There are different branches of this Chicano Movement; cultural, spiritual, educational, political, financial, and military. Sometimes it's hard to see where one ends and one begins because the movement is like a living and breathing organism. When you are a conscious Chicana/o activist you are involved in a little bit of everything even though maybe one thing is what you specialize in. There are of course those who we termed as “Chipsters”, (those who use Chicanismo as a fad like hipsters do). They walk around with feathers in their hair, act super spiritual, know a few things (just enough to sound smart for the ladies or the guys, or to debate a point or two to justify their actions), go to Chicano concerts, do puppet theater, go to car shows, play their jarana or do some spoken word, and if they are industrious they make some money off of us by selling Chicano “artifacts”. Yet those same people will not participate in activities that will better their community. They will only participate in those things that are “safe” and don't require too much of a commitment from them. Then one day, they are are gone. Poof... dust in the wind. Next time you see them they are working for a Democrat or worse a Republican.

We are not like most activists, in fact we are not “activists”, we are militants, revolutionaries, we are the military branch of the Chicano Movement. We might not be seen at every concert or event, and frankly we don't have to be. We don't put on a uniform to look chingon or pretty, we do it with seriousness of heart knowing full well that every time we put it on we are putting our lives on the line. It is not a fad for us, it is our way of life, a life of military service for our people. We are not Boy or Girl Scouts doing charity work or ROTC, we are Brown Berets, a militant revolutionary organization.

We have a military structure that allows us to have the discipline necessary to organize, mobilize and protect our communities throughout Aztlan. We are committed to self defense and we will protect our Raza and ourselves at all costs. No revolutionary organization is successful without the good will of it's people so we build consensus through grass roots community outreach, but our ultimate goal is to help guide our Raza towards liberation.

The Brown Berets are not bound by borders, associations, outside organizations, nor are we limited by political correctness. We stand completely outside the mainstream, and even outside activist circles. We are an independent organization and we do not compromise for any outside influence. If some people do not like us, that is unfortunate for them, we continue moving on. We are open to dialogue with any organization or individual however we reserve the right to decide our own future and develop a strategy and maintain our own agenda independently of any other organization or outside influence.

The Brown Berets have historically been a Chicano Revolutionary Organization and shall continue to stay true to their original founding principles. There is absolutely no way that a person can call themselves a Brown Beret and not be a Chicano Revolutionary. It is evident in our name: “Brown”, we are fighting for Chicanos; “Berets”, a military hat worn by soldiers who fight for a nation. There is no way around it. If a person wants to fight for international issues and not fight for Chicanos then they should wear a light blue beret and call themselves the U.N. Berets.

Do we only defend Chicanos? The truth is we don't live in a bubble. A lot of our struggles intersect and if it is an issue that directly affects our community we will muster up our forces and march in. We do focus the majority of our attention on Indigenous Chicano struggles because that is who we were created to defend, but if our Black, Asian, or Middle Eastern allies require our support and we see that it does intersect with our primary objective, we will do our best to show support. We do not get involved in every fight though, because we are limited in resources and people power, and quite frankly, who we are, what we believe and what we do, might not be on the same page, or even may completely conflict with other groups or movements. We understand that our presence, although for some can be reassuring and give a sense of safety, for others to see the mobilization of a Revolutionary unit may be unsettling. We are not baby-sitters, we are not pacifists walking around with flowers, if we are met with aggression we are ready and willing to respond with aggression, and that might not be what some people want and we understand that. 

Although there are some groups who attempt to water down our message, and dress down, in order to make us more palatable to the community, that is a complete misrepresentation and bastardization of who we are. We cannot and will never compromise our position. To do so is a slap in the face to the Brown Berets who fought, were arrested as political prisoners, bled, and died to build us this legacy. We are the military of our people, and that is how we will stay.