In
one of my rare opportunities to relax, I watched a movie that was released in
1993: Blood In, Blood Out starring Benjamin Bratt and Damian Chapa which was
based on the life of poet, Jimmy Santiago Baca.
In the movie two young gang members live in South Central Los Angeles during
the early 70s. Paco was Chicano and Miklo
was Chicano and White. I am clear that the politically correct term would be Hispanic
or Latino and Caucasian but I’m staying within the spirit of the movie. These two cousins were raised together and fully
embraced their culture but no matter how Miklo tried, he never truly fit
anywhere with the Chicanos or Caucasians.
If you saw him from the back walking
down the street his Chicano swag and sound were loud and authentic but once he
turned around you would think he was a Caucasian wannabe dressed in the 70s
Chicano garb (oversized khaki’s, oversized plaid shirt that was buttoned from
the top collar to the 3rd or 4th button which exposed the
white “wife-beater” underneath and tucked into the oversized pants accessorized
with a leather belt). When he opened his
mouth to speak his accent was as thick as Paco and the rest of his Chicano
relatives, friends and community members.
Like
many children who grow up with multi-ethnic blood running through their veins,
he had challenges with the dual ethnicity projected on him by others (e.g. friends,
neighbors, community members and his own familia, primarily his primos –
cousins. They chided him often by
jokingly calling him “dough-boy”, etc. but when they became angry with him,
they used harsher descriptives. No matter how he tried, he didn’t seem to fit
in anywhere completely.
Tania
not Tanya nugget: Chicano or Chicana is
a chosen identity of some Mexican-Americans in the United States. The term became widely used during the
Chicano Movement, mainly among Mexican-Americans within the city of Chicago who
wanted to express an identity, of cultural, ethnic and community pride. The term "Chicano" had negative
connotations before the Chicano Movement, and still is viewed negatively by
more conservative members of this community, but began to gain more acceptance
as an identity of pride within the Mexican-American community in the United
States. The politically correct
iteration of Hispanic or Latino-American took the place of the community
identification of Chicano. Very similar
to Black folk when we struggled during the 60s to independently identify
ourselves as Blacks vs. Negros. There
were a couple of more iterations after the “Black” identification but the most
popular identity to date is African-American.
As
the movie progresses it appears that Miklo makes choices out of a sense of
wanting to show that he is a genuine Vatos Locos (crazy dudes) Forever and
wants to prove his value, worth, etc. by demonstrating his level of fearlessness. In one particular scene some Chicanos from
another barrio, excuse me, neighborhood, tag an area in Miklo and Paco’s
neighborhood (a sign of disrespect by the offenders and if caught could result
in a beat down). He sneaks up on the
rival gang members who are waiting in a car with the engine going while the
tagger is making his unauthorized mark in hostile territory. Miklo and his Vatos Locos familia spot them
and without hesitation he sneaks up on the rival gang members, breaks the car
windows with a pipe, runs for cover but he is spotted and payback ensues.
One
thing leads to another and Miklo ends up in San Quentin State Penitentiary faced
with the same type of discrimination times 10 but with no way of escaping the
drama. However, he is able to leverage his
Vatos Locos street gang affiliation and the shedding of blood of a rival gang
member (prior to his incarceration) which gave him homicide bragging rights. Ultimately he pleads with Montana, the La Una
shot caller for the Chicanos, to use him as a secret weapon against La Una’s #1
enemy the Aryan Brotherhood. His compelling
argument convinces Montana to consider him if he passes their initiation –
shedding the blood of a high ranking AB member.
Without hesitation Miklo agrees to perform the hit stating he is ready
to die for his carnals (brothers) also a condition of the La Una – blood in;
blood out. FREEZE FRAME, Selah for 5
seconds.
.jpg)
We
all have a valuable commodity running through our bodies but if it stops, we die
– it’s the blood. Given the value of
this commodity what do you really know about it? Right; me either. In fact, most people other than medical
professionals and brainiacs probably know very little about this red gold. I’ll prove it. What’s your blood type? How much blood is in the human body? How long does it take to exsanguinate (eks-sang-gwuh-neyt)
– bleed out? See what I mean? An average 150 pound human has approximately:
a little more than 160 ounces depending on how you measure it which pumps
through the heart, lungs, organs, veins, and arteries. Obviously the quantity
of blood depends on the size of the person as well as a few more facts I won’t
bore you with. Lastly, bleeding out for
animals can range from 15-45 seconds depending on the size of the animal. It’s a little different for humans as there
are multiple ways to bleed out which doesn’t necessarily mean a loss of all
blood. Depending upon the age, health,
and fitness level of the individual, people can die from losing half or
two-thirds of their blood, but depending on the artery I believe it could take
as little as one minute or so. Blood in;
Blood out.
Besides
delivering nutrients and oxygen to cells:
· Blood plays an
important role in regulating the body's systems and maintaining homeostasis (the
ability of a system or living organism to adjust its internal environment to
maintain a stable equilibrium).
· Supplying oxygen
and nutrients to
tissues, removing waste, transporting hormones and other
signals throughout the body, and regulating body pH and core body temperature.
· Blood is composed
of plasma, red blood cells,
white blood cells, and platelets.
· Blood platelets
play a role in coagulation
(the clotting of blood to stop bleed from an open wound); white blood cells
play an important role in the immune system; red blood cells transport oxygen
and carbon dioxide.
Would you agree that based upon this scientific data that blood is essential to life? Not sure? Let’s go to the real source: the Creator who said: However, you must not eat meat with its life, its blood, in it. Genesis 9:4 (NLT). God wasn’t saying we couldn’t eat meat, he commanded that we not eat the blood of the animal because it is the life. If God values the life of an animal, what type of value do you think he places on the life of a human being? Actually let me rephrase the question, how much value do you think he places on you right now as you are in you unfinished state?
Not
sure, let me tell you this, the time monsters have eaten all our time up. We’ll have to finish up tomorrow.
Because
of his undeserving Favor
Tania
Not Tanya
No comments:
Post a Comment