July 9, 2000

On your "Aztlan news" page, I saw the pictures of protestors burning the American flag at the "Voice of Citizens Together" 4th of July rally. What does this have to do with Antonio Villaraigosa?

Also, the "Voice of Citizens Together" are themselves a racist group.

Name Withheld

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July 9, 2000

To your first question: The protesters were led by Raza/Aztlan groups (the Brown Berets made no bones about it). Antonio Villaraigosa often uses the Spanish phrase "Dime con quien andas, y te diré quien eres, which translates "Tell me who you hang out with, and I will tell you who you really are." -- Antonio Villaraigosa hangs out with Raza and Aztlan groups. Moreover, while he will make general statements condemning political violence, he refuses to specifically condemn any Raza or Aztlan groups who engage in it.

To your second comment: Firstly, my concern is with Antonio Villaraigosa, not Voice of Citizens Together. But there are some that say that Voice of Citizens Together uses divisive rhetoric like referring to "undocumented immigrants" as "illegal aliens" (according to the INS, the latter is the correct term) as evidence of being racist. Most activist groups use passionate rhetoric, but I cannot find any statements made by Voice of Citizens Together that I consider racist. If you know of any racist statements by Voice of Citizens Together, please share them with me and I will post.

Hal Netkin