Arizona Boycott

[zsdersw]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/05/04/zelizer.boycott.arizona/index.html?hpt=C2

Hmm.. I wonder how this will change things.

(CNN) -- In response to Arizona's law cracking down on illegal immigration, pro-immigration and Hispanic organizations have launched a national protest campaign.

Protests took place in more than 90 cities on Saturday to remind politicians of the size of the immigrant community. Jorge-Mario Cabrera from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, California, told reporters: "If Republicans and Democrats do not take care of this albatross around our necks, this will in fact be the undoing of many, many years of civil rights struggle in this country." In his city, more than 60,000 people turned out for a downtown rally.

While Republicans and Democrats have been panicking about the backlash they could face if they supported liberalized immigration policies, it is becoming clear that they didn't pay enough attention to what the costs of these positions could be for their party and the states they represent.

Pro-immigration groups have started a national boycott against Arizona. The boycott promises to be substantial in scale and scope. San Francisco, California, Mayor Gavin Newsom has announced that he will ban city employees from traveling to the state. Los Angeles officials are considering doing the same. There is growing pressure on Major League Baseball to pull next year's all-star game out of Phoenix if the law is not changed. In other words, Arizona has a potentially big economic problem on its hands.

The boycott has offered a form of nonviolent civil protest that has an immense economic bite.

The economic boycott has been a powerful tool in the struggle for social rights. During the civil rights era, African-American activists used boycotts to create pressure for social change and to draw national attention to their cause.

In 1955, African-Americans in Alabama launched a boycott of the bus system in Montgomery after local civil rights activist Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white rider. Given that African-Americans constituted a large part of the ridership, the boycott hurt the city's revenue base. As people found alternative ways to get to work and school, the boycott drew national attention.

Northerners expressed support for the boycott and gave donations. Several national leaders emerged, including the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy, who would remain at the forefront of the struggle through the 1960s. The boycott ended in 1956 when the Supreme Court declared that the segregated transit system was unconstitutional.

The boycott was also central in the fight for labor justice and union rights. In 1965, the United Farm Workers Organizing Committee, under the leadership of Cesar Chavez, launched a national boycott against grapes. The five-year boycott, called "la huelga," placed immense pressure on California grape growers to recognize the union. The boycott drew national attention to the plight of unorganized immigrant workers in low-paying and dangerous jobs.

What we are seeing are the first rumblings of a potential movement in favor of immigrant rights.

"Go to the public," Chavez told workers, "and tell them what it is that we need, and get them to help us. ..." The union floated balloons in Toronto, Ontario, supermarkets that said "Boycott Grapes" and organized postcard writing campaigns to A &P grocery offices in major cities.

Chavez once said the boycott "gets into people's hearts and minds, like writing a good poem or book -- if you keep at it, it will come." Chavez was right. On July 29, 1970, 26 grape growers in California signed contracts recognizing the union.

Sometimes boycotts can temporarily stave off action. After the House passed a stringent anti-immigration measure in 2005, immigrants conducted a one-day boycott in schools and businesses to demonstrate their role in the economy. The boycott helped persuade the Senate to reject the House measure and propose a more liberal alternative, although that never passed.

Not every boycott works. But there is a strong track record.

The most effective boycotts find strategic and charismatic leaders to articulate the goals and aspirations of its supporters. They are able to focus national attention on the contributions to society of the people who are the target of certain social practices or legislation. They are also able to demonstrate enough economic muscle so that their opponents, and those who are not particularly invested on either side of the issue, see a clear economic cost to the continuation of the status quo.

The boycott has offered a form of nonviolent civil protest that has an immense economic bite. Within Arizona, there are already signs that politicians are rethinking what they have done. Gov. Jan Brewer has signed revisions to the law. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, no liberal, has said he has "concerns with portions of the law passed in Arizona, and believe it would not be the right direction for Texas."

What we are seeing are the first rumblings of a potential movement in favor of immigrant rights. For many years prominent Republicans, including President George W. Bush, have realized that focusing on immigration restriction could be politically costly to the GOP. Many Democrats express the same reservations as Senate Democrats adopt a more hard-line stand against immigrants in their new proposed legislation.

Hispanics, the fastest-growing voting bloc in the United States, could soon start to show just how much economic and political muscle they have.

 

[rudder]

Me... I am joining the Arizona Buycott.

 

[nageov3t]

step 1: pass harsh immigration reform
step 2: take money away from the industries supporting the illegal immigrants by boycotting them (hotels, restaurants)
step 3: success!

 

[zsdersw]

step 1: pass harsh immigration reform
step 2: take money away from the industries supporting the illegal immigrants by boycotting them (hotels, restaurants)
step 3: success!

Well, that's not quite what they're talking about. The author is talking about hispanic people boycotting Arizona's businesses in protest of the law.

 

[cubeless]

i'm going to buy some more az iced teas today...

 

[rudder]

i'm going to buy some more az iced teas today...

Cold Stone Creamery FTW! Arizona tea is made in New York... you don't want to drink that water.

 

[rudder]

Well, that's not quite what they're talking about. The author is talking about hispanic people boycotting Arizona's businesses in protest of the law.

Maybe they should protest Mexico's harsh immigration laws first.

 

[Zedtom]

If the hotels, resorts and restaurants suffer a drop in business they will have to layoff employees. Who gets layed off first? The maids, kitchen staff, janitors and landscape workers.

"Let's cut off our noses to spite our faces!"

 

[ArizonaSteve]

If we allow this boycott to succeed, the illegals will be effectively running this country. Even more reason to get 'em out.

 

[spidey07]

If the hotels, resorts and restaurants suffer a drop in business they will have to layoff employees. Who gets layed off first? The maids, kitchen staff, janitors and landscape workers.

"Let's cut off our noses to spite our faces!"

Yep. This is what you call a problem fixing itself. GO ARIZONA!

 

[Jaskalas]

A boycott helps draw the lines in the sand of our civil divide. It helps clarify friend from foe. There needs to be a counter Boycott intended to target the supporters of this invasion.

 

[zsdersw]

Yep. This is what you call a problem fixing itself. GO ARIZONA!

It's not really going to fix anything, though. The illegals who are laid off won't just pack their bags and go back to Mexico.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

You know, I had mentioned the possibility of a quick vacation to the Grand Canyon to my wife a couple of weeks ago. This just might seal the deal -- time to hop on Expedia or Travelocity and get the tickets and hotels!

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

A boycott helps draw the lines in the sand of our civil divide. It helps clarify friend from foe. There needs to be a counter Boycott intended to target the supporters of this invasion.

Be careful.

 

[spidey07]

A boycott helps draw the lines in the sand of our civil divide. It helps clarify friend from foe. There needs to be a counter Boycott intended to target the supporters of this invasion.

I'm seriously considering firing my landscaper. He says he's legal but only wants cash. I caved and didn't press the issue because he's so cheap (15 bucks an hour for anything), but I'm going to ask him how he feels about this law.

His answer determines his fate.

 

[Lemon law]

What does Arizona export to the larger US to boycott? Arizona most significant exports may have been Barry Goldwater and later John McCain for President.

The American people boycotted both quite soundly, nothing new here.What do you expect out of a State of Arizona that is almost 100% a desert. So piss on them and give them the water they need in the process. Or we can gamble that Nevada needs the water more.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Be careful.

Who in the hell do these people think they are? These imbeciles (putting it kindly) endanger themselves and their family to get to our country. If that isn't bad enough, the fact that they are breaking our laws is icing on the cake. And we have idiots (mainly on the left) who SUPPORT these criminals and even stoop to calling them "law abiding." Someone actually asked (in another thread) -- "Why is it illegal?"

I fear for the future of our country.

 

[highland145]

Me... I am joining the Arizona Buycott.

+1

What's on the list and can I get it from Amazon?

Edit: Here it is.
http://pumabydesign001.wordpress.com/2010/04/30/update-on-buycotting-state-of-arizona/

 

[Danube]

I think passing a vacation in Mexico to visit the Gran Canyon instead is pretty appealing.

 

[Lemon law]

I'm seriously considering firing my landscaper. He says he's legal but only wants cash. I caved and didn't press the issue because he's so cheap (15 bucks an hour for anything), but I'm going to ask him how he feels about this law.

His answer determines his fate.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now ya done tickled my funny bone, ya go ahead and fire his ass, but warning, that fellow is probably way way better at maintaining your little minigarden of Eden, and if you have to do it by your self, the garden of Spidey just does not have that sales pitch ring to it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I think passing a vacation in Mexico to visit the Gran Canyon instead is pretty appealing.

My wife hounded me for a vacation to Cozumel earlier this year. I'm glad I said "No." I think the Grand Canyon looks REALLY nice about now.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Who in the hell do these people think they are? These imbeciles (putting it kindly) endanger themselves and their family to get to our country. If that isn't bad enough, the fact that they are breaking our laws is icing on the cake. And we have idiots (mainly on the left) who SUPPORT these criminals and even stoop to calling them "law abiding." Someone actually asked (in another thread) -- "Why is it illegal?"

I fear for the future of our country.

I've not thought much about the "teabaggers" because some are hard core Palin supporters (obviously I'm not), but they aren't a violent bunch in spite of some to make them look that way. There's been more attacks over this than the whole Tea Party thing, but that's curiously not been an issue for many who are "opposed" to violence. I'm not really surprised by that either. Hypocrisy is expected.

Nevertheless, it's sadly amusing that these sorts of signs (which would be front page news if it were Tea Party people) have been curiously missing from MSM, and ignored by the left here.

Now that I see how the two sides act and how they are generally covered, I say "Viva la Raza" to Arizona.

 

[irishScott]

San Francisco, California, Mayor Gavin Newsom has announced that he will ban city employees from traveling to the state. Los Angeles officials are considering doing the same.

And this is legal? Lol. Even if it is, exactly how do they intend to enforce it?

 

[Genx87]

It's not really going to fix anything, though. The illegals who are laid off won't just pack their bags and go back to Mexico.

That happened during the great depression, why cant it happen now?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

And this is legal? Lol. Even if it is, exactly how do they intend to enforce it?

I would guess he means on business trips, which can be easily enforced. Newsom is a tool, so this does not surprise me. Typical kneejerk reaction from the hand-wringing, misty-eyed, lip-biting bunch.