Latinos appear to be making a quick exit from Arizona. A new study by BBVA Bancomer Research, drawing on Census data, finds 100,000 fewer Latinos living in the state now than before the debate over S.B. 1070 — the “Papers, please” law — this summer…. Meanwhile, the key players behind S.B. 1070 are doing just great. Gov. Jan Brewer got re-elected, despite her best efforts to sink her own campaign. State Sen. Russell Pearce, who sponsored the bill, gets to be president of his chamber now. And Kris Kobach, the attorney who helped craft the “Papers, please” law, gets to be the new secretary of state for Kansas.
I love Arizona…but no matter how hard I try, it’s difficult for me to wrap my head around the madness that seems to grip the body politic there. How can so many ostensibly decent, well-meaning people make the determination that the best way to enhance their political prospects is to sow hatred and engage in fear-mongering designed to demonize a minority class of people? Of course, Latinos are easy targets- Brown People look, act, and speak differently than Anglos. If you’re looking for a group to demonize, Latinos certainly provide a target-rich environment. This isn’t to justify this sort of disgusting behavior, but Arizona does seem to be uniquely situated as a Petri dish for breeding hatred of The Other.
Arizonans, and their politicians, are in a unique position, in that they can choose how they deal with Brown People. Given the heritage of the state, a reasonable person might think that White Arizonans would choose to celebrate and honor that heritage…which is heavily Latino. Of course, “reasonable” and “Arizona” seem to be oxymorons these days, what with SB 1070 and all. The sad thing is that, by choosing to travel down the path of hatred and fear-mongering, Arizona and their politicians are chasing Latinos out of the state. Some whites might not see this as a problem, but with every Latino family that leaves, there comes an inevitable negative economic impact. It need not be this way, of course, but White Arizonans have made their preferences known. They’ve made it clear that they consider Brown People to be second-class citizens who must be required to prove their right to exist in Arizona whenever asked to do so. SB 1070 itself may never become law, but that will hardly stop those behind it from continuing their efforts to force Brown People to the margins of society.
In the end, White Arizonans will find that trafficking in hatred and fear-mongering will come at a tangible long-term cost. In the short-term, though, it’s been a real shot in the arm for the political prospects of far Right-wing politicians in Arizona.
ARIZONA: OUR BUSINESS IS HATING BROWN PEOPLE…AND BUSINESS IS GOOD!
In the end, the people suffering the consequences will be the haters…and they deserve what they have coming.
