Kevin said:"Unless you've lived under a rock for the last 15 years, you should
make a note of this: The southwest is already Chicano-Latino!"
proclaims the website of the California State University, Sacramento,
chapter of MEChA.MEChA - an acronym for Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan in Spanish
- has been one of myriad Latino-rights, pro-immigration or social
justice groups that have plunged into the illegal migration debate.
Just as a sea of fluttering Mexican flags at the rallies, the Nuestro
Himno Spanish-language take on the national anthem, and Monday's "Day
Without Immigrants" boycotts have generated anger and suspicion among
many Americans, some forces within the immigration-rights movement are
doing their part to justify that alarm. MEChA is such a group.There are an estimated 400 organized MEChA branches on college and high
school campuses across the country. Established in 1969, the group has
pressured institutions to establish Chicano studies programs, protested
Columbus Day and held Chicano graduation ceremonies. The MEChA logo
boasts a bird with a lit stick of dynamite in one claw and
maquahuitl- an Aztec weapon - in the other. "Through a philosophy
of Chicano Nationalism, MEChA has not wavered from its original goal of
Chicano control at the University," states the University of
California-Berkeley's MEChA site.MEChA has been in the thick of the latest immigration protests, from
San Diego State University members trying to avert arrests of marching
high school students, to "mechistas" organizing a rally at an
Albuquerque high school at which signs bore the now-familiar refrain:
"We didn't cross the border. The border crossed us."The group's constitution requires that its chapters read "El Plan de
Aztlan." A line in its introduction translates into "for the race,
everything; for those outside the race, nothing." MEChA's belief in the
"liberation" of Aztlan - Southwest territory acquired by the United
States after the Mexican-American War in the mid-1800s -
andethno-exclusive views continue to disturb. "Aztlan belongs to those
who plant the seeds, water the fields, and gather the crops and not to
the foreign Europeans," reads El Plan de Aztlan.At a time when illegal migration groups should be trying to present a
persuasive, less-strident case to the American people, several groups
have instead taken to in-your-face activism against tighter control of
illegal immigration.· The Mexican American Political Association, which mapped out its
demands in a flier for Monday's boycott: "Immediate legalization
without conditions, no border walls, no criminalization." MAPA
President Nativo Lopez has stated his desire for Spanish to be
California's primary language. MAPA also called for a campaign of
non-cooperation with Los Angeles County law enforcement when the
sheriff's department flirted with a Department of Homeland Security
partnership to better identify criminal aliens in county jails.· Carlos Montes, a co-founder of the original Brown Berets in 1960s
Los Angeles, is helping put together an August demonstration -
sponsored by MAPA and others - against a border fence, the Minutemen,
and even the Iraq war. He lauds Venezuela and Cuba as "examples of the
possibilities for humankind."
_____________________________Quoted message said:From USA Today and other reports
It is easy to understand the boldness of these hispanics when one
observes the state of White manhood. Behold, what is this fat creature
planted in front of a TV set? He gets his sports activity from
watching the NFL and NASCAR. Generally, his wife is dumpy, the kids
plump and lazy. No beer hall "putsch" from this bunch. Let them dream
of their next pickup truck or SUV.
Will