march through downtown

It's so noisy downtown, what with all the news helicopters flying around trying to get a good shot of the May 1st rally for workers and immigrants' rights. There's all sorts of info online where you can find which streets are closed and how to avoid being inconvenienced, but if you haven't figured things out by now...

I feel a little guilty about not marching this year. You see, I'm a naturalized citizen, an immigrant, a 1.5-er. I'm in-between the first generation, those born in another country who immigrated to the U.S. as adults, and the second generation, those born in the U.S. of immigrant parents. I was born in the Philippines and my parents emigrated legally to the U.S. when I was a child. I understand how difficult it was for my parents to emigrate and what a difference it's made in my world, but I still feel a little disconnected. I don't speak with an accent and most of my pop culture references are American. I understand my native language of Tagalog, but don't speak it fluently. I'm thoroughly westernized, but as I get older I realize how much I am influenced by my Asian roots and less by American mores.

I marched last year, does that count? Adam isn't around to march with us this year, he's still traveling around the world. I know that's not an excuse. And I miss Lucas, too.

I don't think this march is going to make as much of an impact (positive or negative), or be as effective as last year's marches. You know what, never mind. Don't look back. Jeez, I just re-read what I was blogging about two years ago. Sometimes, it's better to look forward.