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Waving the Red, White and Blue

By Alan Stewart Carl | Related entries in Immigration

Phil Boas of the Arizona Republic notes that the immigrant rallies have switched from waving the Mexican flag to waving the American flag. He sees this as a very positive development.

I believe mainstream America tolerates its law-breaking migrants namely because it identifies with them. Many of us would break the same laws to leave the dirt-poor wages of the Third World for the most productive economy on Earth. There is something recognizably American in that.

Migrant organizers are fond of calling themselves the invisible population. But they are not invisible to those of us who have lived in the Southwest. Throughout my life in Arizona I have seen small kindnesses back and forth between middle-class Americans and the working-class Latinos who cut their lawns, clean their homes and wash their cars.

I’ve seen migrant women offer their housekeeping services free to a well-off White mother because her child was gravely ill. I’ve seen Latino gardeners and housekeepers bring tamales at Christmas to White people who could afford to eat nightly at the finest restaurants. I’ve seen those same White folks savor those tamales more than they ever would aged prime beef.

I’ve seen Anglos give lawn mowers and groceries and generous bonuses to their Latino laborers. I’ve seen Whites not only coach the children of illegal immigrants in Little League but pay for their uniforms and equipment. I saw a Phoenix lawyer take a poor Latino child to see her favorite player, Michael Jordan, play in the NBA Finals.

Boas paints a rosier portrait than the reality, but he is correct in noting how very little animosity there usually is between illegal immigrants and natural-born Americans.

And yet yesterday, when I wrote a piece criticizing those who are opposed to illegal-immigration solely for cultural reasons, several people in the comments claimed (or at least discussed claims) that the relationship is actually one of impending conflict if not all-out war. To back these claims up, the commenters referenced radical Mexican groups like MECha which advocate a Mexican reconquista of the Southwestern U.S. states.

Certainly a good number of Mexicans view our Southwest as wrongfully seized. And many see the former Mexican territories as part of a greater, trans-national Mexico. But to claim that there is any serious Mexican desire to ignite some kind of war (racial or state-against-state) is absurd at best. Those illegal-immigration opponents who seek to frighten us with the specter of a race war are trying to win their argument not with facts but with pernicious falsities. It’s fear-mongering, plain and simple.

Which is why Boas is absolutely correct when he says pro-immigrant marchers are wise to have adopted the American flag as their symbol of choice. Those who want to push the reconquista storyline will doubtlessly label the switch to the stars-and-stripes as a deception. But most of these marches have attracted hundreds of thousands of demonstrators�that’s a lot of people to be in on a conspiracy. I really don’t think they would be waving the American flag if they didn’t really want to be part of America.

And I think average Americans will respond positively to crowds waving the American flag. Hopefully the demonstrators will continue to show their desire to be here with such patriotic fervor. If the reaction of average Americans is positive enough, our leaders will feel much more obliged to keep our compassion intact as they craft new immigration laws.

Note: Each time I write a post arguing for a need to understand the complications of illegal immigration and a need to show compassion towards those who come here illegally, someone invariably interprets my words to be an ignorant cry for wide-open borders. So let me say that I favor tightened immigration and oppose any blanket amnesty. What I support are laws that go after the manufacturers of false documentation first, the employers of illegal immigrants second and the illegal immigrants themselves third. This is a serious issue and more enforcement is very necessary�intelligent enforcement.


This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 11th, 2006 and is filed under Immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

9 Responses to “Waving the Red, White and Blue”

  1. Joshua Says:
    April 11th, 2006 at 5:06 pm

    ASC wrote:

    Certainly a good number of Mexicans view our Southwest as wrongfully seized. And many see the former Mexican territories as part of a greater, trans-national Mexico. But to claim that there is any serious Mexican desire to ignite some kind of war (racial or state-against-state) is absurd at best.

    I don’t know about you, but any time I see someone openly advocating carving a large chunk out of the U.S. homeland (especially a chunk where I have several relatives living), I take notice and take it at least somewhat seriously. Doesn’t matter who it is, or even what my assessment is of their chances of success.

    That said, I do think the development described by Mr. Boas is a welcome antidote to the Aztlanista business. Not to mention that assimilation is a lot easier, and probably loads more effective, than trying to round up 11 million illegal immigrants, ship them back to Mexico and hope they stay put.

  2. Bradley Says:
    April 11th, 2006 at 5:12 pm

    Nothing will be fixed until the process to enter the US legally is made easier. Notice I said “easier” and not “less secure”. Keep the security (or increase it) but remove the wasteful and frustrating hoops and red tape.

    Once we fix that, people will actually use the legal methods as a primary means of gaining access to the US and then you can reasonably secure the border.

  3. Callimachus Says:
    April 11th, 2006 at 6:27 pm

    I can testify from personal experience what an emotional difference it makes to an Anglo American to see protesters marching under the Mexican flag and protesters marching under the American flag. But heart doesn’t always trump head. And if they’re the same protesters in both marches, and only the dates have changed, it’s germane to wonder, what gives?

    Did people bring their own flags, or did march organizers note the negative reaction to the earlier marches and hand out Old Glories the next week?

    Are the media images representative of the marchers as a whole, in either case?

    And I still am left wondering, how strong a component are the reconquista mentalities among the various protesting factions? How do they deal with the fact that the Spanish stole the land from the Indians, other than claiming they are all really “indigenous,” not Mexican?

  4. GN Says:
    April 11th, 2006 at 8:35 pm

    “What I support are laws that go after the manufacturers of false documentation first, the employers of illegal immigrants second and the illegal immigrants themselves third. This is a serious issue and more enforcement is very necessaryâ€â€?intelligent enforcement. ”

    Say it louder … there is a centrist project in there if w could organise it …. a write in/ call in/ e-mail campaign to the elected officials?

    It would be interesting if we could get the Congress to react in the same timeframe as the ports deal.

  5. JP Says:
    April 12th, 2006 at 1:00 am

    GN, I agree completely. I do believe the employers who are willfully failing to check citizenship are most responsible, but they’re the ones least mentioned in today’s debate. We need to enforce THOSE laws, and then the demand will be controlled. I suggest it’s unpopular because it sounds like “Regulation”….

  6. Daniel Berczik Says:
    April 12th, 2006 at 8:09 am

    FWIW, I heard a story on NPR that had audio of organizers telling protesters to put away their Mexican flags and take the US flags provided. Even the reporter didn’t think that the sudden shift was organic.

    This means little, anyway. It was good PR to wave Old Glory and the organizers deserve credit for learning quickly.

    If you want to characterize the discussion of motivation as “fear-mongering,” go right ahead–it’s your blog. If you wish to practice ad hominem, that’s your business.

    Also, there is a marked difference between “pro-immigration” and “pro-illegal-immigration.” What is the message here? I haven’t heard any sane person argue against immigration, yet that is the spin.

    Last point: Who here talked of war? Who here can honestly say that large influxes of immigrants do not cause some conflict? Of course it does. That is the history of America, like it or not. To attempt to resolve the conflict peacefully without all the facts (I haven’t seen a lie here, yet) is absurd.

  7. Phillip J. Birmingham Says:
    April 12th, 2006 at 10:55 am

    ASC:

    Actually, Mecha doesn’t actually advocate a reconquista.

    Like I said before, the beliefs of MEChA were pretty soundly hashed out during the California recall election, and I think that this article says it best:

    http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2003/09/mecha-meme.html

    In contrast [to the League of the South's "Position Paper on Race"], the MEChA documents are quite benign. Its rhetoric is, undoubtedly, inflammatory and angry, but it is only vaguely exclusionist and decidedly short on the attacks on other races and derogation of them. The strident tenor seems shrill and overstated in today’s context — but then, it is important to remember that most of these documents were written in 1969, a time when the effects of white racism were still much more apparent.

    Perhaps more representative of the direction taken by the organization is “The Philosophy of MEChA”, written apparently in about the same time frame. Especially noteworthy is this passage:

    As MEChA, we must accept the challenge to combat all forms of oppression, and manifestations as experienced through racism, sexism, and homophobia, both inside and outside of our Movement.

    Indeed, the entirety of this document is focused on civic duty and coordinated action, all of which are time-honored principles of peaceful social change. Its orientation is unquestionably multicultural.

    Moreover, a survey of campus Mechista Web sites reveals this same kind of benign advocacy. It is clear that this, and not creation of an exclusivist Aztlan and a plan to “drive out the gringos,” is what MEChA is primarily about.

  8. ford4x4 Says:
    April 12th, 2006 at 11:07 am

    FWIW, I heard a story on NPR that had audio of organizers telling protesters to put away their Mexican flags and take the US flags provided. Even the reporter didn’t think that the sudden shift was organic.

    Limbaugh was saying the same thing yesterday. Strange he would ever say the same thing as NPR. Makes the whole flag waving thing seem a little disingenuous. I wonder if the rally organizers used the words “hearts and minds” in their pre-rally pep talks.

    There’s no need for war, and the illegals know it. All they need to do is win the right to vote, and then they will quickly take over the southwestern state governments.

  9. Phillip J. Birmingham Says:
    April 12th, 2006 at 11:23 am

    Those who want to push the reconquista storyline will doubtlessly label the switch to the stars-and-stripes as a deception.

    Gee, that certainly panned out.

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