Building circles of trust and communication
In a small community, if the social environment is a healthy one, it may be that practically everyone knows everybody else. That was the situation I observed in San Pedro, Cántaros when I visited during three days in September 2008 with Jonathan Treat and his class from the School for International Training.[1] We were hosted by what amounted to little more than an extended family, with a total population of, I would guess, probably not more than about thirty to fifty. Under those conditions, close familiarity was natural. I believe that ideally the degree of familiarity in indigenous communities in Oaxaca that are self-governing under the practice of 'uses and customs' is similar, though of course many of them don't come close to the ideal. In order to build community, mere geographical closeness is not enough.
Prominent on my list of 'truth tellers'
It's always heartening to find another person who I can feel confident says only what he or she truly believes. Here's a partial list of my 'truth tellers', arranged in no particular order. Alan Hart, William Blum, Mazin Qumsiyeh, John Pilger, Naomi Klein, James Herod, John Spritzler, Gordon Arnaut, James Petras, Immanuel Wallerstein, Jeffrey Blankfort, Manuel Garcia Jr., John Ross, Norman G. Finkelstein, Dahr Jamail, Mohammed Omer, Joe Bageant, Robert Fisk, Khalid Amyreh, Al Giordano, and of course others, many others. Today's note is intended to specifically introduce John Ross to those who may not be familiar with his work. [This posting is still incomplete. I wrote John for some info, but he must be too busy with his frequent, richly informed commentaries on Mexico to humor this old gringo buddy. Watch for John on the Counterpunch website.]
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NOTES
[1] Early correspondance. See note [1] at http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/t/2009-08-05N.htm
This page is also at http://site.www.umb.edu/faculty/salzman_g/t/2009-09-12.htm
