Thousands march in L.A. (born, illegal immigrants, law, San Francisco)
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As many as 60,000 immigrants and their supporters joined a peaceful but boisterous march through downtown Los Angeles to City Hall, waving American flags, tooting horns and holding signs that blasted the Arizona law. The legislation, which is set to take effect in midsummer, makes it a crime to be in Arizona without legal status and requires police to check for immigration papers.
Although the crowd was roughly half as large as police projections, it was the largest May Day turnout since 2006, when anger over federal legislation that would have criminalized illegal immigrants and those who aid them brought out more than 1 million protesters nationwide. Since then, most activists have de-emphasized street actions in favor of change at the ballot box through promoting citizenship and voter registration.
It was said that there were more than 80 marches total across the country, protesting against racial profiling in AZ.
Figuring there are roughly 12,874,797 people in the Los Angeles MSA and roughly 17,820,893 in the Los Angeles CSA, 60,000 immigrants (not sure whether they are legal or not) and their supporters (does not state if supporters are included in that number) is not a very large group of protesters. The same can be said about other cities across the country. To compare, you can find about 60,000 people parading on Sixth Street in Austin, TX each year for Halloween.
When they display the Confederate flag, you don’t hear anyone challenging their allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. They have a separate and distinctive culture, and it is part of what makes them unique and interesting. And you certainly don’t hear people telling them to wipe away their uniqueness in order to blend into the mainstream.
Some folks aren’t so lucky. Take Mexican immigrants, for example. Or even U.S.-born Mexican-Americans. They’re continually suspected of having divided loyalties or being disloyal to the United States. To prove their allegiance and put others at ease, they’re told to ignore their heritage, abandon their culture, forget their language, and become just like everyone else.
Some of the same people who shrug off the Confederate flag as a symbol of regional pride go ballistic when they catch a glimpse of the Mexican flag. Ironically, this seems to be especially true in the South where, because of changing demographics, the new racial and ethnic dynamic isn’t just black and white but black and white and Latino.
Defenders of this double standard might try to rationalize this by insisting there is no comparison since the Mexican flag represents a foreign government. Really? The Confederate States of America saw itself as a separate government with its own constitution, presidency, legislature and military. It traded with foreign countries and maintained diplomatic relations. And when one pledged allegiance to the confederacy, it necessarily meant opposing the U.S.
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There ought to be one standard for everyone. I’d prefer to treat both of these as harmless displays of pride — regional, cultural, national. But if we’re going to get all worked up over one, we should at least try to be consistent and get just as worked up over the other.
Figuring there are roughly 12,874,797 people in the Los Angeles MSA and roughly 17,820,893 in the Los Angeles CSA, 60,000 immigrants (not sure whether they are legal or not) and their supporters (does not state if supporters are included in that number) is not a very large group of protesters. The same can be said about other cities across the country. To compare, you can find about 60,000 people parading on Sixth Street in Austin, TX each year for Halloween.
Actually, its a very large number. I cant think of the last march that generated that many protesters besides the 2006 march.
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