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Aren’t we all sick of Arizona by now?

by Daniel Cubias

I never get tired of writing about Hispanic culture. But I have to admit that certain related topics have started to wear on me. Check that — one subject has pummeled me into stunned disbelief and ulcer-causing frustration.

Yes, once again, I have to grit my teeth and pound the word “Arizona” into the keyboard. It wasn’t enough that the state passed SB 1070, the most overtly Latino-hostile piece of legislation in modern history. Nor was Arizona satisfied when it banned ethnic studies in high schools, under the guise that kids who learned about Cesar Chavez would get riled up and burn down Tucson.

Well, now Arizona, in its quest to be the capital of xenophobeland, is trying to deny citizenship to children born in the state, if their parents are undocumented. While it’s at it, the state also wants to prohibit children of undocumented immigrants from attending public schools. This “would turn school administrators into de facto immigration enforcement agents by asking them to turn over families that did not provide citizenship or legal resident papers.”

Of course, the bills are clearly unconstitutional, which is hilarious coming from a state that is so “conservative.” But that’s not the point.

Apparently, Arizona has been feeling insecure about its status as the most rootin’ tootin’ Hispanic-hatin’ place in the country. After all, several other states have tried to copy SB 1070, but most of them have suffered from a surplus of sanity and failed to adopt Arizona’s high standards. Still, it has to shake Arizona up to think it might not be number one when it comes to nativism.

So now it’s devised new ideas that make it clear who is the frontrunner in the race to be the craziest place in America. Sure, these plans trample the 14th Amendment and ignore multiple Supreme Court decisions. But we should not be surprised at Arizona’s defiant response.

This is a state that has a long history of doing as it pleases to keep its most reactionary citizens happy. As far back as 1917, Arizona was simply rounding up undesirables (with a special focus on Hispanics) and dumping them in the desert to die. Compared to that, kicking little Juan out of kindergarten seems lightweight.

In any case, the news coming out of Arizona has beaten me down. I’m not calling for a boycott of the state — just a moratorium on writing about the place, a breather if you will, to let our tension subside.

Who knows, maybe if we stop giving Arizona so much attention, it will stop acting out.

To learn more about Daniel Cubias, visit Hispanic Fanatic.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those
of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

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Posted on March 8, 2011 at 12:00 pm in Politics   |  RSS feed

7 Comments to “Aren’t we all sick of Arizona by now?”

    
  1. Julio Ricardo Varela
    March 8, 2011 at 12:30 pm

    Great post, but I respectfully disagree. Arizona is a symbol of America that I don’t want. I will continue to share it with my readers. I don’t want Arizona to become the next America.

  2. Analica
    March 8, 2011 at 2:09 pm

    I live in Maricopa County. How do you think I feel?

  3. Joe Ray
    March 8, 2011 at 2:38 pm

    Good post. However, I keep using the phrase “Just remember, we’re not all pendejos in AZ”, our leadership has done a good job of trying to prove otherwise though. And living in Phoenix, I echo what Analica states. However, this is only one state with insanity fueled by insecure prejudices and it’s spreading.

    Interesting things I like to point out- John Kavanaugh, a hard core Republican who introduced the repeal of the 14th amendment is (like so many others here) a transplant with his own ideals and agendas. He’s an ex-cop from Queens. His district (north Scottsdale and Fountain Hills) is filled with former east coast residences who want to change this to be like back home…hate filled evidently. Same with Sheriff Babeu down south- ex-Boston cop.

    The other key point in SB1070 (just the warm up act to the latest legislations they’ve been trying) is that it is not so much a Latino aimed initiative. It is aimed at Mexicans/Mexican Americans. I’ve lived here most of my life but was born in Mexico, so I’ve been fighting this prejudice aspect all my life. It’s easy to forget and to separate the different backgrounds Latinos have. Puerto Ricans have US citizenship if they’re from the Isla, Cubans are more welcome because they come from a communist regime, but those that came in waves in the early 60s experienced a lot of prejudice and free for all discrimination practices, as did those that came in the early 80s. This latest jaunt is against Mexicans first.

    The other facet about this which is the quiet, seedy underbelly, and I don’t like bringing it up because it has me stooping to their level, is that the big pushers of this legislation are members of the Mormon church. Not all Mormons, as many of them have been vocal about their opposition to SB1070. But Pearce and his ilk are a conservative enclave of older white Mormons.

    So, in many ways Arizona is a mirror being held to the rest of the country. Just remember, we’re not all pendejos here.

  4. Zoila Sanchez
    March 8, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    Interesting read. Perhaps more of a focus on the great work that is occuring here at the grassroots level is needed, whom are fighting against the legislation day in and day out. These efforts are often overlooked admist all of the negativity and cause others to turn a blind eye, because “enough is enough, what is next?”. That would be a better option than ignoring what is happening here. I moved here to learn more about it, not run away from it. We should see how AZ is setting a tone for other states to follow. Attention is needed here.

  5. Jad Bernando
    March 10, 2011 at 9:40 pm

    A minor correction:

    Joe Ray: “Same with Sheriff Babeu down south- ex-Boston cop.”

    Actually, he’s not a real cop. He’s a failed small-town politician — a local ally of Pat Robertson — from western Massachusetts, not Boston. He likes to leave the impression that he’s a career cop, but it’s the farthest thing from the truth. He only became one briefly after his political career in MA guttered out and he followed mommy and daddy to AZ. Altogether, he only put in a couple of years on the graveyard shift with Chandler PD. That’s it. Ask any real law enforcement professional; he’ll tell you he’s an impersonator. He just figured AZ voters would like their politicians uniformed and armed. (There are also some private Ernst Röhm-ish psychological issues, but he’s mostly a pure political fabrication.)

  6. Joe Ray
    March 11, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    Jad> Thanks for the insight. I had heard some rumors to this but wasn’t sure how true but this lines up much with what I’ve heard. This is the type of element we seem to attract here in AZ for some strange reason. Ex-cops, wannabes and guys better suited for being mall rent-a-cops.

    These guys arrive pissed off at where they left then decide to make this as close to what they left as possible. I think a little high temp sun stroke stirs their delusional outlooks even further. The he has the gall to pat McCain on the back and say “Senator, you’re one of us.”