Want to hear a joke? Here I go: An “illegal” walks into a bar and she’s not allowed in. End of joke. Not funny? Well, fuck! Tell ME about it! If you thought that segregation didn’t exist anymore, THINK AGAIN. Segregation is perhaps one of the most frustrating, irritating, saddest things I have to face on a daily basis.
In one instance, I tried to walk into the Slidebar in Downtown
Fullerton, CA because a dear friend of mine was celebrating his birthday there…
but I was NOT allowed in. The argument of the person at the entrance was that
it was not a valid ID. When I asked to speak to the manager, a few other men
showed up but they did NOTHING to do what was right. I was furious, not because
of the embarrassment, but because of the INJUSTICE. I walked away, not because
I gave up on my human rights, but because of the love and respect I have for my
friend. I didn’t want to ruin the special day.
To those people who denied me the entrance to the bar, and
to those who are not informed, let me inform you about the following: according
to the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, “(3) Documentary Evidence of
Age and Identity (Section 25660 Business and Professions Code) [is] (2) A valid
passport issued by the United States or by a foreign government.”
Furthermore, there is a note for this section of the law: “Note:
The person accepting identification must make a reasonable inspection of the
identification and act with due diligence to confirm that the identification
presented is that of the person presenting it. The picture and physical
description on the identification must match the customer. If the
identification is altered or mutilated, it is not acceptable. It must be
currently valid, in other words, not expired."
That person didn’t even inspect it! The worse part of it all
is that at that point, I was not undocumented. I actually had an unexpired
visa. (You came here to hear a joke, right? Well, I think that’s HILARIOUS!) That
person just glanced at it and said: “You can’t get it. It’s the law.” My
response to that was: “Which law? Can you please show me where it says that my
passport is not a valid ID?” He simply replied: “The California Law.”
How in the universe was my passport NOT valid? Was he simply
incompetent or was he discriminating me? I’ll let you be the judge.
This post was not as well written or structured like the
other ones; this one is more of a rant, but I believe it’s important for people
to understand that yes, JUST BECAUSE WE ARE HUMANS, WE HAVE RIGHTS. My wish is
that more people get informed about their rights. No one should be
discriminated or segregated or treated inhumanly based on her/his color,
gender, ethnicity, race, or status.
