"Zru the nait"

I walked into the Day Worker Center yesterday around 11:30 to find those workers who had not been hired yet (which tends to be the large majority) preparing for a May 1 demonstration by practicing the words to "God Bless America." Even though I will always associate this jingoist song with Pat Buchanan (who clearly did not know the words after winning the 1996 New Hampshire primary) and the Yankees, it was a rather touching scene.

The May 1 demonstration, part of a nationwide mobilization by immigrant groups, will include a march from the Day Worker center to City Hall via San Antonio Shopping Center. Some local businesses are already planning to close because so many of their workers will be attending. It is interesting to watch small businesses across the country accomodate their workers' freedom to assemble while larger ones are firing them.