It was a beautiful Sunday morning in Pomona, Calif. I sat in a white chair on freshly cut grass along with my parents and grandparents and hundreds of others. We ringed a smaller group of blue chairs. These blue chairs would be taken shortly by the 2010 graduating class of Pomona College. All of these chairs faced a large stage, dominated by a central podium, behind which rested bleachers that would be occupied by the professors. I looked at the ceremony itinerary in my hand and saw the commencement speaker was going to be Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano.
Which, at some level, explained the scores of police officers surrounding the place.
Truth be told, I had known Napolitano was going to be speaking before I arrived. My sister was a little nervous because there were going to be protesters and she was afraid they might interrupt the event, the day she had worked toward for four years. A part of me, sitting there in my suit, looking at all of the proud faces around me, thought they wouldn’t dare to ruin this event.
I was wrong.
The graduates soon filed in and took their seats to the tune of the school’s song. My sister was the very last student to arrive at her seat, a victim of a late last name and the order of procession. Relatives cheered and the school’s class president arrived at the podium. He gave a good speech and was met with applause. Then another student stepped up to the podium. He was about halfway through his speech when it started.
The protesters had, inexplicably, begun.
Their voices rang out and threatened to drown out the poor young man giving his speech. Focus was taken from him as people craned their necks backwards to try and see the source of the noise. They were invisible, but their shouts were loud. I remember seeing the young man pause, sort of shrug his shoulders, and smile.
For me it was the second highlight of the day, the first being seeing my sister receive her diploma.
While freedom of speech is perhaps the most important right we have in this country, there is a time and a place for it. Consider that the yells started during this young man’s speech and continued through two more speakers, before Secretary Napolitano finally took the stage. Consider that about halfway through her speech they stopped. And consider that I couldn’t hear what they were saying, so most likely the secretary couldn’t hear what they were saying, and I had to Google the event to actually learn what it was they were yelling.
“Sí, se puede!” they chanted, which in Spanish means, “Yes, we can.”
“I’m pretty sure she heard our message,” said a protester, Eddie Gonzalez.
Well, he’s half right.
Because yes, the protesters can chant and disrupt a day that was supposed to highlight the hard work these graduating students had put in for four years. Yes, they can and should have their voices heard. But I’m not confident Napolitano did hear the message. And I don’t think anyone sitting there did either. At least, not the message they wanted to have heard.
I came away from the event wondering at the point of the demonstration. If you want to protest the government, its policies, and secretary Napolitano, surely there is a better location. I came away thinking these assholes had ruined a young man’s speech, had tainted one of my sister’s greatest achievements, and had marred this memory for everyone present. I am opposed to our country’s immigration policies, I am opposed to the new law in Arizona, but I am also opposed to the selfish individuals who felt the self-righteous desire to use their freedom in complete disregard to whatever else might be taking place that day.
Napolitano’s address wasn’t anything to write home about, but it was appropriate, and in contrast to the protesters, she came away with flying colors. She discussed how the country’s immigration policies needed reform, she praised the students for their hard work, and she talked about how the country was changing, and how they would be at the forefront of that change.
Score one for the government.
Because I remembered her speech. I remembered the young man who shrugged off the chants and smiled. And I remembered seeing my sister receive her diploma. I did not hear the protesters’ vocalized yells. Their screams were dampened by the pride I felt for seeing my sister succeed. What I surmised from their chants was that these people have no self respect, and they are willing to basically wag their middle fingers at my sister and everyone else gathered to celebrate a great accomplishment.
One woman was quoted as saying, “Why are they doing that?”
It’s a good question, although it should be changed to “Why are they doing that here?” Because while the protesters’ opinions are important, their grievances just, their concerns real, a graduation ceremony was a poor choice in venue.
There has to be a better way.
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Pick a better soapbox
Daily Emerald
May 25, 2010
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