I've had a few weeks to internalize and watch, with horror, the fallout from the ratification of SB 1070 in the state of Arizona. Needless to say, between the passing of this bill and continued reports of the Bp drilling catastrophe, it has been very hard to retain my faith in the greater human race. (Misanthropy, anyone?)
Possibly most disheartening for me is not the people who speak in support of SB 1070, but those liberally identified in other states who are all too willing to bash Arizona for the bill. And while Arizona does have a history of problematic legislation pertaining to racial-profiling, immigration, etc, it is certainly not the loony bin, racist land-o-plenty that lazy commenters make it out to be on media sites. To assert that Arizona is an island of racist policy and people, disconnected from other exceptional, and purely republican entities in the United States, is not only essentialist, it's flat out inaccurate and ignorant.* (However, this is hilarious).
I understand that I move in fairly radical circles, or did at least during my time in the Gender and Women's Studies department at the University of Arizona. And while I was accorded the privileges of being able to intellectually dissect the origins, genealogies and power structures that allow legislation like SB 1070 to pass with substantial support, I also participated in several conversations and rallies outside of the academy with individuals who wholeheartedly did not support the bill. In fact, it seemed that most people I talked to could not fathom the logic behind the bill. Social networks and privilege aside, it seems that a great deal of people in Pima county did not support the legislation. And still, statistics were being thrown around by pundits that quoted up to 70% of the population in favor of SB1070.
Where is the disconnect? And what am I supposed to do at this crucial moment of social and cultural upheaval in my state? My professor from the US/Third World Feminism course I took this spring recently wrote a piece for the Ms. Blog touching on Arizona's complex history with border politics and socio-cultural racialization of immigrant populations. In addition to addressing the current campaign to end ethnic studies in Arizona schools, she declares her solidarity with those groups, individuals and companies that have denounced SB1070 and boycotted Arizona economically.
I am proud to see such outspoken, visible and disseminated dissent being articulated and published. Prof. Guidotti-Hernandez provides an example of praxis: taking theory and intellectual discussion and putting it to work actively for the purpose of creating an alter-narrative. In this statement, Guidotti-Hernandez counters the voice of the racist, Arizona resident that is being forwarded in left media. In addition, she sets an example for young people like myself who wish to put their strengths and abilities to use in the realm of criticism, dismantling and positive action. As she states,
"We need to invest in the future of Arizona by donating time, energy and money to local organizations (like some of those above) to fight the good fight and show that we can triumph over racism. We need to fund education, not bankrupt the state with racial profiling. And we need to stop misunderstanding ethnic studies as a field of intellectual inquiry. There has to be something better than this current atmosphere of suspicion and hatred."
Nicole Guidotti-Hernandez's poignant article reminds readers that the passing of SB1070 in Arizona is not simply an example of singular, isolated racist policy. Instead, the political climate in the state is a microcosmic articulation of a larger trend in all states that illustrates for everyone how economic disaster, cultural xenophobia and fear can be manipulated to disenfranchise particular groups of people under the guise of security and economic safe-guarding. Or, to put it another way, it is no coincidence that SB1070 was able to pass in Arizona, given the current economic, political and social climate in the United States as a whole. As a country, we are dealing with a major case of "oh fuck" syndrome and it is in this climate that fear mongering prevails.
That is not to say that Arizona does not have issues that are particular to the state because of geo-political positioning. Certainly, immigration issues are exasperated by the constant tension between US antagonisms and the clashing of populations with racist policy at the border. But to distance what is happening here from greater structural failings in our country's legal, judicial and economic system belies exemplary cases of historical amnesia and academic laziness.
As Prof. Guidotti-Hernandez also points out,
"People are scared, uninformed and disenfranchised, feeling helpless about the economic future of the state for their children. With the passing of the immigration and ethnic studies laws, we are seeing that fear materialize, directed at Mexicans and other Latino immigrant groups–who are seen as illegal no matter what their actual legal status–instead of holding accountable the state that has forsaken us".
To wrap up, what I hope to see more of in the future is commentators and critics in other regions evaluating the state of affairs in their own communities in relation to Arizona's policies for the purpose of creating dialogue and identifying the greater social and political structures that makes these laws possible. Displacing the blame to Arizona citizens only serves to add to the exceptionalist discourse that maintains the imagined autonomy of state and federal governments and scapegoats populations with no positive result. In Southern Arizona, we've got a huge battle ahead of us in the campaign against SB1070. The best way everyone outside of Arizona can help is to support those in dissent, while educating themselves about the issues within their own communities.
And help us. Or get off our backs.
*Citizens and politicians residing in Tucson have been some of the harshest critics of the new laws, spearheading a movements to take judicial action against SB1070. Raul Grijalva, state congressman-D, hosted a protest at his Tucson offices the day after the bill was signed into law. I stood on a street corner in solidarity with thousands the day Jan Brewer provided her signature for the bill's passing.
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