Today, 12O, it is the national holiday, which most of us Spaniards find shameful because it is celebrated from a colonialist and militarist perspective.
The people who suffered our historic colonialism, as Latin American People says: nothing to celebrate #nadaquecelebrar . And most of the Spanish people agree.
Furthermore, if you know a little history, a red and yellow flag is being glorified that does not represent us ...
... as it is the flag that the dictator imposed during the coup d’état and the subsequent dictatorship.
But it is precisely this narrative and this flag that the far-right Spaniards love so much.
So the people who go to that patriotic parade, or carry the Spanish flag, are only those on the far right.
And that flag represents nothing but hatred: hatred of women, hatred of LGBTQI+ people, hatred of migrants, denial of historical memory, denial of climate change, and so on....
So today, following the military march, there were threats from Nazi groups organised via social media against the people camped in Sol Square who are protesting for the right to housing.
So we did what we do best: look after, support and protect.
That is why a protective cordon of thousands of people has been formed around the protest camp.
The Nazis, carrying their Spanish flags, were walking past us.
At best, they gave us dirty looks; at worst, they hurled insults or tried to attack us.
Initially, the protective cordon was made up of young people. But older people have gradually joined us to show their support.
The aggressors had very few arguments; the one they repeated most often was: ‘Go to work!’
But they forgot that a) today is a public holiday; b) most of the protesters already work and are taking turns to camp out; and c) even if we do work, we cannot afford housing.
In my case, I work as a psychologist.
And it is precisely this work as a psychologist that makes it clear to me that we must support the housing protests.
My clients come to me suffering from stress, anxiety or post-traumatic stress as a result of the housing crisis.
Some have already been evicted from their own homes as children, or from rented accommodation now as adults.
Many have serious social conflicts with their flatmates, as these living arrangements are not of their own free will.
@CorioPsicologia So why did the Spanish join forces with the Tlaxcalans, Cempoalcans, Totonacs, Texcocans, Huejotzincans, Cholultecs, and Xochimilcans, among others, against the Mexica?
How can they colonize a territory and supply them with supplies and teach them about economics, political hierarchies, and build universities in the main capitals, in addition to creating new towns and cities?
Did they also colonize what is now the United States? Did the other countries do nothing?
@Laura_H93 @CorioPsicologia Yes, the Spanish (among others of course) did colonize what is now the United States. Surely you have heard of places known as Florida, Texas, California, Arizona … ? These names were not chosen by speakers of English, Dutch, or French.
They weren’t on a benevolent mission, any more than the other European colonizers were.
@fivetonsflax @CorioPsicologia You forget that the Spanish joined the Americans to fight against the British army in the American Revolution. Was that also colonization?
@Laura_H93 Today I ate breakfast and also posted to Mastodon. Therefore I didn’t eat breakfast? 🤷♂️
@Laura_H93 Laura, creo que tienes mucho que aprender.
Sí, se llama colonizar, y siempre hay grupos poderosos que permiten la entrada de colonizadores externos para mantener sus privilegios. Si te apetece buscar, puedes buscar "teoría de la dependencia".
Todas esas cosas que supuestamente "les dimos" es la propaganda que nuestro Estado ha hecho durante años para ocultar la otra parte: el extractivismo, los genocidios, la imposición cultural y lingüística, y los saberes que aniquilamos.
Entiendo que es doloroso pensar en nuestros privilegios, pero es necesario hacerlo para alcanzar la justicia social.
Que hayas tenido esa urgencia para responder a una desconocida en la red, es porque has sentido la incomodidad de la incoherencia: ¿Porqué si me considero buena persona me acaban de colocar en el lado de los malos?
Pues porque en este caso, históricamente lo somos. Y solo seremos buenas personas cuando hagamos el camino individual de decolonizar nuestra mente y ...
igual que lo hacemos con nuestros pensamientos machistas, racistas y homófobos.
Porque deconstruirse solo las cosas donde sufrimos opresión no tiene mérito. Tiene más mérito hacerlo donde somos el grupo privilegiado.
@CorioPsicologia Muchas gracias, Aurora. Como latinoamericana, es muy esperanzador leer lo que escribiste. Fuerte abrazo desde Costa Rica.
@CorioPsicologia Wonderful what you and everyone does, Aurora, absolutely wonderful.
Or they live in homes where conditions make it impossible for them to maintain healthy habits: with no natural light, no space to cook, or in neighbourhoods full of cars where it is impossible to walk.
All of this takes its toll on their mental health. That is why a significant part of my work involves explaining the sociological context to them: it is not their fault; it is a social problem. Therefore, the solution is a social one.
...
That is why, over the years, I have been advising my patients who were facing very serious housing problems to get in touch with mutual support groups in their neighbourhoods, such as the tenants’ union.
Therefore, contrary to what the fascists claim, many of us are here at the camp because we work, we are good professionals, and we understand the housing problem from our professional perspective.
And we choose to show empathy towards vulnerable people, like #MariCarmen, rather than defend oppression, spread hate and uphold privileges.
We call for more collective vigils, more support and action to stop evictions, more protective cordons, and fewer fascist attacks.
Really ?
What's the Republican flag then ?
@lienrag @CorioPsicologia I just found this one, the one before Franco: https://es.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Segunda_Rep%C3%BAblica_espa%C3%B1ola
Thanks !
So, Franco removed the Violet band and the Coat of Arms ?
The violet band is symbol of Castillan revolt from what I read, but what does the Coat of Arms symbolize and why did Franco remove it ?