Jwill's Log

So, according to a plethora of sources, there is supposed to be a protest day on Monday, May 1st. This would be about the same day as my English AP Exam, but that’s besides the point. The point is that there’s going to be a whole lot of marches Monday.

Anyway, from this Boston.com article by Yvonne Abraham:

The Dominican immigrant [Manuel Madego], who sells fried meat and cheese pastries from his small cart on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, will be staying home Monday to protest what he says is this nation’s harsh treatment of undocumented immigrants.

So let’s look at this here. Yes, it is very true that illegal immigrants have done a lot for our society and workforce, and that without them, we would have a harder time finding employees. This fact about them cannot be ignored. For that, they need to be respected; they do the jobs that native born Americans would gag at the thought of, or feel is beneath them. While they are important, though, it is also important to note that they are undocumented. Illegal. Not legal. In other words, they’ve made a criminal offense in coming here. So let’s get rid of them, right?

I don’t think it’s that simple. I mean, they could have come undocumented because they couldn’t get living wages back at their original country. Maybe they didn’t have enough money to earn those documents. It’s really an odd issue. They have bad titles (illegal being the title), but do they have this title because they intentionally did it or because they really had no choice? Life can suck sometimes and force you to do things that aren’t necessarily considered the most ethical. Overall, it’s just another issue I don’t know what side to take on. There’s a reason to support them protesting, but then there’s a reason to be against them protesting.

Some sources say that the people who stay out of work for this might get fired, threatened, or be forced to pay fines. There’s a lot at stake here. No matter what, though, there will be a pretty big effect on the efficiency of the workplace that day. I’m waiting for that day to see what happens.

Some City Statistics

Now, it’s difficult to compare a suburb with a city and treat them as if they are the same thing, because quite frankly, they’re not. But here we go, anyway. Georgia’s a bigger state; therefore, everything there is bigger. There’s more road space, larger houses, the works. The highway signs look a little different, but it’s the same deal. In fact, most of the driving in Georgia seems to be highways. There’s a loop highway that goes all around the state and back where it started. The highways can have up to 7 lanes. Even with this, though, there is a considerable amount of traffic seemingly in all parts of the day. The international airport in Atlanta is HUGE, so huge that they fit a train in there to get to different gate sections (A-E, baggage claim, etc.) After getting to the gate, there might be a whole lot more walking involved as well.

Public transportation and taxi stands are lacking in some areas of Georgia, such as Kennesaw, where I was staying. It was supposedly voted out. Beggars and homeless people were also banned out the main downtown area, making it quite a bit safer and less obtrusive. The downtown area is a beautiful area to be at night, and everyone there seems carefree. Pedestrians are a hard sight to find in Georgia, and everyone has a car. They allow 15 year olders to drive, I heard, but they have a zero tolerance policy with them. The taxi company of Cobb County seem to work by request, instead of having stands. That means you would have to call a taxi, wait a few minutes, then the rest is as usual. Taxis cost less there than they do in Boston, however. The houses in the suburban areas were huge for their price range, but it balances out as you need a car, literally. The crime rate in Kennesaw is low enough to be appealing, however, and with relatively low cost houses (the costs are increasing by the year), it seems like a calm place to settle down.