It’s Arlo Guthrie and Hoyt Axton doing this Woody Guthrie.
He wrote this in 1948 in response to another wave of populist hatred. The media was victimising immigrants and migrant workers.
The workers were brought in from Mexico to work in the fields for a pittance. They were desperate and worked hard. When they were no longer needed they were shipped back and dumped.
A plane crash killed 28 farm workers being shipped back to Mexico. The media reported that they were JUST deportees. Woody thought they were human beings worthy of being named. He wrote those song to give them the dignity they deserved. They were never just anything.
Today we find unsavoury politicians scapegoating immigrants without looking at their plight or solutions to the problem.
Many people will miss their cleaning lady, gardener, mason, roof worker, plumber, … They will be replaced by unionized US citizens who will claim a decent wage.
In the UK nobody wants those jobs and they certainly don’t want the price hikes that paying a fair wage results in. We’ll see what happens.
Every human being deserves humane treatment. Dehumanising minorities is something that’s been done for so long. It’s heartbreaking.
Not a lot of progress since 1948.