs involved in drug trafficking or other types of crimes according to research presented by the Washington Office on Latin America last Friday, February 9, at the Johns Hopkins University on Massachusetts Ave. The research was conducted by the Center for Inter-American Studies and Programs at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). At the presentation, titled “Youth gangs in Central America, Mexico and Washington, DC: A Transnational Examination,” researchers said that youth gangs are a serious community problem in the US and in Latin America, but the idea of an international cartel dealing in drugs, death and arms is more a figment of the imagination of newspaper and television reporters than a reflection of the actual gang situation. Interviews with gang members in five Latin American countries and the Washington, DC area, some of whom were in prison, some not, revealed that while some gang members in Latin America know someone living in the US, actual involvement of young people from different countries in organized, criminal activities doesn’t exist, according to the researchers. Community leaders, police officers, and politicians were also interviewed for the study. They tended to see the gang problem as serious, but not to the extent often reported by the news media.
Local media have painted a picture of youth gangs in the “Northern Triangle” as a serious threat to public safety, even to national security. In fact, these groups of mostly marginalized young men with little education and low–level work skills have few resources at their disposal. That the news media have managed to fabricate an image of a nefarious, well–organized, wealthy, and ruthless organization that casts its net over a multi–country geographic area is a testament to the power of the media and fear and gullibility of citizens.
There is no doubt that some young men in particular neighborhoods are terrifying local residents. They shake down some people for money, sell drugs, and are only too willing to use violence to get their way. These particular individuals should be dealt with by the police and the legal system. However, most young Latinos, even most gang members, do nothing more than “hang out.” They know the consequences of breaking the law and understand crime doesn’t pay.
The study also found that gang members tend to come from violent homes. They are either not doing well in school, have been expelled or have simply quit attending. They lack skills that allow them to get good–paying jobs, the researchers found.
While media reports can lead to fear of gangs and legitimize police action, such action can lead to the strengthening of gang bonds. A police crackdown can cause gang members to seek each other out for support. It can also lead young people who have never been in a gang to join one for mutual support and protection. A more effective model of the use of police methods is provided by the Gang Intervention Partnership in Washington, DC, which in addition to policing, draws on schools, health and social service agencies, and community leaders to help prevent gangs, intervene to keep gangs from developing, and when needed, repress gang activity with police action.
Other successful programs are Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles and Operation Ceasefire in Boston. Homeboy Industries, founded in 1988, encourages gang members to find employment. Its rehabilitation program is based on an employment program. Operation Ceasefire combines policing with arms control. Since it was founded gang homicides dropped 70%, according to the report.
The news media would do well to stop the sensational reporting about gangs that only leads to fear and frustration and, eventually, to strong–arm police tactics and inflammatory political rhetoric which often only served to make the problem of youth gangs worse. Reporting on the reality of Latino gang activity, the young people involved in the gang lifestyle and the programs that have achieved some success in addressing the gang situation would do more for the community than sensational journalism can ever hope to accomplish.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Spanish-language media promote adaptation
The growth mode of Spanish–language media in the United States has some people concerned that these means of communication will lead to the isolation of the Spanish-speaking community and the Balkanization of the country.
According to Arbitron, Inc., at last count there were just over 700 radio stations and 200 television stations broadcasting in Spanish.
Western Publication Research reports there are nearly 600 Hispanic print publications in the United States, two-thirds of them exclusively in Spanish, This includes 33 Spanish-language dailies.
Such numbers prompted California State University Northridge to start offering a minor in Spanish–language journalism. The University of Texas, El Paso, offers a major in Spanish–language media and Florida International University offers an MA in Spanish–language journalism.
Trends such as these make some people nervous. They worry that the increase in Spanish-language media may keep our Spanish-speaking immigrants from adapting and lead to the fragmentation of our society.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The fact is that Spanish-language media have been helping Spanish–speaking residents and citizens get along in their new environment for almost 200 years, ever since the first Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, El Misisipí, was published in New Orleans in 1808.
While there is no doubt that Spanish-language media encourage the retention of Spanish, they also promote the learning of English and adaptation to a changed lifestyle while offering solace to listeners, viewers or readers who may feel caught between two worlds, the one they left behind and the one in which they are trying to get along.
These media provide news and information about this country as well as Latin America and celebrate the cultures and traditions to which our Latino (Spanish–speaking) population can relate. This is, after all, the country where one needs to make a living and seek opportunities for success.
Watch Spanish-language television for an hour and chances are that at least one ad for an English-language instructional program will appear on the screen. Persons in the(se) commercials are seen trying to get a job, talking to their child’s teacher, or ordering at a restaurant. Realizing that they need to learn English, the characters in the commercials decide to order a learning program. Many Spanish-language newspapers promote English classes as well as citizenship classes.
Spanish-language media also promote participation in the political system. Call-in programs, talk shows, and news stories inform their listeners about their rights as well as how to petition government officials, both local and national, for services. This is media in the service of democracy.
Last year’s rallies by Spanish-speaking workers for fair treatment by government and the public was in large part the result of organizing via the mass media. People traveled from across the country to Washington, D.C., and other metropolitan centers to speak out for fair wages, an end to harassment, and acknowledgment from the rest of the country of the valuable services Spanish-speaking workers are providing.
While many English-language media were caught by surprise, most Spanish-language media were ready to cover the rallies. In fact, they helped organize and promote them.
Rather than encourage isolation, the Spanish-language press is constantly feeding valuable information to its readers and listeners that helps members of that community remain proud of their culture and traditions as well as embrace the culture and traditions the United States has to offer.
Raúl Tovares© 2007
According to Arbitron, Inc., at last count there were just over 700 radio stations and 200 television stations broadcasting in Spanish.
Western Publication Research reports there are nearly 600 Hispanic print publications in the United States, two-thirds of them exclusively in Spanish, This includes 33 Spanish-language dailies.
Such numbers prompted California State University Northridge to start offering a minor in Spanish–language journalism. The University of Texas, El Paso, offers a major in Spanish–language media and Florida International University offers an MA in Spanish–language journalism.
Trends such as these make some people nervous. They worry that the increase in Spanish-language media may keep our Spanish-speaking immigrants from adapting and lead to the fragmentation of our society.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The fact is that Spanish-language media have been helping Spanish–speaking residents and citizens get along in their new environment for almost 200 years, ever since the first Spanish-language newspaper in the United States, El Misisipí, was published in New Orleans in 1808.
While there is no doubt that Spanish-language media encourage the retention of Spanish, they also promote the learning of English and adaptation to a changed lifestyle while offering solace to listeners, viewers or readers who may feel caught between two worlds, the one they left behind and the one in which they are trying to get along.
These media provide news and information about this country as well as Latin America and celebrate the cultures and traditions to which our Latino (Spanish–speaking) population can relate. This is, after all, the country where one needs to make a living and seek opportunities for success.
Watch Spanish-language television for an hour and chances are that at least one ad for an English-language instructional program will appear on the screen. Persons in the(se) commercials are seen trying to get a job, talking to their child’s teacher, or ordering at a restaurant. Realizing that they need to learn English, the characters in the commercials decide to order a learning program. Many Spanish-language newspapers promote English classes as well as citizenship classes.
Spanish-language media also promote participation in the political system. Call-in programs, talk shows, and news stories inform their listeners about their rights as well as how to petition government officials, both local and national, for services. This is media in the service of democracy.
Last year’s rallies by Spanish-speaking workers for fair treatment by government and the public was in large part the result of organizing via the mass media. People traveled from across the country to Washington, D.C., and other metropolitan centers to speak out for fair wages, an end to harassment, and acknowledgment from the rest of the country of the valuable services Spanish-speaking workers are providing.
While many English-language media were caught by surprise, most Spanish-language media were ready to cover the rallies. In fact, they helped organize and promote them.
Rather than encourage isolation, the Spanish-language press is constantly feeding valuable information to its readers and listeners that helps members of that community remain proud of their culture and traditions as well as embrace the culture and traditions the United States has to offer.
Raúl Tovares© 2007
Dream Act Editorial
On May 11, 2011, Senator Dick Durbin (D., IL)
reintroduced the DREAM Act in the Unites States Senate. The DREAM (Development,
Relief, and Education of Alien Minors) Act would allow the foreign-born
children of unauthorized residents in the U.S. to get on a path toward
citizenship if they meet certain requirements. It is time to get real about the
DREAM Act and pass this piece of legislation.
To a great extent, the DREAM Act has failed to pass in
previous Congresses because of misconceptions and myths surrounding the bill.
Yes, there are some legal reasons for not allowing persons born outside the
U.S. and who are living in this country without authorization to continue to
remain here. It is true that these young people are in violation of the law.
But the law is not an end in itself. The Founding Fathers did not establish a
Department of Laws, but a Department of Justice. Allowing the foreign-born
children of unauthorized residents a chance to become citizens is not only
just, but will also prove beneficial to our society.
Every year 65,000 high school seniors who are not U.S.
citizens graduate from high school. These graduates were brought here by their
parents. Some were brought as toddlers. They grew up in the U.S., attended U.S.
schools, are completely acclimated to U.S. culture. To send these children and
young people back to their country of origin would be “cruel and unusual.”
Many of these graduates want to continue their
education. In fact, some have already enrolled or graduated from college. In
order to continue studying they need access to government student loans. The
DREAM Act will allow these students to apply for such loans. It will not, as
some claim, automatically given college loans to these students
Currently, these students have to give up on the idea
of college or find a way to pay for it themselves. Many choose to take jobs as
janitors, domestics because, as non-citizens they can’t take advantage of
work-study opportunities on campus.
Nor will the DREAM Act automatically given citizenship
status to young people born in a foreign country but raised in the U.S. What
the DREAM Act will do is offer the children born in a foreign country and
brought to the U.S. before the age of 16 a chance to apply for U.S.
citizenship.
In addition to being brought to the U.S. before their
sixteenth birthday, the young people affected by the DREAM Act would have to
graduate from an institution of higher learning, either a four-year university
or community college, or serve in the military for two years. Thus the DREAM
Act would encourage young people to get an education or serve their country.
The DREAM Act would also require that those applying
for citizenship be of good moral character. This means that they would have to
prove that they had never been arrested or otherwise been in trouble with the
law.
The DREAM Act would help those who are among the brightest and most loyal people currently living in the U.S. Our country needs their brainpower now more then ever. It’s time to make the DREAM Act real.
The DREAM Act would help those who are among the brightest and most loyal people currently living in the U.S. Our country needs their brainpower now more then ever. It’s time to make the DREAM Act real.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Frank Lloyd Wright's "Falling Water."
Built between 1936 and 1939, Falling Water, Frank Lloyd
Wright’s creation for the Kaufmann family of Pittsburgh,PA, continues to be an
impressive work of architecture that attracts thousand
of visitors every year.
Falling Water is located in the Laurel Highlands of
Pennsylvania. It’s takes about an
hour-and-a-half to get to Falling Water from Pittsburgh, and about four hours
from Washington, DC. The house is in the woods, between the towns of Mill Run
and Ohiopyle. Visitors walk from the ticket office and souvenier shop up a
gravel path to Falling Water.
 |
| View of deck over stream, Falling Water, PA. |
Most people are familiar with Falling Water from books and
magazine articles, but never have a chance to visit. The stream that runs
underneath the large deck and then over stones to a pool below, gives visitors
the impression they have walked into a futuristic scene, and yet the houe was
built in the late 1930s.
The Kaufmann’s had owned land outside of Pittsburgh for
years and had been visiting the area mostly during the summer to escape from
the city heat. According to one of the tour guides, the temperature at Falling
Water is usually 10 degrees cooler than in Pittsburgh. As a result of their
success in the department store business the Kaufmann’s commissioned Wright to
design and construct a home for them on their country property. Wright’s
philosophy, according to the tour guide, was to build structures that seemed to
develop from the natural surroundings. His goal was to build structures that
blended in with their environment. Rather than cut trees and move heavy stones,
Wright sought ways to build structures that complemented the natural scene. For
example, one large boulder in the stream that other architects would have moved
out of the way, serves as a foundation stone for part of Falling Water.
 |
| View of Falling Water, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in late 1930s. |
Falling Water was intended to be a showpiece that the
Kaufmann’s could use to entertain friends from the worlds of business and art.
Our tour guide informed us that artists from the U.S., Europe, and Mexico had
stayed at Falling Water. Art work by Diego Rivera and Frida Khalo is
prominently displayed in Falling Water. In fact, Frida Khalo spent several days
visiting with the Kaufmann’s in the 1940s, said the tour guide.
The tour guide also pointed out the screens on the small
windows. Wright did not like screens because he felt they created a barrier
people and nature. However, in the 1960s the Board of Directors of Falling
Water, after the Kaufmann’s only son, Edgar, had given up the home, voted to
install screens. Visitors were complaining about the insects that were coming
into the house, especially mosquitos, said the tour guide and the Board of
Directors finally approved a measure to override the wishes of Wright and
install screens. Wright would not have been happy.
A tour of Falling Water will not disspoint. The views of the
house itself, the views of the natural scenery from inside the house, and the
elegance and style of the interior of the house will leave lasting impressions
on visitors that make the visit well worth the effort.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Kreeger Museum Should Not be Missed
Among the many museums in the D.C. area the David Lloyd Kreeger Museum on Foxhall Road, with its relatively small, but selective collection, should not be overlooked by either tourists or residents. True, the massive collections of large, government funded museums in D.C. offer visitors a broad range of works, but those collections often reflect the various, and at times, conflicting interests of too many people, organizations, and institutions. What distinguishes the Kreeger is that it offers visitors an artistic experience based on the tastes and values of just two persons, David and Carmen Kreeger. Their collection is on a more human scale, and visitors can appreciate it in an environment that served first as a private home and later a public museum.
The Kreeger collection contains paintings by Renoir, Courbet, and Corot. Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cezzanne, Marc Chagall, Edvard Munch, Van Gogh, and Kandinsky are also represented – and that’s just the main floor.
The lower floor is dedicated to African art, contemporary art and Indian and Southeast Asian art. Outside, on the sculpture terrace, is an array of bronze statues by artists such as Arp, Moore, Lipchitz and Somaini.
What makes this collection unique is that David and Carmen Kreeger selected every piece by unanimous decision, that is both had to like a work of art before it became part of their collection, which consists of about 200 items. It is an eclectic collection that reflects the tastes of just two people. What criteria were used to buy art? “I never bought a piece because of its monetary value,” said David Kreeger. “I just bought what I liked.”
The works David and Carmen Kreeger liked and bought are in the home and grounds of the Kreeger home, which was built in the 1960s. Before being contracted by Kreeger, Philip Johnson had already achieved fame by designing The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut (1949), as well as other important structures such as the Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Guest House, in New York City (1950), the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art in Fort Worth (1961), and, closer to home, the Museum for Pre-Columbian Art, Dumbarton Oaks, in Washington, D.C. (1963).
The Kreeger collection, located at 2401 Foxhall Road, NW, can be seen Tuesday through Saturday. On weekdays docents guide visitors through a 1.5 hour tour of the house, collection and grounds. Only children over the age of 12 are allowed and reservations are required. Saturday hours are from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Tours are given at 10:30 AM, 12 noon, and 2:00 PM. On Saturdays children off all ages are welcome and no reservations are required. Information about group tours is available by calling 202–338–3552. Limited parking is available on the museum grounds. A car is needed to reach the Kreeger. Bus and Metro routes do not serve the Kreeger Museum. The donation are accepted.
For more information about the Kreeger Museum log onto to www.kreegermuseum.org.
The Kreeger collection contains paintings by Renoir, Courbet, and Corot. Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre Bonnard, Paul Cezzanne, Marc Chagall, Edvard Munch, Van Gogh, and Kandinsky are also represented – and that’s just the main floor.
The lower floor is dedicated to African art, contemporary art and Indian and Southeast Asian art. Outside, on the sculpture terrace, is an array of bronze statues by artists such as Arp, Moore, Lipchitz and Somaini.
What makes this collection unique is that David and Carmen Kreeger selected every piece by unanimous decision, that is both had to like a work of art before it became part of their collection, which consists of about 200 items. It is an eclectic collection that reflects the tastes of just two people. What criteria were used to buy art? “I never bought a piece because of its monetary value,” said David Kreeger. “I just bought what I liked.”
The works David and Carmen Kreeger liked and bought are in the home and grounds of the Kreeger home, which was built in the 1960s. Before being contracted by Kreeger, Philip Johnson had already achieved fame by designing The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut (1949), as well as other important structures such as the Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Guest House, in New York City (1950), the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art in Fort Worth (1961), and, closer to home, the Museum for Pre-Columbian Art, Dumbarton Oaks, in Washington, D.C. (1963).
The Kreeger collection, located at 2401 Foxhall Road, NW, can be seen Tuesday through Saturday. On weekdays docents guide visitors through a 1.5 hour tour of the house, collection and grounds. Only children over the age of 12 are allowed and reservations are required. Saturday hours are from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Tours are given at 10:30 AM, 12 noon, and 2:00 PM. On Saturdays children off all ages are welcome and no reservations are required. Information about group tours is available by calling 202–338–3552. Limited parking is available on the museum grounds. A car is needed to reach the Kreeger. Bus and Metro routes do not serve the Kreeger Museum. The donation are accepted.
For more information about the Kreeger Museum log onto to www.kreegermuseum.org.
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