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Herndon, the fear factor


08/19/05

In this controversy about the Day Labor Center in the town of Herndon, one could see the fear as a main component of the opposition. And an irrational fear, at that.

The accusations thrown at those who opposed the site is that they are bigots, hypocritical, racists, anti-immigrants. And of course, some are. In the same way that some of the day laborers that now gather at the 7-Eleven are indeed rude, criminals, heavy-drinkers... and undocumented.

The key word is “some.”
The fear of Herndon's residents who oppose the site is that their home prices will go down, the area will become more insecure, there would be overcrowding, and tax payer money would go to the support of undocumented aliens.

They fear, in two words, the destruction of their American Dream. What they probably don't realize is that the laborers who gather at the 7-Eleven are in the same quest. They also have a dream or two they'd like to see come true. They already took a very long trip, and burned the bridges behind.

One of the groups have a website called “Save Herndon.” They exhibit pictures of the day laborers gathered in the 7-Eleven. The first picture is of a young Hispanic (he looks Hispanic, at least) male making an obscene gesture to the camera. The caption reads: This is a sure way to increase property value.

A few months ago I was trying to park in Georgetown – already a brave act – and finally found a space. It took me five minutes to park properly. A young man who was getting out of a house, in a very nice car, had to wait a couple of minutes for me. When he passed me, he gave me the finger salute. That incident let me to conclude that every Georgetown resident is a jerk.

I'm wondering if someone would accept that conclusion as rational. The website also says that several of them became “confrontational.” Now, let's examine this.

They are there to land a job. They know full well that those people taking pictures of them are not exactly chronicling life in America, but using those pictures to campaign against them, and even to have them arrested. Also, I seem to remember there are rules against taking pictures of people who do not agree be in them. What were these photographers expecting? The workers to pose, and, those undocumented to show their expired visas?

Do you think any of them would make an obscene gesture to the person that is offering them a job or asking them for the time?

Those there are young and not so young fathers, husbands, sons. They have families here and abroad. They want to help them succeed and they want to make it in the land of opportunity. They feel attacked and respond, probably not very kindly, but they respond.

The other complaint is safety. Those opposed to the day laborers center say the workers around there make the place unsafe. I don't know how safe they feel in their own houses when those workers are fixing the sink, painting and manicuring the lawn. But at any rate, the mention of lack of safety is indeed offensive, because it's equating immigrants to criminals.

It's fear of the unknown, and fear of losing what they have. And that's O.K. But that's the same fear immigrants and day laborers have... so, probably there is room for understanding.