Politics scares many people. In fact, it is the topic that people refuse to talk about, the reason being that it brings up conflicting views between two parties. However, maybe it is time that we redefine what "politics" is. Politics is essentially power, but the word has become associated only with government since they are in power. However, power structures and power blocs are EVERYWHERE. This be in legal structures, but the within each one is social power bloc. The youth are seen as a weak, illegitimate voice since, to quote Blink-182 "kids can't vote, adults elect them...[there are] signs that caution 16 [is] unsafe." (Anthem Part 2, Blink-182). Sure, we can't vote, but that doesn't mean that we cannot actively patriciate in politics and resist the power structures that tell us to shut up. The Laotain youth of the LOP and APEN prove this.
It is amazing what this organization has done. In the reading, we see that they created a safer, more effective city wide alarm system, fought an anti-bilingual bill, and even made schools more efficient for their community. Thinking about it, it seems that the Laotain youth are the prime people to be doing this kind of campaigning; older generations lack the resources to do such activism. Many do not speak English, which bar them from getting their message across the others. Others fear a repressive response from the government, something that they faced back home in Communist Laos. The Laotian-American youth face neither of these issues, seeing how they grew up in America.
Regarding proposition 227, I find it amazing that these Laotian girls, while they all speak perfect English and do not require bilingual education, still fought in blood and sweat for it. They care so much about their community and I guess are fighting for people of color and their right to proper education. Given, I think the proposition is incredibly stupid: teaching someone English in a year? Psh, not gonna. I agree with Lon, who claims that we need both. Honestly, unless you live somewhere like the San Gabriel Valley, you gotta speak English to perform well in American society. I am not against other languages, but realistically, you gotta know some English. I do not think this because I think that foreign tongue would "undermine the American nation". Not at all. But am I racist for thinking people should know Enlgish?
The connection to Monkey Dance is the idea that the youth have a huge stake in resisting power blocs that tell them they are worthless and to do as they are told. It seems that a lot of the Colombian youth just "wanna have fun", as the CVS worker said. While these people are not actively changing laws and policies like the APEN are, they are, in their own way, fighting power blocs and establishing their own voices in outright ways. They are not going to sit back and let some hegemonic assholes rule over them. No...they are gonna fight.
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