Immigrant Daily

Democracy in the Streets Doesnt Work in the U.S.

I read an interesting article today that compared the political/advocacy strategies of two opposing groups in Prince William County.  One group is the Help Save Manassas, a staunchly anti-illegal immigrant group, and the other is Mexicans Without Borders, a pro-immigrant group.  These two groups clashed politically on the issue of cracking down on undocumented immigrants in that county.

The article was a sort of brief analysis of how the Help Save Manassas group was more successful in their efforts by utilizing the internet and high-tech approach to let their voices be heard, whereas the Mexicans Without Borders group was unsuccessful because they took to the streets instead and tried to excite their base of supporters.

Washington Post quoted Greg Letiecq, the conservative blogger and activist who is president of Help Save Manassas, as saying that:

“That’s not the way politics is done in the United States,” he said, calling the rallies and protests by his opponents “a political engagement model from Mexico.”

Of course this is the Nixonian “Silent Majority” approach to the issue.  As many of you are probably aware Richard Nixon firmly believed that the support for the war in Vietnam was much greater than it appeared in the streets of the United States.  He believed (and was probably right) that the people who went into the streets were just a bunch of radicals and that those that stayed home with their cat, dog, and 2.5 children would support him.

The immigration issue has a similar impact on our society today, in that the loud demonstrations conducted by the well-meaning pro-immigrant groups have backfired.  The fact of the matter is that most people that oppose immigration do so because they are uncomfortable with the cultural changes occurring in their neighborhoods.  They do not know or understand the culture of the new-comers, nor do they necessarily want to.  To many, immigrants whether legal or illegal, are an infusion of more people into their neighborhoods.  The same way that smaller towns do not appreciate out-of-towners or “city folk” moving into their town, people also do not appreciate foreigners moving next door.  And if your number one complaint is that your wonderfully peaceful town of Manassas now has a higher population, now has undocumented workers standing around looking for work, now has more crime (which comes with the territory when more people arrive), then the least effective way to encourage you to accept this change and to embrace the immigrants as your fellow man, is to have loud protests.

It is true that demonstrations should be viewed with reverence, a true moment of democracy playing itself out and leading to decisions by the politicians who don’t do what is the most conservative option, but rather do what is right.  However the sad point of the article is that in the age of the internet, where many people spend more time in front of their computer, chatting, listening and watching various content, than they do outside or even in front of their TVs, demonstrations are no longer effective.  What is effective now is email petitions, blogging, chatting, grass roots efforts in the 21st century.  Something is definitely lost.  People are hidden behind the curtain of anonymity.  If you want to be racist, if you want to be xenophobic or are just worried about saving your small community, it is easier to send an e-mail, to sign a petition, or to get on your soapbox on the internet (like me), nobody knows where you stand – you are part of the “silent majority,” except you are no longer silent.

The following quote from Mr. Jenkins, a “democrat” truly astounded me:

“No one changed our opinion with their testimony,” said Supervisor John D. Jenkins (D-Neabsco). “I can be persuaded to have sympathy for people. I can’t have sympathy for anyone who breaks the law.”

The reason why this astounded me is that the logical conclusion of that statement is that people who “break laws,” are no longer people.  Well this is simply not true, if it were true then I would venture to say that nobody reading this blog, or driving on the freeway is a person.  Everyone breaks laws, some break minor laws and some break major laws, immigration laws are not malum in se they are malum prohibitum, and so before anyone makes sweeping statements of judgment like Mr. Jenkins, they should be very thoughtful about their own conduct in life and whether they break any laws.

The truth is that the only way to change our society’s attitude towards immigrants and immigration in general is through education and some good ‘ole sweet talking.  I believe that in the end, it is important to show that many Americans in fact support immigration and immigrants support undocumented workers in our communities.