The students at the school I teach at are all buzzing about the student walkout protesting the immigration bill that passed in Congress last fall. The funny thing is that the walkout has been going on for three days now and they are only now starting to catch wind of it.
Now I'm all for civil disobedience and peaceful protest, but I'm really discouraged at how little these students really know about what they're actually protesting. When I asked what the bill was about most of them weren't sure and some had only rumor to report.
In fact, if you don't know, the bill will make it easier for illeagal immigrants to be sent back to Mexico, expanding the powers of state and local police in handling the issue.
The students here only think that the bill will allow police to raid the homes of illegal aliens in the night and send them packing without notice to Mexico. I don't pretend to know all the details, but the ways that the students expound ridiculous rumors as being excuses for civil unrest. There was a fight this morning in the commons. All in the name of protest over this bill.
I guess we will see if it's all been talk or if they are actually going to walk.
5 comments:
It sounds like cattle mentality. At least some of them, however, are aware enough to know that political activism is important. I would rather kids get involved and be misinformed than to completely apathetic. At least in getting involved they are beginning to develop a political conscience, even it is an immature political conscience. IMO, being right and wrong is less important at that age than simply being aware that there are causes worth their involvement. They can learn what they really believe later.
They ARE apathetic. I'd say about 25% actually care and the rest are simply using this as an excuse to buck the system and create a stir. One of my more honest students said what I think most are thinking. He said, "half these kids have nothing to do with Mexico and just want to skip school. They don't even know what's going on. That's why I'm doing it. I was born in Baytown."
ummm my school is about 80 percent hispanic. you should have seen it around here..and i teach at a middle school. it was planned...and about 250 kids left all at once...to go protest, or to go hang out somewhere..
You don't have to be connected to Mexico in any way to care about this issue. I'm not, and I feel very passionately about it. Personally, I see it as a scriptural issue (Matthew 25:41-46) that Christians should pay close attention to.
About your students, however, of course there are those simply using it as an excuse to skip school. Would you expect anything else from the cattle mentality of HS? My comment was regarding those students who were in fights about the issue or misinformed by rumors about the proposed legislation. Those are the students who are developing their political conscience.
I agree, Jason. I told them that, as well. But, to them, it's a Mexican issue and if you were white or black you weren't "allowed" to walk out. Somewhere they had got it in their minds that they had permission to walk out, but only if you were Mexican. It's just further proof of how little they actually cared about the issue.
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