Shame on you Arizona!
NOTE of Warning: This post is a political rant because sometimes I just have to speak up. If you don’t care for political rants…fine…move along and come back another day when I may have more on my garden, my knitting, book reviews, or other lighter less-ranty posts.
Every now and then it seems that comedy becomes actuality. Years ago Cheech and Chong had a song called Born in East LA which chronicles the problems that a man born in East L.A. had to proving his citizenship when scooped up in an illegal immigrant sweep. At the time, even though it highlighted a problem that existed among the Hispanic population, it also highlighted the extremely unAmerican concept of having to show papers whenever you were asked by an authority figure. This was something that only was supposed to happen in Communist countries.
Now the state of Arizona has passed SB 1070 into law. It’s been signed by Gov. Jan Brewer. In its bare essence the state of Arizona has made it legal to do racial profiling within the state. The bill requires local law enforcement to question anyone they reasonably suspect of being undocumented. (Translation: you could be pulled over for no other reason than that you are brown-skinned or speak Spanish.) The bill makes it a misdemeanor to lack proper paperwork in Arizona. And just how does an American citizen prove that they’re not an illegal alien? If you’re an American, you won’t have a green card, or visa, or anything else. And since you can’t prove that you’re in the country legally, you must be an illegal alien. Q.E.D. Hopefully somebody other than me sees the logical fallacy in having to prove a negative.
What the this means is that everyone who might be possibly be “reasonably suspected” of being an illegal alien must show papers to any authority that asks. So, if you have dark hair and dark eyes and a non-milky complexion, you’d better make sure that you have all the necessary paperwork to prove you’re a citizen on you at all time. Don’t forget that includes children — after all, illegal aliens come in all ages.
So somehow, while we weren’t paying attention, the state of Arizona managed to become the first state in the nation that requires all citizens to show papers when requested by an authority figure, or face the consequences. Of course that’s only for some people — not the lily white ones.
In case you’re wondering, I’m a mix of French, Scottish, and who knows what — but I do have dark hair (except for the grey), and dark brown eyes, and have often been mistaken for Hispanic even though I only know enough Spanish to count to ten on a good day with a few phrases learned from years of Sesame Street long, long ago when my son was younger.
I’m outraged by this. I used to live in America. The home of the brave. The land of the free. Where Democracy reigned and it was not only our right, but our obligation, to question authority and to stand up for those less fortunate than ourselves.
Over the last 20 years or so, I’ve watched America slowly become a bully nation that picks on those who can’t defend themselves. A nation that punishes those who come here believing that the motto on that statue in New York Harbor is real and for those who have forgotten it:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
The wretched refuse of you teamming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Poem on plaque at the foot of the Statue of Liberty written by Emma Lazarus.
I guess those words should now be changed to only come here if you’ve got lots of money to spend, paperwork to prove you’re worth letting into our country, and will only say good things about us while you’re here.
I’ve seldom been so ashamed of my country as I am after hearing about this travesty. I hope when the legal battles come, and I’m sure they will, that the courts will rule this law unconstitutional because there isn’t a doubt in my mind (having read this document) that it is just that — not to mention Arizona’s SB 1070 is frankly unAmerican and shameful.
There are, I am sure better ways to deal with illegal aliens that to force your citizens to carry papers — unless of course you think the comparison with the old-time Communist countries is appropriate. In fact, I don’t think they even require papers at every stop within their borders anymore.
[Hyperion here:] The problems surrounding illegal immigration are real and severe. There are no doubts that something needs to be done to counteract the unfortunate evils that accompany it. That said, the number of illegal immigrants that cause problems are a tiny percentage of the those that are here. Like the general population of the U.S., the vast majority are hard working people trying to make a better life for themselves and their families. They work the crap jobs that no American wants, for pay no American would accept. If we magically found and deported every illegal alien in America today, large portions of our economy would collapse into ruin within a week. So while I agree that we have to do something about the troublemakers, I have to wonder why so many Americans are willing to throw the founding principles of this country out the window just to make things seem simple. Have we really learned nothing from the Japanese Interment Camps or the House UnAmerican Activities witch hunts? Every time we’ve pulled this kind of crap, the future has lo0ked back on those that participated in them with horror and disgust. And they sit around and wonder just how could people have been so clueless and horrible. So two quotes to close by, the first generally accredited to Benjamin Franklin: “Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” And the second to George Santayana: “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”