Illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, minutemen, and anarchist ninjas all gathered together, and the American flag was more popular than on the Fourth of July.
The May Day rally and march in downtown Santa Ana drew a crowd of between 1,000 and 3,000 people, according to a police estimate. Cops on horses, motorcycles and in loud, low-flying helicopters looked to pounce on troublemakers.
Protesters want more rights for immigrants from Mexico. From the signs waved by most of the demonstrators, drivers licenses for illegal immigrants seemed to be the top issue.
Smiling Spanish-speaking families wore bright colors and happy toddlers painted a pleasant scene, but--like a tarantula crawling out of a burrito--anarchists, communists and Minutemen reared their heads too.
On the Plaza of Flags, the crowd waved mostly the American banner while a few held the Mexican flag. In an otherwise peaceful scene, one obese Minuteman heckled a group of white and Asian teenagers dressed like Al Qaeda ninjas. Was it a joke? Were they serious?
The ninjas wore all-black outfits and masks with slits for eyes. They held black flags, indicating they believe in nothing. They had nothing to say except, "We don't want any attention."
But the ninjas did flip the bird to the fat Minuteman clad in an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, belly hanging. "What is that, your IQ?" he responded. Burn.
The fat man said his name was Gerry Mance. Bystanders derided him as the Garbage Pail Kid of Minutemen. He said he was just trying to take a picture of the anarchists. Naui Huitzilopochtli, a Hispanic man with a digital camera, began recording Mance, who launched into a tired diatribe about illegal immigrants taking jobs and costing taxpayers money. "They came out to protest their rights," Mance said. "Well, they have a right to leave."
Mance then asserted that the Constitution grants him the power to interview and arrest illegal "invaders." He inexplicably attempted to justify his case with bizarre references to the Iraq war.
Huitzilopochtli said he often records Minutemen embarrassing themselves in public and then puts the film on YouTube. When he turns on his camera, they tend to shine, he said.
"Once I'm there, they can't help themselves," he said. "They'll start going off and then the racial slurs start flying."
He replayed a video shot from earlier that day. The video featured a group of white-haired little old ladies, grimacing like they just ate one of the nasty candies they surely stockpile at home.
"D-Port, D-Port, D-Port," they chanted while mugging for the camera.
Huitzilopochtli explained that these ladies had dispersed prior to the rally's 3 p.m. scheduled start time. He said they were probably now on the fringes of the parade filming it for their anti-immigrant website. They use the imagery of the demonstrators waving the Mexican flag to make their point.
"I don't blame them," he said. "They need their propaganda."
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Derik Martin says:
I believe that the minute men and the older ladies you are so critical of don't have a problem with immigration. They simply have a problem with illegal immigration.
Your deport deport deport article only spreads the poison by making fun of physical characteristics of these anti illegal immigration advocates.
There are plenty of people in the United States who have a very similar belief and oppose Illegal Immigration but realize the inaffectiveness of such rallies. When I say plenty I am talking about 70% of the voting population of the United States not a mer handful of non voting people who you support.
Your journalism is both irresponsible and juvenile and spreads the gap between all Americans and non Americans illegally living in this country.
Posted on Thursday, May. 3 2007 @ 7:05AM
large says:
While I'm neither anti Mexican nor anti Immigrant, I must say that the term "Illegal Immigrant" is incorrect.
Those here illegally are Illegal "Aliens", "Visitors" or "Workers", not Immigrants . . No matter what they do once they are here, or how long they do it . . They broke the law to get here and are breaking the law each day they remain in the country.
To obtain any documentation to allow them to work here, they must do so illegally, and the documentation normally is either false and fraudulent or Identification Documents stolen from an American Citizen . . thus furthering the crime being committed by the individual . .
Those crimes alone should disqualify any Illegal from application for Visa or Citizenship . . and they do, if you're from anyplace other than Mexico, apparently.
Laws need to be enforced, and visa quotas, work permit laws changed so that those who would come here legally can do it easily and responsibly . .
But NO AMNESTY . . it doesn't work . .
Posted on Thursday, May. 3 2007 @ 8:05AM
NAUI HUTIZILOPOCHTLI says:
Thank you for the article i want to make a correction i am not a Hispanic man (spaniard) I am a Mexican man . See the videos i filmed from the May Day event .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7YrkpKNB7M
Posted on Thursday, May. 3 2007 @ 6:05PM
Gustavo Arellano says:
Derek: great post, and welcome to the world of the OC Anti-Immigrant All-Stars!
Posted on Friday, May. 4 2007 @ 9:05PM
Samuel Roberts says:
Hi Naui;
I've subscribed to your youtube channel after watching your coverage of the minutemen militia.
Minutemen are opportunists and hunt in packs, they derive safety from large numbers and follow militia heads who are the most thuglike and physically intimidating. They arm themselves with weapons and handcuffs. Their individual and group behaviour seems to indicate thinly a thinly veiled hatred of the Mexican community and they go out of their way to provoke bad behaviour which you appear to admirably resist.
I live in one of the most densly populated countries in the world. Here, immigration occurs freely within the borders of many European states and in England the only problems are almost always caused by the local extremists and fundamentalists. We have nothing like the minutemen and a regime like that would never be able to exist in modern Britain.
When on film the minutemen shine brightly their true colours. Please, keep up the good work.
Sam.
Posted on Monday, Jun. 16 2008 @ 5:59AM