Approximately 300 students and faculty gathered at the Beach Auditorium in support or protest of the presence and words of Jim Gilchrist, founder of the Minuteman Project. The Minuteman Project has been accused of being a racist, violent and extremist movement that attempts to scare immigrants from crossing the border. According to Jim Gilchrist’s Minuteman Project website, the project has chapters in 15 states, all encompassing the idea that ordinary citizens should uphold immigration laws.
The event was meant to be a debate between conservative Gilchrist and liberal Enrique Morones, who founded Border Angels, a group that lends aid to immigrants in the last stages of their border-crossing. Within the first minutes of the debate, Morones urged students and faculty to walk out on the debate. He called Gilchrist’s behavior hateful, and began a separate discussion outside of the auditorium.
A Long Beach Press Telegram editorial writer criticized the Morones’s opposition (most of the students and faculty gathered), for refusing to even hear what Gilchrist had to say. The behavior on both sides of the argument contributed to an attitude of intolerance and hate, rather than acceptance that all people have their own opinions.
The entire event was more of a spectacle than an informative discussion. Attendees taped signs to their backs identifying where their parents or grandparents had migrated from. Posters telling the Minutemen to “go home” and likening the group to the Ku Klux Klan peppered the crowd, and Gilchrist dramatically wore bullet-proof vest, to later remove it signifying that he was prepared to sacrifice his life for his views.
Gilchrist continued his discussion for two hours for the few dozen people remaining, emphasizing the importance of Americans’ freedom of speech and assembly.
http://www.minutemanproject.com/newsmanager/templates/mmp.asp?articleid=234&zoneid=5
The event was meant to be a debate between conservative Gilchrist and liberal Enrique Morones, who founded Border Angels, a group that lends aid to immigrants in the last stages of their border-crossing. Within the first minutes of the debate, Morones urged students and faculty to walk out on the debate. He called Gilchrist’s behavior hateful, and began a separate discussion outside of the auditorium.
A Long Beach Press Telegram editorial writer criticized the Morones’s opposition (most of the students and faculty gathered), for refusing to even hear what Gilchrist had to say. The behavior on both sides of the argument contributed to an attitude of intolerance and hate, rather than acceptance that all people have their own opinions.
The entire event was more of a spectacle than an informative discussion. Attendees taped signs to their backs identifying where their parents or grandparents had migrated from. Posters telling the Minutemen to “go home” and likening the group to the Ku Klux Klan peppered the crowd, and Gilchrist dramatically wore bullet-proof vest, to later remove it signifying that he was prepared to sacrifice his life for his views.
Gilchrist continued his discussion for two hours for the few dozen people remaining, emphasizing the importance of Americans’ freedom of speech and assembly.
http://www.minutemanproject.com/newsmanager/templates/mmp.asp?articleid=234&zoneid=5
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