Disclaimer: I am probably going to sound like an idiot here, because I don't really follow the news or political issues, and I don't fully know what I'm talking about, but this is bothering me and I need to say something. I beg your patience, especially if you feel differently.
There are these posters all over campus advertising for the immigrant rally today. That's not what bothers me. Yay rallies. What bothers me is that they say "No one is illegal" on them. Yeah, ok. No one is illegal. Except for the part where they totally are.
If you come into this country illegally, you are illegal. You are not a citizen, and you don't have rights. In fact, you don't even technically have the right to ask for rights, because you ARE NOT A CITIEN and therefore are not subject to the constitution, and the right to assemble and protest and such.
And should people be arrested at the rally today? Absolutely. If they're here illegally. Not for protesting, but for BEING ILLEGAL. You break the law, you get arrested. It's a simple concept.
Now, I fully understand the hardships these people may have endured, the sob stories about poverty and America: the Land of Opportunity and all that jazz, but no amount of sympathy or liberal ideas that I hold changes the fact that THESE PEOPLE ARE ILLEGAL. They are BREAKING THE LAW.
And the little news bubble on CNN says they're protesting a proposed crackdown law on illegal immigrants. Assuming that's correct, what's to stop drug dealers from protesting new anti-drug laws? I'm sure they have touching sob stories about poverty of their own. If the illegal immigrants are not, in fact, illegal, then why is selling drugs? Do you see my point here? We have laws for a reason. Saying no one is illegal is akin to saying that nothing is illegal, and that's just not true.
Now, as I've stated, I don't really fully understand all the issues here, and I have no clue what this proposed law states, but we, as a country, have the right to tell the people who are here illegally to either get their act together and become citizens, or get the hell out. And we, as citizens of this country, also have the right to protest these measures.
But illegal immigrants ARE NOT CITIZENS and as such DO NOT have the right to ask for rights. Do we grant American rights to people in France? To Spanish citizens? No. Because they're NOT AMERICAN. If you want to become American, be my guest. Once you're a citizen, protest 'till you can't protest no more. But if you want American rights, including the right to protest, you first have to BE AN AMERICAN.
Of course, all of this is completely my opinion, (and because this is my livejournal I have the right to state it here) except for the fact that the posters are wrong. These people are breaking the law, and They. Are. ILLEGAL.
Goddamn but my mother would be proud of me right now.
EDIT Ok, so Ashley told me that the problem is that the government wants to not let immigrants become citizens, and that's anti-immigration not anti-ILLEGAL immigration, and that's not cool, government, not cool. And so yet again I say, rally till you can't rally no more, but I still stand behind the fact that you are illegal and will probably therefore be arrested. (Which is ok really, because all the good protesters get arrested before they win. Susan B. Anthony. I rest my case.) My point here anyways is that no matter what the issue is, the goddamn posters are wrong. These people are illegal, whether they're protesting to have rights as illegal immigrants or for the right to become an American, they are still illegal immigrants as of right now, so fuck you posters. Fuck you.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
