Andrew Marcus, Juliete Ochieng and Roger Simon hit the streets of the downtown LA demonstration this morning (with a videographer) and were immediately engulfed by a gigantic crowd. It is impossible to say how many from our perspectives, but these are the things we can report – they were joyful, they were non-violent (at least as far as we could see) and they were well-organized. A lot of the organization from the downtown demonstration came, alas, from ANSWER and their extremist ilk, but that didn’t stop us from being moved by the demonstrators and their earnest desire to be Americans and to find honest work here. Nevertheless, there were some among them who wanted, unfortunately, the whole enchilada, the return of California to Mexico. But when you interview these people (you will see the results later), you find some are more confused than anything else. For the most part, they just want to work and raise families. They are being exploited by leaders singing a very old and tired song.
Juliette Ochieng and Roger Simon





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11 Comments
1. Terrye:I think there is greater likelihood that the US will annex Mexico than there is that CA will go back to Mexico.
In fact it seems to me that most of these folks want to be in America not in Mexico, otherwise they would have stayed there. Besides, if they reclaimed the southwest they would just be sneaking across the Mississippi instead of the Rio Grande.
May 1, 2006 - 1:21 pm 2. chuck:They are being exploited by leaders singing a very old and tired song.
Someday they will have to learn the lessons learned by the labor unions and civil rights organizations: keep the g*ddamned communists out. The lesson has always been that the communists lie and dissemble, that they don’t care about the movements, but rather that they exploit issues for political power.
May 1, 2006 - 1:28 pm 3. Always right:But when you interview these people (you will see the results later), you find some are more confused than anything else. For the most part, they just want to work and raise families. They are being exploited by leaders singing a very old and tired song.
Joined this party late, but I find the above post hard to take, espcially the highlighted ones I reposted.
For the most part, all human beings want these simple things: to work and raise families. Yet the illegals took it upon themselves to do it here (because it is a much easier life for them) than try to make a system in their own country to work for countless future generations to come. Once here, they DEMAND being treated specially, given special status over those that waiting in long lines for LEGAL immigration. Some people even went to the great length of “NEW AGE SLAVERY OF THE 21st CENTURY”.
Maybe they have been exploited today by the organizers of some “movement”, but they are not slaves without given any choice. These people willingly went along, “happily” being exploited. Nobody went south into Mexico and hunt down these people to ship them here to work as slaves. And you, other sympathizers, Dems and leftists ignore the problem, only focus on the “humanized side of the TRAGEDY”.
May 1, 2006 - 1:45 pm 4. Sandy P:I’m curious as to who are “our people” in that new hit tune, Our Anthem?
if they want to be American, then do so legally.
Were there puppets?
May 1, 2006 - 2:23 pm 5. scribe10:If they get California they will be after Nebraska next.
This is because they will turn Californi into Mexico and will still be looking for jobs.
What these guys don’t understand is that it’s not the landscape, it’s the way social systems are organzized that creates wealth.
In other words, it’s the economy, estupido!
May 1, 2006 - 4:28 pm 6. Ron:Want to know how you would be treated down in Mexico if you were a illegal alien? Here is a compilation of Mexican laws pertaining to just that.
http://www.catholicexchange.com/vm/index.asp?vm_id=70&art_id=32584#top
May 1, 2006 - 4:32 pm 7. madawaskan:Andrew,Juiette and Roger-
I am so thankful for adult, rational, and fair voices in this discussion.
May 1, 2006 - 4:49 pm 8. madawaskan:Oh cripes typo on Juliette’s name. Sorry.
Great first post. Seems like it will be a long day and night in L.A. Two events right? Good luck and take care.
May 1, 2006 - 4:53 pm 9. David Thomson:ìAnd you, other sympathizers, Dems and leftists ignore the problem, only focus on the “humanized side of the TRAGEDY”.î
If nothing else, I successfully completed my 4th grade math course. It is impossible to kick some 10-12 million people out of the country in a humane manner. Viable societies cannot be utopian. They sometimes must make compromises. Pragmatically speaking, it behooves us to turn these illegals into loyal Americans as quickly as possible.
Securing our borders is a top priority. The continuing influx of millions of new illegals has to cease. Our elected officials cannot be allowed to mealy mouth regarding this nonnegotiable demand.
May 1, 2006 - 11:45 pm 10. AlanC:David,
Define humane?
AR is correct the problem is not the landscape, it’s the system. Mexico is a corrupt, rotten hell hole.
Many of these people (especially the leaders) want to turn us into the exact same thing because that gives the elite more power. The whole idea is equality UNDER THE LAW which Mexico doesn’t have and the Commies, fellow-travellers, racists of this movement don’t want either.
If you want to come to a new place, starting out by breaking the law just doesn’t cut it.
1) build the fence
May 2, 2006 - 4:53 am 11. Kevin Peters:2) round up all the illegals over time (start with the employers)
3) process them carefully deporting any criminals or welfare donkeys.
4) give the good ones a green card that allows them to apply for citizenship after 10 years of a clean slate starting from when they’re processed not yesterday. Motivation to start the process ASAP.
5) change the immigration laws.
David:
May 2, 2006 - 3:28 pmRestoring the ability to deport illegals does not mean that we have to kick all of them out. Of course we are not going to kick 12 million illegals out. As we speak we have a defacto open border policy. We even have laws that restrict our police and other agencies from working with the INS when they stop someone they know or suspect is here illegally. If we give blanket amnesty and then keep our current policies we will guarantee that we will be having this same discussion about another 10 to 20 million illegals in the next ten years. That is exactly what happened with the Reagan era amnesty. At some point we will have to prevent the incentive for the flesh peddlers in other countries to continue this trade. I just read an article in the L.A. Times this morning that said the going rate to get into this country is $2,000 per unit. Unless those who use the services of the coyotes think that it is a waste of money to pay them the practice will continue. And the only way to create this disincentive is to start deporting some, not all, of the 12 million. Those that have lived here and have shown that they are productive memnbers of our society should stay. But it has to be at our discretion and not every illegal that broke our laws has the right to demand that they stay.