On Tuesday the mob was out in force. This time their ire wasn't directed at Taco Bell, George W. Bush or the War on Terror - it was directed at four students behind two tables.
These students are members of the often controversial group, the Young Conservatives of Texas. They were holding an event to celebrate Texas Independence. The event was not particularly controversial, but the protestors were everywhere.
Word had gotten out about an immigrant hunt. What is an immigrant hunt? Ask the Young Conservatives at North Texas or Texas Christian University, because they are the only ones who have had one. In a supremely immature display of ignorance, those YCT chapters had members dress up in brown and yellow shirts with the words "immigrant" on the front and "catch me if u can" on the back - ostensibly to provoke dialogue over the problem of illegal immigration. It seems more like a racist expression of inflammatory attention-getting.
Regardless, here in Austin, the event never took place.
Having been at the UGL the entire day, I had the distinct pleasure of watching events progress. At 9 a.m., two students from YCT came and set up a table by the library. On the table were fliers celebrating the nobility of Texas history, the bravery of Sam Houston, etc. There were also bowls of candy, baked goods and a cake.
When I stopped by for a cookie, it was difficult to imagine this little display sparking much controversy.
Around 11 a.m., about 300 people massed in the West Mall by the Tower. Why were they there? To protest the "immigrant catch" - a legitimate protest of a hateful demonstration. A protest that would have been appropriate had there been YCT members playing tag nearby in brown or yellow shirts.
After some speeches and displays, the energy level of the crowd increased, and people horded around the table to accost the students from YCT who were quickly realizing their brownies would offer scant protection. The crowd proceeded to spend almost two hours (no exaggeration) yelling and screaming at the YCT members hurling unanswerable questions and vicious insults.
At one point, I managed to wrestle my way to the front of the crowd and was hit in the back of the head by candy. Yes, candy. The "peaceful" protestors who will simply not stand for violence or hate had taken YCT's candy and baked goods and were literally pelting the members with them. I even got to hear one charming girl yell at the YCT chairman, "Why won't you fight me? I came here to fight. I want a fight."
It was horrific; it was mean spirited. It was the mob.
Not wanting to make a snap judgment, I asked some of the protestors why they were so incensed about an event that never happened. All everyone could agree on was that there had been an e-mail, to someone, though nobody knew who, declaring YCT's intention to have an Immigrant Hunt. Allegedly, it was also discussed at their meeting two weeks ago.
Let's break this down. Two other chapters of YCT have had their respective events. This is a chapter of YCT. Odds are they will discuss the idea of having an event that other chapters hosted. This, of course, does not mean they will automatically follow suit. In fact, they didn't, deciding the idea was inflammatory and ineffective.
To quote their chairman, Lauren Conner, "I agree with the point other chapters were attempting to make. However I do not agree with their method." Also, "I can't tell you how many times I was asked yesterday if I was Latino, as if that had any bearing on this issue." Clearly the words of a young fascist who deserves to be assaulted with baked goods.
So, the lunacy continued. Conner arrived midway through and answered questions for the better part of two hours. I listened to her patiently engage six people simultaneously in a discussion that had veered off into a debate as obscure as historical racism in the Catholic Church. Come again? What happened to Texas independence?
When the Immigrant Hunt didn't materialize, the protestors should have focused on discussing the legitimate problems of racism in society.
They should have stayed on the West Mall and remained peaceful - this had the potential to be a beautiful coming together of groups in celebration of our nation's diversity.
However, the protest lost its purpose with the first shouted insult and flung piece of candy. It became what it was protesting: a narrow-minded expression of hate.
Burnham is a government junior.
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