Ánimo. Estamos con vosotros: Messages of solidarity written in a visitors’ book during a sit-in conducted by a group of immigrants in Spain

Abstract

We are experiencing a time during which there is a clear crisis of values, meaning a distancing with regard to the problems of socially disadvantaged groups. This article’s main purpose is to discuss whether this situation has had any impact on solidarity discourse towards immigrants. To fulfill our objective, we will analyse the written messages in a visitors’ book used for a sit-in that took place in Murcia, Spain, in 2001. We selected 100 of these messages to determine the degree of involvement that visitors show towards immigrants. In this regard, we have proposed four processes of involvement, from low to high: proximity, accompaniment, support and identification. We will analyse these processes from a critical and constructive viewpoint in an attempt to determine which is the most common and which combinations of processes are preferred by the authors of the messages. In addition, we will focus on the use of key expressions, terms of intensification, and argumentative structures as basic elements for the interpretation of these processes of involvement.