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When Galer\u00eda de La Raza\u2019s new LGBTQ-themed digital mural, \u201cPor Vida,\u201d was dedicated on June 13, reactions were emotional and polarized, ranging from hopeful to irate.<\/p>\n
Opponents of the mural\u2014who have expressed their feelings from the comfortable confines of social media, with homophobic threats against the mural and its artists\u2014proclaimed that the work misrepresents Latino, lowrider and \u201ccholo\u201d culture in the Mission as \u201cgay.\u201d Supporters, on the other hand, have declared the piece\u2014which uses lowrider imagery to depict\u00a0same-sex couples and a transgendered man\u2014a reflection of the queer\/Chicano identity, of people who too were raised on a diet of oldies and lowrider art.<\/p>\n
With the defacement of the \u201cPor Vida\u201d mural on the morning of June 16, and again (after being repaired) on June 20, Galer\u00eda announced it was prepared to restore the mural as many times as need be.<\/p>\n
Then on June 29 an arsonist was caught on camera destroying the left hand portion of the mural depicting two men embracing each other.<\/p>\n
We at El Tecolote condemn this blatant hate speech to say nothing of such reckless vandalism, and we stand ready to support this well-respected Mission-based institution, which has always been at the vanguard, be it in Chicano\/Latino art or in the fight for social justice.<\/p>\n
Like Galeria, El Tecolote has for 45 years stood for what it believes is right, providing a voice for the voiceless and promoting equality and freedom of expression through art. In 1976-1977, during an era when it was perhaps taboo even to acknowledge the existence of a gay Latino, El Tecolote ran a series of articles that shared information about the Latino gay experience in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also oppressed within our own Latino culture,\u201d wrote Eddie Baca of the Gay Latino Alliance (GALA) in the October 1977 issue of El Tecolote. \u201cThe denial that we don\u2019t exist, the rigid roles for men and women that don\u2019t tolerate any person who\u2019s different; politically you\u2019re viewed as going against the Latino cause, you\u2019re up against the honor, dignity and machismo concept in the Latino culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Judging by the slew of homophobic rants and attacks via Instagram and Facebook, the views held by some in our community regarding equal rights have unfortunately progressed very little over the past four decades. We find it disheartening that many of the people who are posting homophobic attacks on social media, also clamor for equal rights for Latinos.<\/p>\n
As a newspaper, our position will always<\/em> be in favor of free speech, especially if it comes from populations historically silenced or marginalized.<\/p>\n We stand by Galer\u00eda de la Raza and applaud the courage of all who, in the face of hate and threats of violence, hold steadfast to their principles.<\/p>\n The U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s June 26 landmark decision declared that the right to marriage\u2014including same sex marriage\u2014is protected under the 14th amendment\u2014that is, that same-sex couples are guaranteed equal protection under the law.<\/p>\n It\u2019s time for our community, our people, our Mission to understand that equal rights means equal rights for all, and that equal protection under the law means equal protection for all. It\u2019s time\u2014beyond time\u2014to stand for what\u2019s right: equality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We condemn this blatant hate speech and stand ready to support this well-respected Mission-based institution, which has always been at the vanguard of Chicano\/Latino art and the fight for social justice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":26982,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11909],"tags":[5497,5073,5495,4241,5397,5499],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-26977","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-board","tag-gala","tag-galeria-de-la-raza-en","tag-gay-latino-alliance","tag-lgbt-en","tag-lgbtq-en","tag-u-s-supreme-court","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n