May Day

Jason

I'd like to remind everyone that Friday, May 1, is, among other things, International Workers' Day—a day commemorating the historic struggle of working people throughout the world.

Show your support for the labour movement and immigration reform by attending May Day marches and rallies in your area.

Simonthepilgrim

Thanks for the reminder, Jason.

May 1st is a wonderful festival in the solar calendar, bringing all sorts of traditions together. Here, in the U.K., many pre-Reformation traditions like the maypole are still celebrated too.

KnightofBuddha

Well, I'm a working person in the world. I can be quite the workaholic at times really! But I have no love for the organized labor movement as it stands today in America. I'll quit my job or die before my company is ever unionized.

Jason

I'm not a fan all organized labour either, but I certainly appreciate and recognize all that organized labour and regular working men and women around the world have done so that I can enjoy things like an 8 hour work day, health benefits, paid vacation, sick days, etc. I'm grateful that people were willing to fight for these things so that I didn't have to. It seems that organized labour gets a bad rap in America these days. Strange, really.

grackle

Listen to the stirring verses of the Internationale.
grackle

Simonthepilgrim

grackle wrote: »

Listen to the stirring verses of the Internationale.
grackle

And so begins the final drama,
In the streets and in the fields.
We stand unbowed before their armour,
We defy their guns and shields!
When we fight, provoked by their aggression,
Let us be inspired by life and love.
For though they offer us concessions,
Change will not come from above!
So come brothers and sisters,
For the struggle carries on.
The Internationale,
Unites the world in song.
So comrades, come rally,
For this is the time and place!
The Internationale,
Unites the human race.
(B. Bragg version, verse 3)

The workers' movement, heir to the Peasants' Revolt, gave the example to all of us who believe that we must oppose power when it becomes oppressive. I can imagine the monks in Burma or the democrats in Tiananmen Square singing these words, in their own languages, in solidarity against the "guns and shields" of overbearing authority.

Indeed, the Revolutionaries could have sung it in Boston or Philadelphia.

federica

Richard Maddeley on Radio 2 this morning:

"Wasn't that a great result yesterday? One-nil! How brilliant was that...? Oh, I'm not talking about the Manchester United, Arsenal match....
No... I'm talking about the other pitched battle....
Gurkhas - 1 Government - Nil."

I had to smile!

Palzang

I plan on wearing red tomorrow to commemorate it. Oh wait, I wear red every day! :doh:

Palzang

ThubtenNamgyal

Knight of Buddha wrote: »

I'll quit my job or die before my company is ever unionized.

Well in that case, I sure hope card check passes.

DhammaDhatu

The Buddha said:

"In five ways should an employer minister to his employees:

(i) by assigning them work according to their ability,
(ii) by paying them wages commensurate with their work and adequate for their livelihood,
(iii) by tending them in sickness,
(iv) by sharing with them a portion of any special profits that may accrue,
(v) by granting them appropriate leave and time to rest.

"The employees thus ministered to by their employer show their compassion to him in five ways:

(i) starting work before him,
(ii) stopping work after him,
(iii) they take only what is given,
(iv) they perform their duties well,
(v) they uphold and spread a good reputation of him and his business.

Sigalovada Sutta

Dazzle

federica wrote: »

Richard Maddeley on Radio 2 this morning:

"Wasn't that a great result yesterday? One-nil! How brilliant was that...? Oh, I'm not talking about the Manchester United, Arsenal match....
No... I'm talking about the other pitched battle....
Gurkhas - 1 Government - Nil."

I had to smile!

It was indeed a great result with thanks to the devoted efforts of Joanna Lumley.

.

KnightofBuddha

Thubten Namgyal wrote: »

Well in that case, I sure hope card check passes.

Buddha forbid! I sure hope not.

Jason

Friday, I attended the May Day rally and march in downtown Portland. I ended up talking to some cool people and marching for a great cause. It felt good being a part of something that's trying to raise awareness about important issues that affect us all, especially when it comes to immigration.

Perhaps I'm a bit idealistic, but I don't see 'illegal' immigrants as criminals, I see them as human beings. Their situation is so desperate that they are willing to leave their friends, their families and their homes to live like fugitives in a country that exploits them for their cheap labour. Hell, I think some of them deserve to be here more than I do given the fact that they're willing to risk such hardships, even death, to live in this country while I simply have the luxury of being born here and often take that for granted.

I'm not sure exactly what immigration policies will best serve all the parties involved, but I'm positive that our current policies need to be reformed. I want to see an end to ICE raids and deportations, for example, especially when they deport U.S. citizens (such as children born in the U.S. to parents who are here illegally or are here legally but denied residency) and tear families apart. Not only that, but I'm concerned about the fact that at least "83 people have died in, or soon after, [ICE] custody" since 2003 (Washington Post).

I'm also concerned about local 287(g) agreements around the country because of the potential for racial profiling and intimidation by law enforcement officials (e.g., Arpaio to be investigated over alleged violations), and would like to see an end to them as well.

I'm not sure what all the solutions are, but I'm sure that if we work together we can find them. ¡Si se puede!

Palzang

I agree, Jason. This situation needs to change drastically. When I lived in Arizona, it was commonplace for the Border Patrol to find dead immigrants in the desert, forced to cross at dangerous places due to the increased security in more friendly places, like San Diego. Others died trying to cross the desert east of Yuma, perhaps the most desolate stretch of desert in the US. It's called the Road of Death actually. It is almost certain death to attempt crossing it by foot, but these people are so desperate they will chance it. Others are actually killed by ranchers as the immigrants cross their property. Nobody says anything though, and it's covered up. Nearly all are brought over by unscrupulous coyotes who charge a lot of money and then abandon them in the middle of the desert with little or even no water. It's easy for us living (relatively) cushy lives to turn up our noses at them and say we should keep them out, but in reality they're just like us but without the opportunity we take for granted.

As for Joe Arpaio, the sheriff in Phoenix, he's a fascist and dangerous, a nutcase who has made a career out of abusing prisoners for his own gain. Fortunately some Arizonans are finally waking up to that and we may soon see the end of Joe. I hope.

We can certainly do better than that.

Palzang