Arizona

Well, it has been quite a week in Arizona. I have been in touch with several family members and friends and all seem to have the same reaction. Jokingly they tell me they feel like they better not speak Spanish in public or they will get picked up and sent back to MX like Cheech in the movie Born in East L.A. But seriously they are concerned that the law is an excuse for racial profiling and feel like they must carry around a file of documents verifying the legitimacy of their US citizen status. In addition, the fear of speaking Spanish in the public arena seems to be a result for many hispanic members of the community who genuinely fear becoming victims of a law that is being disguised as a "need".

While the border issue is a valid concern for some who live on the border and have been victimized by members of drug related cartels or who have to clean up after travelers who are looking for a new life in the US, I do not think this law is the solution. Not only is this an excuse for racial profiling, but it clearly is sending the message that you should become assimilated and look, speak, act, and forget your heritage or you will be deported. While Arizona has always been a conservative state, (lets not forget the refusal to celebrate Martin Luther King Day and English only ) it seems like the extreme measures are becoming more of a norm.

I mentioned and told everyone the story about how my niece was told not to speak Spanish in school and how they reprimanded her for this. Now it seems this attitude is spreading out into the public and forcing all hispanic to keep their Spanish language at home, maybe. Or not speak it all. One policeman who is opposed to the law mentioned that he felt like if he went to a home where there was a crime and there were several hispanics who all spoke Spanish, he would have to arrest everyone regardless of what the crime was and who had committed it. After all, how could he distinguish who was or was not a US citizen? It seems there is more leniency when one enters this country or is questioned at a Border Patrol stop and the only question you have to answer is US citizen when asked about your citizenship.

In the end, the only thing this law is accomplishing at this time is the creation of a tense environment and fear among those who are not white and blonde.