"Ahoy! Butt Naked!"

We are all in the car taking a "leisurely" drive through city traffic when the silence is broken by Braedon's loud yelling of "AHOY! BUTT NAKED!!!" We look in the direction he is pointing and sure enough, we see WAY too many wrinkled brown bottoms spinning and stomping to the sounds of drums. Not just men but women too. We find out this is the Movimiento de los 400 Pueblos who are protesting the seizure of their land (more to follow on this at the end). We are stuck in traffic right in front of them. Thank goodness our windows are blackened out otherwise I would have been mortified that Weston and Braedon had their faces pressed to the glass. As a mother I am caught in a bind...how do I explain this one? So I do what comes naturally and say "Crap! Do I have my camera?" as Weston and Braedon start chanting "Wugga Wugga Toot Toot" to the beat of the drums.

I figure the best way to handle it is downplay the whole thing, keep the lines of communication open and ask "So boys, what do you think about that?" Kris and I both seized the opportunity for a mini lesson on modesty and this ended up being a great ice breaker because it lead into Weston asking why people take pictures of naked people in magazines (unfortunately porn mags are there in the open for sale at every street corner...and we are told that the USA has morality issues!) We had a discussion on their level about pornography, what to do if someone tries to get them to look at it and while it may make them curious to see it, they have to be strong and avoid it. They can always come to us to ask questions if they aren't sure.



As for me taking pictures, I told the kids I had to blog about it of course and I was only taking pictures of the more modest ones (who covered their bits and pieces with pictures of Dante Delgado) and censored the women who thought it was a good idea to elevate themselves in all their National Geographic glory for all to see. So I'm probably now guilty of damaging my reader's sensibilities.



Kris and I decided early on that if any of the kids ever came to us with a question where our first impulse was to say "shhhh! That's bad! We don't talk about such topics!" instead we make sure the kids are coming to us with that stuff and that they feel comfortable doing so. We make sure they know that they can talk about those subjects with Kris or I but once we've discussed it, it stays within the family. They can ask about it all they want but it's important to let other parents explain things to their own kids and certain subjects are not ok to joke about or talk about unless it's to Kris or I. We have made it through just about all of the swear words when one of them has come and asked the meaning of a word they heard at school. We've also touched on several of the so called taboo subjects your usual 6 and 8 year old has questions about (we keep it all at their speed).

So, thanks to these protesters one more layer of innocence has been stripped away from my children. Democracy is alive and well in Mexico. Protesters can get away with just about anything. I have debated about whether to post about the nude protesters and really had to decide whether it was post worthy. I first have to mention that the first time I ever saw a naked guy was in Brazil when this nude guy would just randomly walk up and down the road. We would pass him while driving by. This experience didn't scar me for life or anything. I remember thinking nothing of him except to let out a few required giggles with my sisters while sitting in the back seat. It was more National Geographic than anything. One of those things that comes with living in a third world country (although we did have to have a basic porn discussion with the kids when we stayed overnight in Las Vegas on our way to St. George so the US is far from innocent as well).

So why are they in the nude?
These farmers have been protesting in the nude every day since 2002 in order to get the attention they needed for their cause. In 1992, Veracruz Mexico, farmers were pushed off land they believed to be theirs. It is a complex issue depending on your definition of what it means to be a squatter as it pertains to the theories of democratic communism practice of "ejido" land (land is for the use of the community as a whole). Land ownership in Mexico is different from how we know it in the US where land ownership is based on a democratic capitalist system (you have the deed, you own it). From what I understand, Dante Delgado, the interim governor of Veracruz in 1992, forced these farmers off the "ejido" land because they weren't using it in a way that benefited the community as a whole (in his view). I have no doubt there was quite a bit of corruption involved as he pushed them off the land in order to develop it the way he believed it should be for public use. Point is, these farmers never owned it, they were given the opportunity to use it but never held rights to it under the practice of 'ejido' land. In my view, both sides are in the wrong and it could have been handled better. So the farmers tried having their cause heard through normal channels but they were ignored. So to get more attention for their cause they do this. And they continue to be ignored. The only backer they really have right now is Obregon who lost this past election...he's a supporter of socialist ideals and of course trying hard to tarnish the current government. Following Mexican politics makes me so grateful that our political system is so much more civil and fair....seriously.