FAQ's
The following stems from an online interview with Madison Gwizdalski:

1.      What are some of the more recent activities that the Brown Berets have organized?
It’s a little hard to say everything that we do but I will name a few. There has been such a slurry of Brown
Beret activity in the recent months. We have tried to be present at many events but it is almost
impossible, especially in light of all the uprising in activism that is going on. We attend pro-immigrant
rallies, marches and protests against police abuse, etc. It has been a very busy time for our
organization, especially more so while handling our own internal affairs such as the increased
recruitment and nationwide growth. As far as what we have organized, we always have our hands in
many different activities in many different states
Frequently Asked Questions
2.      What do you think is the most prominent issue in the Chicano movement today?
We have not really changed in our mission of addressing the immigration, economic, and educational, and social issues that our
communities face. The Chicano movement is a vast movement incorporating many groups that fight for one thing or another, but
yet are tied together in the solidarity of our common heritage. There are many “sub-issues” that can be singled out, such as Women’
s rights, gay rights, cultural enlightenment, etc. but when it comes down to it our common thread is our “Chicanismo” if we allowed it
those “sub-issues” could divide us and destroy the movement.

3.      What do you feel is the Brown Beret’s greatest accomplishment in the Chicano movement?
There are some accounts of a few things the Brown Berets have done, like opening a free clinic, a coffee shop, etc., but there are
many things that have never been written down, and you find those in the stories of Brown Beret veterans at whose feet I sat learning
from their wisdom. They share stories of victories of court battles they fought, open engagement on the streets against abusive
police and racist people, of lives that were saved because the Brown Berets stepped in to protect them. I have had people of many
different races come up to me to shake my hand and thank me for being part of an organization that has affected their lives in one
way or another. I would have to say, while we never built monuments or buildings that have carried on our legacy what we did do is
instilled a very real hope in a community that did not believe they had the power to stand up and fight. Maybe our tactics were not
the most lauded, sometimes people didn’t understand us but when the going got tough and everybody ran the Brown Berets stood
their ground. Furthermore, during our peak and after our “fall” it was our members that created the majority of the Chicano
organizations that still stand today. In almost every Chicano organization you will find a current or former member of our
organization.

4.      Do you feel as if the movement has increased or decreased in popularity in recent years?
In recent years it has increased mostly as a result of the Minutemen and the Republican Party’s attack on our community. They are
in a way increasing awareness in the Chicano community by their constant attacks. Honestly the Chicano community can grow
pretty apathetic when nothing is “going on”, but as the vitriol is spewed out of these groups’ mouths so continues to grow the
movement. A big upsurge started with Pete Wilson in his proposition 187, it died down a little but George Bush, Jim Gilchrist, Lou
Dobbs and their crony’s showed us the hatred that they really had simmering inside.

5.      How are women involved in the organization?
Women take a full and active part in the Brown Berets. Though the organization has mostly been male dominated because an
organization like this is attractive to males yet we would be nowhere without women. We value and honor women for their wisdom and
passion they bring to our organization. While men are beating their chests (metaphorically), it is the women that give us that voice of
reason. We have many women leaders and all respect is given to them. We also have strict policies against sexual harassment and
abuse towards women.

6.      How does having a military structure affect how others respond to your organization? What does being a military
structure mean to the Organization?
We consider ourselves as having a military structure because we use a chain of command, have uniforms, and do drills, combat
training, and self-defense. We don’t consider ourselves paramilitary because the definition of that is, “a group of civilians organized
in a military fashion (especially to operate in place of or to assist regular army troops)”. We do not assist the U.S. military in any way
and we never will. We look at ourselves as being the army and protectors of Aztlan. We defend our people and we will NEVER be the
aggressors to attack anyone as the U.S. army has. How they respond, well sometimes it can be intimidating to those who have never
heard of us. At first they think we are boy scouts or security guards but once they realize what we do and why we are there they shake
our hands and ask how they can join. Once I walked into a high school class to give a presentation on the Brown Berets to students
that never heard of us. There were
30 students present, I walked out with 25 new recruits.

7.      What are some things that the younger generation can do to propel the Chicano movement?
The younger generation needs to read and study and stay off the Idiot Box (tv). I joined at the age of 14 because someone took the
time to teach me a little bit about the Chicano struggle and I was hooked. It changed my life and now I dedicate my life to helping
others in many ways.

8.      Do you work with other racial, gender, and ethnic organizations?
Yes we do. We have ties with hundreds of organizations that spread across a broad spectrum. We are Chicano Nationalists which
means we seek the betterment of our communities first and foremost but that doesn’t mean we are isolationist. We can only achieve
empowerment through unity and solidarity with all oppressed peoples everywhere.

9.      What are the goals for Chicano empowerment in the future?
The future seems so far away. There are many things we would like in the future: freedom from the bondage of capitalism, having
our own nation… but that will never be until we get practical here and now. We need our people educated, we need political
empowerment, social reform, and economic stability. All this leads to self determination and without it we go nowhere and only sink
deeper into uncertainty and despair.

10.     Have you seen a change in attitude towards Chicanos since the movement started?
We are accepted more now, hell, dogs at one time got better treatment than us. Some of us have better jobs and more opportunities
but with that comes resentment from Whites who feel we are leeches. Like I said above, that hatred was festering for a long time
inside of Whites and now they feel emboldened to speak it. I’m not sure where it will all lead to. I fear that my community will be
scape-goated and the physical attacks will rise. As I see it the future looks dim and a little scary, we don’t want any more of our
people killed by American patriots who feel it is their sacred duty to kill us off. Name calling is one thing but to spill innocent blood is
sinful and only leads to more violence.. America is on a real slippery slope that only leads to its own destruction and I pray to God
Almighty that something be done to stop the stupidity.





HERE ARE SOME MORE QUESTIONS FROM OUR READERS

From: Chuco

When its speaks about the Spiritual Battlefront does it to a particular God or does it embark all the gods of the people
whom choose to fight for La Causa?

RESPONSE
It's more in reference of our concept of God as we understand it. Its not an endorsement of a particular religion or an attack against
any religion. What we are trying to get across is how our gente have been manipulated and attacked by religious institutions and
religious leaders and we can no longer allow that to happen. We need freedom in all aspects including spiritual. We cannot condone
the perversion of our values and beliefs because a particular religious system does not agree with it. What we are saying is that our
values, our culture, and our beliefs supersede any religious misconceptions and prejudices. Our culture was destroyed and our
people murdered by the millions because of religious institutions that insisted that everything about us was an affront to God. They
are not God that they should pass such judgment on us. God made us what we are and we are beautiful in His eyes, why hate what
we are? It was racism that inspired those religious leaders to do what they did, not God. We don't blame God for their actions, we
blame corrupt religious institutions led by fallible men who don't know God, because if they knew him, they would never have done
the things they did.



From: chairman_michael

What is the group's political ideology?

RESPONSE

We are Chicano Nationalists. Basically we do not consider ourselves Democrat, Republican, Capitalist, Socialist, Marxist or any
other established political ideology. As Chicano Nationalist we believe in bettering our gente, in securing prosperity, a good
education, social reform that is family and community focused, and ultimately self-determination as a people whose time has come
to secure our future. We do not believe that this government seeks our best interests as Chicanos. In this country they have
criminalized everything that we say and do, we are no longer free men and women, we are criminals. We do not think that working
within the system will accomplish anything good, it will only corrupt our values and we will lose ourselves as cogs in a vast machine
that destroys everything in its path. Being practical and reasonable, we live in this country and have citizenship here so we use the
system; but though we use the system to accomplish our goals we eschew being influenced by it. Under the headings "Political
Stance" and "El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan" you will find a good explanation of our beliefs on this matter.


ADDED THOUGHTS

From time to time I get emails and messages from dumb ass people trying to put the Brown Berets down, saying we are
communist, violent, rabble rousers, miscreants, agitators, terrorist, left wing nuts, racists, yada yada. Most of the time I
brush it off as ignorant ramblings of people that don’t know shit, but I want to take some time to clear things up for those
ignorant fools, for confused fools, and for those who have never heard of us. I’ll dissect it in sections so to make it easier
for my readers.


COMMUNIST, SOCIALIST, MARXIST

Some silly people call us one or another, the real stupid one’s call us all three. It comes to show how uneducated Americans are
about them. Communist, Socialist, and Marxist are three different things. I’m not an expert so I won’t comment much about them and
the reason why I’m not an expert is because I am neither one. Though we know about those ideologies we do NOT, nor have ever
adhered to them. We are Chicano Nationalist. That means that our political ideology is centered on what we feel is best for our
gente. Americans have a really bad habit of “demonizing” anybody who doesn’t agree with them or has a better way of doing things
by calling them Socialists, as if socialist thought is a bad thing. Many political scholars would even tell you that the tenants of
socialism are inherently good and are based on the book of Acts in the Bible. Damn that must ruffle the feathers of those neo-
evangelical Christians!


RACIST

Let’s set a couple of things straight here, first off whites have historically been the most racist dominating group in the world. They
have caused countless wars that have taken the lives of hundreds of millions of people. They enslave whole populations, even
themselves (..Ireland.., ....Scotland.... indentured servitude) they conquer other nations and take over their lands and make the
natives serve them if not totally annihilate them. These are facts of history and cannot be denied. Now those racists have formed
groups and call themselves minutemen and Republicans amongst many others. They go around and label as racists any body who
dares point out history because how dare anybody question the White race?!?  How dare anybody try to rise up and do something
good for themselves and exclude all those poor suffering middle and upper class White people?!? I’m not sorry to say this. The truth
is the truth whether you like it or not and we will continue speaking the truth because if we don’t we die.


FINANCIALLY SUPPORTED BY CORPORATIONS

Ha, that is a joke! Brown Berets are not financially supported by anybody. In 18 years of service I have not once received a penny,
neither have I seen the Brown Berets get a donation from someone outside the organization. Not even Chicano organizations
financially support us. Everything that we have is because our members have jobs and they buy their own equipment and supplies.
Nobody can ever find a cash trail that links anywhere to us because we have no cash whatsoever. If we need any money we raise it
amongst ourselves at the moment and it ends there. If at one time 40 or so years back the Brown Berets got a donation from
anybody that was way before my time and I’m sure the money was used for a demonstration and it ended there. The reason why we
do not accept money from anybody is because we refuse to be controlled or censored by anybody and money has a funny way of
controlling people.


LEFTWING RADICALS

Its dumb to use political labels against a group when that group does not partake in your politics. We are not democrat, republican,
or moderates. We have no left wing agenda. We don’t even believe in Capitalism. Like I said before, the Brown Berets are Chicano
Nationalist. We define what believe for ourselves, no one can do it for us and it does not fit in any American made mold. It is far
beyond the understanding of anything that Americans can think because it is based on truth, dignity, justice, freedom, equality, and
peace. These are concepts foreign to ..America.., though they have the appearance of some form of it, they have never practiced it
and the way things are going in America, they never will.


VIOLENT, AGITATORS, TERRORIST

If a woman was being beaten by her husband, sometimes to the point of death and she rises up and beats him up one day or stabs
him would she considered a criminal or someone who acted in self-defense? Our accusers are the sort who believe that a woman
and all minorities should be subservient and take the abuse. As Brown Berets we have NO guidelines that tell us to be violent or
agitate anything. Everything written is that Brown Berets should conduct themselves with respect and honor. We stand to PROTECT
our people not to instigate violence on anybody. When provoked we maintain our discipline, when attacked we defend ourselves.
We are not like our accusers who shoot Mexicans at the border or murder woman and children like they did with Annette Garcia or
Brisenia Flores. To be a Revolutionary is different than being a terrorist. Revolutionaries try to bring social change by any means,
many times peaceful, because they love their people and their cause. Terrorists want to bring fear to the masses by destroying,
waging war, and murdering people. That is what the u.s. government, police, migra, and the minutemen do.



ISSUES WE ADDRESS

Here is a little list of some of the things we fight for

HEALTHCARE:
We believe healthcare should be universal and free to all regardless of class, income, or residential status. We
believe their must be an end to all health insurance companies that have caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people,
have stolen billions of dollars from the population, and has corrupted the healthcare system. Along with that we believe the
pharmaceutical companies must be regulated and stop charging ridiculous prices for medicine that only costs pennies to make. All
pharmaceutical companies and hospitals should be non-profit in nature and only exist to serve the needs of the people not for
profitable gains.

HOUSING: We believe that housing has taken a ridiculous turn. Banks and large corporations have taken control of over 95 % of all
real estate. Almost everybody in this country are now indentured servants to the rich class. We believe housing is a fundamental
human right, and should be either very affordable or free that even those working a minimum wage job can afford with 1/4 of their
income to pay for their mortgage. If the person with a valid reason cannot find a job, or is disabled, or a senior citizen housing should
be free. Banks and businesses should NEVER under any circumstance own housing real estate.

Economy: This economy is fucked up beyond repair. The reason why is because the world elite are trying to bring about the ..New
World.. order where they control all the resources, all the money, and all the real estate. The only way to bring about an economic
revolution is to freeze all their assets, put the elite in jail, and do to them what the French did to Marie Antoinette. People don’t need
handouts, they need to be working. We don’t need larger corporations, we need millions of small business. We don’t need higher
taxes, we need an end to political waste spending, end the war in Iraq, downsize the military, fire politicians who ain’t doing shit and
are bought by lobbyist, incarcerate all lobbyist, shut down the federal reserve, shut down the IRS, dismantle all large corporations
and stop giving trillions of dollars away to other countries. That is the only way to revive this economy.

Immigration: There are no “aliens” here. Mexicans are not immigrants, this is our land and we have a God-given right to be here! If
you want to get rid of all immigrants then start by sending all Whites back to Europe, Blacks back to Africa, Asians and Middle-
eastern people back to their countries, etc. If you are not willing to do that then shut the fuck up and leave us the fuck alone! Yes we
do believe in Amnesty for Mexicans in this country. Though it is fucked up that we need Amnesty on our own land but practically
speaking we’ll take whatever we can get until we can achieve our goal of having Aztlan returned to us.

Education: Everyone deserves to have a good education and have the chance to succeed. If a person chooses not to succeed it's
that person’s fault but he/she must never be pushed out or railroaded into a bad education or vocation because of the color of their
skin or financial, residential, and social status. A stellar education must be provided to all who are willing to learn and funding should
be equally distributed to all schools regardless if they are in a rich white neighborhood or a downtrodden barrio. We can only
achieve social strengthening, economic prosperity, and political enlightenment if we are educated. Uneducated people are victims
of their own ignorance and are preyed upon by large corporations to be their slaves. They are easily beguiled by politicians who win
office by lying to the ignorant (George Bush and Republicans).
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall
find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you."
    
This site created and maintained by Chimalli Cuetlachtli.   © National Brown Berets, 2007     C/S (CON SAFOS)
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