OC Weekly

July 12 - 18, 2002

La Voz de Pendejos

An anti-Semitic website’s year-long Jew-baiting of Orange County Latinos

by Gustavo Arellano

The president of the League of United Latin American Citizens’ (LULAC) Santa Ana chapter has been the target of a smear campaign by a fanatically anti-Semitic Chicano website based in Whittier, the Weekly has learned.

Zeke Hernández, president of the Santa Ana LULAC chapter, sent the Weekly an e-mail that shows him to be the latest victim of La Voz de Aztlán’s yearlong efforts to sully the reputations of prominent OC Latinos.

Over the span of a week in early November 2001, Hernández and La Voz engaged in a one-sided Net flame war. Hernández sent 11 requests via e-mail asking that Santa Ana LULAC be taken off La Voz’s mailing list, but La Voz webmaster Roberto Cruz refused. Cruz accused the Santa Ana chapter president of trying to censor La Voz’s content and claimed that Hernández had no authority to remove LULAC from La Voz’s list despite the fact that Hernández moderates Santa Ana LULAC’s website.

It got uglier: in his final e-mail to Hernández, dated Nov. 11, 2001, Cruz accused Hernández of being a Jew four times within the same message. "Are you a Hispanic judio, too?" the e-mail concludes. "We mean to [sic] offense in asking this question."

Ten days later, all was seemingly forgiven. La Voz published an article on its site (www.aztlan.net) titled "LULAC Questions Zionist’s Attack on La Raza" that congratulated LULAC for criticizing Proposition 227 author Ron Unz (whom La Voz refers to as a "Jewish Mogul and Zionist") after Unz wrote a National Review piece comparing bilingual-education activists to terrorists.

But LULAC wasn’t happy with La Voz’s pat on the back. Four days later, Hernández took the extraordinary measure of issuing a national press release condemning La Voz for its commendation of LULAC.

"LULAC finds the commentary of La Voz de Aztlàn repugnant," read the statement, "and disassociates itself from the inappropriate and racist commentary made using the LULAC press statement."

Seven months later, La Voz still has not forgiven Hernández for his stand. In a June 10 e-mail that Hernández provided to the Weekly, La Voz’s editor, Ernesto Cienfuegos, tells Jeffrey H. Brody, an associate professor of communications at Cal State Fullerton, that Hernández had written "objectionable e-mails" concerning La Voz’s Unz/LULAC article.

"Mr. Hernandez’s views on freedom of speech and of the press, I am happy to report, are not shared by the general LULAC membership," Cienfuegos wrote, vowing to expose Latinos like Hernández that seek a huesito—a selling out of their community.

Such is the way of La Voz, whose editorial philosophy is a fascinating combination of rabid Chicano nationalism, blatant homophobia, and a perverted Catholicism that considers Judaism the root of all evil. Most disturbing to them, though, are Latinos who they suspect have fallen under the influence of los judíos—the Jews.

The Hernández incident wasn’t the first time La Voz Jew-baited local Latinos. In a letter dated Aug. 8, 2001, La Voz publisher Héctor Carreón accused Santa Ana-based immigrant-rights group Hermandad Mexicana Nacional of falling under the influence of Jews in using taxpayer money to promote "the deviant, perverted, sinful and decadent homosexual lifestyle."

The catalyst for this allegation was a letter written on Hermandad stationary by Hermandad’s public relations director, Katy Pérez, to La Voz criticizing the website’s homophobic editorializing (which blames homosexuality on Jews). Commending Hermandad for "the courage that you have demonstrated in the past in standing up against the bigots at the Anaheim Police Department," Carreón nevertheless felt that "it [Pérez’s letter] is a highly improper way to use the name, legacy and time of Hermandad."

Furthermore, according to Carreón, Jews and jotos (Spanish for "fags") caused Hermandad’s apparent deviation from its mission of immigrant rights. "We know that Bert Corona [Hermandad’s founder] was married to a Judia [Jew], and we are now wondering how much this has to do with Hermandad also pushing the [homosexual] issue," the letter states.

Carreón demanded an apology for Pérez’s letter. But what the letter actually said remains a mystery. Pérez refused to fax over a copy or reveal its content at the time of its release, saying that Hermandad national co-director Nativo López was "not interested. We are going to respond to La Voz’s letter, and you are welcome to read it on their website," Pérez said in a voice mail. Nothing ever came of it, as La Voz never posted a letter by Hermandad and López refused to comment on what course Hermandad took.

La Voz has not been content with merely harassing OC Latino leaders, though. In addition to their blackballing of López and Hernández, La Voz nearly got an Orange County social worker fired from his job last year for writing an e-mail on company time. The man (whose job entails tracking hate groups) wrote an e-mail asking La Voz to tone down its rhetoric after Cienfuegos, writing via e-mail, blamed the 2001 Central American earthquakes on homosexuality. La Voz responded to the man’s complaint by employing a tactic it has successfully used before to silence other critics: they called the man’s employer and demanded his termination for "creating hate crimes."

"La Voz got in contact with my boss and questioned his sexuality because he wouldn’t fire me," said the worker, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal by both La Voz and his employer. After that, La Voz went to that man’s supervisor, who was not as caring. The man was severely reprimanded but was able to keep his job.

Carreón, who graduated from Long Beach State with a degree in civil engineering and worked during the 1970s for the city of Buena Park, offered little explanation for his site’s persecution of OC Latinos. Instead, he responded to my repeated offers of an interview by calling me and Hernández a mamón (homosexual), saying I’m a candidate for their "Little Judas Award" (he did not specify what the qualifications are) and accusing me of being bought by Jews for a few "shekels."

"You have been totally ‘judaized’!" Carreón’s final e-mail excitedly claimed. "You continue to contact us for interviews even though we have told you time and again to fuck off. You are acting like [sic] scorned bitch."

La Voz’s rants would be a sick pleasure and dismissed by all but the ADL if not for today’s postmodern publishing world, where anyone with a modem and an issue can publish their opinions in mere seconds to a worldwide audience. Since its first issue in January 2000, La Voz has been cited by papers such as the Houston Chronicle, the Jerusalem Post, and the online World Net Daily as proof of the inherent intolerance of Chicanos. And this power to influence unwitting minds is what frightens those that have been targeted by La Voz the most.

"You get people who want to learn about Chicanismo and type in ‘Aztlàn,’ and they find this," the anonymous worker said. "The reader is immediately going to think all Chicanos think like that, ruining it for the rest of us. What’s most frightening is the realization that if La Voz, like Hitler, actually got the power they seek, their site is a good indication of what they would do with it."

They're typical Chicano/Latino/Whatever-type activists. What are they doing differently than any of the other so-called activist groups, except bagging on jews, as, let's say, bagging on whites? Why is their message less acceptable. I've read venomous hate articles posted here by the same types that denounce these guys. So, what's the difference?

OC weekly is owned by Zionist Leonard Stern and pro Israeli Goldman, Sachs & Co. It is part of the Jew propaganda mill of parent company Village Voice Media. The Cleveland Free Times is owned by VVM, which in addition to The Village Voice, also owns the Nashville Scene, LA Weekly, OC Weekly, City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul) and Seattle Weekly.

VVM New Times owns the Cleveland Scene, New Times Los Angeles and other weeklies from coast to coast. All of these rags are Zionist propaganda machines.

VVM attaks Aztlan because Aztlan refuses to support Israeli genocide. By being a pawn of these Jews Gustavo Arellano is is a race traitor.

I just want "Not A Traitor" to know that I, a Chican@, do not support Israeli genocide, but as well do not support your ultra-catholic, sexist, heterosexist, racist, nationalist points of view.


And your group will NEVER be my voice. It never has and never will.


For a truly liberated society,
Noche

As a Chicano born in East L.A. and raised in the San Gabriel Valley, I can
honestly say that La Voz de Aztlan does not reflect the Chicano community,
but merely the skewed views of a group of confused, middle-class,
Christian fundamentalist, homophobic, jew-on-the-brain mo-mo's (morons
two times) from Whitey-er, excuse me, Whittier, California (yes, former home
of Richard Nixon and a former bastion of white Republicans gone brow).
La Voz's editor, Hector Carreon, is a former Brown Beret who, unlike the
rest of the organization which continues its activism in the barrio, lost
his scruples at some point in late 70s and turned from hardcore Marxism to
Christianity (???). He also lost a prominent civil service job once, and then claimed
it was a "jew's fault" and hence, even since the man has had jew on the brain.
This mo mo doesn't know where he stands, since he bashed jews on the one
hand, and then chastises Chicanos who criticize Christianity on the other. This
man claims to be down with indigenism, but then perpetuates the
legacy of Christianity's oppression of indigenous people by putting his religion
before la raza. Then he and he equally misguided wife attempt to use Mexican
scholarship to back up their ignorant views on homosexuality, politics, and Chicano
studies in general, giving La Raza a bad name in front of everybody
Its sad that two privileged, middle-class Hispanics with access to the internet
have nothing better to say other than spread ignorance.
Latinos and Chicanos need to start more news and politics-related websites
to challenge the oppressive ignorance of La Boca de Miedra.

Si Se Puede

"typical chicano activist"... yeah, right. don't take what the grandstanders say at face value. there's a range of opinions out there, and your generalization that they are anti-white is not fair or accurate.

you're just like all the whites who like their blacks and browns to be angry. it justifies your own animosity.