In truth , it's not that big a deal. I asked TomPaine.com's fearless captain, Alex Walker, if I could take Monday off in honor of the Day Without Immigrants (a.k.a. La Gran Paro Americano 2006) and she said "Sure."
But even walking out, with permission, of a pretty sweet job at a progressive ejournal, to me is important as a symbolic act. I could say that precisely because I have nothing to lose, it would be most hypocritical for me not to show solidarity. I could say that it's simply a matter of solidarity and Mama didn't raise me to cross no picket lines and it's as easy as that.
Admittedly, since I was a little red-diaper baby (and child of immigrants) I've often been disappointed by the lack of a proper May Day here in these United States. It's an American-born tradition, after all—a day in honor of working men and women everywhere and the battles they've fought to bring us all an 8-hour day, worker's comp, etc.
But also, particularly, both the issue of illegal immigration and the nature of a general walk-out require our support. As we've argued repeatedly at TomPaine.com, immigration is an issue at the heart of who we are as America.
Derrick Jackson has explained how immigrants contribute to American society. Rinku Sen illuminated not just the underlying racism of the issue but also the progressive hope of the immigrant movement. Jeff Faux made the compelling argument that the solution to our continental economic woes lies in more cooperation , not more isolation.
Even undocumented workers pay payroll taxes and sales taxes, while frequently not using the social services those taxes pay for out of fear of being deported or poor English skills. Immigrants who come here to work low-end day jobs frequently become small business owners themselves, the American dream personified, in turn hiring new immigrants and fueling economic growth.
Many of our readers have responded to these articles with the simple cry of "We don't care about the statistics! You're forgetting that they're illegal!"
Yes, we know. We haven't forgotten.
But because someone has broken a law, does that mean we have to break up families and make orphans out of American children? Thousands of Muslim men have been deported since 9/11, including half the Pakistani population of New York, frequently for little more than failure to fill out the paperwork of a complex, poorly-run INS correctly. As Cathy Young asks, in her excellent piece in Reason, do we imprison someone for running a high-quality daycare if they don't have the correct license? Just because someone is not a citizen of the United States doesn't mean they aren't a human being worth of fundamental rights.
Like they say, no human being is illegal.
Put your money where your mouth is . After all, you may not be an undocumented worker, but who's going to stand by your side when you need some solidarity?
--Ethan Heitner |
Monday, May 1, 2006 9:51 AM
