Kooks United
By Greg L | 17 April 2008 | Virginia Politics | 20 Comments
An organization called “The People United” has published an open letter explaining why they want to cross from Mexico into the United States without passing through a border inspection station as the law requires. To get a handle on what an organization trying to establish “solidarity” with illegal aliens and allied with Mexicans Without Borders and The Virginia Anarchist Federation is all about, I wandered over to the “who we are” section of their website and found plenty with which to put this open letter into context. This clearly is a group of folks that was bitterly disappointed when the Berlin Wall came down.
We support the struggles of all oppressed peoples, even (or especially) when that support is controversial in the small cities where we organize. So if queer liberation or Palestinian self-determination isn’t compatible with your vision for a better world, this might not be the network for you. We want to stop the wars abroad but are not willing to ignore the wars being fought in our own cities. We want to close prisons and open borders. We are working towards the day when we have true security because gross wealth and power disparities have been eliminated. Most importantly, The People United envisions a world where all people have real input into the decisions that directly affect them. We recognize that this world we envision is not likely under capitalism and though we respect everyone’s choice to vote, we don’t see two-party, corporate-funded electoral politics as the vehicle that will take us there either.
So I’m sure the Propaganda Committee of “The People United” is going to have a lot of amusing stuff to say. They don’t disappoint here one bit. Normally I’d provide some commentary on an open letter like this, but this is just so plain nutty, I suppose it should just simply speak for itself. Enjoy.
Open letter to the movement: Why we are crossing the U.S./Mexico border
Arizona is over two thousand miles from Virginia. But there is a connection between the two places, a trail red with blood and stained with history; a connection traced by the thousands of migrants primarily from Mexico and Central America who make the trek each year. Many of these migrants are travelling across indigenous territory that laughs at borders established with recent conquest and colonization by Europeans. Our home communities, scattered across the state, have received new immigrants in mass since the mid-90s and the passing of free-market policies like NAFTA.
Unfortunately, the stifling oppression of the desert follows the recently arrived to the same mountains and bottomland that once welcomed our ancestors in Virginia. And the heat has turned up over the last year, with a resolution passing in Prince William County radically expanding the power of local police to enforce federal immigration law, and over a hundred bills proposed before the most recent General Assembly. These were bills proposed to restrict access to roads, schools and workplaces for the thousands of our neighbors not carrying the right piece of paper. Virginia, like most of the country, is slowly embracing an open apartheid policy, with grassroots groups from the right and rich organized to fan the flames of fear and insecurity. In this climate we’ve been inspired by the impossibly brave organizing of Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, Madre Tierra, and the many other immigrant-led efforts to make this place livable for all; a place where the trials of the desert can be left behind, the pain of separation lessened by the connection of community.
Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has become an ATM for the government, handing out billions of dollars in contracts to private corporations to enforce inhumane anti-immigrant border and security initiatives. This industry has taken on a life of its own and become an anchor of our economy. No matter who takes office, this industry is going to be making demands; it will need contracts. Something dramatic is needed, because this industry is preying on the lives of our friends and compañeros in the struggle; on everyone who desperately crosses sand and dust in a choice none of us should ever have to make. A militarized border does not make us safe; it does fill the pockets of companies like Halliburton and Boeing.
At the same time, our capitalist economy has depended on the exploitation of immigrant labor as corporations look for a vulnerable workforce willing to take increasingly lower wages. Immigrants pay state and federal taxes and receive little in return. Our true security will come when we eliminate basic wealth, racial and social disparities, and when all people have the opportunity to make a good living for their families. Hate politics hurt us all by keeping working people divided, unable to organize for changes that could move us towards an economy based on solidarity and human need. This is our struggle too, and we must make a choice that crosses borders, finding our own when and where and how of starting to feel safe; holding onto community and solidarity in the face of fear and hatred.
We’ve decided to travel to Mexico and walk back to the U.S. without documentation, through the desert with whatever we can fit on our backs, because we recognize that any struggle for human rights is our struggle, too. We will work with the press before and after the action, and meet with community groups across the state upon our return, including our compañeros at Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, and the larger Virginia Immigrants People’s Coalition.
We place our action within the context of efforts to end the war in Iraq, another place where failed US policies based on self-interest have wreaked havoc and resulted in thousands of civilian casualties and a huge population of exiles. Undocumented immigrants fight on the front lines in Iraq and return here to find their community under assault by the same politicians who sent them to war. We place our action in the context of resistance to the Criminal Injustice System which oppresses people of color and the poor. Immigrants face repression in part because they are easily labeled as criminals. We also walk in support of movements in Latin America restoring dignity and equality where the gun and dollar once ruled.
We are entering the border warzone to trace our own, new connection back to the new borderlands of Virginia . We have simply gotten to the point where this action doesn’t feel like a choice; we need to cross the border in order to more fully understand the struggle we have joined.
We undertake this crossing as immigrants. If our European ancestors had faced the same difficulties as Latin American immigrants face today this country would look very different. We need an action to give us our memory back - the brutal colonization our ancestors participated in, and the drawing of these false borders, has been genocidal to Native Americans and West African communities. It continues to harm these communities while European-Americans continue to reap the benefits. We choose to create new memories for our children - ones of resistance and solidarity. We follow in the footsteps of the countless before us, from allies in the Underground Railroad to the Freedom Riders, from the White Rose conspirators to César Chavez. We cross the border because the border, artificially imposed and inhumanely maintained, has crossed us all.
Not too surprisingly, the only picture that I could find of Jeff Winder, who leads “The People United” is this one. Jeff is not the one wearing a uniform, as you probably guessed:
The opinions expressed here are solely the views of the author, and not representative of the position of any organization, political party, doughnut shop, knitting guild, or waste recycling facility, but may be correctly attributed to the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. If anything in the above article has offended you, please click here to receive an immediate apology.
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I want to know when all this poppy-cock started about illegal aliens from Mexico and Central America being indigenous to either? Like the English colonizing North America, the Spanish colonized Central and South America. If our ancestors are guilty of displacing indigenous peoples, then so are theirs.
See what happens when the jobless get bored?
Gee, and K. Raymond says he started a group to help save P.W. from the Resolution.
He said this at the last BOS meeting. Has anyone heard that he did or what. Curious.
Check this out:
http://www.nbc4.com/news/15914395/detail.html
—————
WASHINGTON — Ten groups from Virginia and Maryland announced Thursday they are joining forces to oppose illegal immigration.
The Capital Area Alliance Against Illegal Immigration is a coalition of grassroots organizations that want to end political support for illegal immigration and eliminate taxpayer-funded programs and services that support them.
Some activists said Prince William County’s crackdown on illegal immigration is pushing illegal immigrants into Maryland. They said lawmakers and nonprofit groups like Casa de Maryland have made illegal immigrants welcome.
“Now with the illegals leaving Virginia en masse, they are coming to Montgomery County and to Prince George’s County, in fact, all of Maryland,” said group member Brad Botwin. “Driver’s licenses are available. We think that’s a problem. They’re pushing for in-state tuition, just all types of services. Of course, our great school system is a natural magnet.”
Some Prince George’s residents said jobs go to immigrants who may not even live in their county.
Mando: Sounds like you are in need of some education. Mexicans are not Spanish any more than Native Americans in the U.S. are English. All you have to do is open you eyes and look at our people to see that we are all Native Americans. Please read below and educate yourself.
http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/03/25/mexicans-without-borders-defaces-manassas-again/
Indigenous Native American
There are approx. 20 to 30 millions Illegal Aliens in the USA less than 2% work in the fields but 43 % are on Welfare. If you count their Medical cost and Educating their Spawn at a cost of 7 to 10k per year to American Tax payers as Welfare then close to 100% are on Welfare that American poor and middle class pay an average of 20k per year so the rich have a unlimited supply of slave labor and the Democrats the Welfare vote!
Indig: You are not American Indians. You are Mesoamericans–Aztecs and Mayan. You’re trying to glom onto the American Indians/Native Americans because you see that as an easier avenue for the freebies you want.
monticup
INA is a loon who has lost his way from the asylum. Medic, was right, until the day he finds his way back, best to ignore him. No one who calls himself INA would put peace and love at the end of his blog, or say the truth will set you free, especially after the pack of bologna he dishes out.
I don’t get it. Why don’t they all take their efforts back to their home countries, and change those into places they would rather live in. Instead they want to change our country into theirs. The irony is that if they are successful in remaking our country into theirs, then they won’t want to live here either! Idiots! Who forced them to come here in the first place? You’re telling me Mexico is overcrowded? What about all that open desert they keep talking about? They could start their own communities there without any hassle. Problem is they don’t have any clue how to create a great nation, only how to sponge off one!
Article - Salvadoran says he prefers deportation to facing jail for alleged crimes in Md.
http://www.examiner.com/a-1347712~Salvadoran_says_he_prefers_deportation_to_facing_jail_for_alleged_crimes_in_Md_.html
Just news: Will ignore indig from now on. But what an idiot!
Anonymous: You’re right. They are incapable of creating a great modern nation so they come here for the bennies. You have to remember though that since they are at the absolute bottom of their societies, their governments are pushing them here. First of all, it gets rid of the disgruntled lower class and second, it means remittances home.
es_la_ley: Did you catch the comment by the moron of a police chief? That’s Montgomery County for you.
Once again, the have-nots of the world are migrating to the places where they can leech from the haves. Mostly eurocentric nations where liberty and equality are the law, not the exception. If we allow ourselves to be dragged down to their level, we will lose everything that we stand for.
# monticup said on 17 Apr 2008 at 11:17 pm: Indig: You are not American Indians. You are Mesoamericans–Aztecs and Mayan. You’re trying to glom onto the American Indians/Native Americans because you see that as an easier avenue for the freebies you want.
Only fools make accusations about things which they have no personal knowledge. Do you know me personally. Do you know that I am from VA and my people have been here for at least 10,000 years.
In regards to people from below the fake border not being Native American please read below and get an education:
http://www.bvbl.net/index.php/2008/03/25/mexicans-without-borders-defaces-manassas-again/#comment-61949
Indigenous Native American
The Truth will set you Free
More on Jeff Winder……..protesting Border Patrol officer recruiting:
http://www.charlottesvillenewsplex.tv/home/headlines/14453962.html
I came, I read, I laughed until it hurt. Enjoy the desert, whacko.
I guess the Europeans who settled Jamestown crossed the Atlantic on a cruise ship.
Re-write the history books folks. Virginia owes her greatness not to Washington, Madison, or Jefferson but to Juarez, Sanchez, and Gomez.
It’s all so clear to me know.
I didn’t know that Juarez, Sanchez and Gomez were the day labors rowing the boats
INA,
95% of all Meso-American decendants (who are actually Mongolian, Chinese and Russian Asians, not “native” americans) died from small pox (the Mayan’s descendants, Inca’s decendants, then the Aztecs who actually encountered it first hand). The smallpox came from a member of Cortez’s army and left very few of these poor native indians standing alive. The European Spanish conquerers had babies with the 5% remaining Aztecs, and the modern Mexican and middle american European was created. Native North American Indians, those who were descendants of Anastazi (Utah, Arizona and New Mexico) and Indians further north in California, Colorado, Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Oregan, etc. were the Navaho, Pueblo, Comanche, Apache, Sioux, Chickasaw, Black Feet, Crow and others too numerous to mention (some 500 indian nations in all) living in California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, and Oklahoma and further north and east. Their Anastazi ancestors made the great Mexican and New Mexico/Arizona ball Courts and cliff dwellings, and stone houses of the Arizona, Utah, New Mexico indiginous native north Americans and went SOUTH, NOT NORTH, and EAST to build the huge burial mounds and cities (3000 -1000BC) of the Mississippi valley indians and native indians of Tennesee, North Carolina, Kentucky (Cherokee), Virgina (Sequoiah?) and north into New York, NH and Vermont (Iriquoi, Mohican, etc). They followed migrating buffalo, cleared huge clearings in the forests of Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennesee, Virgina, etc to allow the buffalo to graze and have young, so they could be hunted later in the clearings. These tracts are seen in the Ancient “TRACES” of Mississippi, Arkansaw, Kentucky and Tennesee, such as NATCHES TRACE NP. These were nomadic buffalo hunters, and made huge burial mounds where they settled and had commerce and trade and had a large city of commerce in linked trade centers in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi. They (about 95% also) died from smallpox as well brought by the Jamestown settlers in Virginia, and did not survive except as very small groups. White Europeans (Germans, Irish, French, English, Dutch and Black africans, had babies with many of these remaining few people and formed the modern ancestors currently living in Oklahoma, North Carolina, etc.
I am one of their descendants, and I’ll bet you look nothing like I do! You are descended from Meso-American indians from my understanding of your claims to being linked to Aztecs. They are descended from Mongolian and Russian Asians, as they came south, formed North American Indian nations, then Meso-American Indian cities as mayans, then Incas, then Aztecs in that order. They also “dissappeared” in that order. The Mayans from starvation and war, the Incas and Aztecs from invasion and death by smallpox.
Frankly, you don’t know what the crap you are talking about. It is true only in your twisted brain. You are long way from being an expert on Indian history. Maybe your expertise lies only in mis-direction, lying and projection of wishful thinking.
BTW, the original “native” if you can call anybody “native” inhabitants of Meso and South America were Australian aboriginals, who came here likely on small dugout canoes with outriggers around 20,000-15,000 years ago. They were all killed (except for a select few mixed DNA descendents in Argentina) by the North American Indians as they moved south, around 9,000-6,000 BC years ago. There is also emerging evidence that Celtic ancestors (from Gaelic/Germanic Europe) arrived in Nova Scotia and North America very possibly around the 9,000 BC timeframe as well, much earlier that “Eric the Red”.
I read somewhere that Jeff Winder works as a landscaper and painter and that his wife is a school teacher. Can you imagine your children being exposed to this nonsense. I hope they aren’t influencing my children.