Speaking out and standing up for what we believe...

Do you express or repress? Do you keep it or let it out? Do you communicate or shutdown? Do you get mad, angry, frustrated? Do you disagree? Do you follow others when in reality you want to be a leader? 

Are you very human? I am.

The same way I can laugh very loud, I have inherited the “Mad as a hatter” from my family and perhaps from my culture as Latina.  When I was growing up, there was always this speaking very loud or yelling not only at home but also everywhere I went.

As a mom, I have seen this use our voice as the universal rule of parenting. The arguing with our kids, the negotiating, and the ultimatum of it is enough. I have been there explaining to my son and loosing my temper when he insisted in not understanding. 

I guess the difference between my Latino roots and the Caucasian-culture is that we latinos speak louder and we don’t save the words for later. At least I don't. I rather talk now than saving it for later.

Although  it seems that women culturally and globally have been represed in many ways, I have been always willing to express if I see injustice. On this journey as a communicator, I have noticed that a women opinion is not embraced or welcomed as easily as men opinions. People assume that we don't have experience in the matter, period.

Even my husband reminds me that “Karla, you are being too loud” when I get excited about a topic or if I am just being me. If I defend my point of view against people who underestimate my opinion, he will try to change the topic. Such an odd situation not to let someone be.

 I think telling an activist for social change to do nothing, Is like telling the river that needs to stop his powerful flow. Is like telling the ocean to stop being vast, calm and ferocious at the same time. 

We should try listeningwhat others have to say as well as try to accept others points of views. Sometimes I feel that there is this message that if you are not doing what others tell you to do you are not being polite or productive. We the activists are being rude for challenging the status quo. But it has nothing to do with being polite or not. It is mostly that others want us to be quiet in order to please those who want to be in control of us, humans.

In my family, with friends and strangers alike, I have experienced that if I disagree, I am wrong just like that. There is no considering my reasons, nothing. I am wrong and they are right. Is this righteousness what takes many to not consider others.

Why don’t I think exactly like them? Why do I always have to go against the current or argue. Well,  why do I always have to defend my position, why do I always have to explain myself? I should be me and they should be them, don’t you agree?

Instead of being accepted for who I am, I have to be what others want me to be so they can be happy even if I am not. Well it does not make sense. 

Over and over I have felt tangled in this constant battle of having to defend myself. Perhaps you will suggest  "just don’t pay attention", which is very hard to do when people are on your face constantly with their opinions about your life.

As a Home-educating mom, I have always encounter people questioning our decision. It is not a matter of people needing to agree or disagree. It is a personal decision as it was yours of sending your kids to a classroom. As it was yours to vote or not, participate or not, speak out or not. We all make decisions in life and do not like others telling us how to do it. Why not to accept that as the universal way. I have never understood why people get so upset about my life. Is not like they are sponsoring my way of living. Interesting enough my choice gets questioned in the daily basis by not only relatives and friends but by strangers.

I have to give lectures about the importance of raising our children. I have to pull out my  educational credentials and degrees when others pull theirs and it has been a constant harrasment over our life decisions. 

Awhile ago, I spend ½ an hour answering questions to a teacher that made sure to tell me that she had 30 years of teaching experience plus 3 masters degrees. I listened when she told me that mothers many times are not qualified to teach!!!. On and on she went criticizing home-educators and finally I had enough.

 The worst part always comes when this educators and strangers ask “What about socialization”? What about it? Have they been very social, kind, polite, respectful? towards me, NO.

Many people refuse to see the severe and various issues affecting our kids in school including the bullying, shooting, lacking of individualized education, and so many acts violence happening in daily basis in schools portrayed in documentaries and books. Educators around the globe including Holt, Gatto, Grey, Ilich have been calling for deschooling society. Why not to learn about it, rather than just giving a blind opinion?.

If I don’t know about a subject; I research, compare, contrast, study it and talk about it but I don’t go talking nonsense just because I have a teaching credential or a degree. Is a teaching credential enough of a license to undermine others decisions? People are judgamental without knowing, without researching, studying. 

Many of us learned to debate in school, for what purpose?? Just to take it? 

I believe that we need to have our own point of views. We can share with others but the common way is not the only way and being righteous all the time does not make our choices the only ones.

People talk about you are wrong I am right all the time and I just want to be me, with my ideas and believes like anyone else wants. We talk about respecting others but as soon as some one shares they are not catholic or Muslim or this or that we get mad. Deep inside many want us to be or do like them but we cannot because we are only like us.

I cannot think like anyone else because I think like Karla but God forbid Karla disagrees with others. What is wrong with her? She went crazy, like so many other women in history. All of this not letting a person be, takes me to the medieval times and women being constantly repressed or condemned if they thought for themselves. I think of the Suffragettes, and all the women  who have been oppressed because perhaps much of what they said, was truth. 

I am just so excited about the different movements that have been giving women the power to say what they need to say #metoo, #thewomenmarchto Washington, #Resist, #bringbackourgirls, gather the womansavetheworld, #blacklivesmatter,  and many others  that will be remember through history.

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