Plenty of images and the full report here at EckerNet.
The crowd was much larger than I expected. Andy apparently heard 50000. I heard organizers announce both 30000 and 40000. Personally I think 30K is the more accurate figure.
Flags were all over the place. It appears the organizers of this rally have learned from the previous immigration rallies because probably 50% of the flags I saw were US flags. The other 50% were a mix of all of South/Central America. Most of them were Mexican, El Salvadore, Guatemala, and Honduras. For the most part marchers were respectful of the US Flag.
All the chants were in spanish. Most of the signs were and each speech was broadcast in both broken-english and spanish (presumably non-broken). It occasionally got difficult to understand what the speaker was ranting about. Combine that with what was either an incredibly poor PA system, or else each speaker was trying to eat their microphone.
The speeches, what I could understand anyway, were essentially the same. Illegals deserve equal rights because...well, as it was stated, they "have followed the law their whole life. Only thing we're guilty of is an administrative fault." Yup, breaking our immigration laws is just a clerical error on par with them misfiling a form at the DMV.
Why isn't the i.n.s. out there rounding them up and deporting them??? The march should lead right to a one way jumbo jet ride back to mexico.
A previous co- worker announced to me one day to start calling her Clara-her real name b/c now she had just become a citizen. She confessed she came here with false ID from Dom. Rep. via Canada. This girl had an equal level well paying job as I and she was illegal! Forget the low paying jobs-they want the high paying jobs!
Posted by: splashtc | Monday, April 10, 2006 at 01:35 PM
I wonder what would would happen if the American Taxpayers protest?
This is amazing and sickening to watch.
Posted by: IMHERE | Monday, April 10, 2006 at 01:38 PM
I find it sickening to watch and I am not even in the US.
Who says crime don't pay!!
It is the same here in the UK.
God alone knows who these people are, and there have been so many serious crimes committed by these characters, they don't even get vetted before they come in, and then just skip back abroad if they think they may be caught, or if the tax man may catch up with them! It is just mugs like us who pay taxes, and I am not talking about poorly paid jobs either. They are supposed to pay their own taxes and many of them don't pay anything, don't even give their real address.
Tut, tut, there I go again, committing another hate crime by daring to say such things about people from abroad.
How about the people running our countries started putting the citizens of those countries first, FOR A CHANGE!!
Posted by: annie | Monday, April 10, 2006 at 01:45 PM
well just a reminder that all people in the US are immigrants as well, not that long ago 90 years or so
Posted by: mylena | Monday, April 10, 2006 at 04:03 PM
Mylena
The US may be made up of an immigrant population, but for the main part they are not made up of an 'illegal immigrant' population.
There is a difference, most of them did not break the law to enter the US, they came legally and became citizens. Why should the people who have broken the laws of the US by entering illegally be given amnesty, in favour over all those millions who are trying to get in legally and are waiting their turn??
Posted by: annie | Monday, April 10, 2006 at 04:15 PM
I don't know Annie, maybe they should pack everybody up and sent them all back ? How do you suggest to do that ? The kids who got born in the States can stay though they got born here will have US citizenship.
It all starts with work, If there is NO work, who will come out here? Lets turn the tables for a while, someone IS giving them work and paying those people. You think that an American easily got have gotten that job ?. The grocery shop here can't fill their bagger jobs, and then I do live in a very nice area here. The only people who will take those low paid jobs are quess who ?
Posted by: mylena | Monday, April 10, 2006 at 10:58 PM
Ronald Reagan leagalized border crossing in the early eighties to increase cheap labor and break US unions. He changed it to an "Administrative Fault" When someone is caught, there is no paperwork and they are returned to Mexico or released in the US. The Mexicans are caught in the middle between Republicans who thump their chest over "Border Security" and the Republicans who legalized border crossing for cheap labor.
Posted by: Todd Smyth | Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at 04:16 PM