Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Some Thoughts on Immigration Rally – Denver, CO May 1, 2006
Sorry that this took a few days to post, but sometimes our priorities are not set by us. I continue to think a lot about this immigration issue. There are people I deeply like and respect who are on opposite sides of this, and not because they are racists (Laura Ingraham is funny and smart, and not a racist) or greedy (one friend is a recent immigrant and thinks the current policies just stink). Did Monday’s marches make any difference to my thinking?
I happened to get to witness some of the Denver March for Immigrants on May 1. This was one of the larger and more successful of the marches around the country. So much of this discussion is oriented towards the politics, but before I get there, I want to mention a few observations:
1) Calling it a “Day without Immigrants” is not a good idea. In lower downtown Denver (LoDo to those in the know), I saw a large number of immigrants working – Italians, Hispanics, Asian. It was clear from the looks on their faces, they didn’t like the fact that their contributions don’t matter to anyone, and yet there they are, first or 2nd generation immigrants working their tails off.
