Using Immigration as Pretext for Hate - Arizona Racism and Prop 200
Wednesday, October 6, 2004 at 09:45AM
TheSpook
Under the guise of addressing immigration issues,
Proposition 200 fundamentally questions the legitimacy of
Mexican-Americans, U.S. citizens who make up more than 25 percent of
Arizona's population. To the haters - all Arizonans of Mexican descent
are "foreigners." Obviously, the hatemongers don't know our state's
history: Absent the immense contributions of Mexicans and
Mexican-Americans over many generations, Arizona would not be the great
state it is. We take a back seat to no one in this regard. In fact, we
have front-row V.I.P seats in the Arizona history arena. The sweat and
blood of our people have irrigated this land and made it rich. We have
tilled the soil. We have mined the ore. We have laid the railroad. We
have died on the battlefield. We have harvested the crops. We have
built the schools and universities. This deserves respect, not hate.
Mexicans and Mexican-Americans are the current targets, but history
teaches us that the hate agenda includes Jews, blacks, Native
Americans, women, union members, poor children, gays and other
"undesirables."
[more ] Racist Republican Candidate for Congress Yelling his Support for Prop 200
Republican Joe Sweeney is running for
Congress in the 7th District of Arizona. He is a self avowed racist and
an ardent supporter of Prop 200. He has stated: "I hate Mexicans who
come up here illegally," he says. "All this silly nonsensical crap
about how they're entitled to come up here and get into our wage system
and everything else. They haven't struggled for a damn thing in Mexico.
They won't struggle, because they treat one another like a damn bunch
of wild monkeys! I call it the vicious circle: the slave and the
patron." [more ] Sweeney recently handed out flyers at a predominantly Hispanic gathering calling for an end to
an economy built on "cheap 'wetback' labor" and the "arrest and
removal" of all illegal immigrants in the United States. [more ].
The 7th district stretches from Tucson to Yuma and includes all or part of six counties.
Sweeney won the Republican primary with 70 percent of the vote ( 11,500 votes)- one of the more decisive wins
of any major party candidate who ran in a contested election. Sweeney
will face Grijalva on the Nov. ballot.
With a nod and a wink the Republican party is
behind him if not exactly for him. A history of offensive comments
directed at Hispanics and homosexuals prompted the Pima County
Republican Party last week to consider what would have been an
unprecedented move: disavowing Sweeney's candidacy.
But after a 40-minute closed-door discussion, GOP leaders opted instead
to do nothing. The party's central committee unanimously passed a
resolution stating it would be "procedurally inappropriate" to take a
position on Sweeney's candidacy considering his recent primary election
victory.[more ] and[more ] and[more ]
Listen.
Joe Sweeney Sounds off on Spanish-speaking voters- calling on
Republicans to monitor polling sites to protect against illegal
immigrants voting. [listen ]