Si Se Puedes, Dallas!

The Earth smiled on Dallas today: not a cloud in the sky and an afternoon high of seventy six degrees Farenheit.

Crooked with a backache, my stomach burning from last night's anti-inflammatories , I almost didn't go. Feeling every day of my forty-four years, I sat drinking latte and watching HGTV like the privileged cracker-ass cracker I am. Despite my resistance, weeds and drooping limbs intruded on my peripheral vision; one or two dead trees needed to come down. My mind, though not wanting to be busy, turned to the messy garage. I gotta get this shit done. The CDs littering my desk. All Those Things To Do.

None of it would get done today.

The allure of People Power overwhelmed my many distractions, all of which melted away the moment I arrived just around the corner from the church where the march was to begin.

Upwards of a half million brown-skinned people owned the streets of Dallas today: American citizens, born in the United States to parents who were or are undocumented immigrants from Mexico and Central America; and the so-called illegals - the invisible grist of the Holy Free Market which sells us the illusion of national prosperity.

They were not invisible today.

On this glorious Spring day, they were all one people - La Raza! - peacefully and forcefully demanding the dignity and rights which they and all human beings deserve.

They build our roads and houses; harvest our crops; cook & serve the the meals we eat, and then they clean the mess. They buy products. They pay taxes. They fix your car. They cut grass and pick up trash. They fight and die in the United States military.

Historically, they have taken a lot of shit from The Man. And The Man is pushing them to a breaking point. By portraying its super-secret labor force as a threat to the American Way of Life, The Man has burned his candles at both ends. And if The Man keeps it up? My Hispanic brothers and sisters are going to wreck this economy. Don't think for one second they lack the means or the will to escalate their response.

I climbed atop some scaffolding and settled in like I was paying rent because the event was building by the minute. Every direction was a sea of people carrying signs and flags, many dressed in white to symbolize peace. I saw more American flags this one day in downtown Dallas than I've seen in my entire life. The vibe was electric, positive, friendly.

Each time I thought the size of the crowd had maxed out, I would see another mass movement far away. The route snaked this way and that, and it was difficult to tell the procession's head from its tail. I never made it to City Hall where the speakers were, and it didn't seem to matter. All that mattered was the people marching.

"Is it really big?" shouted a man in the crowd. He was smiling broadly, his face alive with the joy of solidarity. "It's UNBELIEVABLE!" I yelled back. "The biggest demonstration this city has ever seen!" The crowd roared, echoes of "Si se puedes" - YES WE CAN - ringing off the glass and concrete and into the cacophany of church bells, rumbling helicopters, snare drums and the tinkling bells of street vendors selling frozen fruit bars and ice cream.

ALL who fill the streets demanding social justice are my brothers and sisters, and being part of today's Dallas MegaMarch made La Familia a whole lot bigger. I was proud to share the street and scaffolidng with such magnificent, defiant people. Let's do it again soon.

Too damn tired to edit & post pics tonight. Check back this evening.