Another Day, Another Rally

This was a highly anticipated demonstration organized by ANSWER, hoping to “end the war”, “bring the troops home”, along with other catchy slogans. It was reported that more than 100,000 people attended but what was interesting in this particular demonstration was the small gathering of protesters in a counter demonstration. So there they were the anti-war facing off with the pro-war, nothing constructive of course, just shouting matches and lots of fuck you. However, I must say, that the anti-war group was much more civil and most of those who were passing by the counter demonstration just flashed the peace sign and kept walking.

The highlight (at least for me) of the demonstration was the arrest of a guy in an orange jumpsuit, it was just ironic.

Other highlights:
Pro-War Camp:
- Older man waving his flag and shouting at a woman telling her that he hopes they kill them all (by them he means the Iraqis, the Arabs, the terrorists… whoever and whatever people he feels should be killed so that he feels safe)
- Young woman holding a sign that says ” Make love AFTER the war” ( I guess corpses making love is what she has in mind)

Anti-War Camp:
- A 50 year old woman yelling at a guy wearing a Bush mask: “you murderer, you killer, ….etc. It went on for a while until someone had to point out to her that this wasn’t really Bush.

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HR4437

Half a million people (1 million according to ANSWER) went out to the streets on Saturday in Los Angeles to protest a proposed bill that, among other things, would make it a felony to be an illegal immigrant.
The United States being the land of immigrants, I find the law a bit problematic … no one except for native Americans can actually claim to be a “native” of this place. Mexican and South American immigrants build American houses, clean them, do their gardening, cook their meals….etc

What do these people get in return? Meager wages and a bunch of angry white men (Minutemen) sitting at the border ready to attack them.

This is a petition that ANSWER has on their site:

“I demand full rights and equality for all immigrants living in the United States. Neoliberal economic policies targeting Latin America, like NAFTA and CAFTA, have pushed millions of people into abject poverty. Immigrants are forced to come to the U.S. to look for work. Nobody should be criminalized for attempting to survive. No human being is illegal. Racism against immigrants emanates from the same forces behind the U.S. war to conquer and control the wealth of Iraq.”

There is no doubt that there is a need for the labor that the immigrants provide, “A Day without a Mexican” takes a jab at this and shows how California would (not) function without the Mexican immigrants.
Therefore, it is only normal that in exchange for their contribution to the economy and prosperity of this state, they be given legal status. All this bill does is make the lives of illegal immigrants harder. At the end of the day, the million of illegal immigrants living here aren’t going anywhere anytime soon (nor do the legislators/businesses want them to.. if they leave who will provide them with cheap labor?).

This bill makes illegal immigrants live in fear and adds to their misery while they continue to work the shittiest jobs for the shittiest wages.

Additional Links:
Agaisnt HR4437, click here.
In favor of HR4437, click here.