Lucas Camilo

Today is International Workers Day, always a cause for celebration, and Lucas is joining in solidarity with the struggle for social justice and workers rights by sporting red and pink, including his Billie Holiday-Fight Racism! onesie (well, at least until he pooped all over it an hour after we put it on him).

Billie Holiday onesie (courtesy of Aunt Ashley) with "Fight Racism!" on the tag

He will not, however, be joining us in the streets for the big immigrant rights rally in front of the White House. Unfortunately the little dude isn’t quite ready for cruising in his stroller amongst thousands of chanting people on a 90 degree day.

Perhaps, though, he is getting closer to the day when he can join us for a good protest.  Yesterday morning we took another leisurely walk around the neighborhood and enjoyed reading the paper and eating a bagel outside the local bakery.  Lucas hung out in his stroller, checked out the people wandering by, and made funny faces at a Chinese woman who seemed to delight at the sight of him, coming back by 20 minutes later and talking to him (and us) in Mandarin.  We didn’t follow what she said, but it’s always nice when strangers treat Lucas like a regular baby and aren’t scared off by the trach or vent.

This morning Lucas came and snuggled with us in the big bed for awhile, long enough that all three of us to fall back asleep.  Then we rocked out to Woody Guthrie songs, a Mayday tribute of sorts, but amazing in that his lyrics seem as relevant as ever in these tough economic times: “oh the gambling man is rich and the working man is poor,” sings Woody.  “I ain’t got no home in this world anymore…”

Indeed, Mayday is a special occasion this year because of the heightened tension following the signing of a draconian anti-immigrant law in the state of Arizona.  Reflecting on this hateful law — which virtually mandates racial profiling targeting brown skinned people — makes us think about the world that we chose to bring Lucas into.  Just imagine if this policy were national, if anyone, anywhere who looked “reasonably suspicious” of being undocumented could be approached and asked for proof of residency, and if unable to provide it, would be arrested.  No, this is not the kind of country we care to live in, and raising a young child makes that feeling even more acute.

So today we will join thousands of people demanding that the Obama administration challenge the Arizona law, and that our Congress enact a far-reaching, just immigration reform law.  We wish that Lucas could join us, but someday we’ll show him pictures and hopefully tell him all about this moment as a turning point in the fight for the rights and dignity of all people.  We can only hope that what Woody sings on another song is true: “A better world is a-comin’…”