Thread: A Street-Fighter Mentality on Illegal Immigration (SOS)

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... un27.story

PROFILE | JOSEPH TURNER
A Street-Fighter Mentality on Illegal Immigration
By Fred Alvarez, Times Staff Writer


As the insults flew and the protest reached a boil, Joseph Turner couldn't help but smile.

The 29-year-old head of the upstart Save Our State organization had come to Baldwin Park to pick a fight over illegal immigration. He had led a band of like-minded souls into the heart of the city to protest public art they deemed "seditious and anti-American." Part of a monument at the Metrolink station is inscribed "It was better before they came," interpreted by some as a barb at whites who displaced California's Mexican residents in the 19th century.

They got all of the fight they could handle. Hundreds of counter-protesters in the predominantly Latino city rose up to meet them, chanting "Go home, racists!" As news crews captured the clash, police in riot gear called for reinforcements.

The group's protests had drawn fire before, but nothing like what erupted last month in the working-class community.

"I couldn't have scripted it better," said Turner, a former stock trader who runs the anti-illegal immigration group from his Ventura home.

"My goal is to continually keep this issue in the forefront of the American consciousness," he added. "What makes our organization different is that we are not afraid to confront anybody about our beliefs."

Critics call those beliefs racist and divisive, dismissing Save Our State as yet another "vigilante group" jumping on the anti-illegal immigration bandwagon.

"Save Our State is not saving anything. They are just creating more hate and division," said Antonio Bernabe, coordinator of the day-labor program for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. "They don't want to look for solutions. They just want to make noise."

But with little to show for years of complaining about illegal immigration, Turner believes he has hit upon a solution that will work. He calls it "aggressive activism."

It's not about writing letters or calling elected officials. Rather, the technique focuses on high-profile events that touch a nerve, make politicians sweat and bring the media running. Indeed, a second protest â€â€

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I miss the days of Save Our State!

W