Shades of Selma: Shocking Video of Mexican Protesters Hosed Down by Water Truck

[Update] As many folks pointed out in comments, just about everything I posted about this story is wrong.  The protesters were not supporting immigration but labor rights, and it's possible they were striking on private property, which changes the dynamic slightly.  I deeply apologize for the inaccuracy of my reporting.  However, I DO stand by the comparison of this event with Selma -- although, as I stated in the original story, the spray from the water truck was not nearly as strong as that from the Selma fire hoses. -- Nonpartisan

From the excellent Tucson, AZ blog Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion comes this horrific footage of pro-immigration protesters in Southern Arizona being repeatedly hosed down by a water truck operated by Pulte Homes:

[Cross-posted at ProgressiveHistorians and My Left Wing.]

While this draconian tactic flies in the face of all the basic precepts of human decency, it raises a particularly disturbing specter from a historical perspective: an identical technique was used in the March 7, 1965 "Bloody Sunday" attack on Martin Luther King and his marchers in Selma Alabama, as this video shows.  (Below, an image from a similar event in Birmingham.)  The hoses there were a little stronger; they left three marchers dead.

If you're unnerved by the historical parallel, want to protest the action, or simply feel that Pulte Homes should explain why their employees felt compelled to assault peaceable strikers with high-powered water sprayers, contact Pulte using the following information taken from their website:

Pulte Homes, Inc.

100 Bloomfield Hills Parkway,

Bloomfield Hills, Michigan 48304

1-866-PULTE-25 (785-8325)

Email: use the contact form

Go to it.