Prop. 187 backers: remember Monday

Prop. 187 backers: remember Monday

By David Aguilar

Oh no! Are the LAPD officers using "excessive force" on our UCLA
Bruins after winning the NCAA championship? How could this be?! We
weren’t doing anything wrong last week, we were just having a good
time. Sure, it got a little out of hand and some damage was done,
but come on ­ 200 pigs deployed to Westwood?!

Are the celebrating Bruins of Westwood feeling a little bit
prejudged? Do they feel their rights have been violated by the
police, or do they feel they were automatically assigned the label
of "guilty" without probable cause? Well, if any of the
participants of last Monday’s frenzied fiesta had these feelings,
now you know what it is like for Latinos, African Americans and
other people of color who face prejudice by the pigs for doing
nothing wrong.

The point I want to address is directed to the supporters of
Proposition 187 who feel the police abused their power Monday
night. I know Proposition 187 supporters were out there last Monday
night because I personally witnessed the camaraderie of a diverse
campus (e.g. all races, sexes and, hence, political slants).

All I have to say is, the next time you support legislation like
Proposition 187, demonstrate to stop affirmative action or favor
Mayor Riordan in hiring more piggies for L.A. … remember Monday
night! Remember how it felt to be "billy-clubbed for trying to give
a cop a high-five," sprayed with tear gas or pepper spray for
impeding a police line or being shot with a rubber bullet for
dancing on Gayley Avenue!

Remember what "excessive force" feels like, because we (Latinos,
African Americans and other people of color) face it almost every
time we are pulled over or questioned by a police officer in
Amerikkka.

I sincerely hope the Proposition 187 supporters who were out
having fun in Westwood and felt the pigs took advantage of their
power, realize that from now on in California, all Latinos and
Asians (both documented and undocumented) are now suspect to such
inhumane treatment from these same pigs. Proposition 187
supporters, I hope you’re happy with yourselves. I hope you realize
that now that Proposition 187 has passed, the incident you
experienced last Monday will be felt 10 times worse by Latinos and
Asians. We are now suspect and can be harassed and made to feel
like criminals without probable cause ­ except for the color
of our skin.

Now, I know the majority of celebraters last Monday night were
not doing anything wrong, but a small percentage were. And because
of that, the entire group of innocent celebrants was made to feel
guilty simply because of the geographic proximity they shared with
that group. Treated unfairly, they were subject to unnecessary
force by the officers of (in)justice.

And just think, if Latinos and African Americans must face this
type of mistreatment, harassment and outright violation of their
civil rights every time they are questioned by police, they might
begin to feel a lot more enraged and frustrated than you did last
Monday. So if you’re wondering what other obstacles Latinos and
African Americans must overcome to get to a university like UCLA,
look no further ­ you experienced it yourself last Monday.

If you still want to abolish affirmative action and pretend the
playing field is even, and if you still think we get special
privileges from admissions policies, I’ve got more news for you
­ being assumed to be guilty by officers of (in)justice simply
for the color of your skin is no privilege.

I’m not saying that people of color need sympathy to get into
college. What I am saying is that the policies you vote for have a
real and immediate effect on our lives. Since this is the case,
we’re definitely going to speak our minds. This time, think twice
and put yourselves in our shoes before you vote to enact a policy
that subjects us to outright violations of our civil rights ­
not unlike the violations you experienced in the normally safe
heart of Westwood.

From what I’ve read in the Daily Bruin, it seems that most
students feel that the police officers’ presence in riot gear
changed the crowd’s complexion: from "partying" to enraged with
anger. I have read how the police provoked the violence by striking
first without reason.

I’ve got news for all you sheltered party animals in Westwood.
If the celebration took place in a predominantly Latino or
African-American area of Los Angeles, those bullets might not have
been rubber. I’ll bet that the police’s abuse of power would have
escalated further than it did in little ol’ Westwood.

Now that you’ve experienced a watered-down taste of what it’s
like to be treated like a criminal without due process, maybe you
can stop and think about the policies (e.g. Proposition 187 and the
anti-affirmative action legislation) you support and how they
affect our lives.

It’s pretty sad that it takes an incident like Monday night’s to
make people on this campus realize the ugly reality that when a
group is associated with negative stereotypes and assumptions, they
will frequently and unjustly be subject to the brutal and inhumane
tactics practiced by the Los Angeles Pigs Department!

Aguilar is an undeclared sophomore.