For the inaugural post of my commentary on all things politic, I want to talk, perhaps even rant a bit, about the new Immigration Law signed by (R) Gov. Jan Brewer.
Now, I'm not sure if I want this blog to be partisan charged, though I doubt I could avoid it. After all, every blogger who says they are neutral is lying, either to themselves or their readers (assuming they have any... I don't). Regardless of how professional I am going to be in the future, I will just have to speak from the heart on this one.
For those unaware, the new law in Arizona will give police the ability to stop anyone who might potentially be an illegal immigrant and ask for proof of citizenship. So what does this translate into the real world? Police, and the people who control the police, stopping any Hispanic they want, for any reason, whatsoever.
Yes. Because that is how good American laws work: the criteria for police action is the color of the suspect's skin.
America claims to be a nation where race holds no preference in legal matters; and this law basically tells that lofty idea to go fuck itself.
That's right, we're dealing with REAL America now. Good White Christian America. And thank God the loyal Republican Governor Jan Brewer was there to sign this bill into law. Without her, someone with sense might have vetoed this embarrassment to the American legal system instead of just letting it go get trounced by the Judicial Branch for being unconstitutional, which it will, because it is:
The 4th Amendment: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause. . ."
In Arizona, probable cause is now synonymous with "looking Mexican".
Awesome.
In my web browsing, I came across the words of a certain Mike Folkerth:
“It is however, Barrack Obama’s latest verbal attack on the courageous actions of Arizona Governor, Jan Brewer that has rendered me hopping mad. Governor Brewer has signed a STATE LAW that makes being an illegal alien in the state of Arizona…illegal. It also makes it a crime to employ or transport illegals. What a novel idea."
Like many conservatives, Folkerth entirely misses the point. People aren't criticizing this law because it makes illegal immigrants illegal (they are already illegal, why would you need another law?), people hate it because it is a Jim Crow law; a travesty to the American legal system.
Folkerth loves the law because he is white, and as a result, he doesn't look Hispanic. Thanks to his brilliantly colorless complexion, he will never be stopped by a police officer and asked for proof of citizenship, and thank god, for that would be grave insult to his person and a violation of his basic American rights.
So.... what? There are no LEGAL Hispanics in America? Is that what we are assuming here? That somehow police have a "spider-sense" that tells them who is an alien and who is not? Let's say a police officer stops Mr. Gonzales, a U.S. citizen, and asks him for his papers. Boom. Just violated the Constitution of America, but since it happened to some non-white person, it doesn't matter.
Well done, Jan Brewer, your legal sensibilities are a triumph of American values.
But normal Americans suffer from similar bouts of idiocy.
From the New York Times Article:
“I sure hope it [the law] does have an effect,” Mr. White said of the new law as he packed his car with groceries. “I wouldn’t want to show proof of citizenship, but I also don’t feel it is racial profiling. You are going to look different if you are an alien, and cops know.”
Yes. So the fittingly named white man, Mr. White, is against racial profiling and wouldn't want to show his own proof of citizenship if asked. But those cops, yeah, they KNOW who's an alien because they all LOOK DIFFERENT from citizens.
That difference? A few shades of hue where your epidermis shows.
Does Mr. White even listen to himself when he speaks, or does he think his disregard for logic is simply charming?
Another amusing element of this legislation is the requirement for all Hispanics to carry with them, at all times, proof of their citizenship. Now after all the conservative comparisons of Obama to Hitler, I would expect people would notice that this Arizona law is a lot like the whole Jewish Registry thing and the Stars of David during the reign of the Third Reich.
But on the other hand, I am not surprised at all: it's plainly obvious that anyone who compares Hitler and Obama doesn't know anything about either person (Or probably about much of anything, really), so it would follow they would know nothing at all about Nazism or any events of the period.
If these people didn't act on their ignorance, it would be cute.
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