Houston Area Students walkout to Protest Immigration Reform

[Geldain]

beckers:

So let me get this straight. Everyone is saying that these “kids” can’t be passionate about anything because of their age?

Sure they can. However, being passionate doesn’t give one a blanket pass to protest during class time.

Since when does age make you suddenly smart and that your opinion counts?

Since old people are generally smarter than younger people AND they don’t let teens and 5th graders fly the space shuttle

Kids can be passionate about a lot of social issues.

They sure can. Doesn’t mean anyone should let them skip school because they are passionate.

This one just happens to be in the forefront at the moment. Right now these kids are speaking up and showing that they are not happy is them voicing their opinion.

They can voice their opinion freely after school or before school.

I personal believe that a good majority of these kids are passionate about this issue. This new law will effect them and their families so i think if anyone has a right to speak out it is these kids!

They are certainly free to peacefully speak out. They are not free to skip school.

Last time i looked the constitution of the United States didn’t have an age limit that it suddenly kicked in on.

There’s no right given in the Constitution giving school age children the right to skip school to protest without consequence

(Yes these kids can’t vote at the moment but a lot of the can in the next election).

Let’s hope they exercise that right to vote!

Also I didn’t know there was a time limit on when one could protest?

I won’t bill you for the advance of your personal education

To kids their school is their work.

It’s called schoolwork for a reason

Just like you would leave your job to go protest these kids are leaving their.

Would I? Why? What unseen force is going to force me to leave my job and protest anything?

And just like you would be punished or docked time or pay so will these kids.

Good. They should be.

I know a lot of HS have exemption programs for finals and absences count against those so these kids are going to be “punished”.

As well they should.

P.S…at least we can show the rest of the world that when we protest against our government that it is peaceful…we are doing a lot better than france and some of Europe…

While you are correct regarding France it’s not, from where I sit, a good thing too see school-age kids protesting anything during school hours.

 

[TarAshly]

No i know this because I am a mentor to this age group, and have been talking to my little sister who is soon to be 17, the kids at her school are planning a walk out too, to protest. I have talked to the kids who feel this way. have you talked to the kids? have you asked them why they did it? what they are feeling? are getting coverage of the protests like we are? You are just being an antagonist, you dont really seem to have a position other than kids dont care about anything but skipping school. Do you have kids? teenagers in particular?

Geldain:

Same way you do

Yes.

Why not?

Why? What unseen or seen force is propelling them?

Wow, you know this because you are there with them protesting and making these posts from a blackberry?

 

[TarAshly]

Geldain:

While you are correct regarding France it’s not, from where I sit, a good thing too see school-age kids protesting anything during school hours.

why not? it worked in LA.

 

[beckers]

Say what you want about these kids. They protested and some got to speak to the mayor of houston to speak their voice. Some where picked up violation of daytime curfew and alot were bused back to their schools. You may not agree with the way these kids chose to speak their minds but at least they are using them. Can’t say that about alot of the adults today (Cindy S or any actor).

---

Austin High School student Edgar Gonzalez, a child of Mexican immigrants, sat in the Houston Mayor’s Office to express his opinion on immigrant reform.

“My parents are breaking their backs just to keep the food on the table,” Gonzalez told KPRC Local 2.

As school buses transported Austin High students back to campus, students from Davis High School arrived.

“We are trying to show that we care about people,” student protestor Dario Duarte said.
click2houston.com/news/8314722/detail.html

 

[Geldain]

TarAshly:

why not? it worked in LA.

Worked? What worked?

 

[Geldain]

TarAshly:

No i know this because I am a mentor to this age group, and have been talking to my little sister who is soon to be 17, the kids at her school are planning a walk out too, to protest. I have talked to the kids who feel this way. have you talked to the kids?

No, I talked to mine.

have you asked them why they did it? what they are feeling? are getting coverage of the protests like we are? You are just being an antagonist, you dont really seem to have a position other than kids dont care about anything but skipping school. Do you have kids? teenagers in particular?

I don’t care why any kid skips school. From where I sit, it’s a horrible thing to ever ok. I think the TV coverage would be much greater and the coverage more positive to their cause had they protested after school.

I have THREE teenagers. 17, 17 and 19. I am VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY familiar with what/how teenagers think about.

If one of my kids came to me and said, “Dad, I want to protest with my classmates after school about issue X” I would make sure the issue wasn’t in direct violation of the Teachings of the Catholic Church and if I felt it was going to be a safe environment for them I would say, “sure. Be home at this time.” They would call me when they arrived and when they were leaving and we’d talk about it at dinner.

If they came to me and said, “Dad, we want to protest during school tomorrow over issue X” I would assure them they were taking their lives into their hands for even considering such an insane notion. The answer would be *NO *and a list of consequences would be presented they know they could count on coming their way if they did what I told them not to do.

 

[Jeffrey]

Hopefully the rain will put a damper on those protesters… I hope this protesting backlashes them. I in no way support what they are doing.

TarAshly:

I am so SO proud of these kids! Rock on! and I know some of you wont agree, but at least these kids are taking a stand, standing up for their beliefs, coming together to fight for what they believe is right.I live in houston and today it is cold and thunder storming outside, these kids are tough!

khou.com/topstories/stories/khou060628_ac_protestscontinue.6c9bd6ab.html

 

[Jabronie]

Geldain:

Worked? What worked?

They disrupted a lot of traffic and got in the way of all of the legal Americans who just want to go to work, go home and relax. And obey the law. Of course obeying the law isn’t going to get anyone out of school.

What a waste. I don’t understand what people are protesting. You can’t have open borders in a free society. You can’t punish those who wait to enter legally by giving everyone who’s here a free pass. You can’t reward law-breakers.

 

[Jeffrey]

Thats what scares me.

beckers:

They will be your equals according to the government in your right to voice your opinion. They have just as much right to say anything about how are government is run.

 

[Jeffrey]

I agree… just lookin to get outta school.

Geldain:

I hope the kids receive zeros for skipping class and an appropriate amount of after-school detention.

If they want to hold a meaningful protest, do it before or after school. This would lend them credibility. From where I sit, they look like any other kids who got a chance to skip school.

 

[Jeffrey]

If there parents didn’t break the law to get here in the first place… this wouldn’t be a problem.

Yea… just what we need… ppl sending a msg that its ok to break the law.

TarAshly:

This reminds me of the Walk Outs of the East LA schools in the 1960’s. These kids were passionate about equality, in fact they were beaten, imprisoned and threatened. Just because some of you have never had a passion about something you believed in doesnt mean that others dont. I have worked with school age kids as a mentor and beleive me they are not all school skipping morons without a care in the world. Many of them feel passionate about this issue, look who it will effect, their families, their friends, their church, their loved ones, I would be made as all get out as well! In fact i AM mad as all get out! These kids are awesome! stand up and fight for what is right!

 

[davy39]

Geldain:

The new mantra for the school age kids is now, “Skip school! Be uneducated! Demean any real impact your protest might have by skippin school! Don’t be responsible and lend your protest any credibilty by protesting on your own time!”

I’ll add to that. And after they graduate or drop out and kind find a job, don’t worry. Us taxpayers will take care of them.

 

[Lance]

beckers:

Say what you want about these kids. They protested and some got to speak to the mayor of houston to speak their voice. Some where picked up violation of daytime curfew and alot were bused back to their schools. You may not agree with the way these kids chose to speak their minds but at least they are using them. Can’t say that about alot of the adults today (Cindy S or any actor).

---

Austin High School student Edgar Gonzalez, a child of Mexican immigrants, sat in the Houston Mayor’s Office to express his opinion on immigrant reform.

“My parents are breaking their backs just to keep the food on the table,” Gonzalez told KPRC Local 2.

As school buses transported Austin High students back to campus, students from Davis High School arrived.

“We are trying to show that we care about people,” student protestor Dario Duarte said.
click2houston.com/news/8314722/detail.html

Do these kids have any idea what they are protesting? Immigration reform is needed. What we have is not working. Few people in the US have anything against immigration, it is illegal immigration that we are against. If it were not for immigrants I would not have my family. My wife was born in Italy, my son in law is from Lebanon, my son is dating a girl from England. They all came here legally. It was a ‘hard row to hoe’ but they did it. Illegal immigrants are keeping people who want to come here legally out. I have read that about 10% of the people who come across the Mexican border are criminals, we should be keeping them and terrorist out of our country. If the parents of these kids are here illegally they should go back to their own country and protest there.

 

[TarAshly]

Thats a great idea, split up families…would you allow anyone to take you away from your children?

Lance:

Do these kids have any idea what they are protesting? Immigration reform is needed. What we have is not working. Few people in the US have anything against immigration, it is illegal immigration that we are against. If it were not for immigrants I would not have my family. My wife was born in Italy, my son in law is from Lebanon, my son is dating a girl from England. They all came here legally. It was a ‘hard row to hoe’ but they did it. Illegal immigrants are keeping people who want to come here legally out. I have read that about 10% of the people who come across the Mexican border are criminals, we should be keeping them and terrorist out of our country. If the parents of these kids are here illegally they should go back to their own country and protest there.

 

[Fitz]

We are working towards improving legal immigration. That is what we all should support. No one wants anyone here illegally. Obviously there is plenty of blame to go around in this issue, and we need to resolve this. Our future depends on it. Our safety could depend on it. The chidren protesting do know quite a bit about the problem even if they are legal. However, I would venture to say that they all don’t agree on the solution.

I am not an admirer of having kids skip school to protest. I don’t necessarily admire the kids for what they are doing. I don’t think of it as brave. I probably use a different criteria. I saw too many protests during my college years and most were not thoought out very well. It is my individual perspective, that has been shaped by Catholic teachings also. I am not anti-immigration. However, it is up to their parents if they skip school. I pray that no one gets hurt.

 

[Kendy]

I just wanted to share this documented from 2003 from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which I believe in a pastoral letter by the American and Mexican Bishops on this issue.

I also read that the bishops in Australia are also protesting some proposed immigration law over there. I can look it up if anyone is interested.

usccb.org/mrs/stranger.shtml

Kendy

Here’s portion:

I. Persons have the right to find opportunities in their homeland.
34. All persons have the right to find in their own countries the economic, political, and social opportunities to live in dignity and achieve a full life through the use of their God-given gifts. In this context, work that provides a just, living wage is a basic human need.

II. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families.
35. The Church recognizes that all the goods of the earth belong to all people.15 When persons cannot find employment in their country of origin to support themselves and their families, they have a right to find work elsewhere in order to survive. Sovereign nations should provide ways to accommodate this right.

III. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders.
36. The Church recognizes the right of sovereign nations to control their territories but rejects such control when it is exerted merely for the purpose of acquiring additional wealth. More powerful economic nations, which have the ability to protect and feed their residents, have a stronger obligation to accommodate migration flows.

IV. Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection.
37. Those who flee wars and persecution should be protected by the global community. This requires, at a minimum, that migrants have a right to claim refugee status without incarceration and to have their claims fully considered by a competent authority.

V. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants should be respected.
38. Regardless of their legal status, migrants, like all persons, possess inherent human dignity that should be respected. Often they are subject to punitive laws and harsh treatment from enforcement officers from both receiving and transit countries. Government policies that respect the basic human rights of the undocumented are necessary.

1. The Church recognizes the right of a sovereign state to control its borders in furtherance of the common good. It also recognizes the right of human persons to migrate so that they can realize their God-given rights. These teachings complement each other. While the sovereign state may impose reasonable limits on immigration, the common good is not served when the basic human rights of the individual are violated. In the current condition of the world, in which global poverty and persecution are rampant, the presumption is that persons must migrate in order to support and protect themselves and that nations who are able to receive them should do so whenever possible. It is through this lens that we assess the current migration reality between the United States and Mexico.

 

[Lance]

TarAshly:

Thats a great idea, split up families…would you allow anyone to take you away from your children?

Who said split up the family? If they are here illegally they should all be sent back. If I wanted to immigrate to another country I would do it the legal way so I would not have to worry about having my children taken away.

 

[Jeffrey]

Ahhh… so you’d be taking the responsible law abiding approach?

Lance:

Who said split up the family? If they are here illegally they should all be sent back. If I wanted to immigrate to another country I would do it the legal way so I would not have to worry about having my children taken away.

 

[wabrams]

TarAshly:

Thats a great idea, split up families…would you allow anyone to take you away from your children?

No one is going to break up families and I have a strong feeling you know that by some of your posts. So quit bringing it up unless you have proof that this law says the citizen children will stay here while their illegal alien parents get deported.

 

[TarAshly]

So whats going to happen to the children of immigrants?

wabrams:

No one is going to break up families and I have a strong feeling you know that by some of your posts. So quit bringing it up unless you have proof that this law says the citizen children will stay here while their illegal alien parents get deported.