On Saturday (July 24th), I took part in a protest on Capitol Hill in Seattle with the Revolutionary Communist Party against Arizona’s SB1070. The RCP has an excellent article concerning the issue that tries to look at the whole picture of the immigration issue instead of the media’s “sound bite” portrayal. I’ve just started getting involved in this revolution, and the Saturday protest was one of their actions.
Me taking part in an SB1070 protest. So many signatures!
I helped design and spray-paint a banner which read as follows:
FROM SEATTLE TO AZ
STOP SB1070
TODOS SOMOS ILEGALES
The last line of this means “we are ALL illegals,” both a sentiment of solidarity with those being unjustly persecuted and discriminated against in Arizona (and elsewhere!), and also an accurate portrayal of the United States and its history. We stood on Capitol Hill near the block party that was going on, and as people passed we talked to them about the issues and had them sign the banner, often with supportive comments. One person wrote, “I can’t believe this shit’s still going on! This is CRAZY!” One person was an immigrant from France, and wrote a message of solidarity in French. We’ll be sending the banner down to Arizona for the July 29th protest there, which is the day the bill is expected to be signed into law. There will be a state-wide day of protest, where many will refuse to carry identification.
The article linked above does a great job explaining the very serious problems with the SB1070 bill, the history of migrant work in the US, and it even proposes a better solution: revolution. This whole capitalist-imperialist system is screwed, from the ground up.
Another incredible article from the RCP is titled “Why DO People Come Here?“, which in part discusses the harm the US’s policies have had on Mexico, contributing directly to the influx of immigration in recent years.
I’ll be posting more about the RCP and my journey with them as time goes by.
