I attended the Pro-Immigrant rally in Washington DC today. Heading towards the rally, a 15 minute metro ride took over an hour. I’m not sure if the forces that be, deliberately delayed our trip, or if it was actually too crowded.
When I got to the national mall, the place was packed. Latino immigrants compiled most of the population, but there were others present too. There were so many American flags and some flags of other nations as well. I don't think a pro-America rally would have had that many American flags.
The nation that the flag represents on the other end of the protestors' poles has been a point of contention. Waving the Mexican flag is a powerful point of pride for these immigrants, who are proud of their ethnicity. It doesn't seem like this pride necessarily has to be mutually exclusive with their requests of rights and avenues for American citizenship. But that message only comes across to a few. Waving American flags means something different, but a large audience can understand that message.
Whenever the police helicopter circled over the large crowd, people would wave their flags and cheer, as if saying, "We are here!" At that moment, it felt like it didn't matter what flag they were shaking.
The feeling in the air gave me goosebumps. At one point, I was standing near a couple of groups that were not sincere in their cheering, but instead were sarcastic. So I moved near people who were more genuine in their sentiment, which was the vast majority of the crowd.
On my way back to the metro, I saw a little boy, who couldn't have been more than 3 years old. He had a little trouble walking, but he held a sign that said "I'm not a criminal." He was referring to the House bill that would make illegal immigrants felons. It was a poignant reminder of what this issue is really all about. It's about people and the American dream. It’s about immigrants pulling themselves up from their bootstraps and working hard and being rewarded for their toil. It's a dream that often feels more like fantasy, but perhaps we can make it real in this day and age. We can provide immigrants with a chance to add to this nation and show them the respect they deserve, as Americans and as human beings.
2 comments:
hey we were at the same place at the same time... alnon with a couple hundred thousand other people... it was a great day for optimism- HR 4437 would make me a criminal for helping my own family learn English and get jobs. The McCain-Kennedy bill is far from perfect and stops short of meetin all the immigration needs- but it sure looks better than the alternative.
Thanks for your comment. In a lot of situations, debates on legislation are treated as simply "issues," while the actual people they effect are forgotten. That's why I like writing satires, just to show where the opposite argument can lead (in a humorous way I hope!).
Post a Comment