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Can Marches Stop the Scapegoating of Immigrants?
An editor at a Spanish-language newspaper remembers with trepidation the harsh legislation and rhetoric that came on the heels of California's last big immigrant-rights mobilizations. Pilar Marrero is a columnist for the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion, where this commentary first appeared. Translated by Daffodil Altan.
LOS ANGELES--I was moved as I watched thousands of immigrants marching in the streets through the center of Los Angeles, carrying their story of their daily fight, the one we are all familiar with, and the hope that this country will see them as valiant human beings. But I also couldn't help but remember another march which didn't have the desired effect.
The other one was much smaller, perhaps reflecting the fact that today, 12 years later, there are many, many more of us, and perhaps we're more conscientious. But I remember that after the march in 1994 against Proposition 187, after the flood of emotion at witnessing 100,000 people asking for dignity, came the blows: year after year of laws and more laws, attacks and more attacks, blows and more blows.
God willing that won't happen again.
Because although the United States, the country, the nation, receives us with open arms, gives us jobs and opportunities, sometimes this country's politicians and some of its people -- we know this -- don't see us in a good light. And since the theme of "national security" has given this position a new name, with a new sign, nothing good has come out of the discussions about immigration in Congress.
Don't label me a pessimist. Maybe something good will still come of it. The most probable thing is that some piece of legislation will be labeled a partial "triumph," some guest worker program, a path to citizenship, but little else.
Maybe it is the fact that I've seen and heard too much politicking to believe that Congress will wake from its lethargy on this issue to create reform that would be worth anything, reform that for 20 years has not even been attempted.
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http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=799440ec34f906bf4f18822765c83660
The other one was much smaller, perhaps reflecting the fact that today, 12 years later, there are many, many more of us, and perhaps we're more conscientious. But I remember that after the march in 1994 against Proposition 187, after the flood of emotion at witnessing 100,000 people asking for dignity, came the blows: year after year of laws and more laws, attacks and more attacks, blows and more blows.
God willing that won't happen again.
Because although the United States, the country, the nation, receives us with open arms, gives us jobs and opportunities, sometimes this country's politicians and some of its people -- we know this -- don't see us in a good light. And since the theme of "national security" has given this position a new name, with a new sign, nothing good has come out of the discussions about immigration in Congress.
Don't label me a pessimist. Maybe something good will still come of it. The most probable thing is that some piece of legislation will be labeled a partial "triumph," some guest worker program, a path to citizenship, but little else.
Maybe it is the fact that I've seen and heard too much politicking to believe that Congress will wake from its lethargy on this issue to create reform that would be worth anything, reform that for 20 years has not even been attempted.
Read More
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=799440ec34f906bf4f18822765c83660
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yes, I had the same thought about the May 1 events.
I think it's crucial for workers to get citizenship so that they have leverage when attempting to strike and fight for fair pay for what they produce. Capitalism really creates an incentive for employers and company owners to cut every corner they can to compete with other companies. It would require going against the incentive structure of the system to provide a fair deal when they don't have to, out of 'charity'. This is the same concept behind why centralized communist systems haven't worked- the incentive structure doesn't encourage people to be as productive as they can when they go to work each day. Really, strong unions are the best system that the world has ever come up with yet, producing strong middle classes with small differences between rich and poor.
But it seems like we have to get the law for path to citizenship passed first before the right wingers decide that workers would actually fight to retain what they produced via their work. Maybe letting upper-middle class radicals carry out Mayday is a better deal. However, it's great that everyone is triply aware of the situation, and also sympathizes with oppressed workers. It is really people in power that we need to worry about.
Also, what people who do have citizenship or middle class status need to be doing is fighting the international regressive trade agreements, the WTO/ World Bank policies, NAFTA, CAFTA. There is a meeting coming up in Washington DC. It is more than clear that the passage of NAFTA accelerated creation of poverty in rural Mexico, while support of death squads in El Salvador etc. produced even more people who can't live in their place of birth. If you read Mike Davis's recent books, there are clearly lots of slums around the world being produced via our current economic policies, where people could not conceivably be accomodated via immigration. Global climate change will probably add to the situation pretty soon.
I think it's crucial for workers to get citizenship so that they have leverage when attempting to strike and fight for fair pay for what they produce. Capitalism really creates an incentive for employers and company owners to cut every corner they can to compete with other companies. It would require going against the incentive structure of the system to provide a fair deal when they don't have to, out of 'charity'. This is the same concept behind why centralized communist systems haven't worked- the incentive structure doesn't encourage people to be as productive as they can when they go to work each day. Really, strong unions are the best system that the world has ever come up with yet, producing strong middle classes with small differences between rich and poor.
But it seems like we have to get the law for path to citizenship passed first before the right wingers decide that workers would actually fight to retain what they produced via their work. Maybe letting upper-middle class radicals carry out Mayday is a better deal. However, it's great that everyone is triply aware of the situation, and also sympathizes with oppressed workers. It is really people in power that we need to worry about.
Also, what people who do have citizenship or middle class status need to be doing is fighting the international regressive trade agreements, the WTO/ World Bank policies, NAFTA, CAFTA. There is a meeting coming up in Washington DC. It is more than clear that the passage of NAFTA accelerated creation of poverty in rural Mexico, while support of death squads in El Salvador etc. produced even more people who can't live in their place of birth. If you read Mike Davis's recent books, there are clearly lots of slums around the world being produced via our current economic policies, where people could not conceivably be accomodated via immigration. Global climate change will probably add to the situation pretty soon.
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