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STANDING AGAINST SEXISM AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT

What is 'La Mesa National'

La Mesa is an alliance that was formed a few years ago of small autonomous groups calling themselves Brown Berets.

While there are many groups out there calling themselves “Brown Berets”, our organization was founded by a woman who had been working within Brown Beret circles for years. Not only did she found BBO, but she was one of the women founders of La Mesa. Like most women, she too came from a background of emotional, mental, verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. When she came into the movement she hoped that she would find a space for healing and justice, where women were valued and their voices would be heard, but what she saw in many circles was a continuation of that misogyny, machismo, sexism, harassment, abuse and violence against women.

She herself became a victim of the men in Movement spaces that would sexually harass her and when she would not reciprocate they would become angered and would attack her or have her removed from certain spaces claiming she was toxic.

Not all, but some of the women in these circles have internalized sexism, perpetuating lateral oppression by undermining each other and defending male abusers, thus causing rifts and damaging one another's reputations and work.

THE ISSUE IN A NUTSHELL

Last year, in 2022, two well known female organizers from Northern California came to her asking for help with a male claiming to be a Brown Beret, who was harassing them. She spoke out and respectfully asked the “Mesa Nacional de Brown Berets” for help.

Unfortunately her long-standing connection with her brother-in-law has become a bigger issue than necessary. He was a known alcoholic (at the time) with past sexual harassment allegations, so she recognized that as a Brown Beret, her duty to safeguard the community required absolute intolerance for abusive behavior, regardless of family ties.

Initially they "investigated", "called" the victims, and they all acknowledged that what they had seen he did indeed was harassment. They supported renouncing him and removing him from their circles...

...but, (instead because they were all friends) he denied it. He claimed she had a "personal vendetta against him", and they quickly jumped in to support him and denounced her.

To this day he is being protected by them and the attacks against her have increased. Her “crime”, she denounced a serial sexual harasser, and her “punishment”, as they recently posted a statement, they demanded that she remove her Beret and dismantle all the work she had done for years. WHY?

Why would they want a woman who has been successfully organizing and is known by thousands of people to stop working? They have threatened to sue her for defamation, to beat her up, to blacklist her from every group they have connections to.

A mysterious group of them started a whole profile-page dedicated to slander her and also by nonsensically calling her a whore, tried to destroy her family by claiming she is cheating on her husband, and that she is "cointelpro" and "working for the FBI". They even created an "Elders Council" that includes older patriarchal men focused on silencing our Commander; it also includes one "elder" who has accused our Commander of being "FBI" (while condoning working with police and being Pro USA) and enabled the profile page attacking Commander by insisting she deserved to be bullied).

Faced with hostility and a lack of support from the “Mesa Nacional,” she severed ties and established a new National Organization focused on healing and empowering mujeres through a Matriarchal Militant structure, aiming to restore balance to the Movement.

It is time to stop the abuse and patriarchy that has run unchecked in the Brown Beret movement for the past 56 years!

Every other group is led by a man, has been for five decades, but now the Brown Berets will be led into a new direction. If the revolutionary movement is to continue, the issue of sexual harassment and abuse must be addressed and rectified. There is so much work that needs to be done in our communities, and THIS issue has held us back and destroyed our organizing efforts for decades! Not just in the Brown Berets, but EVERYWHERE! Let's have an important conversation. Women make up half of the population and they do a lot of the hard work in the Chicano Movement. While many organizations have women who are busy supporting and building efforts, it often seems like men receive most of the recognition (or inadequately put in leadership roles). Additionally, women are sometimes treated unfairly in these movements, as some men, who we can call "Macktavists," attempt to take advantage of their roles in the movement and become predatory (losing complete sight and focus of the important work needed).

Women are often told that they are not strong enough to be leaders and that they can only work together without a formal structure. This kind of thinking is unfair because it minimizes the many skills and strengths women have, suggesting they should only do things like make signs, sing songs, cook, or just look nice. We believe that this is not right! Women are strong, capable fighters too! They can be tough, enjoy different activities (outside of being mothers), express themselves, and should always have a voice in any situation. Everyone deserves to be recognized for their contributions, regardless of gender.

So yes, we stand against the so-called individuals in the Mesa Nacional for harboring sexual abusers, for coddling each others enablement of harassment, and we will not back down from this fight.

As Brown Berets, we believe in restorative justice and the possibility of redemption, but we also recognize the crucial distinction between redemption and punishment; that's not what we ask (unless sometimes, in cases of extremity). By taking these steps, we can address many internal issues, restore security and unity within the movement, and improve the negative perception that some actions of the 'Brown Berets' have created in our community:

Acknowledge the issue. Bring it to the attention of Brown Beret Leadership.
Any and all proof i.e. statements, pictures/screenshots, voice recordings, etc. shall be gathered.
Aggressor (whether they were passive or assertive) shall be made aware in a private urgent 'Accountability meeting'. (ONLY AFTER all evidence has been gathered.)
Issue/evidence shall be presented at the urgent accountability meeting. Aggressor shall acknowledge the victim's complaint.
Complaint should be handled internally by leadership and the victim, (privately) from beginning to end.
The victim shall have a say in implementing what type of restorative justice they'd see appropriate for the situation, in agreement with said leadership.
Aggressor shall NOT be forced to accept their redemption offer. Do not bother engage in hostile confrontation and always meet through Zoom (for everyone's safety).
Aggressor should be willing (freely), to restore their trust, faith, and good nature as a reliable soldier in movement and our barrios/neighborhoods.
Suspension and native ceremonial healing practices should be considered and implemented as appropriate methods of redemption.
Any and all parties involved in the situation (including 3rd confidential parties involved) shall be notified of suspension/probation terms of the aggressor with victim's knowledge, unless the victim decides not to share outcome).
Second offenses WILL NOT be tolerated.

Our organization follows established protocols in our investigations and maintain a zero-tolerance policy against serious harm, including sexual and physical harm/assault, to protect our community.

Here you have a voice. Join the Brown Beret Organization

and help us take a stand against the Patriarchy!

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