Unlike most rally participants, I am not a peacenik when it comes to the invasion of my country, and my sign quickly drew the attention of a grey-haired refugee from Santa Monica. (Most non-natives here fled Southern California.)
"That's a sign I can get behind," he said. In one minute, he shared of the destruction by massive Third World immigration of the once pristine, lush coastal city of Santa Monica, my favorite spot when I visited L.A. "It's gone," he lamented. He suggested napalming our southern border to stop the onslaught. "We've done it before." My guess is he saw it in Vietnam. As one who supports militarizing our southern border, I agreed that "drastic" defensive measures are long overdue.
Well known conservative control of Northern Idaho had one marcher quoted in today's newspaper coverage: "If you've got [anti-war] protesters in Idaho, you've got them everywhere." Indeed. But many of us displaced Americans believe the real war is at home, at our borders, coastlines and the interior. With an estimated 700 foreign gang members — Mexican, Central American, and Russian — just 30 miles west in Spokane, most here seem blissfully unaware of the immediate threat they and their children face. "They won't get it till it's too late," said my fellow ex-Californian. As strains of Peter, Paul, & Mary music floated across the crowd, he smiled and drifted away.
