Ok, not really, but oh my goodness...Arizona...as if Virginia wasn't bad enough with this, you have to go and pass an even crazier law...not just a declaration filled with "whereas," but an honest to goodness law!
For those of you who don't enjoy news programming...Arizona's govenor, Jan Brewer, signed SB1070 (click this link for a thrilling read of the actual bill) into law in Arizona last Friday. This law makes it a crime to be out and about without immigration papers, and gives police power to detain anyone suspected of being here illegally. But don't worry, Jan Brewer said the police will be properly trained and racial profiling will not be tolerated. Really? How exactly do you enact this law without racially profiling an individual? And what does it mean to "look" like an American, by the way?
For an overview of the law, read here.
And I'll leave you with a quote related to our xenophobia that I used in a paper in grad school that analyzed another of Arizona's laws (this one relating to educational policy for immigrant students...I know you'll all be requesting a copy!)...I love this author and this particular essay is stellar...for those who live near, feel free to request to borrow the book of essays; don't worry, it's in English.
“The separation of one food from another is analogous to the reserve that characterizes the relations between sexes, races, and classes. In our countries food is communion, not only between those together at table but between ingredients; Yankee food, impregnated with Puritanism, is based on exclusions. The maniacal preoccupation with the purity and origin of food products has its counterpart in racism and exclusivism. The American contradiction—a democratic universalism based on ethnic, cultural, religious, and sexual exclusions—is reflected in its cuisine.”
Octavio Paz in essay entitled,
“Hygiene and Repression”
P.S. Adding what he said...Please note he does understand the magnitude of the immigration issue...he just doesn't agree Arizona has the right solution...
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6 comments:
Not sure if I should comment since I don't really know quite what side I fall on regarding the AZ law. One one hand, it seems very divisive and on the other ... I feel that the experiences of the people living there and dealing with the negative aspects of this issue must not be overlooked and since I'm neither a resident of AZ nor a new or hopeful immigrant, I can't begin to understand all that happened in bringing this law to fruition.
However, I do have a comment on your quote, if I may .... :) Paz said, "in our countries," and I don't know if he was referring to the whole of Mexico and its districts or if "our" meant Spanish or Latin (would only be important if the type of food in that area had less diversity (which I'm guessing it does)... my thought was this: his delineation of food type characterized as exclusion is just the opposite to me. When I read, "Yankee food, impregnated with Puritanism," my thought is, "wow, I'm so glad to have such a unique blend of food and how wonderful that they could come together in this country to create such a blended meal." Inherent in this thought is that there could not be one without the other and that both came together to form something wonderful. That is also how I think of our nation. To me, Paz's exclusions are not exclusions at all; they are a list of wonderful traits that describe the most diverse country on the face of the planet. (I think France & England are trying to catch up) :) I also find it interesting that for someone who traveled the world so well, his primary focus was still towards his own Spanish and Mexican culture. In America, I feel that most study and write and achieve and try to gain experience from ALL cultures and instead of focusing on just one for their life's work, they/we focus it towards mankind as a whole. I think this is a much broader, more accepting view. I realize that is a broad generalization, but it has been my experience, both personally & observed in others, throughout my education and life. Well, food for thought & even though neither of us have all the answers, it's fun to through ideas about in hopes that it will foster understanding.
Leigh...I write what I do here because I love discussion, but you know that already. :) One of my personal passions in what I read and like to discuss is others' perceptions of my culture (as a white, middle-class female that includes those in the US also who do not share those markers), country, etc...while I love my country, I am also very passionate about making it better. We're not perfect, just as no society is perfect. Paz wrote this particular essay while teaching at Harvard. He had experienced some insane discrimination in his life and was writing about it from, I think, a creative perspective. He goes on to discuss how Americans have been and are above all "rational," relying on science, etc. and how that impacts how we view life, which it does. I find cultural differences to be very very intriguing, and we all perceive "otherness" so very differently, so for me, I like to listen to what non-Americans perceive of our culture...we can take that and learn from it and do better, at least as individuals.
About the law in Arizona, I feel it is a dangerous path...my daughter is technically an immigrant. I sent over $1000.00 to US Citizenship and Immigration services and visa applications and hours of paperwork and now have one copy of an extremely valuable document that proves her citizenship...one free copy...to lose it and have to get another one...a couple of hundred dollars. Ava doesn't "look" Latina, but if she did...would she be required to have her papers on her once she's older and not with us anymore...she'll be perceived as a "perpetual foreigner." Absolutely crazy. I think the law is actually going to be contested because it violates civil rights of US citizens. We don't want to become a country where you have to constantly carry "papers" with you.
Immigration is tricky. I believe reform needs to happen, and I'm the first to admit I don't know how or what we should do...BUT I do not like the Arizona law one bit. I think it's unconstitutional and will lead to racism in the form of racial profiling.
Well, one good thing about the law being passed is that people will possibly take action and become more serious about finding a more permanent solution. After reading more these last few days, I really feel for the US citizens who have been suffering for years under the effects of illegal immigration. Even some legal immigrants are in favor of the law because they went through the trouble to come here legally and want to protect our nation from those who are not abiding by the law here, whether it be tax law, or civil law etc.
One caution about any media, be it internationals writing about the US, or a report from MSNBC, please be careful to not accept what you read as fact. Consider why they are writing it. If it is a personal view, take it into account, but don't accept it as truth simply b/c it has been one's experience. I think everything has to be weighed against the truth of scripture.
Also, your "immigration is trickery" comment was a little vague. My ancestors did well here when they came from Germany in the late 1800's. I know things have changed since then so maybe that's what you're referring to. But I also know people are still coming here legally and thriving.
I wish I could answer the "racial profiling" issue personally. My only experience w/ any kind of discrimination has been gender, but at that, I was only a little offended b/c I chose to understand the background of stereotype, instead of being irate that people are flawed.
Also, I think we should remember that not all the immigrants coming here illegally are from Latin countries. There are also many Asian, European & Middle Eastern groups coming here as well ... so what is the profile? What is wrong with asking people of every color, race, gender, age, to simply prove that they belong here.
I really disagree that our nation has failed if we all have to carry ID. We do it at universities, workplaces, etc. In the military, I can't access anything, EVEN things I have a RIGHT to access b/c of my marriage to Will, unless I am carrying my military ID. It's just a fact of life and it's done to protect our bases and military resources. It's not done out of fear, profiling, discrimination, or xenophobia. I'm not jailed if I don't have the ID, I just can't get immediate health care or get on base or purchase things at the commissary or exchange. I believe it might be beneficial to apply those concepts in this country, NOT out of fear or racism, but out of a desire to protect the resources and people who are living here legally. The protection of the legal citizens of this country must be our first concern, not the illegal immigrants. Carrying a small ID card is a small thing compared to those who are hurt b/c others are here in a manner in which they shouldn't be. I consider their pain to be greater than the inconvenience of having to keep up with an ID card.
It seems to me that the issue isn't whether it's convenient to carry around a card or papers, it's whether the government should be stopping people and asking for their i.d. for no reason other than their physical appearance. Can you imagine the total inconvenience and overwhelming frustration at being pulled over or stopped on the street for the way you look? Now imagine that happening once a week...while you're trying to get your kid to preschool or run some errands or get to church on time. It's a dangerous path. Not one I'd like to see my country head down.
I think my point was missed ... I agree, the issue is not whether or not it's convenient to carry around a card ... to me, the point is how can the country best protect its current, legal citizens. It may be "less" right for the government to stop people as ask for ID, and yes, there will be a learning curve just like there was for integration in the 60's, but it's a far more dangerous path for us as a country and our government to let AZ be run amock by illegals who are incredibly damaging to every aspect of life there, from committing random crimes such as murder or rape, to property damage, to immense cost from health care, schooling, the list goes on. I'd rather be stopped taking my kid to pre-school than burglarized or raped on the way simply b/c my government didn't care enough to let people in and keep them accountable in an orderly way. As for possible improper enforcement ... as Will said it last night, "sue the pants off the first officer to harass someone w/o cause and go from there." Law enforcement there is being extensively trained to know how to enforce this imperfect law. They will do their best, but they ARE human. I agree that this isn't the best solution, but until people take illegal immigration seriously, and all it's ramifications, it's at least a step in the right direction.
I don't think anyone would disagree with you Leigh that our government has a responsibility to protect the rights of it's legal citizens. I think the argument is simply the way that Arizona has chosen to do so isolates a certain group of people based solely on appearance (a systemic racial profiling). If the law required equal treatment of all citizens, like on the military base,(everyone being stopped and asked to show id) instead of those that "look suspicious" I think there would not be the same degree of disgust with this law. We all know that those who "look suspicious" in Arizona are those that look like the are of Mexican heritage. As far as your comments on crimes committed by illegal immigrants...not all illegal immigrants are villians. Violence and crime are highest in the lower socioeconomic communities. Illegal immigrants are typically a part of these communities. They aren't inherintly more evil than the rest of society. Like many of the poor in our country crime can be an expected means of survival (not appropriate but not limited to illegal immigrants). Getting rid of illegal immigrants is not going to solve crime concerns. Unless we address greater concerns like poverty and the church taking care of the alien, poor, widow, and orphaned, as we are called to do...crime will not be diminished in hurting communities.
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