N.Jersey protestors clash over illegal immigration

[Superman Returns]

RIVERSIDE, New Jersey (Reuters) - Opponents of a local law cracking down on illegal immigrants clashed on Sunday with residents chanting "go home" as both sides proclaimed their loyalty to the United States.

An estimated 300 to 400 people gathered outside the town hall to protest a recently passed ordinance that bans hiring or renting to illegal immigrants, who are accused of overburdening local services such as schools and hospitals without paying taxes.

The protesters, representing the largely Brazilian immigrant community of Riverside, were heckled by about 500 counter-demonstrators kept at bay by police on the other side of the town's main intersection.

As immigration supporters accused the town's council of racism, opponents chanted "USA, USA" and waved placards saying "Scram" and "Stop Illegal Immigration." A passing pickup truck drew loud cheers by flying a Confederate flag with the motto "The South Will Rise Again."

<http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060820/2006-08-20T214959Z_01_N20410041_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-USA-IMMIGRATION-DC.html>

[Davros]

1. What nonsense

"The South Will Rise Again" : Wow are they in for a surprise when in 50 years, those treason-flag-waving hypocrites will be the minority.

[Superman Returns]

3. the moderators

deleted my post on the thread about the Confederate flag. I said it was treason.

[noahmijo]

4. I saw and guess what? YOU ARE RIGHT IT IS TREASON

Suck it up Mods, that flag represents an army that is responsible for more American deaths than any terrorist could possibly dream of.

[RebelOne]

6. Well, I guess there are plenty of traitors in Georgia

where I live. There are confederate flags everywhere.

[Warren DeMontague]

10. Yeah, but you have Michael Stipe, too.

So you aint all bad.

[noahmijo]

2. Fuckin Irish and Krauts tryin to sneak into the Northeast again??

Jesus when are they gonna learn THEY ARE NOT WANTED HERE! if we keep lettin em sail into this county illegally they're gonna infect us Natives with more than just lice; The Irish for sure will try to have us all fall under the rule of The Pope! Nevermind that they are doin the work what twice be paid to a colored boy, we continue to let em into this country they will destroy us all!

GOD BLESS THE NATIVES TO VICTORY!! DOWN WITH THE UNION!!!

[silverojo]

5. This is making me sick

First off, the Irish and Germans came here the same way that all other immigrants did. They weren't illegally trespassing and crawling through people's back yards, as our current crop of illegals is doing. There also weren't too many Irish or German gangs, as there are Mexican gangs, nor were the Irish and Germans smuggling drugs and/or people.

Secondly, the word "kraut" is pretty offensive. Words like "sp*c" and "n*gger" aren't used here, and "kraut" shouldn't be, either.

Finally, the Irish and Germans worked hard to assimilate into our society. The Germans learned English as quickly as possible, and the majority of Irish people spoke English because it had been forced on them (literally at gunpoint) by the British.

Meanwhile, our coddled illegals come here in violation of the law, and expect their host country to learn Spanish and cater to them. Then they have the nerve to protest on our streets, demanding "rights", when they're not even citizens!

American citizens aside, it's horrendously unfair to all the immigrants who work so hard to come here legally, every day.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

7. First of all, the immigrants in the article were Brazilian, which is...

different than Mexicans, in case you didn't know.

Also, I'm from NJ. I've lived here my whole life and I fucking love it. I grew up in a mostly Hispanic city, where I was pretty much the only white kid. They generally work hard as hell. Yeah, most of the street signs were in Spanish, but you know what I lament most about leaving that place...I lost my understanding of the Spanish language. Since then, I've worked with numerous "illegal" immigrants. You know what they all had in common? The goal of trying to find a better life. Except for ONE(!), they all worked harder than any American I know and all of them were sending money back to their families.

So this mick has no issues with sp*cs being in NJ or protesting their rights, especially their right to rent a fucking apartment. Would you rather have them homeless?

[Warren DeMontague]

8. "coddled illegals"... LOL.

Why don't you take it up with the businesses that hire them for sub-minimum wage.

[Bridget Burke]

12. When my grandparents came here from East Galway....

They showed up at Ellis Island & passed their physicals. Then--welcome to the USA! If "legal" immigration were as simple nowadays, we'd have far fewer "illegals." My grandfather started in the textile mills but joined the police force. The great days of Irish gangs had ended long before--back in the days when your spiritual ancestors drew this cartoon:



The protest covered here involved Brazilians but your fear of the Mexican Menace is obvious. The Mexicans will follow the same pattern as earlier immigrants. Mom & Pop will learn some English for work; the kids will learn the language in school.

Here in Texas, we don't expect Spanish to disappear. It was here before English & Spanish speakers don't react well to "gunpoint." (Your account of the Irish language in Ireland is a bit simplistic--but I'm not surprised.) Before the Great War, San Antonio had street signs in English, Spanish & German. Anti-German hysteria stopped that, but San Antonio has recovered well.

Deal with Reality.

[datasuspect]

16. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

for exemplifying the trend in american historical amnesia.

that is a great pic!!!!

[noahmijo]

13. Wow talk about out of touch with reality

First off this was total satire so I did use offensive words on purpose (I like how you complained about my use of the word Kraut but totally overlooked my "colored" boy remark)

"Coddled" immigrants?? why don't you come down here to Arizona and see just how coddled they are. Also there weren't too many Irish or German gangs?? seriously you are totally sounding like these ignorant rubes I talk to that have never been outside of their small towns in the midwest or something.

First off ALL immigrants came here for the same reason: they were cheap labor. That's why Mexicans and other immigrants come here in such droves-THERE IS DEMAND for them. You like all the other reactionaries are quick to point fingers at the evil brown people but not a single word to the true root of the problem: Greed.

What's horrendously unfair is that while misguided and uninformed people such as yourself attack the immigrants the people responsible for enticing them to cross the border get to go scot free because it's much easier to attack a 32 year old woman with 4 kids to feed.

The reason I hate illegal immigration is just for that reason it exploits people who hardly have a choice. The countries they come from are fucked up and quite frankly I think its leaders should be tarred and feathered.

This is how it works here in Az as far as "coddling" the immigrants goes. Since illegals know that somewhere across the border someone will pay them at least $2 /hr or so which is more than what they would make in their home country they moment they get a lead from a scout or contact they make the cross on nothing but the hopes that the person is legit. They find the company, the company has a SS number forged for them, sometimes a new name, just enough papers to keep them in the country should they get questioned. Then they scrub toilets or pick fruit for about a quarter of what our minimum wage is and they'll do this for 5-7 years or so sometimes far FAR longer.

Then all of a sudden Joe politician (whom himself rubs elbows with the executive who hires illegals to boost profits half the time) is facing re-election so he has to rally up all the anti-illegal reactionaries (this is where people like you come in VERY handy) meantime not a word about his pal's 200 or so workers that are here illegally and the fact that they have all bred children by now.

I have a cousin who lives in Mexico. The guy was educated here in the states he received an MBA. He's been waiting so far for nearly 5 years to get citizenship. He speaks better English than most of the Anglos out here in Az. You know why he hasn't gotten it yet? cause he won't be cheap labor, he is going to dare to demand healthcare and more than $2.50/ hr and he's going to want the same treatment in the workplace that we have the audacity to ask for.

That's what's making me sick. I'd say more but unlike a quarter of the "legal" people here who suck off my tax dollars with their corporate welfare and their encouraging illegals to come be their mules for them in my city I have a job to get to.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. My Mick grandmother came here to steal a job and be coddled.

She got the jobs, scrubbing floors, but missed out the "coddling" that the Mexican immigrants are allegedly getting. We have some around here and the "coddling" they get doing stoop labor and living in migrant camps would probably kill most of us non-coddled whites. As far as I know, she never bothered becoming a citizen or voted.

I don't know about German "gangs" but the Irish had more than their share of them and battled first the "nativist" gangs and, later, the Italian Mafia for their "rights" to run the businesses of prostition, rum-running, and drugs. As for demonstrations, there was that little dust up 1863 in New York called the draft riots when the Irish protestors busied themselves lynching blacks and finally had to be quelled by the army (many of whom were Irish immigrants) at no small cost in lives.

The truth is that most of our ancestors came here for the same reasons that the current crop of immigrants come here. To escape poverty. Most came here to work for a better life and raise their families. Some were successful, some not. Some turned to crime, most didn't. Some "demonstrated" for their rights. The Labor Movement was fueled by Jewish and Italian Anarchists, Middle European Socialists and Communists, and many were deported as undesirable "reds".

[datasuspect]

15. calling BULLSHIT on the german assimilation thing

they didn't really start doing that until WWI. and even WWI didn't change that situation much. shit there were plenty of german hitler supporters in the early stages of WW2.

go to many northern cities, esp. chicago, and you will find plenty of evidence of germanic language and culture.

read the historical evidence about the verein movement, the cohesiveness of the german immigrant population because they stuck with each other in american cities, the publication of german language newspapers, the proliferation of german only political organizations, etc. etc.

when you learn about this shit, you will find these "fine" europeans acted no different from those lowly "brown" immigrants.

[Warren DeMontague]

9. I had no idea New Jersey was part of the Confederacy!

Wow. :crazy: Guess I wasn't paying attention in High School US History.

Either that, or the Confederate Flag has been adopted as the banner of ignorant yahoos everywhere.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. Hell, I live in a fairly liberal (albeit oddly "red") and Jewish part...

of NJ and there used to be some fucking asshat that would ride around town waving two giant confederate flags from the back of his beater pick-up. I haven't seen him in a few years though. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the same guy as in the article. All he got around here for his flag was the finger and a bunch of obscencies tossed at him. The only big "odd" thing we like to see on a car around here is the menorah mobile around Hannukah. The rabbi with the menorah mobile is a really cool dude.

[Warren DeMontague]

17. Nah, sad to say, it's a common phenomenon.

I've seen 'em here, in ultra-liberal Northern California. Either the two confederate flags or one confederate and one US flag. ALWAYS on the beater pickup.

There must be a factory in China somewhere that cranks out these dudes, along with their trucks, their oversized tires, their backwards baseball cap-covered crew cuts, and whatever shitty hate metal they have cranked on the stereo of those things.

Menorah mobile sounds cool. I wonder if he can stretch one gallon of gas into eight.

[KamaAina]

18. And to think, NJ has been encouraging development there

Riverside is one of only 16 or so "transit villages" in the whole state. The idea is to encourage development around transit, in this case the new River Line between Camden and Trenton.

Unfortunately this particular transit village is apparently run by know-nothing fascists. Thanks, but no thanks. :puke: