so very, very frightening
i've been reading further comments from pro-AZ-law folks, and i'm finding myself upon the verge of a nervous sweat this morning. here's one anecdote meant to support a position in favor of strong anti-illegal-immigration laws:
so i'm scratching my head, considering the picture of dead philipinos, shot without process, due or otherwise, and recalling a time back in 1983 when i took a week to honor my nation and its history in washington dc. it was, coincidentally, immediately after the bombing of the marine barracks in beirut, and being possessed of dark hair and a beard, (i hadn't otherwise thought of myself as appearing middle eastern, but go figure), i found myself detained and questioned at each and every national monument.
personally, not being in the habit of carrying my birth certificate or my passport while out and about in MY country, i should say i would prefer NOT to be found shot dead on a fence somewhere. the problem with bad laws, as is the AZ anti-illegal-immigration statute, is that they confer upon the state powers that have the potential for abuse. the state *says* they aren't going to shoot anyone who doesn't deserve it, but, seriously, randy weaver's wife didn't think they would, either..
the greatest irony is that, in the same breath as these anti-illegal-immigration folks are baying for the state to be given further power to abuse individuals, they are complaining about the very same government and the people who are making a colossal clusterfuck of running it.
do people not listen to themselves at all???
I remember being stationed at 1960's Clark AB in the Phillipines. Locals climbing over the perimeter fence at night to burgle homes and warehouses on base was of epidemic proportions. There were all sorts of politically correct actions that didn't work in the slightest. Finally, one Colonel who knew absolutely that his chances of being a general were zero was assigned as the Base Commander. It was a terminal assignment......no matter what he did. So....he wandered over to the Negrito village.....a tribe given lifetime base residency and quasi-US citizenship status by Gen MacArthur.....and asked them to help. Well....overnight the fence climbing ceased.....and for several weeks...the base drove around with a flatbed truck to haul the lifeless bodies of crooks off of the fence. Word got out. Nobody came any more.
so i'm scratching my head, considering the picture of dead philipinos, shot without process, due or otherwise, and recalling a time back in 1983 when i took a week to honor my nation and its history in washington dc. it was, coincidentally, immediately after the bombing of the marine barracks in beirut, and being possessed of dark hair and a beard, (i hadn't otherwise thought of myself as appearing middle eastern, but go figure), i found myself detained and questioned at each and every national monument.
personally, not being in the habit of carrying my birth certificate or my passport while out and about in MY country, i should say i would prefer NOT to be found shot dead on a fence somewhere. the problem with bad laws, as is the AZ anti-illegal-immigration statute, is that they confer upon the state powers that have the potential for abuse. the state *says* they aren't going to shoot anyone who doesn't deserve it, but, seriously, randy weaver's wife didn't think they would, either..
the greatest irony is that, in the same breath as these anti-illegal-immigration folks are baying for the state to be given further power to abuse individuals, they are complaining about the very same government and the people who are making a colossal clusterfuck of running it.
do people not listen to themselves at all???
posted by kad barma at 9:37 AM
2 Comments:
Just spent the entire day (and will spend 9 more) with people from Fort Huachuca (Sierra Vista, AZ).
They have legitimate fears about undocumented immigrants moving through, and hiding out, in their home communities.
As we both stated in comments on Cliff's blog, we favor the humane treatment of all people -- immigrants or not -- inside the country.
But listening to the people who live near the border just reinforced for me the importance of securing the border (easier said than done, I'll admit).
The AZ law fails to address the causes of the situation in the first place.
An amnesty that would bring millions out of the shadows would not incentivize future lawbreaking (as its detractors claim it would) if the lawbreaking itself were not as simple an option as it is now.
I think it's useful and necessary to differentiate between immigrants who want to make a life in this country (including living by our laws and paying their taxes), and criminals who are here for other reasons. It surely sounds from the anecdote here that legitimate security concerns would concern themselves with the latter group, much more than the former.
The present AZ law unfortunately fails to differentiate between the two groups, and, worse, fails to adequately define how it will differentiate between those groups and actual citizens and legal aliens. (Only that police are empowered to make the call without any word on how that call is to be made, or under which circumstances). I find this ambiguity to be in direct conflict with our Bill of Rights, and "reasonable search and seizure" would seem to (I should hope, and so should all other Americans) require a better standard. "Show me your papers" should NEVER be the answer here.
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