Thread: Lessons from San Diego's protests

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006..._333_30_06.txt

Lessons from the protests

By: North County Times - Editorial

Our view: Schools disrupted by pro-illegal-immigrant walkouts, but learning goes on

Though they lure too many students out of class, the protests that are rocking North County this week are teaching many important lessons nonetheless.

We are reminded that Newton's third law of motion ---- "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" ---- still applies to the American political landscape. Thus, it's no surprise that the inflammatory rhetoric spewed for so long by too many politicians and opponents of illegal immigration has called forth a volatile reaction ---- several days' worth of protests by young people aligning themselves with the illegal-immigrant cause.


We've consistently called for calm among anti-illegal immigration activists, but that same appeal goes both ways. Did the protesters know or care whether waving Mexican flags and chanting "Equal rights for Mexicans!" would actually help their cause? Such tactics surely inflamed passions that need cooling most of all.

That these protests, though lacking in traditional organization, have largely been peaceful is a credit to the protesters and the police alike, and offers a host of other lessons.

Young Latino students are frequently dismissed as apathetic and apolitical. But they clearly can be mobilized when the issues hit home for them. Their peaceful protests demonstrate that, far from rejecting American culture, they are embracing its tradition of nonviolent dissent.

In this case, many protesters said they feared the draconian immigration bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would make criminals out of their own family members. We're glad the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Monday a much more balanced bill that would couple increased border enforcement with the kind of guest-worker program our economy needs. We hope such sanity eventually prevails in Congress and makes its way to President Bush, who has consistently sounded the right note on this one issue.

For the most part, North County's police forces have done a good job coping with an unfamiliar challenge. Unlike agencies patrolling major metropolitan areas, North County's law enforcers don't have much experience donning riot gear and controlling crowds. Still, there were incidents that authorities should closely examine ---- was it really necessary, for instance, to fire pepper-spray pellets toward students at Oceanside High? ---- in their efforts to improve future confrontations. Police must take care not to contribute to the unrest and disorder to which they are responding.

We note that only a small percentage of students have joined the protests. North County schools exhibited a range of interesting responses to the disruptive walkouts.

Oceanside Superintendent Ken Noonan's shrewd move to close schools on Thursday and Friday, followed by Vista schools closing today, properly expelled a conflict that had no place on campus. The spectacle of riot-gear-clad police surrounding a school while administrators bark through bullhorns at the crowds of students straining at the gates should make all North County shudder.

Meanwhile, enterprising educators across North County seized the teaching moment by incorporating the national debate over immigration policy into their classroom discussions.

Today is Cesar Chavez's birthday, and more protests are likely to clog North County streets throughout the weekend. More than slogans, slurs and slower traffic, what we need is principled, reasonable leadership on immigration.

As the Minutemen patrols last year and the student protests this week have reminded us, leadership in this country doesn't often come from our elected leaders. Instead, it is our responsibility to press politicians to offer sensible solutions that include effective control of our borders, reasonable accommodations for guest workers and a clear path to citizenship for families that have earned the privilege.

Young Latino students are frequently dismissed as apathetic and apolitical. But they clearly can be mobilized when the issues hit home for them.

Yeah, like an excuse for cutting class.

a clear path to citizenship for families that have earned the privilege.

Earned it how? By just getting their butts across the border and plopping out a bunch of anchor babies?

All these local news stations keep spewing this garbage that Chavez would be proud that these protesters are carrying on his tradition, but they never mentioned the fact that he was AGAINST illegal immigration.