Hunger Strike begins to oppose HR4437

Thanks so much for putting this up. The speeches are very valuable - something that cannot be captured with photos. Keep up the good work!

It's about time. As the patriarch of an Asian immigrant and active military family, make the right choice and vote YES without amnesty of “ANY” form on HR4437. We went through the immigration process, as painful as it was, and do not appreciate the idea of others “jumping the line” to the American dream.

Sincerely,

A voice of the silient majority!

Obviously you've not looked into this legislation. If you had, you'd realize that it isn't about people trying to get a jump ahead in some imaginary line. It would essentially felonize anyone person who is here illegality, no matter what the reason. It would also criminalize health care workers, educators and clergy who dare to help people. Our society would be transformed into one where people (i.e. nonwhite people) are forced to prove their legal identity (their "papers") at any moment or risk being imprisoned.

As a person who would be targeted by this effort, I don't see how can you possibly support this.

The criminalization of exploited laborers and indentured servants traces back to colonialism, as does blame about foreign debt. Hope this sheds some light on the history forgotten by one of your readers.


WHO OWES WHOM?

And what if we interrupted

the blue phosphorescent faces

that calmly assess our fate?

What if we stripped the presses of

their convenient projections,

voicing instead our own objections

to the national debt:

We cannot pay

because our cobble-stone streets,

flanked by the twice repossessed

temples to our future,

appear now like war zones:

bombed out,

abandoned like the dreams

hunger consumes.

We cannot pay
because malnutrition is engraved
in the ancient faces
of our children;
carved into the knotted driftwood backs
of our campesinos
who mush relinquish our food
to the world's table.

We will not pay the debt
because half our wealth
is hoarded by hands
as smooth and white
as the teeth of bankers,
las guardias blancas,
la Casa Blanca,
el banco mundial blanco,
though the skin at times may look brown.

We will not pay one increment more
than the blood and tears
shed like ticker-tape
in the miscarried revolutions
creditors aborted.

For how are we to repay a debt that is owed us?

All that land pried from the fingers of our dead

like artifacts to be sold to private collectors.

All those wares ripped like flesh

from the ribs of our hungry.

All that land on which we die

like ants in a poison rain when we till it;

like cockroaches when we trespass.

All those riches all that blood all that sweat.

How are we to repay a debt owed us?
###

©2006 author Margot “Pimienta” Pepper

that's all i can say about the present ruling elite. they're SOBs.
they can't win the imperialist war abroad and it is but logical for them to consolidate their forces here at home by waging a war against their perceived enemies, non-white immigrants.
the u.s. are showing the typical symptoms of a dying colonial power.
historically; based on the experiences of dead empires like spain, england, france etc.; national panic will set in next.
the ruling elite will exhibit extreme paranoia and will resort to incarceration, expulsion, extradtion and execution. in the ensuing chaos the borders will be breach from all sides and when the dust settles there will be no borders anymore....cool! california will be mexico....again. VIVA!

you'll americans suck because with out us the mexicans you wouldn't be anything!!!!!!!!! VIVA MEXICO 100% MY RAZA NO SE AGUITEN!!!!!!!

I say fuck the american bastards and let's make it imposible to americans to go to our homeland mexico. is time for us the people of the sun to close our welcoming mat to those ingrateful arrogant americans in our latin country's ;let.s close our border to aMERICANS AND LET'S BOICOTT AMERICAN PRODUCTS AN AMERICAN GARBAGE THAT THEY SALE LET.S STOP WORKING FOR A WEEAK AND SEE WHAT THEY CAN DO WHIT OUT OUR HARD WORK ......
SI TENEMOS UN POCO DE DINGNIDAD PROTEGAMOS NUESTRAS PATRIAS Y SERREMOS LA FRONTERA A LOS AMERICANOS QUE LA LEY DE MEXICO SE INPONGA Y EXPROPIEMOS TODOAS LAS COMPANIAS AMERICANAS QUE RESIDEN EN MEXICO Y EXPLOTAN A NUEATRAS GENTE LA RAZA AZTECA NUEATRA RAZA LOS HIJOS DEL SOL DESTRUJAMOS A LOS AMERICANOS ELLOS NO NOS APRESIAN Y NOS HUMILLAN UNAMONOS EN CONTRA DE EL ENEMIGO COMUN EL GRINGO AROGANTE Y MALDITO QUE ESTA DESTRULLENDO LA TIERRA QUE ES DE TODOS TODOS SOMOS HUMANOS PERO ELLOS SE SIENTEN LOS DUENOS DEL MUNDO LET'S KILL THE AMERICAN DOG CADA AMERICANO QUE SE ENCUENTRE EN MEXICO ES NUESTRA OBLIGASION DE ATACARLOS Y ROBARLOS Y GOLPEARLOS COMO VENGANZA POR LOS POBRES INMIGRANTES QUE ELLOS AN MATADO EN LA FRONTERA , ROBEMOSLOS COMO VENGANZA POR LA EXPLOTASION QUE LES HACEN A NUESTROS HERMANOS EN LOS CAMPOS Y ABESES NO LES PAGAN Y GOLPEENLOS COMO VENGANZA POR LAS GOLP[ISAS QUE LA MIGRA LE A DADO A MUCHOS DE NUESTROS COMPATRIOTAS
DEATH TO THE MINUTEMAN ANY WHERE ANY WAY DONDE LOS VEAN MATENLOS

This is not a new situation and it benifits big business. The hostility that this issue is causing is being misdirected. Research and find who benifits from illegal immigration and direct your letters and comments to the appropriate institutions who exploit the hard labor of the illegal immigrant workers.

VIVA MEXICO CABRONES what is the whole point of the law?
Kick out our newly found brothers and sisters.
They are our countrymen though they are not legally born here they are just as american as joe dirt is here to my left.
Is Antonio Villaraigosa just as american as George Bush. Is Cesar Chavez not just as influential as Arnold Schwarzennegger.
What has come to this world if we think human beings are felons if they are not born in the same place. Everyone(minus The indeginous native americans) Are not from here. We are all mutts in my eyes we all came from different places some of us more than one. Whites, blacks, asians, mexicans, latinoes, hispanics, its all the same its a different name for one thing human beings that al have the same right to live breathe and prosper just like legal citizens of this great land. They come in peace and look to help the nation not hurt it. Why else would they have even taken the risk to come here? If you think hr4437 even has a whisp of reality or even humanity in it you are the true felon not the immigrants.

actually gringos are the retarted people right now. look can't U listen . Mexicans do UR freakin house. if it wasn't 4 us you wouldn's have a place to live PENDEJOS!!!!!!!!

bush no vale madre y es hija de puta porque sin mexicanos los estados unidos no valen riata y ademas nosotros los mexicanos tenemos todo los derecho que los americanos por que we pay taxes and bills, we pay everything and get back nothing, HR4437 es una ley no buena porque nosotros no somos criminales, y otra cosa pinche gueros ARRIVA MEXICO!........

One strategy that works very well for HIJO DE PUTA RULING ELITE is divide and conquer. And it's manifested throughout the history of colonialism. What amazes me is even today those of us who are suppose to be the brightest of the brightest are taken by this con job.
On an L.A. TIMES interview of people from West LA a Japanese immigrant castigated the migrantes for breaking the law and not waiting for their turn legally like what he did, waited several years for his preference number to come up. He's been here a few shorts years and he is totally assimilated already. He sounds like a gringo. HIJO DE PUTA wake up! Did The United Fruit Co, and other American conglomerates waited for their turn when they did their rapacious act on the Americas, turning the population of one of the richest natural resource region of the world into one of the poorest group of people in the entire planet. HIJO DE PUTA when a campesino shows up at the doorstep of el norte and brave the elements to cross the border, he's doing that not to take away your hi-tech job, he's doing that because he's hungry and he'll eat the crumbs that fallen off your feast.
We should end this injustice once and for all!
I'm sick and tired that every time I cross the border from Mexico I have to strip naked and scrutinized like a farm animal while that blond blue eyed gringo just whizz on by flashing a library card. Are we brown people a lesser being than them?
We should march millions of us, from the north towards the border
and a million of our people from the south. Once we get there WE WILL TEAR DOWN THE WALL!
TEAR DOWN THE WALL! TEAR DOWN THE WALL! TEAR DOWN THE WALL! TEAR DOWN THE WALL! TEAR DOWN THE WALL!

Yo sé que es una injusticia, pero primero que todo para probar que somos gentes de bien debemos demostrar nuestra educación para poder merecerla. ¿Qué es eso de maldiciones? HABLANDO se entiende la gente!!!!

How pathetic to worship a piece of cloth.

The other day my woman said she was out of sanitary napkins so I rolled one up and handed it to her

que pendejos los GRINGOS, al pensar que no nececitan a los mexicanos! en mi compania solo contratamos mexicanos porque le echan ganas.....

Did you know that the Rep. who wrote the Bill (Sensebrenner) put in an Ammendment to the Bill that would have removed the "Felony Clause" from it? The DEMOCRATS shot it down with 191 Democrats voting NO (allowing the Felony Clause to remain). The same Democrats who now use that section of the Bill to show how "unfair" and "racist" it is.
Here is a link to the Bill. Click on "Amendments" and its number 656 (19 of 32).
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.r.04437:

iam only a sophmore in hight school and i no a lot about this, it is a terrible thing to do to the mexicans and on Monday around 300 people from my school, the other hight school and both the middle schools are walking out 1st hour and going to city hall to protest the law. The senate needs to undertand that they are people too and if they didnt catch them crossing the border when they did, than thats there problem. You shouldnt be able to take families from there home and take them to a place where they have no job or anything and expect them to be ok.

I was born in Los angeles Ca. I am a latina. My parents came from Arentina 40 yrs ago. They have wroked very hard for this great country.Currently I live and work among illegal immigrants. These people are not criminals. They work very hard and are very loyal. I feel if you and yoours were lucky enough to be allowed into the country legally then count your blesssing and save your judgements. There is no room for such comparisons. Let us not forget that some immigrants are allowed into the US thru political assylum. Unfortunatly our friends south of the border do not have that luxury. These people are entitled to all that I am. Our country was founded by immigrants. If anyoe has a right to complain its the Native Americans. After all this was thier land. Minoritties need to join together. comments such as the one you have share are pointless not to mention counter productive. Keep in mind the staue of liberty reads.....bring me your poor, your tired and your hungry. Lets focus on what best serves our country as awhole not as individuals.

hija de puta! what the hell are you talking about. this is a people's forum. you don't need a phd to speak your mind. your's is a typical colonial mentality. come on shake it off. we don't have to prove anything to them loca. let history speaks for itself. our ancestors had established civil societies with workable science and culture when these pendejos still live in trees and caves beating bones.

Silent majority? Who are you speaking for? Bastard! Did you actually conducted a survey of our people? What authority gave you the right to speak for those silent voices? Do you really know who the silent voices
are? They are the undocumented workers of this country. They silently scrub our floors. Silently putting incredible hours toiling under the hot sun.
Silently pushing that cart of dulce down wilshire blvd without shame just to elk out a meager income. It is that lady outside Home Depot with a baby in one hand and a pot of tamales on the other hoping to make a killing for the day to have enough money for rent. These are the real silent voices. They got spat on, taunted, harassed. The fear of being deported, keep them from uttering the faintest idignation. They cry in silence and go to sleep in pain. PENDEJO!
What the wave of new activism has done is put voices in their silent lips!
Let me make a wild guess. PENDEJO. You're probably a son of some goverment official in your home country who fell out of favor. What section of your country's coffer did you guys ransack.
Just speak for yourself please.