Why May 1st?
Did you wonder why the illegal immigrant supporters chose May 1st for their boycott? We all probably assumed it was because the first of the month was easy to remember and being the first of the week it would be more likely workers and students would take off or walk out of their jobs. After all, they would get a 3-day weekend!
But since this protest is primarily oriented towards those of Latino decent (specifically Mexicans but also South and Central Americas) Cinco de Mayo, only 4 days later and on a Friday would be more apt to motivate the protesters. It would also give them a three-day weekend, many most likely were already going to take the day off and it would give a nod to their heritage
So why not May 5th? The answer lies in the roots of the protest. Concocted by International ANSWER, a creation of the World Workers Party, this protest is not about (illegal) immigrants. It is about protesting the US capitalist economy and trying to gin up enough emotion to cause our system problems on that day.
While it barely makes a blip in the US, worldwide May 1st is celebrated in protests and demonstrations as International Workers Day. It is the primary holiday of socialists, communists and anarchist groups throughout the world, with massive displays of military power (remember the military parades of the old Soviet Union?) and massive demonstrations for workers rights.
I was in Paris in late April 2001, planning to leave just before May 1st, and our guides told us it was good that we would be going. On the weekend Paris fills up with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators and protesters putting on a rowdy and sometimes-dangerous show of "workers power." For an American in the city at that time it could get ugly.
The socialists of International ANSWER and the WWP apparently saw an opportunity to enlist the supporters of illegal immigrant rights into their campaign to use them as pawns in their effort to bring the protests and demonstrations of millions around the world to the US where the day goes by with barely a whimper.
ANSWER and the WWP will no doubt use the media attention to their advantage, twisting the boycott in their promotional materials as a sign that workers in the US are now getting fed up with their "capitalist government and taskmasters" and are ready to revolt for socialism.
And the people in the street or sitting at home "boycotting" don't have a clue...but now you do.
Together we can Boycott the Boycott!
But since this protest is primarily oriented towards those of Latino decent (specifically Mexicans but also South and Central Americas) Cinco de Mayo, only 4 days later and on a Friday would be more apt to motivate the protesters. It would also give them a three-day weekend, many most likely were already going to take the day off and it would give a nod to their heritage
So why not May 5th? The answer lies in the roots of the protest. Concocted by International ANSWER, a creation of the World Workers Party, this protest is not about (illegal) immigrants. It is about protesting the US capitalist economy and trying to gin up enough emotion to cause our system problems on that day.
While it barely makes a blip in the US, worldwide May 1st is celebrated in protests and demonstrations as International Workers Day. It is the primary holiday of socialists, communists and anarchist groups throughout the world, with massive displays of military power (remember the military parades of the old Soviet Union?) and massive demonstrations for workers rights.
I was in Paris in late April 2001, planning to leave just before May 1st, and our guides told us it was good that we would be going. On the weekend Paris fills up with hundreds of thousands of demonstrators and protesters putting on a rowdy and sometimes-dangerous show of "workers power." For an American in the city at that time it could get ugly.
The socialists of International ANSWER and the WWP apparently saw an opportunity to enlist the supporters of illegal immigrant rights into their campaign to use them as pawns in their effort to bring the protests and demonstrations of millions around the world to the US where the day goes by with barely a whimper.
ANSWER and the WWP will no doubt use the media attention to their advantage, twisting the boycott in their promotional materials as a sign that workers in the US are now getting fed up with their "capitalist government and taskmasters" and are ready to revolt for socialism.
And the people in the street or sitting at home "boycotting" don't have a clue...but now you do.
Together we can Boycott the Boycott!
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