Remembering John Ross (1938-2011), Self-Proclaimed "Investigative Poet"
I will never forget Ross’ gap-toothed guise delivering the line: “Sin Maíz no hay País!” (There is no country without corn) whenever global food politics and México are discussed. Ross was the first American journalist to share the story of the Zapatista Rebellion with the rest of North America and later became a fervent activist against GE corn. His sardonic humor and politics are seen in his last book ¡Zapatistas! Making Another World Possible: Chronicles of Resistance,
Remembering John Ross (1938-2011), Self-Proclaimed "Investigative Poet"
Infoshop News
January 19, 2011
He squinted at his notes with a monocle, and delivered his speech with a sense of poetic passion obtained through a lifetime dedicated to social justice. Abstaining from the use of microphone, John preferred to he spoke with us rather than “speaking at us”.
I will never forget Ross’ gap-toothed guise delivering the line: “Sin Maíz no hay País!” (There is no country without corn) whenever global food politics and México are discussed. Ross was the first American journalist to share the story of the Zapatista Rebellion with the rest of North America and later became a fervent activist against GE corn. His sardonic humor and politics are seen in his last book ¡Zapatistas! Making Another World Possible: Chronicles of Resistance,
“So this story ends where it began, in the milpa, as it always must and always will if the Terminator seed doesn’t get us first. The Zapatistas are Mayans and the Mayans are People of Maize in this resilient season of rain and growth and greenness , despite all the pain that those the color of money inflict upon this land, the people of the color of the earth, renew themselves, are reborn and flourish” (2006: 378)
A very brief explanation: On New Year’s Day in January 1994, an indigenous group in the Lacandón jungle under the name EZLN (Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional ), rose up against land grabs of the Mexican government , while simultaneously creating a new autonomous vision of democracy, liberty and justice. On the other front, NAFTA brought a flood of subsidized US corn, washing out income for Mexican farmers, and forcing many to work in maquiladora sweatshops.
Over the years, John Ross shared sweat, blood and more than a few bowls of pipe tobacco with the EZLN. In 1995, Ross’ book Rebellion from the Roots: Indian Uprising in Chiapas was the recipient of the American book award. John Ross’ work for peace and justice extended far beyond the borders North America. During the year of the “Shock and Awe Campaign”, he protested the Iraq War by serving as human shield in Baghdad. He picked olives in Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement. Ross’s commitment to peace came with its battle scars: attacks by Israeli settlers ruined his back, San Francisco police bludgeoned his head permanently damaging Ross’ eyesight.
In 2006, Ross had an active role in EZLN’s “Other Campaign” in which Subcomandante Marcos, “Delegate Zero” denounced both parties of the Mexican government and promoted new ideas of participatory democracy.
When I met John Ross in 2007, he personalized a piece of his writing with the words, “ One Heart One Fist ¡Resistir! Ross was renowned as the longest living member of the Beatnik generation; no eulogy would be complete without a poem:
We are wind, Us,
not the breath which blows on us.
We are word, Us,
Not the lips which speak to us,
We are step, Us,
Not the foot upon which we walk,
We are heartbeat, Us,
not the heart that pulses,
We are bridge, Us,
Not the soils which the bridge joins,
We are roads, Us,
not the point of leaving or arriving,
We are place, Us
not who occupies that place,
We do not exist, Us
We just are,
Seven times we are,
Us, seven times,
Us, the repeating mirror
The reflection, Us
The hand which just opened the window,
Us, the world calling out
to the door of Tomorrow.
-By Comandante David and Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos. Read at Ovenik, Chiapas on the 7th anniversary of the Zapatista Rebellion, January 1, 2001
Rest in Peace John Ross.
Originally posted @ http://www.iseastars.org
