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National "Day Without An Immigrant" in Bakersfield!
Topics: immigration, Bakersfield, Bakotopia, Bakotopia.com, Mas Magazine, Bakotunes
Posted by matt Wed Nov 15, 2006 18:42:19 PST
Viewed 841 times
1 response 9 comments 10am, Monday, May 1st...
National "Day Without an Immigrant" rally began in Bakersfield, Beach Park, with a healthy crowd of Participants and supporters.

What is it all about?
A national boycott asking all immigrants and their families to stay home from work and school, to show how the economy will be affected if the HR4437 immigration bill is passed.

What is the HR4437 immigration bill?
A bill (currently stalled in congress,) that would make illegal immigrants felons.

At 9:30am, crowds began waving flags and wearing white T-shirts in solidarity all over the spacious city park.

Organizers are expecting about 10,000+ participants over the course of the day.

BPD is helping to direct traffic, and an area of Oak st., between the 24th / crosstown freeway and 19th st., is blocked, to prevent traffic jams in front and in front of the park.

More coverage as the day goes on..........

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Comment From: Chase

I passed by there on Monday and I still saw the same things that caught my attention on the first protest. A significant amount of the people who are fighting to be part of the American culture are acting the complete opposite way. I still saw more Mexican flags than American ones, and a few US flags I saw were being trudged through the dirt. Unfortunately, the "Day Without an Immigrant" failed on a more public level to take into account a few things. a.) It is about illegal immigration, which is different than immigration. Nobody is using the word illegal when they are approaching the issue. b.) Although there are business that closed in support, I did not hear of any hospitals or schools turning away illegal or children of illegal immigrants. There is an injustice happening at these levels. c.) "La Raca" is the equivilant of saying "White Power", only they are not white so it is ok. I have said this before and I will do so again right now. There is an issue with illegal immigration, however, both sides are not working toward a solution, they are working toward an absolute which will fail miserably. Amnesty is the worst thing we can do next to mass deportation. I have yet to hear anyone throw any ideas around such as "selective amnesty." Its all "we deserve rights as citizens" (coming from people who are supposed to be here, although I agree that we should not turn away everyone, we should not accept everyone as well. You see, nobody has the ability to look at the whole picture. Everyone just subjects themselves to the racial aspect of it and fail to include the idea of progress. We are stuck in a collective mentality of "we should all get everything regardless of what how it adversely affects the rest of the nation". My personal stance is not on either side of the fence, but I am not neutral. The problems we are having are lying in ignorance right now. Comment From: matt

Mr. Chase, thanks for your thoughts! You speak as progressively as your music... Comment From: walker

I like that picture of all those people holding the American flag, but unfortunately, so much of the recent immigration issues (or, as Chase puts it, illegal immigration issues) have focused on ethnic identity. I think people forget that, just because this country was founded on ideals routed in the Enlightenment, doesn’t mean an American is a white person, or “Anglo-American.” Americans are white, black, brown, red, yellow…. whatever. Americans listen to British rock, watch Japanese cartoons, drink Chinese tea, wear Italian apparel, and eat Mexican food. The Mexican people, on the other hand, have endured several different forms of government throughout their history, and unfortunately, every government and every leader succumbs to the same blatant corruption as its/his predecessor. And we’re not talking about Clinton-getting-a-hummer corruption. These are Mexican citizens starving while the police and government officials take advantage of the people. In Mexico, racism is rampant, and cultural diversity is a joke. It is no wonder to me that the number of Mexicans heading north outnumbers the number of Americans heading south. Now, I’m not excusing illegal immigration. A significant portion of our crime rate in this county (Kern) is due to the antagonistic attitudes toward America and American values of many illegals. People can tell me until they are blue in the face that these illegal immigrants are just “looking for a better life,” but these self-righteous proponents of [illegal] immigration are socially, and therefore politically, driven to neglect the fact that illegal Mexican immigrants are found dealing drugs, stealing cars, and vandalizing public and personal property all the time. Don’t get excited yet though. I know; this does not represent the majority. I’m not against Mexican immigration altogether and I certainly don’t think President Bush’s idea is the best possible solution to the immigration problem. But I think we need to hammer out some ideas that tend to cause tension between “conservatives” and “liberals.” ALL NEW IMMIGRANTS TO AMERICA, WHETHER LEGAL OR ILLEGAL, SHOULD BE WAVING THE AMERICAN FLAG, AND NO OTHER FLAG. Cultural diversity is the newest political fad. Fine, but we cannot embrace diversity to the point that we begin to embrace conflict. While the creation of the Mexican flag has well-known cultural roots, a flag is the symbol of a government, and the Mexican flag is the symbol of an oppressive government. Americans are not afraid of Mexicans. (In fact, many Americans WERE Mexicans at one time.) Americans are afraid that illegal Mexicans will try to turn America into Mexico. Anyone with half a brain knows that that is a bad thing. Will that happen? Probably not. But only because of whatever resistance to it there may be. Consider this: In the 1960’s, black Americans gave their freedom and sometimes, even their lives just to integrate the schools. Why in the hell are we segregating ourselves now? Why the hell are we flying the flags of different countries and underscoring our differences? People, our differences are pretty obvious. When a guy name Juan asks you for directions to who-knows-where in Spanish, it becomes a little ridiculous to decide to spread “diversity awareness.” But does that mean that we should expect cultural assimilation by new immigrants (legal or illegal)? Well, America really has no real cultural identity to speak of. We have countless dialects, accents, modes of thought, philosophies and ideas, and artistic tastes. The beauty in this country comes from such diversity uniting under one cause: liberty. The American flag is the symbol of that cause. So no, a Mexican doesn’t have to assimilate so that he forgets his favorite parts of being a Mexican. But if a guy likes it so much here that he insists on staying, fly the right flag. I come from British and German stock, but you don’t see me waving a British flag or German flag. My family immigrated to this country in 1635, and I wave the American flag proudly. I can still appreciate cultural elements from my ancestry that have lent a hand to the diversification of this country. You don’t have to stop eating Mexican food or singing Mexican songs. You can still enjoy a Diego Rivera and produce more Mexican-influenced art. But drop the Mexican flag altogether and start waving the American flag. Your cultural identity can still remain intact, and conservatives and liberals alike will carry you on their shoulders. Welcome to America. Comment From: likhy2

"This movement to resist the attacks on those without legal documents deserves the support of all progressive, working and oppressed peoples. Big business and its bought and paid for politicians have created a situation where the undocumented are among the most oppressed and exploited. In this context, anti-immigrant bigots have tried to pose as defenders of the working class. Nothing could be further from reality or any sense of justice and fair play. Truth be told, equal rights for the undocumented - which include amnesty and legalization - will increase the capacity of the immigrants to resist those determined to hold them down. Every advance by those at the bottom improves the condition of working people as a whole." fightbacknews Comment From: likhy2

"AQUI ESTAMOS! NO NOS VAMOS! Y SI NOS ECHAN, NOS REGRESAMOS!" WE DIDN'T CROSS THE BORDER THE BORDER CROSSED US! WE WILL WIN THIS FIGHT! Comment From: matt

Hold it now, hold it...Gettin' kinda hot in here..Let's get some more points of view on the subject!! This is an open forum, but let's be cool. I just read in the paper that the "National Vanguard" has been distributing hate literature around Bako. The Prussian Blue twins and their momma strike again! Let's do this the right way and be cool...Thanks! Comment From: likhy2

Mis desculpas karnal (Matt)....this is becoming more of a hot button issue and people, including myself, are begining to get more passionate about our points of view. We need to proceed with caution and check any personal attacks & insults...Open forums are a place to discuss ideologies and engage in meaningful debates, not a place to promote hatred. Let's keep it educated! As an example, a very intriguing and productive dialogue was posted on N. Belardes' site from two oppossing parties on the immigration issue between NL & Dusty (Anti-HR4437) and Kenny & Ramona Dobbler (Pro-HR4437). It is very apparent that both groups are very educated and well-informed and they provide some very powerful insights on this issue. Check it out. It is very interesting. For my part, Nick and Dusty are ahead on points. Ya Basta! Comment From: kookoonauts

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the "United States of America" and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Comment From: likhy2

I don't know too much about "straight-edge punk", but are'nt they supposed to be Anarchists? I have a friend that does tattoos at MADDOGS, his name is George Quick, hella of a guy, smart as a motha and a great body artist. Maybe he can answer this question. Just curious, that is all.