Reality...In Your Face
First, some background.
Nativo Lopez wants to get a message across:
Hispanic activists on Monday called for a weekly boycott of California gas stations as a way to resurrect an immigrant driver's licenses bill vetoed earlier this year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Pro-immigrant groups urged motorists to avoid buying gas every Monday through next year or until lawmakers allowed illegal immigrants to apply for licenses.
"Our campaign isn't a day protest," said Nativo Lopez, president of the Mexican American Political Association and Hermandad Mexicana, after announcing the "Dark Mondays" boycott at a gas station in downtown Los Angeles. "It's a prolonged campaign of pressure to obtain licenses for immigrants regardless of their status."
Several outside observers questioned the effectiveness of the proposed boycott.
"Obviously people can arrange not to buy gas on Monday but arrange to buy gas on all other days," said Stephen Levy, senior economist at the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. "This is equivalent to a bumper sticker drive."
The strategy was designed as a response to Schwarzenegger's veto in September of a measure approved by the Democratic-controlled Legislature that would let upward of 2 million immigrants drive legally. Schwarzenegger has said the bill ignored his requirement of key security safeguards _ an identifying mark that would differentiate them from licenses held by U.S. citizens and legal residents....
Battles over immigrant driver's licenses extend beyond California. At the federal level, Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner of Wisconsin plans to introduce a measure tightening up state requirements so illegal immigrants couldn't get licenses.
That measure could prompt activists to push for a nationwide expansion of the California gas station boycott, Lopez said....
Lopez said the current boycott would improve over other tactics by allowing activists to measure its impact through fluctuations in gasoline sales....
But what if Monday gas sales actually go up? John and Ken on KFI have announced a Bright Mondays contest, in which people who send Monday gas purchase receipts (or some other indication of opposition to Nativo Lopez's protest) are eligible for prizes.
On Tuesday afternoon, they announced the first two contest winners, who were randomly drawn. The first announced winner - Ralph Tomaselli, long-time bass player and lead singer of Alexa's Wish.
Nativo Lopez's website has not reported any reaction to this. Of course, Nativo Lopez's website hasn't reported anything about Dark Mondays either. It's sad when you can't get your own website to promote your boycott.
Comments