Race-baiting conservatives rile campus activists.
By Ryan Werder, University of Michigan
Tuesday October 17, 2006
Andrew Boyd, President of University of Michigan’s Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), stood isolated among over 100 students protesting his action last Thursday as he explained the rules for “Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day.” By dressing two students in “illegal immigrant” costumes and offering a $100 prize to whichever wannabe Minuteman caught them, YAF succeeded in stirring up an enormous amount of campus, state, and nationwide controversy. When it came time to play, though, only one lonely student contestant braved the snowy weather, trotting around before a Fox News camera.
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| A protestor braves the cold. |
It’s doubtful that YAF expected anyone to actually join in the game; the entire event was a publicity stunt. If the number of reporters and cameras there were any indication, it was a great success. And due to the presence of the aggressively pro-affirmative action group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), the Yaffies succeeded in provoking the outraged liberal response they so desperately craved. As its name indicates, BAMN fights in an uncompromising, often unorthodox, and occasionally violent manner. They have a history on the Michigan campus of clashing with other affirmative action and civil rights advocates. Their incursion onto the scene was very much to the chagrin of the far larger progressive community that was peacefully protesting in the thirty degree weather. The other protestors had planned to step back from the YAF spectacle and starve them of media attention, reserving their sentiments on xenophobia for another venue. BAMN, on the other hand, chose an approach of more direct confrontation.
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| The YAF "illegal immigrants" dressed as Christopher Columbus and a very stereotypical Native American. |
It’s been my somewhat dubious honor to have been embroiled in this “catch an illegal immigrant day” fiasco since its genesis on campus over a month ago when Morgan Wilkins – whom MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann once dubbed the “worst person in the world” – came to town. I have been serving as the spokesman for the University of Michigan College Democrats on issues relating to this event ever since Wilkins suggested the “catch an illegal immigrant” idea to the Michigan student paper and sparked a national controversy.
Everything began smoothly enough on Thursday two hours before the “game” kicked off. An ad-hoc coalition of five different multi-cultural organizations held a “Prayer for Inclusion” in the Diag (the center of Michigan’s campus). Unfortunately, the mid-October snow kept many possible participants away. The statements from the organizations’ leaders reflected a unified disgust with YAF’s tactics. A joint press release noted that the coalition recently sent a letter to the Regents and the President of the University of Michigan asking for them to take steps to “deal with the negative impact that this activity will have on its student body and surrounding communities.”
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| Michigan law students joined the protests. |
Throughout the hour-and-a-half hiatus between the prayer and the scheduled start of YAF’s event, the Diag’s thin collection of snow melted away and students began to gather. Well over 100 student protestors, many dressed in “Michigan Immigrant” t-shirts (a showing of solidarity with immigrants) milled around with a variety of signs. “Xenophobia isn’t funny,” “Bag a Fascist,” and “Prejudice is not a Joke” were a few favorites. As the minutes rolled by, protestors began to wonder if the Yaffies had gotten scared off by the campus’ outrage, just as they had on the event’s originally scheduled date nearly two weeks earlier.
But this time the allure of the cameras and reporters’ notebooks kept YAF from canceling again. After Boyd read the rules, his lackey ran around for five minutes, BAMN yelled and hollered, and the “illegal immigrants” finally surrendered themselves. When they appeared, even BAMN stopped glaring to stare. Coming around the corner, the “immigrants” emerged dressed as Christopher Columbus and a stereotypical Native American female. Unfortunately, BAMN only shouted louder as Boyd stood with his two “illegal immigrants.” One group of students moved the “Bag a Fascist” sign behind him as a backdrop for the cameras as BAMN continued with an endless chant of, “Racist harassment, we say no! YAF bigots have got to go!”
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| Michigan YAF President Andrew Boyd explains the rules of the "game." |
As BAMN shouted, the calmer majority of protestors drew the press and remaining students away from the imbroglio to make statements of their own. They fielded questions from reporters and argued with a deranged woman who was convinced that Spanish was “Hamas-speak.”
I asked Maricruz Lopez, co-chair of the University of Michigan BAMN chapter, if she thought that trying to shout down YAF is intolerant in its own way. After a moment of hesitation, she responded by saying that the country had already heard enough from them.
YAF got the media attention they crave, but they looked ridiculous. There were no winners in this debacle. But there was a loser: constructive, respectful debate.
Editor’s Note: This is a revised version of this piece. Due to an editing error, an earlier version incorrectly identified the Young America's Foundation as the organization that sponsored the event. Young Americans for Freedom and Young America's Foundation are two separate organizations, see here, and here. CampusProgress.org regrets this error.
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Comments
Shouting down a racist may be intolerant in some peoples’ books, but not mine. In the words of Bill Maher, “let’s not become so tolerant that we tolerate intolerance.” This event was no debate, no panel discussion about immigration. It was a crude, racist, attention-grabbing stunt, and I hold their form of speech in low regard.
I stand with BAMN’s actions, and would likely have done the same were I there.
— Liberaltarian - Oct 18, 12:20 AM - #Yeah, shouting down is what your kind does best. Shut down communication and free expression when its a source that you personally dislike. And yet you call the other kids the fascists.
— Jake - Oct 18, 01:46 AM - #Wow, so many generalizations in just three sentences!
— Liberaltarian - Oct 18, 10:47 AM - #I stopped by to watch this spectacle for a bit and the funny thing is that if the left could have stopped screaming obscenities for half a second and listened to YAF they would have discovered they basically agree on the immigration issue. YAF didn’t even condemn illegal immigration and some actually said they support open borders for economic reasons. Personally I found both YAF and the Left ridiculous, although entertaining.
— stuff - Oct 18, 01:26 PM - #Way to go YAF. You make me proud.
— Morgan Wilkins - Oct 18, 07:14 PM - #Um, can someone explain to me just how a Native American is an “illegal immigrant”?
— Vidiot - Oct 18, 10:52 PM - #UH, that would be two sentences and a fragment.
— CK Dexter Haven - Oct 19, 01:17 AM - #Touché, CK!
— Liberaltarian - Oct 19, 06:27 PM - #This weekend we are setting up a Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day, a staged Traditional Wedding, an Affirmative Action Bakesale, and a table to collect money to give disadvantaged homosexuals special scholarships to reparative therapy camp!!!!!
Come and get us commies!!! If you can find us!!!!
(hint…we’re in New England) oh ya, and if you commies want to debate any of these issues let us know!
Ryan and Matt!!
— Ryan and Matt! - Oct 19, 06:38 PM - #Commies?? Time Warp!!
— scsurfer - Oct 19, 07:06 PM - #Uh “reparative therapy”?? Mark Foley is here to tell you how well THAT works.
I’ll tell you what I think is the most ridiculous part of this whole thing: how is a Native American, stereotypical or not, any form of immigrant, illegal or not?
Also, shut up, Ryan and Matt. Just…shut up. Take your ball and go home.
— slythwolf - Oct 19, 07:33 PM - #“slythwolf” did you take your Medicine today, also, give us your email and we’ll send you some pics of our Catch an Illegal Alien event! We’ll send you t-shirts too. How about some pencils, we have “I caught an illegal alien pencils and t-shirts!” Also bring your militant friends with you, because we run all over militant moon-bats like nothing. Bring the “Black Panthers” “By any means necessary” bring um all!
And bring Mecha, and tell um that the southwest will never be Aztlan, and that the Spanish only had control of it for what? 20 lousy years! They first born wouldn’t even be old enough to drink before the US took it back, and the people that live there are lucky we did take it back! Have a nice day!
Ryan and Matt and Greg and Jeff, and Paco!
— Ryan and Matt! - Oct 19, 11:33 PM - #By the way we started a bran new group on our campus. It is called WHAM!!!
— Ryan and Matt and Greg and Jeff, and Paco! - Oct 19, 11:37 PM - #White, Heterosexual, American, Males!!! wOOO Hoooooo
I guess the saying is true:
— Blue Patriot - Oct 20, 09:34 AM - #You can lead a boy to college, but you can’t make him think.
Your parents must be so proud to be spending that tuition money.
I’d like to point out that Mecha isn’t a Spanish organization, but a coalition for the native cultures of the Southwest, Mexico, and Central America. Not that anyone would expect you idiots to actually know what you’re talking about.
“Duh, facts are confusing. Yay white people!” shameful.
RyanandMattandGregandJeff,andPaco:
All males. No Girlfriends. Self-labled Heterosexuals. Hmmm.
— hterrya - Oct 20, 11:13 AM - #Wasn’t WHAM! a very popular and very gay band of the 1980’s?
— Blue Patriot - Oct 20, 11:38 AM - #That’s what smart people call a “freudian slip”, fellas. (they make it so easy.)
-BP
No matter anyone’s stance on illegal immigration (I’m probably to the right of many here on the issue), one should have nothing but respect for the people who go through hell to get here in search of a better life.
An event like “Catch an Illegal Immigrant” day shows disrespect. I don’t like it, though I wouldn’t necessarily call it racist.
— Joe - Oct 20, 02:12 PM - #Racist? Maybe that’s incorrect terminology, Joe. But horribly ignorant and inflamitory are spot on.
— Blue Patriot - Oct 20, 04:26 PM - #Also, I don’t think immigration is a libreal/conservative issue, as can be shown by the stances taken by big business “conservatives” like the POTUS and many CEOs. It’s a security issue, and a humanitarian issue, but it will not be solved by stupid college meat-head stunts and rhetoric.
We, as a nation, need to be vigilant about our borders, but at the same time we need to recognize that we still are a beacon to people looking for freedom and a better life… although maybe that’s Bush’s plan- We’ll be so hated that nobody would want to move here. Problem solved.
I’m surprised that, after the mention of the North American Indian not being an immigrant at all, no one picked up on the fact that Columbus was the man who discovered America. Without knowing anything about YAF, it looks to me like they’re poking fun of the idea that a nation built on what amounts illegal immigration (though there were no laws against it at the time, obviously) has the gall to turn people away at its borders.
— anon - Oct 20, 09:07 PM - #Nice thread! Approaching the pinnacle of paradox, I believe the YAF sponsored “event” elicited a spectacular species of creative socio-political expression. Rave On, brothers and sisters!
— lew welge - Oct 21, 01:13 PM - #YAF and Young America’s Foundation are not the same organization, I believe. YAF is Young America’s For Freedom. YAF endorsed the catch an illegal alien day, not Young America’s Foundation. Ryan, have you heard of fact-checking?
— right on the money - Oct 22, 07:36 PM - #Doesn’t Campus Progress know the difference between Young Americans for Freedom and Young America’s Foundation?
Your lack of attention to detail or deliberate misrepresentation of facts is appalling.
Young America’s Foundation has no Michigan chapter and we engaged in none of the activities cited in your blog.
Ron Robinson
— Ron Robinson - Oct 23, 08:44 AM - #President
Young America’s Foundation
We’ve made the appropriate correction.
— Ben Adler - Oct 23, 11:21 AM - #“RYAN and MATT “
— mexican person - Feb 24, 12:06 PM - #Im pretty sure your are not 100% NATIVE AMERICAN are you? NO. Thats WhAT I THOUGHT!!!!So GRINGO PLEASE DON’T FILL YOUR MOUTH UP SAYING YOU’RE NOT AN IMMIGRANT TO THE U.S. INCLUDING YOUR PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS THEY ARE ALL IMMIGRANTS BECAUSE OF THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THEY IMMIGRATED FROM AN OTHER CONTINENT MAKES THEM AND YOU IMMIGRANTS.Why dont you try to cross the border and find out what we pass through just to get to the So Called AMERICAN DREAM Im sure you would’nt let your kids die of hunger!!!!!So you and your RACIST PROGRAM CAN @#5%.
This might not be the best way to stimulate debate, but Americans need to educate themselves on this issue. There are over 5 billion poor people in the world who would love a better life. Obviously we can’t bring them all here. If we grant amnesty, there will be over 100 million new citizens as a result of illegal immigration because of our policiy of chain immigration. The effects of this massive amount of humanity on our health care, schools, welfare system, etc. will be tremendous. On the issue of risking your life to come here, if we send the message that you will NOT be able to work here illegally and you will not be granted amnesty, then perhaps we can dissuade people from coming here in the first place. Then we can focus our resources on political and economic routes to help disadvantaged people in countries such as Mexico (a relatively rich nation by the way) to be able to prosper in their own country.
— Zoe - Feb 25, 11:51 AM - #And bring Mecha, and tell um that the southwest will never be Aztlan, and that the Spanish only had control of it for what? 20 lousy years! They first born wouldn’t even be old enough to drink before the US took it back, and the people that live there are lucky we did take it back! Have a nice day!
and you guys didn’t have a damned thing to do with taking the southwest. the only reason you guys are legal citizens, is because your great great grandfather buggered his illegal alien cousin, on american soil.
— John - Feb 28, 03:40 PM - #