The biggest problem with this law is that the "probable cause" mandate almost certainly meant that Latinos and non-white people would be racially profiled. This caused huge conflicts between the Latinos, who made up 20% of the county's population at the time, and those white Americans worried about protecting America, and more specifically, Manassas (as is shown through the "Help Save Manassas" group).
In response to the passing of this law, a man named Gaudencio Fernandez who owns the property at 9500 Liberty Street, erected a wall with messages to the government on it (as is pictures above). Others started blogs, such as Greg Letiecq and Alanna Almeda and Elena Schlossberg. Many immigrants--both legal and illegal--simply left Prince William County.
There were so many interesting topics in this film. I was fascinated and disgusted at the use of manipulation and coercion by citizens of Manassas City. I was shocked that county officials would make decisions without a basis of facts concerning the matter. More so, I was so surprised at how many people hold hostile prejudices and un-based opinions of Latinos. One man referred to the United States as "my country" and that people here should speak English. A woman asked county board members to remember who was behind 9/11: illegal immigrants.
To me, these sentiments--along with other opinions we heard from various other characters in the documentary--simply perpetuate feelings of danger, anger and fear. Fear seemed to be the most overwhelming emotion throughout this movie. Speakers in favor of the law used fear politics--appealing to the board members sense of fear rather than their logic or obligation to uphold the US's democratic ideals.
One of the citizen speakers put it best, I think. He was a teacher, but asked to be seen instead as a human being. He went on to say that we all deserve to be seen as human beings. When you think of people in that sense, I can't imagine passing a law that would divide, uproot or harm families. Regardless of "legal" status, human beings are human beings and we all deserve respect--enough to not be judged by the color of our skin.
Thanks for including the picture of the wall for this blog post, it is such a powerful image in the film. Walls are usually meant to keep someone or something out, to divide, to block, to protect. This wall was simply meant to inform, to be a voice for those who felt they didn't have a place to speak.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the film, Annabel, one of the filmmakers, said she wasn't sure how she felt about the wall's last message. The first two messages, and the second in particular, were words reminding the community of their responsibility to uphold the values of the U.S. as stated in the constitution - one of the most important being that all men are created equal, that we have certain rights as human beings. The last message had a ring of distinct bitterness and anger. What else to do, though, if their voices were being ignored?
I agree that the teacher from the community said it best. On the most basic level we are humans, and we all deserve to be seen as human beings. This is everyone's right.
I was very much disgusted at the coercion as well. I was so surprised that the government officials would not further research what some were claiming but instead just take what they said as if it had been researched.
ReplyDeleteLike Mandy, I thought the signs were a very interesting form of communication. I think it was a healthy and peaceful way of communicating what they wanted. However, the messages' tone changed by the end. They seemed to have a face of defeat, bitterness, and anger towards the end. And honestly, I can't blame them. It would be so hard to live in a community like this one.
The teacher was very inspirational and I think he did put it best. He related it to how he or his family members felt in the past because of racism and judgment. However, everyone is a human and everyone deserves to be seen as one.
I cannot make sense of a law that does divide a community as much as this one did. Like the woman said, the knife must be taken out of the community members' backs before healing can come.
One of the things that really surprised me in this documentary was how many of the decisions were based on feelings. They made these decisions based on perceived fears of the public, mostly white, that didn’t want change and was frightened by it. When they did use statistics or some form of facts to back their arguments up the data often seemed misconstrued or not even analyzed right. Coming from a science background this process of decision-making did not sit well with me, I like to have lots of facts before I make a decision or conclude something. Fear and feelings can sometimes just start snowballing and lead to not so great decisions.
ReplyDeleteLavonne, though Mandy already mentioned it, I also wanted to say that I appreciated the photo you included on this post. I love how Fernandez uses visual art to powerfully and forecefully, yet ever so wordlessly send a message to the people of Prince William County. He knows that he will receive criticism and hatred from this act, but he is so passionate that he does not care.
ReplyDeleteI also noticed that there was a lot of "mine" and "their" language throughout the movie. Whenever Greg Letiecq talked about non-immigrants he referred to them as "our community." Even though immigrants, those with and without documents, had lived there for many years, Letiecq still insisted on verbally creating barriers and tension.
One question that comes to my mind as I watched the movie was how in the world this place of division and hatred could possibly form a cohesive unity? Now that so many cruel things have been said, how could relationships ever be restored? How many years will it take (if ever) for the community to get rid of the pain that has been created through both the probable cause law as well as the opinions that were voiced?
I didn't mention the wall in my post but after seeing it here, I wanted to make a comment on it as well. The wall was a powerful message and it took writing on a wall for people to notice the people's voices in Manassas. It's a shame that people kept breaking up the wall and eventually torn down.
ReplyDeleteI am not too surprised at the prejudices that people hold against the Latino community. It was saddening to hear it in the documentary when people did make the remarks about "my country" or "speak English." I laughed at the comment about 9/11. That lady didn't know what she was talking about.
I liked how you mentioned the teacher. That was one of my favorite parts of the film. He did say some good things as a "human being." I liked his comment on how the children will rise up if the policy was passed.
I enjoyed your link to the Moonhowlings blog, and seeing that Elena and Alanna got really involved in blogging about local politics. It was a challenge to sift through all of the hate comments in this documentary to find some constructive voices, but the teacher you cited was one of them, and Elena and Alanna were two others. The film showed me how important it is to figure out what you can do as an individual to help inform others and change minds when the group think of hatred and fear takes over. Another thing I learned from this film is that immigrants, in particular Latino immigrants, are good for the economy and benefit the towns in which they live in many ways--as patrons of businesses, as workers, as homeowners, as neighbors, and as strong families who care about their children.
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