Are Protesters wrong to hinder Pruitt鈥檚 ability to do business ?

The weekly immigration protest circus outside an east Phoenix furniture store needs to come to an end.

The ultimate point behind the dueling demonstrations has been completely lost in the back-and-forth shouting and increasingly bitter political signs appearing each Saturday across the street from M.D. Pruitt鈥檚 Home Furnishings. This private business has unfairly been caught in the crossfire, and the potential for violence appears quite real after an immigrant rights protester was arrested Dec. 15 for allegedly shoving a prominent agitator from the other side of the debate.

Blame for a situation that has escalated badly falls squarely on Phoenix resident Salvador Reza and fellow activists who are campaigning for the right of day-laborers, presumed to be illegal immigrants, to loiter in and around Pruitt鈥檚 parking lot. A second group of demonstrators is showing up each Saturday only to offer a counter message of strict immigration enforcement.

We are sympathetic to Reza鈥檚 larger concern that a rising level of hate in this country is interfering with the public鈥檚 ability to rationally discuss workable solutions to our flawed system of immigration and foreign employment. But we are baffled by this strategy of targeting a family-owned furniture store because it acted to protect its private property.

Reza never has disputed that dozens of day-laborers would descend on Pruitt鈥檚 parking lot, sometimes creating traffic jams as they waited to be hired and generally discouraging potential customers from coming in. Reza launched the protests after Pruitt鈥檚 hired off-duty law enforcement officers to serve as security guards empowered to chase away anyone who didn鈥檛 have legitimate business with the store.

The immigrant activists claim they are protesting an immoral slight to Hispanic day-laborers because of their skin color or nationality. But these protesters are the ones who have injected racial bias into the Pruitt鈥檚 situation, as we expect the store owners would have reacted the same way if the day-laborers happened to be European, Asian or even Martian.

Such protests would make far more sense if they took place outside of the government offices, businesses or homes of those people with the power to actually affect the outcome of the immigration debate. A small group of immigrant rights protesters moved in this direction Thursday when they marched from Pruitt鈥檚 to Phoenix City Hall.

These protesters should continue down that path instead of disrupting the livelihood of a small business that simply wants to provide a comfortable environment for its customers to shop.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/1...

These illegals are so brazenly breaking the law, it is a mystery to me why they have not been picked up and deported. I hope the Pruitt's will be blessed in the year to come and always for standing up to these invaders. No one has the right to hurt a family or their business especially the illegals. If I lived there I would patronize them on patriotic principles alone. I hope this abuse ends soon. And to you Big Shot, she gave the link and credit to the writer's of this article. I can't believe you are what you say!

ALL illegal immigrants should be deported along with their children; even if they were born here. Two wrongs do not make it write! ILLEGAL is the clue here folks.They have enter this country illegally. I have NO trouble with someone entering the right way. With a green card!

You copied, then pasted the entire news article. This is a violation of copyright infringement laws. If Y-A doesn't delete this posting, Y-A is liable for your gross violation of protecting artistic' rights !!

What I can not understand if these day labors who are mostly here illegally and it is common knowledge they are illegal, why have not the local police arrested them for first trespassing and then checked their immigration and turned them over to ICE. Once again the supporters of the illegal demand rights for them that are not theirs to have, but when the owner of the furniture store wants him legal rights he is told his rights are secondary to those of the illegals

These protesters only make themselves look bad.

So, how is business there? I would tend to trade there more often to help support their cause.

This a simple answer, the American people have had enough of the of illegal aliens trying to take over this country. The aliens screwed them self's when they flew flags of other countries of origin in the streets of the GOOD OLD USA during their great protest...

Just how much more do you think the American people will take??

If they are ILLEGALS then yes they have no rights to protest here in the USA

Yes they are wrong. I like the guy in the Pantera shirt. He shouts go back and come back legally. Anyway, it is a travesty. Have you seen the sign the protesters carry? They have nerve to compare themselves to any civil rights movement. This is Arizona and it angers me that they would even compare Birmingham to their pathetic cause.

They are here illegally and I support Pruitt's for not wanting a bunch of illegals loitering in his business area.