Thread: Marches start in L.A. and N.Y.

Originally Posted by Populist

Look closely at the photo above (upside down American flag), it looks like there is a Mexican flag on the other side of the flag.

You're right Populist, seems he didn't do his homework did he?

Originally Posted by americangal4ever

This is from someone in L.A.
Their viewpoint
.................................................. ..................................................
I don't know about the march there but the one in L.A. looks like a big no-show.
Hardly any press coverage. One channel showed a shot of a few hundred in the street, and called it "The May Day Parade".
LMAO.

Yesterday the promoters were saying there would be 100,000 marching.
100,000 my azz. La raza threw a protest march, and nobody came.

They just reported on CNN that there are 3-4 thousand marching in Chicago and in LA there are 5000 marching. Numbers are WAY down from even last year. I am so sick of hearing and listening to "we want our rights" "Make Los Angeles Legal" " no one is illegal" They can all get bent.

Los Angeles Times
May Day rally draws far fewer protestors
This year's May Day rally draws business support, but far fewer protesters

The Chamber of Commerce and political figures joined a surprisingly small crowd of immigrant workers and their supporters in a march calling for an end to blanket immigration raids.

By Teresa Watanabe and Anna Gorman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

4:43 PM PDT, May 1, 2008

In numbers that appeared notably light, immigrant workers and their supporters gathered in downtown Los Angeles this afternoon for a May Day march to demand legislative reforms and an end to blanket raids on work sites.

Two years ago, the May Day march drew more than 500,000 supporters registering their protest of recently scuttled plans to make being an illegal immigrant a felony. Last year, the crowd was estimated at 35,000 and today it appeared to be far smaller, with only about 700 heading from MacArthur Park to converge with other marchers at City Hall.

The mood was festive, with vendors hawking flags -- American and Mexican -- along with Popsicles, shaved ice, fresh fruit and bacon-wrapped hot dogs. By midday, flag peddler Laura Martinez said she had sold a dozen or so.

"We'll see what happens later today," she said.

The May Day marches in cities across the U.S. are expected to be smaller than in the past -- about 20,000 were predicted in Los Angeles -- and quieter. Widespread fear of government raids was blamed for the lower turnout, along with the immigrant movement's shift in focus from marches to boosting citizenship applications and voter registration.

Pete Navarro, president of the Mexican American Bar Assn., said Spanish-language disc jockeys were not promoting the event as heavily as they did in previous years. And with immigration reform efforts stalled in Congress, there have been no urgent headlines to induce marchers to get out and show the flag.

Joining marchers in the call for a host of immigration reforms are local political leaders and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, which in a news conference this morning stressed the need for more worker visas and a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.

"This is a landmark moment," said Sam Garrison, the chamber's vice president of public policy. "Here you have labor, business, local elected officials, immigrant rights activists and leading educators all coming together to say this has to stop.

"The raids are frightening workers. They are worrying employers," he said. "I think it's going to cause a lot of businesses to think twice about coming to Los Angeles."

Early this afternoon, there was a heavy police presence downtown as officers awaited the marchers, who were expected to converge on City Hall about 4 p.m.

The Los Angeles Police Department issued a scathing self-appraisal of its handling of last year's May Day event. The report said officers used excessive violence against demonstrators and the media in a melee at MacArthur Park. This year, the LAPD mounted elaborate training measures to prepare for the May Day crowd.

Some of those who were injured last year told reporters at MacArthur Park this morning that they hoped for a more peaceful march. Planning to march at the front of the crowd, they wore red shirts and carried a banner that read "Fuimos golpeados. Seguimos luchando" -- "We were beaten. We keep fighting."

"We want this year to be peaceful," said Henry Reyes, who said he was injured last year by a motorcycle officer. "We hope this year will be better than last year."

In the last two years, organizers have been split on the issue of boycotting work, school and consumer spending in honor of May Day. This year, they shelved the boycott idea, favoring instead a united front on comprehensive immigration reform, according to Angelica Salas executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles.

The issue of comprehensive reform has colored the presidential campaign, prompted hundreds of state and local legislative proposals, and brought tens of thousands of marchers into the streets across the nation every May Day for several years.

As the rhetoric has ratcheted up, immigration raids have become more frequent. In the last fiscal year, some 4,900 websites were swept up in local work-site arrests, compared with just over 100 in 2001. In just one raid last February, authorities arrested more than 130 undocumented workers at a Van Nuys manufacturing company.

Continued raids could be bad for business, chamber officials said today, citing a study by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. The report, released today, said tens of thousands of jobs could be lost if continued raids force businesses to flee the state. Enforcement efforts should focus on companies with a clear history of exploiting workers, it said.

"The immigrant worker built Southern California and the L.A. economy," Garrison said. "At the end of the day, they benefit everyone, whether legal or not."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me ... 5738.story

KFI 640 reporter saying crowd and flags at LA rally are already thinning out (5:10pm PT). He hasn't seen many bandanas, only about 6, although one person in a bandana walked by him during his report.

Originally Posted by Populist

Look closely at the photo above (upside down American flag), it looks like there is a Mexican flag on the other side of the flag.

I see it. DISGUSTING. Do these people actually think anyone would grant them amnesty when they do things to PISS OFF Amercians?

Geesch - watching them gathered together makes me cringe. They are so obnoxious and arrogant.

Ahhhhhh, of course the Chamber of Commerce, is all for its members to employ illegal aliens.......cheap labor, high profits...no bennies, what's not to love about those foreign nationals who steal our ID's and break our laws?

Guess Garrison forgot about the citizens who broke their backs building LA, according to him its only the illegal aliens who did this for Southern Cali.

I wonder who is "buttering" his bread?

Yep, lots of respect.........they do show. Exactly who/what we want in our country.. NOT

Originally Posted by 93camaro

600 to 700 thats about like only 12 school buses. Doesn't seem too hard to round em' up put em' in busses and send em' packin.

Yes, especially since they are asking to be legalized. The quick, easy, and pro American way to do that is bus them back to their country!

Oh, man -- seeing that photo of the AMerican flag upside down and their flag on the back?? Not good to see that after work and on a bad day ...

Makes me want to hurl.

Originally Posted by Populist

Los Angeles Times
[b][size=18]May D

Joining marchers in the call for a host of immigration reforms are local political leaders and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, which in a news conference this morning stressed the need for more worker visas and a path to legalization for undocumented immigrants.

"This is a landmark moment," said Sam Garrison, the chamber's vice president of public policy. "Here you have labor, business, local elected officials, immigrant rights activists and leading educators all coming together to say this has to stop.

"The raids are frightening workers. They are worrying employers," he said. "I think it's going to cause a lot of businesses to think twice about coming to Los Angeles."

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce phone number: 213.580.7511