May 1st: Making History

In a truly exceptional day an unprecedented wave of solidarity and support swept San Francisco Monday, May 1, with an estimated 100,000 immigrants taking to the streets to come out of the shadows and to show their economic power. Many restaurants from 24th Street all the way to downtown San Francisco and the Embarcadero were closed Monday, some as a sign of their support for the immigration strike some out of necessity, as many of the workers planned to attend the strike.

While much of the Mission seemed like a ghost town with many store fronts and restaurants lining Valencia and Mission closing, at least 17 restaurants downtown also took the very unusual step of closing their doors to customers.Places such as Pancho Villa, Taqueria Cancun and Fresca with restaurants all over the city made their presence felt by closing all of their chains. But some of the big restaurants such as One Market, Boulevard, Americano, Asia SF and many others also made powerful statements to staff and potential customers alike by choosing to close. Two big restaurants downtown had to call nearly 100 people booked for dinner to say they were closed, one busy financial district restaurant on Market and Embarcadero closed for lunch and dinner affecting many downtown business customers and financial district regulars.Some restaurants made their decision after consulting with their staff to see how many wanted to attend the strike. Others told their staff that if they wanted to attend they had to find coverage for their shifts. Still others decided to close just to show their sympathy with their workers.Skip Young, owner of Asia SF Restaurant said he made the decision purely because it felt like the right thing to do. “The foundation of our entire country is immigration and its what makes our country so vibrant and great today. All of our ancestors are immigrants and they went through a lot of hardships to get here. The people who come here have drive and initiative and really want to be here, we take the crème of the world and that’s what makes us a powerful country.

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It is empowering to see the mass movement happening in the streets. El Tecolote supports the marches and demands for just immigration laws. However, it is extremely disturbing to see the racist anti-Latino attacks. The ignorant and violent nature of these attacks was the impetus for this editorial.\

The attacks include a video game called “Border Patrol” where players shoot immigrants — one is a pregnant woman identified as “breeder” — crossing the border. The player is encouraged to ‘kill them at any cost.” When Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante received a postcard reading, “The only good Mexican is a dead Mexican,” it proved that even public office can’t protect against racism.

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