America - I'm proud of you.

Oh, America, you finally did it, you finally got off your ass and did something. Of course, it took the Mexicans, the Central Americans, the Asians, the dispossessed, the illegals, the immigrants, the " un-Americans", to get it started, but at least SOMETHING has started. May Day 2006 will go down in history. Across this country, millions and millions of people took the time, took the day off work, took the chance, to do something. A real force has been unleashed. The media was there to record it. The people were there to make it happen. And I was there too.

As you know, I lived in France for a while when I was younger. I was an illegal immigrant. I was undocumented for a time. I had no papers. I worked under the table. I did odd jobs. I worried about being stopped by the police. The advantage I had, of course, was that when I was stopped, (which happened quite frequently - especially during the terrorist bombings in Paris in 1988) I had an American passport to show. That pretty much ended the problem right there. But I haven't forgotten my time as an illegal alien. It will be with me always.

One thing I always appreciated about France, and still do, is that they will strike at the drop of a hat. Some labor trouble somewhere - strike for a day. Some bus driver was fired for running someone over - wild cat strike for a day. The price of tomatoes too low - drop a few tons of tomatoes on the Champs-Elysees. It's a pain in the ass, it messes things up, but hell, you get the day off work and you make a statement.

France is a Socialist country where every one has the right to health care and social benefits that put America to shame. And they will still risk it all to protest. We, however, who are not afforded these basic rights, do not have access to descent health care for all, can't be bothered. So, do you really think not making waves will get you what you want? Or only by making waves will we effect real change?

Here in America? The "free-est" country in the world, with a bill of rights to protect us, and no one has time to participate. Your government bombs a small country? What's on TV tonight? We go to war for no reason, or made up fantasy reasons? Oh, some starlet just had liposuction. The presidential election is stolen right out from under our noses, twice? Ho-hum, where are the comics? We stand by as millions of people are slaughtered in a genocide you can watch on TV? Hey, it's not our problem.

Americans are afraid to stand up and protest, to make their voices heard, get involved, work together and bring about change. No, who's got time? Who wants to get involved? Who wants to make waves?

Around the world, people do it all the time. They stand up for their rights, even when they don't have any. They stand in front of tanks. They get shot down by their own military. They raise their voices and make themselves heard.

And in America? A country built on protest and revolt? Please, except for a few hundred thousand hippies, lefties, communists, agitators, concerned students, Hollywood stars, and young people who don't know any better, Americans would rather stay at home watching TV and protect the status quo. Just keep pretending that the world is okay, that we aren't destroying the environment, that corporations really will take care of you, that we aren't hated around the world for the crimes of our government/military/industrial complex. Moo. Moo. Baa. Baa.

Not since the sixties, when the civil rights movement and anti-war protests shook things up, has something so interesting happened.

WTO rallies and marches? Who cares. Stop the war? Too marginal. Make 12 million *** illegal aliens felons? What? Hey, now wait a minute, that's just going too far. (*** 12 million is the number the media is using, who really knows.)

We really should thank Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI) for proposing the extreme house bill that would have made illegal aliens felons. That was the spark that ignited this movement back in April. These people, and their supporters, both legal and non, American and non, have stood up and raised their voices.

It doesn't answer the question of illegal immigration. That is still a problem that is not going away. And a 700 miles fence will not stop someone from getting here if they really want to.

But I don't see Americans standing up and saying I want to pick lettuce, I want to wash dishes, I want to cook in a hot kitchen, I want to carve up cows in an abattoir, I want to bus tables at your summer resort - no, I don't see Americans flocking to fill those jobs. Would you let your sons and daughters bust their ass in a hot kitchen for $4.85 an hour? That's not a living wage. But if wages went up, wouldn't prices go up? "Inflation" cry the chicken little economists. Would you really stop eating in a restaurant if it cost on average a dollar more, knowing your food was being prepared by people making a decent wage in safe conditions? I wouldn't.

The other side of that coin, is, that more people are making more money, paying more taxes, spending more money. More money in the economy for the services we all depend on.

If there were no jobs, people would still come to The United States. America is as much a myth and a dream as it is a reality. And as long as we keep exporting that myth, and as long as we help create hostile conditions in other countries, people will come to America.

The illegal immigrant, who risks his or her life to get to America, who then has to live in fear of being caught, in fear of being sent back, will always come. They come here to work, to make a better live for themselves and their families. But because they are illegal, they have few of the protections afforded legal workers, basic rights like workers comp, fair wages, insurance, safe working conditions, protection from exploitation, and actually being paid for the work they do. They are being exploited every step of the way. Why? So we can pay a penny a pound less for lettuce and tomatoes? So you can get a .49 cent hamburger at a fast food joint? BTW, who is that person serving you?

Critics say (of course) that these marches and protests are bad for the cause, that there will be a back lash against the movement and no sympathy for the people. Forget it, that ain't gonna happen. More people will see the possibilities and be excited by the prospect for change.

America is waking up! Things are changing. And I am so damn happy.

So I went down to the march with my video camera, I wanted to document it and see what it was like. It really is amazing to see so many people in one place. Not a sporting event, not a rock concert, but a real movement for change. It was peaceful, it was fun, it was musical, it was like a family picnic with 500,000 of your closest friends. So many children, so many families. Something to remember.

I'll bet next year May Day becomes a real holiday, a real celebration of the workers of the world, like in other civilized countries. If so, I hope I can be there again.

Peace.

© Noel Olken 2006