The Chicago Tribune reports a bump on the road to excusing those who enter the United States illegally:
Chicago’s immigrant rights movement was on the verge of making history, and Nicole Perez was ready to lend her voice when she was told, with an angry sneer, that she was not welcome.
That was March 10, 2006. Perez and her lesbian partner, Xiomara Santana, had joined more than 100,000 demonstrators in the Loop for a march that kicked off a nationwide struggle for immigrant rights. Holding hands, the U.S.-born women looked at the Latino faces around them and were reminded of their own families.
Then an elderly man 2 feet away cursed at the couple, spitting out: “Why are you here?”
“I was like: ‘We’re all here for the same reason. This is as much my issue as it is yours,’” Perez, 25, said, recalling her tears of anger as others at the march laughingly trotted away from a gay and lesbian banner nearby for fear of being associated with the group…
Identity politics continue their devolution. Somewhere, the late Iron Eyes Cody is weeping, too.
Comment by happyfeet on 12/26 @ 11:52 am #
That’s kind of a lie I think. I think 9 out of like 10 people would be less concerned with “family values” and would probably mostly just kind of note that maybe letting poor people with expensive to treat diseases immigrate might be something that is not necessarily wise. Mexico is kind of corrupt, they might reflect, and maybe they could kind of envisage the Mexican government encouraging people with communicable diseases to emigrate to the U.S. That’s kind of cynical, I guess, but the idea that opposition to AIDSy immigrants is centered on some idea that they would undermine “family values” seems just kind of silly. The mainstream organizations are probably figuring that the diseasey immigrants would raise estimations of the social cost of immigration and that maybe that’s not in the best interest of their “movement.” That’s what I think anyway.
Comment by mojo on 12/26 @ 12:02 pm #
HELLO… Is this thing on? IRONY ALERT!!
Mexican consular sources in Phoenix say they are seeing a spike in the number of immigrants applying for Mexican citizenship for their U.S.-born children, which will allow them to enroll in schools in Mexico.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2126758320071224
Comment by Rob Crawford on 12/26 @ 12:58 pm #
ISTR that it was once a requirement that immigrants be disease-free. There may have even been places where they were held in quarantine while that was tested.
And I get the feeling that, as mojo points out, the Mexican laws on such things are rather stricter.
Immigration reciprocity now!
Comment by Carin on 12/26 @ 1:06 pm #
On what grounds are they fighting this? AIDS isn’t a gay disease – we’ve had that drilled into our heads since the 80’s.
Comment by Mike C. on 12/26 @ 1:09 pm #
The first thing that came to my mind while reading this excerpt was Queers for Palestine.
Comment by happyfeet on 12/26 @ 1:12 pm #
Love knows no borders and also viruses and global warming, Carin. Because also of the social justice and pie. It’s a nationwide struggle, don’t you know.
Comment by happyfeet on 12/26 @ 1:15 pm #
(That’s a really really big struggle.)
Comment by happyfeet on 12/26 @ 1:17 pm #
Lesbians struggling and writhing for freedom.
Comment by Pablo on 12/26 @ 1:34 pm #
We should have some video of that, I think.
Comment by Pablo on 12/26 @ 1:35 pm #
Is Portia de Rossi involved? I might buy right in…if I see proof.
Comment by Carin on 12/26 @ 1:39 pm #
I sure these lesbian immigrants who were rejected weren’t of the “lipstick” variety.
Comment by happyfeet on 12/26 @ 1:51 pm #
I report you decide.
Comment by B Moe on 12/26 @ 1:54 pm #
Apparently Xiomara is Spanish for Rosie. Who knew.
Comment by happyfeet on 12/26 @ 2:15 pm #
this is completely off-topic but it’s the most interesting thing I found all day so far. It’s about the NYT and how the AP and others pimped its November advertising revenue results.
Comment by Christopher Taylor on 12/26 @ 2:30 pm #
Yeah couldn’t possibly be that they’re being shunned or shamed because they are wrong you know. They’re being unfairly treated!
Comment by buzz on 12/26 @ 3:21 pm #
So if this was an immigration rally, what was the gay and lesbian banner for?
Comment by B Moe on 12/26 @ 4:50 pm #
“So if this was an immigration rally, what was the gay and lesbian banner for?”
OMG! TRUTH TO POWER!
Comment by Gulermo on 12/26 @ 9:59 pm #
They are scorned and ridiculed in most of the Latin American world. Happy: the link has photos from Playa Manuel Antonio, one of the most beautiful beaches anywhere.
Comment by daleyrocks on 12/26 @ 11:03 pm #
Clean our carpets, not each others’!
Comment by steveaz on 12/27 @ 9:36 am #
Happyfeet’s got a point. Teh sick “undocumented” gheys screw up the PROG message because Duhseeziness breeds more Neediness.
If I were a Democrat(ic) Senator from Illinois, I’d be thinking:
This one could go viral, guys.