Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Brave in Arizona
Trail of Dreams


Posted on May 18, 2010 by None



Tonight, America’s like an open wound, more visible than it was yesterday and probably not as deep as it may be tomorrow. This is the plight and burden of a movement: to make manifest to us all the suffering that we should have never gotten away with ignoring. How did we ever get away with the ignorance and indifference towards more than 60,000 students every year that weren’t even granted the option of aspiring for higher education? How did we get away with letting 95% of undocumented graduates to simply fall through the cracks?


Losing Tam may not have been a direct cause of the broken immigration system, but it was an overwhelming reminder of the thousands of times the system tried to destroy her or hold her back –keep her from everything she aspired to and deserved, as it continues to do to the millions like her.


Tonight, I am thinking of my brother Mo and my sister Yahaira held in custody in Arizona as they fight for my freedom –freedom from the internalized oppression and terror that has crippled migrant communities nationwide not simply on a basis of status, but even on gender and race. My heart beats loudly in solidarity with their struggle, our struggle, as we each take the lashes of every step toward liberation.


Tonight, I am inspired by those that are still here with me fighting, continuing the fight without means, without infrastructure, and so often without approval –because these efforts are keeping us all grounded and alive, infuriated and impassioned.


You can’t imagine the difference you make when you speak out, stand up, and overcome your fear. You can’t imagine the power that you have to save a life.
link to http://www.trail2010.org/blog/2010/may/18/brave-arizona/

2 comments:

Defensores de Democracia said...

Youth is the Greatest Treasure and Younsters are the Future, a Great Asset - Evicting and Dislodging them is the Greatest Stupidity.

************


Myopia, short-sightedness, nearsightedness - Republicans win the Present and lose the Future



Bloomberg BusinessWeek
Republicans Ignore Past Anti-Immigrant Debacles
By Albert R. Hunt
May 23, 2010

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-05-23/republicans-ignore-past-anti-immigrant-debacles-albert-r-hunt.html


Some Excerpts :

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Arizona Republican Party, following hard-fought primaries, plans a victory dinner in Phoenix on Aug. 27. There is a perfect speaker: former California Governor Pete Wilson.

Arizona Republicans believe they’re riding a big anti- illegal immigration wave to success in November. Wilson can regale them with how he pursued a similar strategy in 1994, winning re-election with 55 percent of the vote after embracing Proposition 187 to cut off state-funded education and health programs for children of illegal immigrants.

Wilson might also remind his political neighbors that since then the only other member of his party to win a major statewide election is the pro-immigration Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; the Democrats have swept every presidential contest in the Golden State since then; Republicans had captured California in six of the previous seven presidential contests and five of the seven most recent gubernatorial races.

Thanks to Wilson, the Republican brand is anathema to much of the fast-growing Hispanic vote in California.

“There are a lot of similarities between what’s happening in Arizona and what happened in California in 1994,” says Sergio Bendixen, a political pollster and consultant specializing in the Hispanic vote. “That made California a deep blue state (as in Democratic) and Republicans are making the same mistake now trying to benefit on anti-immigration.”
......................

There is widespread resentment among Latinos that they will be singled out as a result of this law, despite the insistence of Arizona officials that racial profiling is impermissible. Both experience and the testimony of law-enforcement officials suggests otherwise.
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Party-Line Vote

Hispanics know these anti-immigration measures have a partisan coloration. The Arizona law passed on a virtual party- line vote, with no Democrats in support, and only one Republican state senator in opposition. It was signed by a Republican governor.

Resentment is likely to endure among Latinos, while the attention of supporters moves to other issues. Hispanics are the fastest-growing U.S. voting bloc, comprising 7.4 percent of the electorate in the last presidential election, double their proportion 20 years earlier. Similar growth is expected over the next few decades.
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Long-Term Risk

Even in the short-term, support may erode. Few experts think the Arizona law will actually reduce illegal immigration or curb crime.
.................

Even some conservative Republicans, such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, warn of the political peril of the Arizona law.

In 1994, when many Republicans in California and elsewhere were celebrating Wilson’s anti-immigration triumph, there were similar warnings from a few prescient politicians, such as the late Jack Kemp, who said this was the “modern equivalent of the know-nothing party of the last century.” Kemp was ignored; his party paid a price.


Youth, Minorities, Demography and Politics :

Milenials.com

Vicente Duque

Defensores de Democracia said...

Three Videos : Arizona Chiefs of Police and Other Super Policemen against Arizona Racism, ten Super Police Chiefs of Top Cities in Department of Justice

With Eric Holder, Secreatry of Justice : Top Policemen of Arizona Cities and other Super Policemen and Chiefs of Police.

The group includes police chiefs from Phoenix (Police Chief Jack Harris) and Tucson (Police Chief Roberto Villaseñor) in Arizona; Los Angeles, California; and Houston, Texas.

"In fact, the majority of us believe [the Arizona law] will actually cause crime to increase," said Chris Burbank, the police chief of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Eric Holder ( Secretary Department of Justice ) said "there would be a decision coming soon on some of the federal issues associated with this," said John Harris, police chief for Sahuarita, Arizona.

"Any resources at this point are going to be useful," noted Tucson, Arizona, Police Chief Roberto Villasenor. "But I don't want to just treat the symptoms of the problem."

"Arizona sheriffs are elected officials and that changes your perspective," noted Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

AssociatedPress — May 26, 2010 — After meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder, police chiefs from across Arizona spoke about their opposition to a new law that requires officers to question people who could be illegal immigrants. (May 26)


Ariz. Police Chiefs Decry Immigration Checks


talkradionews — May 26, 2010 — Following a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder, police chiefs from several Western states held a press conference to discuss concerns regarding Arizonas controversial immigration law. Distributed by Tubemogul.

Police Chiefs Express Concern Over Arizona Immigration Law

ksltube — May 26, 2010 — Salt Lake City's police chief was in Washington, D.C. Wednesday morning to discuss his concerns about Arizona's immigration law.

Salt Lake City police chief pleased with DC immigration meet


You can look for the Videos in YouTube.com or see them directly here in my site :

Raciality.com

Vicente Duque