As usual, I am in no position to be writing here as I'm under heavy writing deadlines. However, after reading today that GOP legislators in Michigan, Okalahoma, and possibly Minnesota, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Utah, and Idaho are considering enacting laws similar to Arizona's SB 1070, I decided that NOW IS THE TIME for our voices to be heard.
Even though I recognize that many of us are overwhelmed and demoralized by the recent BP oil volcano, I implore everyone with computer access and a sense of integrity to stop other states from getting any big ideas.
Largely lead by the efforts of California cities, the boycott of Arizona is making an impression. The tourist and hotel industry is nervous. Conventions have taken a hit. Major League Baseball is in the mix, with Los Suns spitting in the eye of SB 1070. And Jan Brewer's ratings continue to be good news for John McCain.
But now is the time to step it up. Follow me below the fold to see what to do to help stop institutionalized racial profiling in America from taking hold in another TWELVE STATES.
First, a little explanation of what ratcheted my blood pressure up this morning.
While I'd heard rumor that various states were considering laws similar to SB 1070 -- Arizona's neo-Nazi backed, Godwin-shucking anti-Latino, breathing-while-brown law -- many objected that there states would never go down that thorny path.
However, this morning, while searching the news for updates on Arizona, I went into full blood-boil overdrive reading this steaming pile of crap:
Fed up with the lack of federal leadership on illegal immigration, Republican state legislators from across the country are proposing their own crackdowns.
Because Republicans aren't just the Party of No anymore; now they're the Party of "Constitution? Just Say No." But I digress.
Michigan State Rep. Kim Meltzer proposed a law modeled after Arizona granted cops the authority to determine immigration status when investigating a crime.
"We have borders in place for a reason," she said.
In Oklahoma, state Rep. Randy Terrill said he wants to enact legislation similar to Arizona's and "go beyond it" - by making penalties tougher for illegal immigrants caught with firearms.
"The states have to act because the federal government has refused to enforce our nation's borders and turned every state into a border state..."
Hey Randy, what does "going beyond" Arizona's legislation would look like? Is that like a "shoot on sight" thing? What about vigilantes? Have you considered roaming posses of vigilantes yet? I hear they were really effective from 940 to 1400 A.D. Also, about that increased border thing... if you want to see a great way that was used, please refer to the Berlin Wall. You miserable bobble-headed human freakshow. But I digress.
South Carolina state Rep. Eric Bedingfield is pushing to make it illegal to hire and pick up workers on the side of the road.
Pennsylvania state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe said the Obama administration has given states no other choice.
"With the federal government currently AWOL in fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities to protect American lives, property and jobs against the clear and present dangers of illegal-alien invaders, state lawmakers ... are left with no choice but to take individual action to address this critical economic and national security epidemic," he said.
Similar legislation is being considered in Minnesota, Maryland, North Carolina, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska, Utah and Idaho.
It's also being considered in the Blue State of Pennsylvania. Ouch. h/t to Terrypinder.
And New Mexico GOP is also chomping at the bit for similar laws. Double Ouch. h/t to Aji.
Scott McInnis, a GOP gubernatorial candidate in Colorado, vowed to put tough immigration laws on the books.
"We are stopping the retreat. No more retreat. Federal government, if you are not going to do it, we are going to do it," he said during a recent local radio interview.
Why is it that I can't violate Godwin's law here by comparing SB 1070 to Nazi Germany, yet Republican nutters like Metcalfe can intone some vision of undocumented immigrants as B-movie space invaders... "ATTACK OF THE 50-FOOT NON-WHITE ALIEN ANT PEOPLE" comes to mind. With all due respect, Mr. Metcalfe, please do your state a favor and get yourself a muzzle and a double-bar Xanax prescription. Thanks.
Fortunately...
The Justice Department said it's considering a federal lawsuit against the new law, saying it could lead to civil rights violations.
However, California has been trailblazing on overtime. I don't have citations off the top of my head, so feel free to fill in the blanks BUT so far, while we stopped short of a statewide economic embargo, many California cities -- including San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, San Diego, Los Angeles, West Hollywood -- have formally issued declarations of a repeal of all city-wide contracts with the State of Arizona over SB 1070.
Meanwhile, the total undocumented population of California, which is of course also a border state, is estimated to be about nine times higher than in Arizona. If anyone has the link to that, it was in a major news article within the past few days. Wish I had my own computer to bookmark these things, sorry. But that was the number cited unless memory has failed completely.
And it's not just California cities. Several other cities have also followed suit, either passing, or proposing, boycotts of Arizona.
Off the top of my head I recall St. Paul, El Paso, Boston, DC, Chicago, Milwaukee, Gallup, and Austin.
The Denver City Schools have, of course, also condemned SB 1070, as have Arizona cities where the tourist trade and University cancellations are starting to pinch, such asTucson, Flagstaff, and Phoenix, where motions to sue the State of Arizona are unfolding.
Since the call for an economic boycott on our state by Congressman Grijalva, numerous hoteliers have announced cancellations of previously booked travel into Tucson. In addition, the University of Arizona has announced that families of a number of out-of-state honors students have advised University Admissions that they are changing their plans and will be sending their children to universities in other states.
Okay. So here's what we can do today to help your city or state join ranks with California State, as well as other cities from one coast to the other.
Please email a quick letter to your City Council asking them to sever all city contracts with Arizona State, or, if they have no contracts with the State, to state a public intent to not do any business with Arizona until SB 1070 and other racial profiling laws there are repealed. This has been the general modus operandi for how these boycotts are starting: with City Councils across the Country. I've often said local politics is more powerful than Federal politics. This would be a good example of that bottom-up grassroots approach that holds so much power.
And you might also write to your County Supervisors.
The ACLU recently had a petition campaign to do this on a Statewide level. I enjoyed participating in that. But I think YOUR CITY COUNCIL is a better starting point.
Feel free to use my sample letter if you don't have much time today. Or write your own.
Dear City Council (or County Supervisor)_,
As a _ year resident of the City of _, I am writing to ask you to please consider following the lead of other cities such as Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Gallup, Saint Paul, Milwaukee, El Paso, and others nationwide who are spearheading both social justice and a respect for Our Constitution in adopting, or proposing to adopt, a formal boycott of the State of Arizona until SB 1070, and it's two similar racial profiling laws, have been repealed.
I am certain that our City is as concerned with this matter as the rest of this Nation. While the rhetoric on both sides heats up, it is imperative that we remain level-headed and move quickly to send a positive message to Arizona State to resolve their tense situation. As you may know, the State is now being sued by the cities of Flagstaff, Tucson, and Phoenix over these bills. All cities that can send a message to the State of Arizona have a strong ethical imperative to do so for a variety of reasons, from the pragmatic desire to end a volatile situation where cities, citizens, and the State are at odds, to a more ethics-based contest of racial profiling.
Therefore, I sincerely hope you consider following what other cities have been doing and make a statement to Arizona State that we, as a city, will not to enter contracts with or purchase goods from companies with headquarters in Arizona, that we will review existing contracts with Arizona companies, and we will keep city employees from traveling to Arizona on official business. Or, if we have no formal business with Arizona State, that we, as a city, will state our intention to uphold the laws of the United States of America, under its Constitution and its provisions for the rights of all people to be free from injustice, equally, by speaking out frankly against SB 1070.
Thank you for listening to my thoughts on this matter. As a voting citizen of the City of _, I appreciate your taking the time to deliberate closely upon my words.
Respectfully,
Name
Address
~~~To locate your city council, simply Google "City Council" AND "contact" AND "name of your city" To locate your County Supervisor, please Google "County Supervisor" AND "contact "AND "name of your County." You may additionally need to know which district you are in, but that information should be apparent from your search. I'm not aware of any large database of this information, sorry, but it's usually VERY easy to find with a simple Google search.
Thank you so much for speaking out today against SB 1070, racial profiling, the GOP, and a boycott of Arizona. We cannot afford to rest on our laurels yet, thinking that somehow Federal intervention or lawsuits will resolve this terrible scenario. With too many other States thinking of passing laws similar to Arizona's SB 1070 -- "or beyond" -- there's nothing left to wait for. We must act fast, and act today, because otherwise it's not an unchequed wave of immigrants that are the problem; it's a tidal wave of codified, institutionalized racism that imperils this country. The boycotts are working well and working as I'd hoped. As they once helped end South African apartheid, I would hope they could address the rising Nativist swell in our Country before it gets any more out of control, sending a message to all States considering this that they too will suffer great economic problems should they consider racial profiling laws. We need to say loudly and clearly, "That way madness lies."
I have, as always, gone on too long. As always, I didn't have the time to write today. But as always, I couldn't just sit here.
Can you?
Ya Basta!
Oi vey! Thanks for the rec list, my friends! TAKE ACTION.
On a final note... I want to say how proud I am to see so many folks from so many walks of life coming together on this issue, no joke. I was active in my community as a volunteer trying to work to bridge gaps between people for common causes, usually on the level of Social Justice issues, and to see a similar coming together from so many is really hopeful to me; I believe we can still put up a good, old-fashioned fight for Civil Rights if we simply keep our eye on the ball. And that is very much what I see happening. So good for every one of you. Y'all should be very, very proud to be part of this type of anti-racism coalition. I wish every one of you sweet dreams tonight since you should sleep with a good, clear conscience for being part of the solution. Keep reaching out to your local cities to send a clear message about what you will, or will not, tolerate.
Just a cool update that came up while this diary was up that pertains to our boycott actions, in part. New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez has called openly on Bud Selig, the Major League Baseball Commissioner, as well as the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, Michael Weiner, to FORMALLY join the boycott of Arizona. Good news, good politics, and a potentially big deal. If Rep. Menendez is up for taking a stand, I say we are too.
Rep. Menendez, the only Hispanic-American in the Senate, wrote the following today:
Dear Mr. Weiner:
I first want to thank you for taking a public stand and expressing your opposition to Arizona law SB1070. I would also respectfully ask that you and your players consider boycotting the 2011 All-Star Game until SB1070 is repealed or the game is moved to an another location. The Arizona law is offensive to Hispanics and all Americans because it codifies racial profiling into law by requiring police to question anyone who appears to be in the country illegally.
As you and I both know, Major League Baseball (M.L.B.) is truly a multicultural, international sport. In fact, Latinos represent 27 percent of all M.L.B. players and 28 percent of M.L.B. players are foreign born. These players come to the United States legally and should not be subjected to the humiliation and harassment that SB1070 would inflict. Imagine if your players and their families were subjected to interrogation by law enforcement, simply because they look a certain way. Imagine if M.L.B. fans – many of whom are Hispanic – were subjected to that same type of interrogation if they were to attend the All-Star Game. That would truly be an embarrassment and an injustice, not only to M.L.B., but to the values and ideals we hold as Americans.
In every century and generation, immigrants have contributed to the progress, prosperity and vitality of this nation. This law undermines that shared history by promoting discrimination against one group of people. As someone who has and continues to fight for comprehensive immigration reform, I believe the Arizona law is a call to action for reform of our nation’s broken immigration system. However, while I understand the frustration about the failures of our current system, states should not be permitted to enact their own discriminatory immigration laws while the federal government works to reform our laws. The Arizona law is an embarrassment to our country and a call to action to our communities to stand up against injustice.
For these reasons, I ask that you consider boycotting the All-Star Game in Arizona until SB1070 is repealed or the League decides to move the game to an alternate location. Thank you for your attention to this important issue. It is my hope that we can work together now and in the future.
And sorry about the conflation of MLB and Basketball in the diary intro. I can't seem to edit it for html reasons that completely evade me. Ah well.