Rally against hate group defends Mexican immigrants
By
Ruth Vela
Baldwin Park, Calif.
Published May 19, 2005 11:08 PM
Historically in the
United States the indigenous, people of color and the poor have had to carry the
burden of being perfect scapegoats for the ruling class. Migrant workers are
continually portrayed by the capitalist media as being less than human in an
effort to create public ambiv alence about the less-than-human standards they
work and live under. As if this were not enough, a recent wave of anti-immigrant
hysteria has swept across the country and is manifesting itself in the form of
racist vigilante groups like the Arizona “Minute men” and equally
danger ous anti-immigrant “community” groups.
In California,
one such group, calling them selves “Save our State,” claims that
“Cali fornians are tired of watching their communities turn into third
world cess pools as a result of a massive invasion of illegal aliens.”
“Save our State” and another anti-immigrant group called
“Friends of the Border Patrol” are both connected with the Arizona
Minutemen.
In Baldwin Park, just east of Los Angeles, a racist
mobilization was called on May 14 by “Save our State” to protest a
monument at the Baldwin Park Metro-Link station. The monument makes reference to
the theft of Native and Mexican land by the U.S. The racists were demanding that
the city of Baldwin Park “voluntarily remove these offensive passages by
Friday July 1st, in advance of the Amer ican Independence
weekend.”
Ominously, they threatened to take “additional steps
to ensure the passages are removed.”
‘Who’s the
immigrant, pilgrim?’
In response, many community groups and
individuals in Baldwin Park—Mecha, the Committee in Defense of Immigrant
Workers/IAC-LA, San Diego’s FIST (Fight Imperi alism, Stand
Together)—and other South ern California activist groups gathered at the
monument an hour before the scheduled racist rally.
Initially several
blocks separated the two groups, and when the largely youthful marchers set out
to confront the 30 or so racists, the local police blocked their way. After a
long standoff and police threats to make arrests if the anti-racists
didn’t disperse, the youth—first by ones and twos, and then in
ever-growing numbers—were able to use side streets to sidestep the police
blockade and move closer to the racists.
As members of FIST and local
youth moved through side streets, community people on their porches and in their
front yards joined them. Within minutes, the racists were pushed onto one street
corner while youth occupied the other three. Shouts of anger mixed with chants
of “Who’s the immigrant, pilgrim?” and “Whose land? Our
land!” could be heard back at the monument several blocks away.
Still protected by the police, the racists taunted the protesters.
Meanwhile, helicopter loudspeaker warnings that the protesting youth would all
be arrested were drowned out by the growing crowd. Tensions rose as did the
number of cops who were fighting to keep the youth on the sidewalks.
Yet
rather than back down, the protesters filled the streets, almost completely
surrounding the racists.
After a nearly two-hour standoff, the racists
and their police escort threw in the towel. Their tails between their legs and
their heads bowed in defeat they were led away with the sound of anti-racist
victory cheers and the chanted, heartfelt message from the Baldwin Park
community, “Don’t come back!”
As good as it felt to win
this battle, the arrogance of the racists and their police allies also served as
a reminder that we have yet to win the war against this system that breeds
oppression and division. We must embrace the fight of our immigrant sisters and
brothers and further commit ourselves to the struggle against imperialism, so
that we may truly “save the state” of our working class from the
clutches of the ungrateful, racist, parasitic bourgeoisie.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
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