YWC shot about 200 photos of the rally and an hour of footage with two video cameras. I’ve uploaded all our photos to Flickr here, here, and here. Some of the video footage is below, along with a slideshow with some of the images. We caught all kinds of stuff on tape that the MSM is not reporting.

Impressions:

1.) The crowd that gathered on the National Mall was overwhelmingly Latino. I would estimate that 85% to 90% of the demonstrators were immigrants, illegal aliens, or some type of Hispanic-American. In particular, El Salvador was drastically overrepresented. There also seemed to be more Dominicans and Columbians in attendance than Mexicans.

2.) At least half of the demonstrators were chattering among themselves in Spanish and other foreign languages. The chants from the crowd kept slipping back into Spanish over and over again. We got this on tape.

3.) The crowd that gathered on the National Mall WAS NOT representative of America. I felt highly conspicuous and out of place as a White Southern male from Alabama. I got lots of dirty looks. I kept sarcastically asking my YWC colleagues: where are the natives? It is clear that “comprehensive immigration reform” is supported by a narrow constituency (i.e., immigrants and their families) that will directly benefit from the legislation and opposed by the American Majority who will be forced to pay the costs.

4.) Most of the demonstrators were smart enough to wave the American flag, but the whole scene looked staged on closer inspection. This wasn’t a spontatneous outburst of American patriotism like you see at the Tea Parties. Rather, it was tens of thousands of people waving small American flags (which the organizers provided them with) … because they want something in return, namely, American citizenship and access to taxpayer subsidized public services. It was a PR stunt.

5.) The most passionate demonstrators were the ethnic chauvinists waving their huge foreign flags. There were A LOT of these people on the National Mall. There were so many of them in attendance that I quit snapping photos of foreign flags after 100th or so shot to prove my point.

6.) Some Latino demonstraters had bigoted, anti- European signs. There were signs at the rally which claimed that North America is a “Bronze Continent” that belongs to Indians and Latinos. There were others which claimed that Europeans were illegal immigrants. mECha and La Raza were there.

7.) Communists were at the “March for America” waving huge Red flags with the hammer and sickle and yellow star. These flags were on prominent display (stood out from the crowd) and we shot several photos of them.

8.) We encountered three or four Socialist groups working the crowd. One guy tried to SELL US a copy of The Socialist Action. Apparently, socialists are not adverse to the profit motive! The “Partido Socialista De Los Trabatadores” had a booth in front of the Smithsonian. Another socialist group had a sign that called the Democratic and Republican parties “two parties of racism, imperialism, and anti-worker attacks.” Another group of socialists was selling The Militant in English and Spanish.” “International Socialists for Social Equality” of the “World Socialist Web Site” had a booth where they were selling books about Leon Trotsky.

9.) Black power groups were at the rally. We saw attendees wearing black power shirts and selling copies of Malcolm X, Black Liberation, and the Road to Workers Power in English and Spanish.

10.) Che Guevera fans were out in force. When we got off the Metro, literally the first guy who approached us was a crazy leftist from LaRouche PAC. For those unfamilar with Lyndon LaRouche, his group believes that America is controlled by the Queen of England who invented AIDS to exterminate black people.

11.) Puerto Rican nationalists were at the rally.

12.) A crowd of filthy anarchists from SDS DC (some without t-shirts) marched down the street with various signs including “Smash the State,” “Smash Capitalism,” and “Funk the Borders.” Apparently, this group attacked a military recruiter with a paint bomb the day before.

13.) As we were leaving, we noticed Latino demonstrators walking over a discarded American flag on the sidewalk. We shot some video of those patriotic Americans which we will share on YouTube.

14.) A group of mimes threatened violence against Roy Beck of Numbers USA and the police escorted him off the National Mall. We also saw the mimes at the rally. Maybe Beck’s problem was the security. Leftists kooks were everywhere.

15.) The highlight of the demonstration was seeing a furious American and his wife enter the demonstration after touring the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. I saw him wave his hand and yell at the crowd, “if these people would all get jobs, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

Final Thoughts:

The tens of thousands of Latinos who demonstrated on the National Mall showed up there because they expect to personally benefit from “comprehensive immigration reform.” I doubt a hundred of them would have turned out simply to express pride in their adopted country.

An undercurrent of leftist radicalism and ethnic chauvinism simmered underneath the so-called “March for America.” It left me wondering which direction America will take after these people no longer have to put on faux displays of patriotism for access to the welfare state.

Youth for Western Civilization, March 22, 2010