Now I'm not much for politics and the likes, but living in this city recently, there have been certain events that have brought a lot of attention and scrutiny not only to our area, but to our culture as well. I don't claim to know much about this Sensenbrenner Immigration Reform Bill, but I do know that it has mobilized our peoples in a way that has never been seen before. From what I undestand, the bill is meant to establish a tougher enforcement of immigration laws, not only as pertaining to the illegal immigrant in question, but to ANYONE aiding that person as well. This would see a tougher crack-down on employers, as well as people housing suspected illegal immigrants. According to news sources:
"The bill specifies up to five years in prison for anybody who "assists, encourages, directs or induces a person to reside in or remain in the United States."
This includes churches and social welfare organizations. This bill makes it so that such organizations are required to check proper documentation before providing ANY assistance. It almost sounds like it is designed to be tougher on anyone who is caught helping an illegal rather than on the illegal themselves. Like I said, I'm not one to get into discussions about politics, but it seems like being hispanic in California, it's almost a prerequisite to have an opinion on this. So, here it is...I dunno! There, happy?? Seriously, I don't know. I think this, almost all other problems resulting from foreign relations and affairs boils down to a matter of money. Who wants it, who needs it, who has it, and who wants to take it away. This is a nation that was founded by immigrants, for immigrants, and now there is this hypocrisy that is sweeping the nation. I understand that there are "proper channels" or "proper procedure" for becoming a citizen, but that takes a lot of time and money, both of which are things most immigrants have very little, or none at all, of. The primary reason most of them are here in the first place is financial hardships. It took both my parents almost 10 years to finally gain their permanent residency cards, and that took a lot of help from family members who were already here.
If this law had been in effect back then, than both my parents, my aunts and uncles, and anyone else who assisted in their entering the country could have been serving jail time. (I could have been fathered in prison by a woman named Chuck!) I know that a lot of what I am saying might sound like a justification, but it's not. It's hard to sound impartial or unbiased. On the one hand, I'm proud to be an American, and all that that entails. But I will not neglect the culture that I am a part of, or neither will I forget what my parents and my family risked or gave up in order for me to have the opportunities that I do. To these people America isn't just a destination, it's an idea. The United States has painted itself time and time again as the land of opportunity. But who are those opportunities for? There used to be a time when immigrants were welcomed with open arms, and now that minorities are slowly becoming the majorites, the US turns it's back and says "Sorry, we're full!" (Unless you slip it a $20?) Hypocrisy I tell ya! There are no easy answers to this, and I understand that this is a problem. I guess there are no easy ways out of anything. Either way, one side loses, and that side won't be happy about it. Hopefully it doesn't get worse before it gets better. That's it, those are my two cents. I'm done dealing with this horrible ordeal, and I will never speak of it again.
This Post is dedicated to Mr. Larson...Good Luck Buddy, we'll miss ya!
Spent a good afternoon last night at the Honda Super Clasico at the good ol' Home Depot Center. Galaxy vs. Chivas USA, where Galaxy was the visiting team. Needless to say, that we knew we were in for a rough night, being Galaxy fans in a sea of Chivas aficionados! From the moment we parked our car, not even getting out of the car yet, we were being heckled because we were wearing our Galaxy jerseys, that should give you some idea how heated this rivalry is.
We made our way towards the will-call area to pick up our tickets, when we heard a thunderous noise and saw smoke coming up the main street leading into the HDC. A huge crowd of Chivas fans were making their way towards the stadium carrying a large banner, and setting of fireworks. They were chanting something or other, didn't really get a clear grasp of what they were saying.
I took advantage of the time my brother was in line in the will-call area to make my way to the Team L.A. store, and picked up my brand spankin' new Galaxy jersey. I picked the away jersey, just because I like the way it looks better than the gold. Dropped 73 bones on that bad boy, but it was definitely worth it. We then made our way into the Stadium around 7:30pm (game set to start at 8:00pm).
We sat in the northwest corner that was specially reserved for Galaxy fans, it just also happened to be right next to the General Admission seats for the hardcore Chivas fans. Right from the start it was a shouting match. We may have been few, but we held our own. On the field, the boys were warming up. I think this is the first Galaxy game we've been to where they were the visiting team.
The game kicked off at about 8:15pm, which was not soon enough having sat through a mariachi band, the Chivas Girls, and the Chivas team enterance. We were beginning to feel a little out of place and unwelcomed. But the Galaxians and the Riot Squad soon brought us all together in a swelling sea of Green and Gold. The first half went scoreless, newbie Galaxian Cornell Glen missing about 4 scoring chances. (Pando, anyone?) Halftime saw some more crappy music, and pleanty of heckling from the surrounding Chivas fans.
The second half kicked off, and right off the bat, BOOM! Chivas score. That just set the Chivas fans off! I mean, fights almost broke out between both groups of fans. Unfortunately, Kevin Hartman was now directly in front of the hardcore Chivas group, and he was pelted with confetti and streamers. They had to stop the game for a few minutes to clear off the field. Despite his first half might-have-beens, Glen stepped up in the second half and scored two goals, one off a header from Landon Donovan, the other off a cross pass from Donovan. (The second goal was in the middle of the 7 minutes of stoppage time the ref had allotted, which didn't go over well with Chivas fans!)
The Galaxy players came to our corner to pay their respects, and we ours to them. They played a great game, keeping the Chivas on their toes. Their first win of the season, and an important one seeing how it was agains the rival team. Fights almost broke out in the stands, we were barraged with insults and heckles as we made our way across the parking lot towards our cars, but we still kept our heads held high, because in the end, we Galaxy fans knew that we kicked Chivas's ass! (A win is a win, 3 points!) Next week they take on the Columbus Crew at the HDC.
On an unrelated note, bought a bike today. "Why is that important?" you might ask? Well, I haven't had a bike since I was 8 or 9. I haven't ridden a bike in about that long as well. I just felt it was time that I had one. My girlfriend's been telling me that I should be more active. I thought this would be a good way to do that. Found one I liked at Wal-Mart, and went to pick it up yesterday morning. I went out with it for about a half-hour this morning, and man, it's true, you never forget how to ride. It felt great, and I'm glad I decided to get one. I probably look like a spaz in my helmet though. (Oops! Sorry, British! Did I say spaz? I meant to say windowlicker!)
