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| Voces | |
| ARE PENNY STOCKS WORTH A PENNY? | |
| By Julie Stav | |
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| Rethinking
Religion The Latinas you interviewed seemed sincere in their search for spiritual meaning. I wish them the best. But practicing Islam in a country with a western legal system is totally different from practicing it in a real Islamic country. Take Saudi Arabia, for example. There, a woman can’t vote, she can’t drive, she can’t appear in public dressed the way the women appear in your article (she must be veiled instead), she can’t work outside the home without her husband’s permission, she can’t own property, she may have been subjected to vaginal mutilation as a girl ––so-called “female circumcision”—she can be beaten by her husband if she disobeys him, and she may have to share her husband with another wife. Worst of all, Sharia law says that a woman’s testimony in court counts for less than a man’s, so any time a man rapes a woman, all he has to do is say she consented; he will get off scot-free, and she will be flogged for adultery. Yet your reporter questioned these women about none of this, instead giving them only softball questions. D. Stephen Wallin Phoenix, Arizona |
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Not
all Muslims are terrorists, but most terrorist are Muslims. [The subjects
of your article] should say it out loud, that terrorist groups like
Al Qaeda do not represent Islam. It concerns me greatly that most
Muslims and their leaders, with rare exceptions, are unwilling to
condemn in public and unequivocally the heinous acts of violence committed
in the name of Allah or Jihad, not only the violence by radical Muslims
against non-Muslims but even against people of their own faith. I
am unconcerned with Hispanics, albeit a minority, becoming Muslims.
They can practice a religion any way they want, as long as they respect
the right of others to practice their own faith, or no faith at all.
I believe strongly in the freedoms that this great county of ours
lets us enjoy, and I am willing to defend with my life the right of
any Muslim to practice his or her religion. Are Muslims in the U.S.
willing to defend with their lives the right of others to practice
other religions, or not to practice a religion at all? Juan Garcia |
| I
have to say that I have always enjoyed reading your magazine, but
lately I find the articles of much greater interest. Not only the
piece by Ms. [Carolyn] Curiel, but also the Hispanic baseball players
on steroids, and the conversion of Latinas to Islam, which I am copying
to give to members of our Hispanic ministry office here in the Diocese
of Providence. Given the prominence of second generation Hispanics
toward English language publications, yours will be required reading
for me for some time. Michael Brown Editor of The Providence Visitor Providence, Rhode Island |
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| I
recently returned from Cairo, Egypt and I was fortunate to be there
at the beginning of Ramadan. The experience has left me wondering
about Islam and where I would fit in if I decided to study this newfound
religion. Being more spiritual than religious at this point in my
life, I was fascinated to see how faithful Muslims are. It was overwhelming
to see the thousands gathered around the mosques at prayer time and
how loyal they are to fast and keep their traditions. Most importantly,
I saw firsthand the goodness in these people and I feel extremely
fortunate to have been there at this time, their holiest of days.
Everything I had read and heard about this religion has been inaccurate
to an extent, and I hope to learn more in the coming months. I can’t
say I will become a Muslim, but I can say that I have great respect
for this religion and its people and nothing will change my mind.
Thank you so much for this article, the timing was impeccable. Alicia Villanueva Mesa, Arizona |
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| Hasta
La Vista, Governator I am writing in reference to the remark that Arnold Schwarzenegger made a couple of months ago about Hispanic people being hot blooded and that all Puerto Ricans and Cubans have black blood. I feel very insulted by that remark and I now will say to Arnold: HASTA LA VISTA, BABY! How could he say he applauds all those at Hispanic Magazine for their effort in building a more united California and providing an invaluable service to many people by advancing our nation’s ideals and then turn around and say those things? Maria del campo Miami, Florida |
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Waving
the Flag The Hispanic flag-waving that Ruben Navarrette, Jr. wrote about is different than the flag-waving of the Cuban, Israeli or Lebanese flags. The latter three were in direct response to a current event, not an ongoing, daily occurrence. I’ve never seen either of these flags on a car, shirt or displayed out in public. I do see Hispanic countries’ flags on shirts, cars and jewelry on a daily basis. Also, the Cuban, Israeli and Lebanese flags were not being used in protest against the U.S., unlike those from Mexico. Stephanie Vaisa Dumfries, Virginia |
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was very disturbing to read your article Up Front written by Ruben
Navarrette, Jr. in your October issue. First of all, the majority
of us Cubans have come legally. We have waited patiently under a communist
oppressive regime for years before being allowed to come here. Waiting
under the fear of being singled out as traitors just for wanting to
live in a free country. Of losing our jobs, all our possessions and
being sent to work under deplorable conditions without knowing when
and if we would be allowed to leave our country. Many of my countrymen
are in Cuban jails for this reason. That’s why some choose to
escape on rafts and small boats hoping to make it to the United States. The reason why Mexicans and Latin Americans cross the border is for economic reasons, not political ones. Maybe that’s why Americans are more sympathetic to us. Also, when Cuban Americans waved their flags in Miami and Jews theirs for Israel, we were supporting our countrymen in Cuba and in Israel, not demanding rights in the United States. That’s a big difference! Lilliam Mas |
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| I
think that the logic Mr. Navarrette, Jr. resorts to in order to make
his point is somehow distorted. Your contributor surely knows why
Americans did not register any outrage when they saw Cubans getting excited upon perceiving a slight chance for the situation in their country to improve. Why should this, in this country, make Americans or anybody who cares about democracy and justice angry? Cuban Americans were not having dual allegiances or showing divided loyalty during the event in question, because this was not at stake at all! Your contributor picked the wrong event and described it very poorly to say the least. Cubans have indeed made the same disproportionate use of their flag in the past. There was enough of that, for instance, during the Elián González saga. Cubans eventually corrected their naive mistake, as Mexicans also recently did. It is obvious that flag-waving is not instrumental to solving immigration problems, and my answer to the question “Shouldn’t all flags be treated equally?” is: Of course, they should, but the key point is to watch for political correctness, to avoid being offensive to other identity groups–– even if they play music, dance and drink beer following their rather legitimate instincts. JosE A. GonzAlez-Posada Boca Raton, Florida |
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| Varying
Perspectives Since your magazine aims to cover issues important to Hispanic readers, it is natural that many of your articles and sections touch on the illegal immigration issue. I have greatly enjoyed reading your magazine because in general Hispanic does not lean heavily one way or another politically but allows different voices to be heard. This is why I am so disturbed to see a blatant misrepresentation (literally a coloring) of someone’s quote regarding illegal immigration. Under Buzzwords you quote CNN’s Glenn Beck and describe his statement as xenophobic, as if he were referring to ALL immigrants in the U.S. Worse, while the main part of his quote is highlighted in red, the key word illegal is deliberately left uncolored, to allow the less careful reader to focus on just immigration and assume this broader topic to be his topic for derision. The illegal immigration issue, as hot and thorny as it is, will not find a cool-headed middle ground as long as one side deliberately confuses the issue in order to make the other side look racist and xenophobic. Are we discussing ALL immigrants or just those who break the law in order to come here? Petty distortions and misrepresentations do a terrible disservice to all Americans, and tarnish the otherwise good reputation of Hispanic Magazine. Richard Villagomez Temple City, California |
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Send
us your comments! Address mail to: Hispanic, Letters to the Editor, c/o Page One Media, 6355 N.W. 36th St., Second Floor, Miami, FL 33166 or e-mail us at hispeditor@page1media.com. Letters should include writer’s full name, city and phone number. Not all letters can be printed, and those chosen for publication may be edited for space and clarity. |
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