It appears that Arizona's leaders have suddenly woken up to the fact that the only people cheering the state's xenophobic anti-immigration law and banning of ethnic studies tend to have buzzcuts and favor a certain 20th Century German political movement.
And they're surprised by this?
Clearly, the only groups who have truly benefited from the chaos that has become the U.S. immigration debate are the white supremacists. Don't believe me? Then why not take a look at the language they use. You can do an analysis of the discourse used by the "Help Save" and "Take Back America" movements. In fact, read their materials side-by-side with some of the WWII Nazi propaganda. It's a real eye opener. I've been stunned for many years now that the mainstream media, the alleged bastion of all things liberal, hasn't bothered to take notice here.
The fact is, this type of demonization of America's non-white residents is exactly the type of discord that hate groups love to foster, but often cannot, simply because many Americans see through the veneer of claims that "white people have rights, too" for what they are: racism, antisemitism, and in this case, nativism.
Arizona, like any other state, is free to establish their own local laws in order to meet the needs of their citizens. If they want to institute draconian measures-measures that will not only effect undocumented immigrants but also anyone who looks like an undocumented immigrant, they should be ready to take the opposition that they so rightly deserve.
If their anti-immigrant measures cost them dearly (and the article I link here suggests that it does), then they have a choice to make: nativism or commerce. It's time for every Arizonan to take stock of their state and community.
If they want to act like ignorant fools, they are welcome to do so.
But they shouldn't expect people like me to show up and spend my money there. It's a simple choice, and I sincerely hope that I NEVER wake up in an America where they can have it both ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment