growing up mexican american in east los angeles
you forget sometimes that there are bigger racisms
in the world. or that the racisms are not part of the norm
its a complicated border cultura that comes in waves
whenever we crossed the border of east los angeles and
into monterey park. there was a very likely chance
that we were going to get pulled over. most definitely
told we fit the description of the vehicle they were looking for
but you get used to it. you get used to the harassment of getting
out of the car. whether it was a cadillac, honda, saab, toyota
it didn’t matter. you just so happened to always be inside the vehicle
they were looking for. but you don’t fight against it. you don’t say
anything . partly of course because you don’t want to make things
worse. but partly because you feel like. its annoying. and part of your life
nobody tells you this isn’t normal behavior. because its the normal
behavior we were used to facing in the barrio.
http://www.chicanocoloringbooks.com
photo credit image
kristy lovich
words by
israel haros
WaterHummingbirdHouse 