La Voz de Aztlan Editorial
Los Angeles, Alta California
October 10, 2006

Minutemen Vigilantes Learn Some Lessons at Columbia University

On October 2, 2006, the Minutemen vigilantes issued a press release entitled "Minuteman Project Heads for College; Founder Invited to Speak at Columbia University". The speaking engagement did not turn out as the vigilantes expected. When they arrived at the university's Roone Arledge Auditorium on October 4, 2006, the students taught them two lessons that hopefully they will never forget. Just as vigilante James Gilchrist had completed his first rant against Mexican immigrants, the students rose up and approached the podium. Gilchrist was then forced off the stage and had to be escorted off the campus. He was essentially "deported" from the university.

The first lesson that the vigilantes learned is that there is a great difference between "free speech" and "hate speech". Hate speech directed against ethnic, racial, national or religious groups has no place in institutions of higher learning. The students at Columbia were righteous in standing up against the Minutemen vigilantes and what they represent. The morally courageous action of the students at Columbia should serve as a good example for other colleges and universities of what to do when confronted by racist hatemongers on their campuses. Students at Columbia University have a very honorable tradition of standing up against racism and social injustice. Their brave actions against the racist Vietnam War in 1968 will forever be remembered.

The second lesson that the Minutemen vigilantes learned is that no human being is an "illegal" alien. All human beings are endowed by God with certain rights and are free to travel the globe in search of shelter and food for themselves and their families. The pilgrims had that right when they ventured from England and landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620. The native Americans did not act as vigilantes against the newly arrived pilgrims but instead helped them survive their first winter. Today we have the hateful Minutemen vigilantes patrolling the US/Mexico border hunting for Mexican migrant workers as if they were "aliens" from outer space. Many bodies of Mexican migrants have been found in the desert along the border with bullet holes through their heads. There is no question that many of the dead were victims of border vigilantes. God bless the students of Columbia University for their moral courage to stand up against the evil that the Minutemen represent.

Presently, the USA is at a great juncture and many doubt whether the nation will survive. Americans with Minutemen mentalities are to blame. These people are destroying the country from within. They are turning the whole world against the nation. The USA is being surrounded by enemies while the country putrefies from inside. Young girls shot in the head at an Amish school and a homosexual congressman preying on underage congressional pages are all symptoms of the decay. The only hope for the USA will be if more young people like those at Columbia rise up and say, "We had enough", "Ya basta".