Baldwin Park public artwork angers group opposed to illegal immigration

sacbee ^ | 5-15-05

[LouAvul]

BALDWIN PARK, Calif. (AP) - A 12-year-old piece of public art has sparked a protest by a group that opposes illegal immigration.

The 20-foot-high arch has inscriptions that read, "It was better before they came" and "This land was Mexican once, was Indian always and is, and will be again."

It has angered members of Save Our State, a 7-month-old organization based in Ventura, which organized a protest Saturday that gained attention when it was announced on a local radio station.

"I find it incredibly offensive," said Joseph Turner, the group's executive director. He said the quotation "is seditious in nature. It essentially talks about returning this land to Mexico."

Turner said he wants the offending quotations removed before the Fourth of July.

The artwork, called "Danza Indigenas," was created by artist Judy Baca and commissioned by the city.

She said the structure is a "layered history piece" that honors American Indians, immigrants and others who have lived over the centuries on the land now known as Baldwin Park.

Baca said that Save Our State's complaint over one of the quotes was misguided.

"It was better before they came" was uttered by someone Baca described as "a white man from Arkansas, a civic leader" who was complaining about the arrival of Mexican Americans after World War II.

"When it went on the arch, its ambiguity became profound," she said. "The 'they' could be any 'they.'"

The protest turned into a heated two-hour rally with protesters on both sides taunting each other and arguing face-to-face before police arrived.

[Rabid Dog]

I'm wondering if the person is a freeper or not.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks!

[janetgreen]

Thanks for the ping, OCG. I am outraged that all of you were actually exposed to violence by those ignorant thugs.

Americans have the RIGHT to protest the Mexicanization of America. People in some other states just don't realize the actual numbers here in California, they don't realize that it's going to happen in their states too.

I hope the lady who was hit by the bottle thrown at her head will be OK! All of you are heroes in my book.

[HangFire]

Funny how the police always have their backs toward the people carrying the American flags...

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for posting this.

Gonna be a long HOT summer down here........

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I was trying to find that sign, can you point it out.

[occutegirl]

2nd picture down, under the traffic signal

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks, now I see it......

Dog gone....they are saying bad things about the Alamo!

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I don't think anyone has to worry about this one, unless someone spray-paints "Somos Los Reconquistadores" onto the arch.

Petition to secure our borders

[occutegirl]

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Even better....is that a young girl holding the sign?

[occutegirl]

check out the video

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=one89

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=Wedidnt

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=MMbeware

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=Flagman

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=RaceHate

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=wardrums

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=Talkers

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=USA

http://www.putfile.com/media.php?n=LaMigra

[La Enchiladita]

thanks for the report, occutegirl ... and thanks to the eyewitness ... our people were brave to be there ... I believe this is now officially a war. We are not the ones who started it, but we must fight it.

We smoked out the other side in their true colors... the colors of the mexican flag they wave, not a U.S. flag among them .. their signs, their behavior ... even liberal media could not disguise what thugs they are ... one guy with a bandana over his face, a la the Chiapas revolutionaries ...

The good news is we can all take further action on this. I am posting a separate related topic and I will ping you all to it.

[La Enchiladita]

Hopefully, your eyewitness can update us on the condition of the woman hit with the water bottle.

[Flyer]

Disturbing.

Coming soon to a city near us.

[NewRomeTacitus]

Funny how the police always have their backs toward the people carrying the American flags...

That says it all!

Great work as always, Occutegirl. Watcherbutt out there.

[GarySpFc]

Somehow I think this is a group of White people protesting. Nobody cares about White people being offended. White people are like the Republican party we dont stick together and vote in blocs , so nobody gives a damn what we think or what offends us. If we started sticking together they would call us Klansmen. As a matter of fact I am surprised these folks havent been called that yet.

Not only that, but almost everything in US immigration law is totally against families of citizens, in favor of permanent residents, illegal immigrants, and others. Citizens get the shaft.

[LowOiL]

BTTT for a buddy of mine...

[LowOiL]

Bookmark for CC...