http://www.whittierdailynews.com/opinions/ci_3660987

Don't know who this guy is really for but he makes some salient points for the lawbreaking students to consider. And make no mistake I am in NO WAY for these students or their protests. Just thought the guy made some valid points for the lawbreakers. IF they can read ENGLISH!

Their antics don't impress me and only serve to inflame the American public more AGAINST them!

Student protesters need message makeover
By Steve Scauzillo

ALMOST everyone I know expressed to me one point of view or another on the student walkouts this week over an immigration policy bill in Congress.

The views varied, from: "It's clear that illegal immigrants broke the law" to "Declaring 12 million (illegals) felons is ridiculous." Many found middle ground in the "guest workers" approach, saying immigrant labor swells certain sectors of the American economy.

This kind of debate is long overdue. Bring it on, I say. However, the students need a message makeover before they hit the streets again.

Some of their antics - many on the shameful side of the equation - could bring about a backlash. Remember the street protests against Proposition 187? Incensed voters, many of them Latino, voted in favor of the measure that would have curtailed services - including education - for illegals. Luckily for illegal immigrant residents, the measure was overturned by the courts and never went into effect.

All those protests in the street may have been a catharsis, even a flexing of their democratic muscle, but the message didn't penetrate. In other words, their methods turned people off to their message.

So, for what it's worth, I offer the students of today an immigration message makeover that maybe, just maybe, will move the powers that be into their corner:

Focus on where you're going, not where you came from. Hey kids, if you want to convince folks you want to stay in the United States, put down those Mexican flags. Seriously, to the student from El Rancho (now punished) who hoisted the Mexican flag up the Montebello High School flagpole, above an upside-down American flag: You didn't convince me of your love for your new country. In fact, if he could hear what the people who called me the next day had to say after seeing that photo in the Whittier Daily News, the student might think twice next time he denegrates the symbol of his host country.

Don't erase the line between legal and illegal immigration. There's a difference and people know it. So admit it. But is it right to suddenly throw millions out now after getting jobs and even raising families? That's a much better argument. Also, previous immigrants have finagled their way into the country. My grandfather, Matteo Mimmo, immigrated from Foggia, Italy through Ellis Island in New York in 1920. Many immigrants of that era tried everything to "make it." One ruse was to hide the fact that they had a cough and avoid the mark. Though lax, U.S. immigration authorities would mark those suspected of having a communicable
disease with a swipe of chalk. Some would scurry past the inspector, others would hide the chalk mark, anything to make it though to a new life in America. Those who "made it" went through the right doorway, the others were sent packing, back to a hard life in a depressed Italian economy. My grandfather was quite fit and lived to be93.

Know this: many immigrants from say, Vietnam, waited years in refugee camps before getting their chance to emigrate. Many are still waiting. So getting sympathy from hyphenated Americans is a very tough sell.

Foreigners can't demand rights they don't have. Many student protesters held signs saying "Equal rights!" But people living here illegally don't have equal rights with American citizens. They don't get to vote or drive. They do get due process if charged with a crime, which in itself is an amazing gift that no other country provides. So, drop the demands. Arrogance is inappropriate. Try a firm but humble approach, but remain passionate, persuasive and indefatigable. My mother used to say: "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar."

Actions speak louder than words. Here's what would impress Congress: Stay in school. Graduate. Go to college. Get a job. Students wandering the freeways, spitting at cops and throwing water bottles don't engender much sympathy with adults. Remember, many Latino students are dropping out of high school and only a fraction are enrolling in four-year colleges. That's not the same picture painted by Asian students. The difference is in their actions.

Also, don't blame others for making the immigration issue racial when you flash gang signs and tote cardboard signs that read: "Brown power." If it is about fairness, equality and hope, don't identify with street gangs who vandalize property with graffiti, deal drugs and murder cops and children. They are not about any of those things American.

Don't lose your voice. But if your actions don't match your message, the meaning gets lost.

steve.scauzillo@sgvn.com