Revolution #151, December 28, 2008
The struggle on Long Island intensifies
To Revolución newspaper (translated from Spanish):
Joselo Lucero, the brother of Marcelo Lucero who was murdered by a group of racists in Patchogue, Long Island, along with a group of county officials, a representative of “Hispanics Across America” and the Congregational Church of Patchogue, organized a “public” event announced in Spanish language newspapers to which all Latino immigrants were invited. This was to present a second formal complaint to officials since they actually had been beaten or mistreated and they actually had been ignored at the time they presented a formal complaint to the authorities. And this event was so people could come and tell what they had experienced, so that the authorities can make an assessment and take the necessary measures...
The reality was that when we arrived, there was a trio of police standing in the doorway like bodyguards, shortly after the arrival of the officials. It looked like the officials were hiding out in the place because they went way to the back of the church, many yards from the people who came to present the complaints. Naturally, most of the people who came just kept walking past the place since they were intimidated by these police who were easily mistaken for immigration police. As if that weren’t enough, after trying to sell the newspaper and interview people, two of my comrades who came in support were literally shoved out in the midst of hostile comments like “What are you doing here? What do you want? If you aren’t here to make a complaint, get out.” And they pushed the reporters and people accompanying the family members and friends. We then complained to Joselo Lucero. In anger, he immediately ran over and let us in, saying that there was no reason to not let us in.
In the end, the event showed that the County officials are part of this capitalist-imperialist system which thrives off the oppression and exploitation of the people, like the slavery of Black people and of immigrants. They were telling people that they can make all the complaints they want, and we’ll call you later ... but for what? So they can do nothing. It is clear that they just want to “string people along” and thus cool out their anger and impotence at being illegal immigrants.
This is intolerable and we have to stop them. We don’t have to accept the laws of this system which only benefits one class and is headed up by a handful of bourgeois. But without a revolution, all of this will continue and will increase. We are not going to wait for them to kill another “Sean Bell or another Marcelo Lucero.” Let’s not let this keep happening. Let’s organize our communities and barrios, ghettos and neighborhoods and schools, work places and even the corners where we wait for work, with Revolución newspaper, and let’s become part of the revolutionary movement that is coming into being. Let’s put this newspaper into people’s hands which is such a dangerous tool against the system. And let’s unleash the struggle of all of us living oppressed by the nightmare of capitalism.
As a comrade says:
“To all those who don’t believe a Revolution is possible in the U.S., let me tell you, the capitalists do believe it’s possible...”
STOP THINKING LIKE AN AMERICAN!
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