Size of L.A. March Surprises Authorities
Police said more than 500,000 people marched Saturday to protest a proposed federal crackdown on illegal immigration. Wearing white as a sign of peace, and waving flags from the U.S., Mexico, Guatemala and other countries, they came to show that illegal immigrants already are part of the American fabric, and want the chance to be legal, law-abiding citizens.
It must have been the stuff the keeps Minutemen up at night: 500,000 Mexicans and assorted other brown people parading through downtown Los Angeles. Instead of merely accepting the place in the “natural” order of things, brown folks from all over southern California (of undetermined immigration status) decided that the time had come to speak out. That they did so peacefully and forcefully is certainly to their credit, and we should all be applauding these folks for exercising that most basic and essential of American rights- the right to free speech and assembly.
Given that many Hispanics tend to be of indeterminate immigration status and/or lower socioeconomic status, it is all too easy for politicians and bigots to demonize brown people. When you get right down to it, they are guilty of only two things- they look different and they want a better life for themselves and their families. What, really, is so bad about that?
Here in southeast Texas, I see Hispanics everywhere. Not only do I interact with them on a daily basis (as do most Texans), but they mow our lawns, pick up our garbage, pave our roads, and just generally do the jobs that most good, God-fearing White folks wouldn’t touch if they were the last jobs on Earth. Without these hard-working brown people, Suburbia would be a mess. These people work hard in this brutal climate to make our lives easier and our homes prettier, and they generally don’t make much money for their trouble. Kinda sounds like the textbook definition of “exploitation”, doesn’t it?
The general attitude when it comes to these folks is that we want them to do our dirty work and then disappear. We don’t want to see them until it’s time to pick up our garbage or mow our lawn. We won’t come out and actually say that we want them to live in the shadows, but few of us would be upset if that were actually to be the case.
The demonstrators oppose legislation passed by the U.S. House that would make it a felony to be in the U.S. illegally. It also would impose new penalties on employers who hire illegal immigrants, require churches to check the legal status of parishioners before helping them and erect fences along one-third of the U.S.-Mexican border.
It’s patently absurd to even be considering walling off the US-Mexico border when the US-Canada border is the longest undefended border in the world. Can we just admit that this is really all about keeping out brown people? Honestly, what sort of threat do these people pose to us?
Many demonstrators said they had immigrant relatives or had crossed the border themselves.
“My mom came from Mexico. She had to cross the river, and thank God she did,” said David Gonzalez, 22, who held a sign saying, “I’m in my homeland.”’
Gonzalez rejected claims by advocates of the legislation that it would help protect the nation from terrorism, noting that it would hurt Hispanics the most.
“When did you ever see a Mexican blow up the World Trade Center?” he said. “Who do you think built the World Trade Center?”
Indeed, we hate and despise brown people, and yet without them our country would look much different. We can’t seem to live with them, and yet we certainly cannot live without them. Since most of them are either apolitical or vote Democratic, they’re even easier to for the well-fed White men who run Congress to demonize.
Just so no one faints from shock, I’m about to actually agree with something Our Glorious Leader said:
President Bush is pushing for a guest worker program that could provide temporary legal status for some of the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, but many of his fellow Republicans are taking a more restrictive stance.
“As we debate the immigration issue, we must remember there are hardworking individuals, doing jobs that Americans will not do, who are contributing to the economic vitality of our country,” Bush said Saturday in his weekly radio address.
Indeed. As a former Governor of Texas (before his politics and sense of common decency were hijacked by the Religious Right), he’s well aware of the vital economic role performed by Hispanic immigrants (legal and otherwise) in many border states. Common decency and a sense of humanity demands that we find a way to welcome Hispanics and integrate them into American society. Instead of demonizing them even as we exploit them, shouldn’t we be figuring out how to make them full partners in the American dream?
Real security and safety from terrorism has nothing to do with building more and taller walls so that we may keep out brown people. It has nothing to do with keeping out those who simply seek a better life. Perhaps we should be remembering that this is a country whose greatness was created by immigrants. Ultimately, we’re all from somewhere else; isn’t it about time we recognized that?
I sure don't want illegal aliens to live "in the shadows". I want them to live in whatever country it is legal for them to live in. Lots of people come into this country and take the trouble to do it legally. It is done every day.
There is no excuse for those who can't be bothered with doing it legally. And I don't count the excuse that builders and other employers want to profit from lower wages and therefore we should look the other way.
So, the post to the contrary: I for one don't want illegal aliens to "do my work and then go away". I just want them to go away. They are criminals.
And I donÔøΩt count the excuse that builders and other employers want to profit from lower wages and therefore we should look the other way.
Uh...how about the fact the we also benefit from lower wages in the form of lower prices? Are you really prepared to pay the actual cost of something when labor costs increase? I'm not advocating or condoning illegal immigration, but it is, sadly, an economic reality. Branding people as "criminals" will not change that reality.
I'm 100% in favor of U.S. consumers and employers paying fair wages to people who undertake grave risks for the reward of working hard and making a better life for themselves and their families. I'm also 100% in favor of these workers paying income and Social Security taxes, abiding by the same laws imposed on all other citizens, and becoming a permanent part of our melting pot society.
I recall an event a few years ago where the INS actually enforced current immigration law, and as a result, several Luby's restaurants were forced to close until a critical mass of replacement workers managed to cross the border (again...)
There are two root causes that are responsible for this terrible situation: It's too easy to get here illegally, and it's too hard to get or stay here legally.
The duality of the problem suggests a simultaneous solution, but IMHO, there are too many politicians (and others) making too much money from the status quo to actually do anything that might produce meaningful results.
I generally try to avoid pessimism, but in this case (as with the infamous "WAR" on drugs) the outlook is not good and I must succumb to reality. As long as crooks and elected officials continue to benefit from the mass suffering of a "lower class" the same crooks and politicians will work to perpetuate the situation that feeds their greed.
When push comes to shove they will offer lip service to the vocal extremes, but ultimately the situation will persist until a vast majority of the people make it clear that the status quo is not acceptable.
Please pardon my pessimism, but I just don't see that happening.
Oh dear, something is terribly wrong. I agree with each and every single word in Bob's post. I can't decide whether I should laugh or cry. Nice post, Bob.
Some Guy:
You say there is "no excuse" for those who "can't be bothered to" enter the country legally. I don't think you have the slightest idea how hard it is to enter our country legally, espcially if you are coming from a "historically poor" country like Honduras or Mexico.
As for your assertion that "they are criminals," I think that's borderline hyperbole. They are criminals by virtue of which side of an imaginary line they were born on. Should all criminals go away? Should we send you to Estonia because you were caught speeding?
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, in a fairly important bit of prose, that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." Is it your place to decide which people get to live this life and which are denied it?
I don't understand how some people can be so blatantly callous toward the suffering of other people. Have you ever been to Mexico or central Asia? Do you have any idea the suffering that goes on there? Could you look a five year-old child in the eye and tell him that he must leave school and go back to playing the flute in the street for the spare change of passers by, simply because his parents wanted a better life?
Thanks Adam. Maybe our rare agreement was somehow related to the recent solar eclipse.
You tricked me into going to foxnews.com!
:)
It was almost unintentional!! I did a news google on "solar eclipse" to find a link... If foxnews.com had not appeared in the top 5, I probably wouldn't have thought of using it. Really!