I am legal. And by legal that means that I am a Hispanic female whose family has lived in what is now called "New Mexico" since the late 1500's. By the way, my family has lived under three different flags. Spanish, Mexican and, now, the American flag. Most of my family speaks Spanish at home or are at least bilingual.
I am an American citizen. I pay my taxes and hold down two jobs to pay my bills and live my life. And guess what? We vote. We don't miss any elections. And, I'll be damned before I carry a passport to the state right next to mine.
I have been enraged since Governor Brewer signed her state's racist racial profiling bill. And I've been thinking of what can be done. How can we get our positions about this racist action heard and acknowledged?
A Brown Out. There has been talk of "Brown Outs" before. But now is the time.
Let's shut the nation down. Let's make it come to a grinding halt.
How does this work? On a random work day (maybe two), every Latino, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Dominican, or Hispanic person in the United States stays home.
We won't pick your fruits and vegetables during the Brown Out. We won't work in your restaurants. We won't clean your hotel rooms or watch your kids. We won't mow your lawns, fix your roofs or build your houses. We won't do your accounting, your human resource work, your manufacturing or your dock work. We won't drive your cabs, your buses or patrol your streets. We won't come to put out your fires. We won't teach your kids or do the administrative work in your offices.
We won't judge your court cases, we won't represent clients. We won't treat patients or nurse those who need nursing.
In states like Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and California this will be crippling.
Then maybe the racists in Arizona who support this travesty they call "immigration reform" will see just how much power we have.
And don't forget.
We vote.