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Old 11-30-2010, 11:08 AM   #903
dreadgeek
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Originally Posted by QueenofSmirks View Post
No, I don't think it helps to know my neighbor doesn't support it. But I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the assumption by some that somehow we (AZ residents) should claim the hatred and discrimination in this state just because we live here. I don't think that helps either.

QoS:

I'm not sure why you think that anyone is saying that you should claim the hatred or discrimination just because of your locale. I DO think that it is incumbent upon people in Arizona to be aware of what is happening (but that is because I think it's incumbent upon all citizens to be aware of what is happening) but that is quite a far cry from saying you should claim that hatred.

It seems to me that the AZ residents are taking some of this overly personal. No one is saying that you or Cody are personally in favor of this law--unless and until you give us reason to believe that you are. The people who wrote this law are responsible. The people who voted for Ms. Brewer or any other politician who supports it are responsible. Anyone who didn't vote is responsible. However, I think that we Americans are too quick--far too quick--to try to get out from under our responsibilities. As Chris Hedges, a former reporter for the NY Times, points out in his latest book "The Death of the Liberal Class" between 2000 and 2004 Americans could be forgiven for the wrong-doing of the Bush administration but once the 2004 election happened and he was re-elected (and clearly he was) we the American people endorsed his policies. Does that mean that every single American did? No, but it doesn't have to for us--as Americans--to be responsible for what was done in our name.

As far as the boycott is concerned I think it is appropriate to the degree that it is possible (for example, our dog requires a special diet and the one place we can get the wet food that doesn't make him break out is available at Petsmart--so we don't really have any choice in the matter). That doesn't mean that you should join a boycott (and it would be impractical for you to do so since you live in Arizona) but a boycott may be effective. It may not hurt your governor but it WILL hurt her well-heeled sponsors and puppet-masters who own hotels, restaurants, gas stations, etc. Eventually, they will put the pressure on her to repeal the law if they feel sufficient economic pain.

I think the most effective move, however, is for Hispanics to leave the state. If the majority of Arizonans don't want them there (and a majority of voting Arizonans have given either their explicit or tacit approval to SB 1070) then they should leave. There is historical precedent for this. Google "The Great Migration" or, better yet, get hold of the book 'The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration' by Isabel Wilkerson. I suggest this because, what a lot of (white) Americans don't know is that in the middle third of the last century blacks left the Deep South in a flood. This actually had a number of effects on the culture and economy of the South which, in turn, led to the southern states progressing on racial issues. My parents left the South at the very tail end (1968) because they didn't want their kids raised in a part of the country where we would be considered only marginally human. I think it would, in fact, serve Arizona right if in 5 years finding a Hispanic resident in that state was like finding an unicorn.

Again, let me make it clear that I’m *not* saying you or Cody or any other Arizona resident here wants Hispanics out of the state. I am saying that if Hispanics are not welcome, it would behoove them to leave and to do so sooner rather than later.

Cheers
Aj
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Last edited by dreadgeek; 11-30-2010 at 11:16 AM.
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