May Day in Santa Cruz

Comment left on UCSC's LiveJournal...

"Rosie McCann's was closed & the place next to it. I think some noodle place was too."

http://community.livejournal.com/ucsc/1226300.html

Actually, there were a lot of other places closed too. I went around downtown the night before asking who would be closed and handing out "Closed for May 1 -- Day without an Immigrant" signs (many businesses didn't use them out of fear of alienating customers, but many did). I was surprised how many places said they would close -- almost every restaurant on Pacific (only a few more fastfood type places stayed open), as well as some businesses that supported the cause, such as a sports shop and a laundromat/cafe. Still, even though I knew lots of places would be closing, when I walked down Pacific Ave on the afternoon of the 1st, it was moving and inspiring to see the sheer number of businesses with darkened and locked-up store-fronts. Congratulations to everyone on a wonderfully fun day and an effective show of our collective power!

En realidad, había muchos otros negocios cerrados tambien. Yo caminé por el centro la noche anterior y pregunté quién iba a cerrar para darles un letrero que decía "Cerrado para el 1 de Mayo -- Un Día sin Inmigrantes" (muchos negocios no los usaron por miedo de granjearse antipatía entre los clientes, pero muchos sí los usaron). Me soprendió cuantos lugares dijeron que iban a cerrar -- casi cada restaurante en Pacific (solamente unas tiendas de comida mas rapida se quedaron abiertas), tanto con unos negocios que apoyaban la causa, como una tienda deportiva y una lavandería/cafetería. Todas maneras, aunque yo ya sabía que iban a haber muchos lugares cerrados, cuando caminé por la avenida Pacific en la tarde del lunes, fue algo conmovedor y inspiracional ver el gran número de negocios con escaparates oscuras y cerradas. ¡Felicidades a tod=s por un día maravillosamente divertida y una muestra eficaz de nuestro poder colectivo!

"Ceader St Video was closed too. They even had a sign saying it was in solidarity with workers and that all movies due that Monday were instead due Tuesday. Whomever owns that place is mother fucking awesome."

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Let's get a working list of who was closed so we can support 'em in the future!

I heard Bookshop Santa Cruz was closed. Also, I noticed the Royal Taj on Soquel was closed as was Manuel's Mexican.

The picture with the two marches uniting is a very stark contrast indeed. The reason behind so many American flags being waved by Mexicans is because of this brainwashing through Spanish media that we somehow need to unfold an American flag to give value to our struggle. It seems they bought the whole "keep the gringo happy, it'll help our cause" rhetoric, which, in reality, the "conservative gringo" just found something else to bitch about. While I agree with the "no borders" mentality, the average working-class mexicano has no time to theorize or think of complex political ideals. The only thing they know is that they don't want to be criminalized for working and feeding their family, and that's why they came out with American flags: fear.
If we compare May 1st & March 25th marches, there is also a big difference.