I saw Jim Crow the other day

     I live in Phoenix, Arizona.  Home of hundred degree heat, saguaro's, the Phoenix Suns and good old fashion, white hot, hatred/racism.  One third of the state is Hispanic, which is awesome, to me.  I really thought we were past the days where skin color was an issue but that's just not the case.  As I said before, I'm ignorant to a lot of worldly issues, as I choose to be.  Who wants to deal with the stress of other peoples short comings and irrationalities and fears?  I just don't understand it.

     I grew up in Reno, Nevada, which isn't much different from Phoenix when it comes to the treatment of minorities.  However, in Reno, the majority of people there are Caucasian.  Growing up, I experienced racism first hand while in school, mainly by insensitive children who were throwin' around the "N" word like it was a frisbee, but the adults weren't much better and after awhile I accepted this kind of behavior as "the norm".  As a matter of fact, hearing the word "nigga" come out of anybody's mouth, today, does not phase me in the slightest.  I hear it all the time and in some of the strangest places and coming out of some of the most unlikeliest of mouths.  I've witnessed young white boys calling each other "my nigga".  I've seen the same in Hispanic youth and Asian youth.

     Anyways, the "N" word just doesn't have shock value anymore, but ignorance, intolerance and racism still does.  When I heard about the SB1070 law coming into effect, I instantly thought about the old Jim Crow laws that were imposed in the late 1800's thru 1965, mainly in the southern states.  In a nutshell, those laws purposely segregated Blacks from the rest of society.  I thought we were past all of that, but lo and behold, Arizona is specializing in making people, that aren't "American" or Caucasian, uncomfortable and unwelcome in this state.  What's the logic behind it?  I've heard many arguments from, "the Hispanics are taking away jobs," to "Hispanics are using up state resources," to "Hispanics are destroying our country with crime and drugs" and everything in between.

     The most shocking thing, to me, is the people who hold these sentiments. The MAJORITY of the people, in Arizona, that feel this way, don't have an education beyond high school.  The ones that do have an education, don't have much to brag about if their scholastic endeavors took place here, as Arizona is ranked nearly last in education in the United States.  Arizona had to create the AIMS Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards test scores a few years back because they found out that a large percentage of high school students were graduating without knowing how to read or write.  Imagine that.  How long has that been going on out here?  We can assume that some of those graduates from the '50's thru 2000 are in some decision-making positions throughout the state.  Add to that, Americans irrational and unfounded fears of people of color, and you have the makings of a racial powder keg.

     Arizona State Senate President, Russell Pearce, Maricopa County Sheriff, Joe Arpiao and Governor Jan Brewer are at the head of this "hate beast".  Together, they have enacted, passed and supported laws and sanctions that pump fear into the hearts of some citizens of this state.  Arpiao continues to have illegal immigrant sweeps throughout the valley.  Here's one of the problems with that.  If you're skin is brown, you're getting stopped on suspicion of being here illegally.  You could've been born in the United States, speak perfect American, married to a Caucasian and walking with the Pope, and you're still going to be stopped and interrogated for being here illegally.  Another problem is, when people are being stopped for immigrant status, they may end up getting arrested for something other than what they were originally stopped for and that's not legal, yet it happens often.

     I could go on and on about the happenings in AZ, but I don't have to.  All you have to do is turn on a media device and you will see something about Arizona.  To be fair, I must say that there are some positive aspects to Arizona and I'll share those with you when I find them!