}

Sunday, April 25, 2010

A Letter to the Governor

I'm so mad about SB1070. This is really the last straw. Different political views are necessary to our national identity and I usually recognize and respect politic positions different than my own, but even a basic understanding of history and the spirit of America democracy tells us that racial profiling is wrong and witch hunts are wrong and that only harm comes out of intolerance and hate.  SB1070 is a vehicle to terrorize an unwanted segment of the population - a time-tested fascist move to deny the "enemy" a feeling of safety and prevent sanctuary.  I'm tired of ignorant people's voices being heard over the voices of reason, thoughtfulness, and knowledge. Let's scream the truth over the belligerent, ignorant sound and fury.

I sent Jan Brewer this e-mail. I know she'll probably never read it, but it's cathartic. Feel free to copy it and email it to her yourself. It's the truth and what she deserves to hear for being too cowardly or ignorant to stand up to the fascists and act like an American leader. Here a link to her email engine: http://www.azgovernor.gov/Contact.asp

Dear Gov. Brewer,
While thinking about American history, I remembered that our current moment will undoubtedly solidify your political legacy. I didn't need an oracle to know how you'll be remembered. You're name goes here on this list:

 - Orval Faubus - Arkansas Governor who opposed desegregating schools and tried to block the Little Rock Nine.
 - Ross Barnett - Mississippi governor who proclaimed "no school will be integrated in Mississippi while I am your Governor."
 - George Wallace, Governor of Alabama, who tried to block the integration of the University of Alabama.
 -Evan Mechame, Arizona governor who rescinded Martin Luther King Day.
 - Jan Brewer - signed SB1070, which set aside civil rights and allowed racial profiling of citizens in an attempt to remove undocumented immigrants from the state.

Congratulations on securing your place in our country's story. Remember, that these governor's decisions also enjoyed popular support in their respective states, but no one recalls that now. Enjoy being on the wrong side of history.


A concluding note - I thought about including - Benjamin Tillman, South Carolina governor and apologist for lynch laws, but I decided not to.  I'm not ready to say that SB1070 is as horrible as lynching. Still, the similarities are there; both rely on an "ends justify the means" foundation and both rely on terror to attack a racially identified enemy. I'm sure there are myriad other politicians who have been on the wrong side of civil rights that I excluded from this list. Feel free to add them.

1 comment:

Montana said...

Arizona can pass race base laws, pass Birthers laws and the state can continue to boycott Martin Luther King Day, well the rest of the Country can boycott the state of Arizona and spank them where it hurts them the most their pocket book. Their phony patriotism is sickening, they are just racists going by another name. We all know you are just itching to put a sheet on their head? Let’s face it the Republicans had eight years to deal with health care, immigration, climate change and financial oversight and governance and they failed. It appears that the Republican Party is only good at starting wars (two in eight years, with fat War profiteering contracts to friends of Cheney/Bush) but not at winning wars as seen by the continuing line of body bags that keep coming home. The Republicans party will continue turned inward to their old fashion obstructionist party (and their Confederacy appreciation roots) because they continue to allow a small portions (but very loud portion) of their party of “birthers, baggers and blowhards” to rule their party. I will admit that this fringe is very good at playing “Follow the Leader” by listening to their dullard leaders, Beck, Hedgecock, Hannity, O’Reilly, Rush, Savage, Sarah Bailin, Orly Taitz, Victoria Jackson, Michele Bachmann and the rest of the Blowhards and acting as ill programmed robots (they have already acted against doctors that perform abortions). The Birthers and the Tea party crowd think they can scare, intimidate and force others to go along with them by comments like “This time we came unarmed”, let me tell you something not all ex-military join the fringe militia crazies who don’t pay taxes and run around with face paint in the parks playing commando, the majority are mature and understand that the world is more complicated and grey than the black and white that these simpleton make it out to be and that my friend is the point. The world is complicated and people like Hamilton, Lincoln, and Roosevelt believed that we should use government a little to increase social mobility, now it’s about dancing around the claim of government is the problem. The sainted Reagan passed the biggest tax increase in American history and as a result federal employment increased, but facts are lost when mired in mysticism and superstition. For a party that gave us Abraham Lincoln, it is tragic that the ranks are filled with too many empty suits and the crazy Birthers who have not learned that the way our courts work is that you get a competent lawyer, verifiable facts and present them to a judge, if the facts are real and not half baked internet lies, then, and only then, do you proceed to trial. The Birthers seem to be having a problem with their so called “facts”. Let’s face it no one will take the Birthers seriously until they win a case, but until then, you will continue to appear dumb, crazy or racist, or maybe all three. I heard that Orly Taitz now wants to investigate the “Republican 2009 Summer of Love” list: Assemblyman, Michael D. Duvall (CA), Senator John Ensign (NV), Senator Paul Stanley (TN), Governor Mark Stanford (SC), Board of Ed Chair, and Kristin Maguire AKA Bridget Keeney (SC), she wants to re-establish a family values party, that’s like saying that the Catholic Church cares about the welling being of children in their care, too late for that.