Thursday, May 04, 2006
Pacifica Commentary for May 3, 2006
A Day Without An Immigrant
It was a joy to participate in the two Los Angeles gatherings last Monday. The early march terminated at City Hall and the later march terminated at La Brea and Wilshire. These two May Day marches were the largest in a historic national outpouring of immigrants and those in solidarity with them.
The great democratic power of the General Strike and boycott represented by the Noon March was profoundly instructive. It was organized from the base by people who believed in these powerful tools in the arsenal of non-violence. Dr. Martin Luther King had also used these tools effectively. Indeed the General Strike and Boycott can bring participatory democracy to the United States. The Noon March was conducted with joy and dignity. It represented the vanguard of immigrant power.
The Afternoon March was also successful and actually was an even larger gathering. Certainly there was tension between the two actions, but it was intelligent and peaceful tension. The Church, the Unions and the City Government were in complete support of the afternoon March. Students were urged to attend after school and employees who could not leave their jobs were encouraged to attend after work. Some observers considered this second march to be divisive.
But regardless of the intentions of the organizers, the second march gave an opportunity to those who were not ready to support a general strike and boycott.
Rather than demeaning the people who went to the second and larger march, it is important to understand that for many it was a huge step in the struggle for justice.
And it seems to me that everyone should oppose the so-called Guest Worker Program. It is simply a repetition of the old Bracero Program which divided families and exploited workers. We do not need a program that creates second class citizens.
In recent decades we have witnessed the globalization of capital. These immigrant marches help us to understand that there is a second component to this phenomenon and that is the globalization of labor. If capital can go anywhere in the world without restriction, it is only logical that those who create capital, namely workers, should also be able to travel freely. I consider the people who come to our country to be refugees, not illegal aliens. The military and economic terror that drove them here is often created by United States policy.
It was a joy to participate in the two Los Angeles gatherings last Monday. The early march terminated at City Hall and the later march terminated at La Brea and Wilshire. These two May Day marches were the largest in a historic national outpouring of immigrants and those in solidarity with them.
The great democratic power of the General Strike and boycott represented by the Noon March was profoundly instructive. It was organized from the base by people who believed in these powerful tools in the arsenal of non-violence. Dr. Martin Luther King had also used these tools effectively. Indeed the General Strike and Boycott can bring participatory democracy to the United States. The Noon March was conducted with joy and dignity. It represented the vanguard of immigrant power.
The Afternoon March was also successful and actually was an even larger gathering. Certainly there was tension between the two actions, but it was intelligent and peaceful tension. The Church, the Unions and the City Government were in complete support of the afternoon March. Students were urged to attend after school and employees who could not leave their jobs were encouraged to attend after work. Some observers considered this second march to be divisive.
But regardless of the intentions of the organizers, the second march gave an opportunity to those who were not ready to support a general strike and boycott.
Rather than demeaning the people who went to the second and larger march, it is important to understand that for many it was a huge step in the struggle for justice.
And it seems to me that everyone should oppose the so-called Guest Worker Program. It is simply a repetition of the old Bracero Program which divided families and exploited workers. We do not need a program that creates second class citizens.
In recent decades we have witnessed the globalization of capital. These immigrant marches help us to understand that there is a second component to this phenomenon and that is the globalization of labor. If capital can go anywhere in the world without restriction, it is only logical that those who create capital, namely workers, should also be able to travel freely. I consider the people who come to our country to be refugees, not illegal aliens. The military and economic terror that drove them here is often created by United States policy.
