Immigration protests versus human rights

Re “Civil rights? How about lawlessness?” Opinion, April 1

Joe R. Hicks is spot on. It has been my experience that those who proclaim “racism” the loudest are usually the most prolific practitioners. The fact that an estimated 11 million people are in the U.S. illegally ought to send a loud message to all Americans. Congress bends to the will of corporations and is willing to sell out the middle class for the greedy bottom line. Citizens of this country used to support their families by working in construction, meat packing, trucking and textiles. Not anymore.

Jobs nobody wants? You’re kidding, right?

BLAINE OAKES

Lomita

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Sure, Hicks was a civil rights leader once upon a time. But by failing to see the human rights implications of the immigrant marches, and instead referring to them in more or less the same disparaging cliches that right-wing radio uses -- they’re not flying American flags (when they are), and it’s just a bunch of kids skipping school (when they said the same thing about civil rights marchers in Montgomery, Ala.) -- Hicks has shown that he lost any idea of what human rights are.

JIM HASSINGER

Glendale

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Hicks states that a Pew Hispanic Center survey found that millions of Mexicans would come to the U.S. if they had the means or opportunity. That means that many of the people there realize that Mexico is a corrupt Third World dump and want to get out. There must be someone in Mexico with the brains, energy, skill and heart to inspire the people out of the general apathy that seems to exist there. Instead, they keep electing corrupt self-servers or, as they have now, a smiling ad man whose best advice to his people is to go north.

JAMES O’ROARK

Santa Barbara