May Day - Specifically "National Day Without An Immigrant" Day

Well, I spent much of the day at World's Fair Park participating in the local events of the National Day Without An Immigrant. Across the nation, immigrant workers took the day off to congregate at various public places in support of real immigration reform. Everyone was asked to bring their own food from home so people would not have to purchase anything today.

http://www.immigrantsolidarity.org/

I had a nice view of the turnout from a bridge before decending into the park. There were probably around 1,000 people who showed up - mostly Hispanic, with a few other immigrants as well as others like myself. My families were there, spread out on blankets on the grass eating in picnic lunch style fashion. At one point I was invited to sit with a family and they offered me some of their food. I ate a tamale (I think) wrapped in a corn husk with corn meal, beef, and sauce on the inside. It was very delicious. I also got a little Spanish practice in. Everyone was very nice.Throughout the day various Latin style music was played from a stage, and every now and then someone would offer a speech in spanish followed by english (or in english with spanish translation). There were many community leaders and immigrant's rights leaders who spoke as well as numerous local church leaders. One church leader who spoke really hit the nail on the head. His speech boiled down to the following statement/idea: If the almighty dollar can pass freely across borders (NAFTA/free trade) without papers or passports from one country to another, then we ought to give people - human beings - that same freedom. In other words, people should have at least the same rights that we give to dollars.

Throughout the day I think I only saw four anti-immigrant people (two couples) protesting the rally. One couple was standing across the street, waving an American flag and holding two signs which stated: "Secure Our Borders Now!" and "Immigrants Go Home!". The other couple walked right over and planted themselves right next to me, but I quickly moved away from them. They simply held one sign that read "Illegals are not Americans!". Well, in stating "illegals" I'm sure they were referring to the many Hispanic/Latino people coming to our country. But they tend to forget that anyone born anywhere within the Western Hemisphere is an "American". The Western Hemisphere is "The Americas". I told them that and they said that hadn't occurred to them but that they guessed they agreed with that and thought they should probably change their sign. They saw the t-shirt I was wearing which states "¿Dónde están nuestros derechos, dignidad y justícia para todos?" -- "Where are our rights, dignity, and justice for all?" They asked how could I possibly feel that way as someone who is from the USA. Well, for starters, I'm not a hateful bigot. I am a Christian. I'm educated about the whole thing. I understand the micro and macro economics of why immigrant workers come to the U.S. and why they are needed here. I understand that we are living in an era of globalization - in a global economy where every place is practically interdependent with most other places. I know that without immigrant workers (or any low-wage workers, due to the capitalist nature of our culture) we would be paying an exhorbitant amount for all of our food products (as well as many other goods and services), making rising gas prices the least of our concern. Immigrants definitely do not take jobs away from "hard workin' Americans" - on the contrary; research shows that in fact immigrant jobs create additional jobs. Research shows that immigrants do pay taxes, they contribute to the U.S. economy by buying and purchasing just like everyone else. On average, immigrants have a much lower default rate on loans than most Americans do. I could go on and on and on here. Documented or undocumented, the United States needs immigrant workers to contribute to its economy, helping to sustain our way of life. Most importantly, we are all the same - we are all human beings. This reminds me of a quote by John F. Kennedy: "And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." - from President Kennedy's Commencement Address at American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963.Later, many other people also began to gather around the anti-immigrant couple to continue the civilized debate. That quote by Kennedy reminds me of another (I do like quotations), also from the same speech he gave:"'There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university,' wrote John Masefield in his tribute to English universities - and his words are equally true today. He did not refer to spires and towers, to campus greens and ivied walls. He admired the splendid beauty of the university, he said, because it was 'a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see.'" - from President Kennedy's Commencement Address at American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963.
http://www.humanity.org/voices/commencements/speeches/index.php?page=jfk_at_american
This may also be one of the many reasons why I am studying for a career in academia.

Well, at any rate, it was another experience I was glad to have been a part of - despite the sunburn I received. I hope to continue to participate in events such as this in the future, particularly in support of immigrant's rights and a real reform to our country's broken immigration system.