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| MAIN | HISTORY |
NEWS | VIEWPOINTS |
COMMUNITY | NARRATIVES |
ART/CULTURE | |
Wes Senzaki
from East Wind Magazine Vol. 1 No. 1 (1982)
Subheadings were added to the original publication to make this more readable on the web.
After high school, I went into college and studied biochemistry. I was into a hippie stage . . . I was an idealist; you know, "peace, everyone should love one another and everything'll be alright." I went to U.C. Santa Barbara in 1968 when the first Third World strikes started happening. We were demanding our rights to an equal education, one that dealt with our people's histories rather than just falsified European male history. That was the crystallizing thing for me. I took part in anti-war and anti-draft marches. I had watched the Civil Rights Movement and ghetto riots while growing up. It brought changes on and that's when I decided to drop out of biochemistry to re-think my direction in life.
How It Happens
I got a job in a factory and got involved in my first unionizing effort. Later on, and it took a while, I realized that peace and justice don't happen by just waving the peace sign, smoking dope, kicking back and being good to your friends. Being good to people is basic but the only way to stop oppression and exploitation is by fighting actively against it in whatever way you can. Seeing people not only in the U.S. but around the world struggling and dying fighting for liberation made me realize that the oppressors will never stop exploiting people because you ask "Please stop ... gimme a break." It ain't gonna happen. I know we have to actively struggle to make progressive changes, and I feel that everyone hasaskill ortalenttogivetomaking positive change. For myself, I've enjoyed art since I was a child, so I felt that's something that I should pursue.
