good news...but a little late

if you're gonna read this post...you'd better have something to drink...cause it's John Holmes long

this headline is a couple days old...but it still might interest some. the story is basically about how Argentina is considering the extradition of war criminals; in their case, those who were responsible for thousands of deaths during their "Guerra Sucia" or Dirty War, which stemmed from a military overthrow of the Perón gov't in the early 70's.

although the war (unofficially) lasted nine years (1974-1983), it was the period between '76-'81 that witnessed some of the most heinous crimes against their people. this is the period when the term, 'desaparecido', or 'disappeared' gained worldwide notoriety. depending on which text you read, at least 30,000 people were abducted, tortured and killed. often, the abductees were subjected to excruciating shock treatment (on 'sensitive' parts of the body), endless cigarette burns, horrifying beatings, or lethal injections...and then dumped. of course, many of the abducted were students, lawyers, activists, etc. who wanted to voice their opinion against the military regime.

about 20 years ago, the human rights org., CONADEP (National Committee on the Disappeared), was formed after the the first democratic election in Argentina in many years. they released numbers that are unnerving... of the 30,000+ abductees, the whereabouts of almost 11,000 was still unknown. sorry, i don't have any current figures...guess i should get crackin' eh?

??? why would the actions of a country even concern me? i'll admit that i prefer history or non-fiction when i read... had i not liked anthropology and archaeology so much, i would have liked to have entered the field of human rights (risk of getting shot is high) or volcanism (risk of getting flattened during scientific research didn't appeal to me). i have always been fascinated by the power of natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, cyclones, et al). and i have always wondered what goes on in the mind of genocidal maniacs who somehow ascend to power. i'm not a necrophile or some other type of obsessive weirdo (although i'm certainly not normal), but maybe just an emotional person who loves life.

about 15 years ago, when i was a freshman in college, i was profoundly affected after viewing an episode of P.O.V. in a Spanish class. the episode was on the Madres de Plaza Mayo (sorry, it's in Spanish...i can translate for you if you're really interested) in Buenos Aires. up 'til then, i had never even been remotely interested in the history/gov't of Argentina. this episode of POV really opened my eyes and made me rethink my life and where i was heading.

the Mothers of the May Plaza is a group of women who are mothers/grandmothers of the abducted. they have been protesting in the May Plaza in downtown Buenos Aires since 1977. they basically started out marching to hopefully find any information regarding their loved ones. they've been demonstrating every Thursday at 3:30 PM, dressed in black and marching around the statue of liberty, in front of the presidential palace. they tied white handkerchiefs, with the names of disappeared sons and daughters, around their heads (a lá Little Red Riding Hood), and carried signs with the photographs....demanding to know the fate of these desaparecidos.

it just really touched me that even these little old ladies weren't afraid of their gov't and its terrible actions. i thought of my parents and how hard it was for them to raise us, ensuring that we had enough of everything to get through school and become self-sufficient adults. i know my mom would have sacrificed probably everything so that i and my four brothers and two sisters would be happy human beings and well-adjusted in society. if i were a desaparecido, i KNOW my mom would be the little chinese lady...dressed in black...with a white hanky and huge placard, demanding to know what the fuck happened to her baby son.

yeah, sure, i could have written this for Mother's Day...but it's July and Laura didn't get me off my butt to start blogging until eight days ago. so blame her ;) but really, i can only thank Laura for this page...even though i try to be mean.

it saddens me that there are millions of women out there who would do anything to have a child, but it was never in the stars; most of them adopt or settle for raising animals. and the women (lucky enough to bear children) out there who have striven to do the best for their children, even if it meant compromising their health, taking multiple jobs, or putting up w/ domestic violence, should be applauded. i can never relate, even when i become a father, because of what it takes to bring that child to term. plus, i am too much of a wimp (as most men) to even fathom the stuff a woman has to go through in those 9-10 months, let alone endure pregnancy and birth(s). i hope that the mothers (past or present) out there can take pride in what they have accomplished and what the Madres de Plaza Mayo are taking a stand on because stuff like this affects ALL of us (mother or not) - regardless of where we live.

i'll get off my soapbox now...goodnight.