Monday, April 26, 2010

a personal opinion. That's all.

  Before I begin this post, let me just say that I usually don't voice too many of my opinions. My reason for this is because they are, simply MY opinions, and while some of them might hold some weight, I never want to enforce them on anyone.


Also, this IS NOT my foray into the politic arena. Oh no. I will never get involved with politics, other than voting, because,

1. I tend to become slightly confrontational with people that act like idiots and it affects me or my family,

2. I don't take too well to people, who say one thing and then do another,

And,

3. I personally DON'T think it's a talent to be able to talk about a subject while not really talking about it.



With that being said, I would like to bring up the recent legislation that was passed here in Arizona.



Since moving here about 4 years ago, my eyes and those of my family have been ripped wide opened to things such as gang violence, drug and human trafficking, drive by shootings and hit and runs.



It happens here in Tucson every.single.day. And this is just to name a few of the things the citizens of Tucson deal with.



This recent legislation (senate bill 1070) will essentially criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants and give police officers the right to enforce this law.



There is outrage that there will be police profiling.



However, police officers cannot inquire as to a person’s immigration status without reasonable suspicion. The big question is....What constitutes reasonable suspicion??



Before I go on, LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEAR. I do not hold any ill will to the legal citizens of this state and country that are of the Hispanic heritage.



I have issues with the people who choose to be in this country illegally, and bring with them drugs, weapons, gang/mafia violence, and live off of a country to which they do not contribute to. (i.e. the payment of taxes)



In order to illustrate a point, and to further explain my position, I would like to share a personal situation.



My mother is a citizen of Australia. She married my dad who is a citizen of the United States of America.



Mom (Aussie) + Dad (American) = me (1/2 Aussie, 1/2 American)



If I flew to Australia today with my Australian mother, and I couldn't provide the proper documentation that I was there legally, there is NO WAY I could get into the country.

NO WAY.

Even with all my aunts, uncles and cousins there cheering for me, vouching for me, saying that they would find me a job, feed me, house me, etc. etc.

NOPE.

It just wouldn't happen.

I know that and so I wouldn't even try.



The nice customs official would turn me around and give me swift kick in the behind back to the country of my citizenship.

Just take a wild guess at what would happen if I tried to enter Australia without the proper documentation AND a small handgun and 2 lbs. of Mary Jane.

Yep. Now I would be in jail.




WE ARE THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD THAT LET PEOPLE LIVE HERE ILLEGALLY.

And not only that, we feed them, clothe them and educate them.



The state of Arizona is in an enormous economic crisis. It is about to go bankrupt. No exaggeration there, folks. If you don't believe me, just Google Tucson AZ and you will find out all you want and more concerning the subjects discussed here.



The indigenous people of our community are up in arms.



I understand they are hurt by all of this. I can only say to them, "BE here. STAY here, but do it legally. Pay taxes. Learn enough of the language that you can effectively communicate. Continue to appreciate and honor your heritage, but assimilate into America."





Let's revisit again, the question of”reasonable suspicion".



Like I mentioned earlier, a law enforcement officer can now inquire about a person’s immigration status if they have "reasonable suspicion" to do so.





It is my belief and hope that the police officers will take the offered training to ensure that there will be no gray area here.





But again, I would like to offer a personal experience that might explain my thoughts on "reasonable suspicion".



Let's say a 20 yr. old girl without a driver’s license is driving an uninsured car. The car is registered to her mother. She runs a stop sign.

A man, (licensed and insured, driving a car that he bought and paid for) is driving to work and hits this young woman as she runs the stop sign.

Both cars are totaled.

This young woman cannot speak English and has to have the police officer explain to her (in Spanish) why she is getting a ticket and having her car impounded.







To me, this is reasonable suspicion to check someone’s immigration status.



Again, I would like to reiterate. I do not discriminate people of other countries, races, creeds, religious beliefs or color. The differences that we have here are what make our country so great. I appreciate my Australian heritage. I appreciate my Dutch heritage and my ancestors that learned English so that they could support themselves in this great country of opportunity. I appreciate all the indigenous people of Arizona. The Hispanic and Native American cultures that are so prevalent her are wonderful to see, learn about and experience.



I think this new legislation is just what this country needs right now. If not this country than the state of Arizona needs this right now. I also hope that other states with problems such as ours will follow in Jan Brewers precedent setting footsteps.

And, by the way, I can really get behind a politician such a Jan Brewer, regardless of her political affiliation, when she stated on national television that she "Prayed for strength to do what was right for the state of Arizona." You GO GIRL!

Alright, so I will get down from my little soap box now.
Tomorrow there will be more about quilting and thrifting.
 
 
I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings about this too.
But remember, if you can't say anything nice....
You know the rest.
 
***If you DO have something mean to say, don't say it here. Feel free to send it to the post office located at;
1234 south, Don'twannahearit Ave
Stickitinyourear, USA
00000
Thank you. ;)

9 comments:

Lewaina@cliffsideranch said...

WOW!
YOU go girl!!!
Ummmmhumm!
Very well said.
I agree with you!
Amen!


Dh's grandfather came here from Sweden, learned to speak english, became American, married, raised a large family, farmed a big farm, paid his taxes......and was PROUD to be an AMERICAN, while still loving his Swedish family and roots.

He didn't whine about being treated unfairly, or about his rights to free anything, He just rolled up his sleeves and went to WORK! And EARNED his way, and tried to make America proud by being honest and hard working, and teaching his family to do the same!


so yeah, I'll get off my soap box now, and tell you to have an enjoyable day, an I'm looking forward to "quilting and thrifting" :-D
Mercy

TrishAnderson said...

Oh, can I say that I agree with you 100%. As the news came on about the new law, Josh just laughed and laughed at people who would get on TV and say "it is now illegal to be in the state illegally." No, it was always a crime, now we just have a stricter way of enforcing it. I agree - I wonder what the cause of suspicion will be. Somehow, some people get the idea that a Police Officer will be able to just stop any one they want to at any given point and that is just not the case with this law. I also hope and pray that it works amazingly well so Mr. Obama can eats his public words of criticism that he gave Jan Brewer. (not to get political, but he wasn't very nice about what he did).

I know the country will be watching and I hope many other states stand up to the Feds and take their own states back under control since other issues are being forced down their necks that the states will be forced to pay for.

Ok, that is all I have to say on that subject.

The Wolfes said...

Amen!!!! Shape up or ship the hell out!!!!

Linda ★ Parker's General said...

I have to agree. I don't know how it will work but I'm anxious to see. Here in Iowa, we have a huge Hispanic population, as well as Asian. We are always hearing on the news how this or that restaurant is closing because of illegals. And the sad part of that is the restaurant was usually doing very well because their food was great. If they only took the initiative to be here legally. There are slaughter houses in this area that hire lots of Hispanics. They are always running groups of illegals out of them, too. All it takes is a little paperwork and time to become legal.
Of course, our society has changed so very much in the past 50 years. It used to be that every man got a job or two to support his family. Now days, men are making families they have no intention of taking care of and they don't want a job. They want a position. They don't want minimum wage. They want huge wages. So all the jobs go to the men who will actually do the work. I have even seen state road crews that are more than 50% Hispanic. Our government agencies hire the men that will work. People/men want to complain about illegals taking their jobs but they wouldn't take those jobs anyway. But on a positive note, since we have larger Hispanic and Asian populations, we have specialized stores where we can buy the real ingredients to make our own authentic dishes.
And our children don't seem to have the trouble accepting 'foreigners' that some adults do. In fact, they learn enough of their languages to become friends with them.
You know what? This country was founded by 'foreigners' and even has a statue decreeing that we accept all people. This is America and we have no irrational fear of Canadians. They are also Americans. Why are we so fearful of Mexican-Americans? They are not all gang members. There are thugs and gangs in every race, country,and income level. There are plenty of white Americans that are less than desirable to most of us. When I was a kid, I would have been institutionalized if I had come home with all the tattoos and piercings you see on the street these days. They would have declared I was self-mutilating.
While I don't think our economy can support this growing population, I don't think it is the fault of the Mexican-Americans. I think our society has been on a downward slide for some time. Perhaps it was a mistake to separate Church and state. Perhaps more people need to find a Church and attend with regularity. Perhaps our children should say the pledge of allegiance and maybe even The Lord's Prayer. Just maybe they should......★ Linda
This rant is just my opinion and may be a bit off subject but it feels good to speak my mind. I have Hispanic friends and Asian friends--all here legally. We all consider ourselves North Americans; some by birth, some by naturalization.

Adrian said...

AMEN!!!!!!

Simple Home said...

I sooooo agree! My dear friend, who immigrated here from Romania about 25 years ago at the age of 20, is so frustrated by the special treatment illegal immigrants are getting now. Her family came here legally from a country that, at the time, was a communist country. They had to wait years to come here. She learned our language as quickly as possible (she said that was one of their first goals, so they could get a good job) and she became a citizen as soon as she could. The Romanian government had taken confiscated their property.

Here in California, we see the same things you do. I was amazed to find out a couple of years ago that police officers COULDN'T ask about immigration status! Why not?
I'm so glad to see that Arizona is smarter than California!
Blessings,
Marcia

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

I agree with you, Jo-Anne...totally 100%! Amen!

I know you must really be missing your son....I hope he's doing well. I went back and tried to catch up on some posts about him. I'm sure his time there will make a lasting impression upon him, and I'm sure he's making a lasting impression upon Uganda as well!

Hugs and Blessings,
Tammy

mylittlegems said...

amen! All people have to do is READ the thing - READ IT. I have read it. It all refers to CRIME- and that if you are involved in breaking the law- they can ask you it you are here legally.
Seriously the Federal Law Enforcement- as in Border Patrol agents, Customs, ICE - Imigration and Customs Enforcement-who are in every city in the U.S.A. already could do all this questioning when someone was doing something illegally. Now the local law enforcement can help them out. That's it. READ it people is all I have to say to the naysayers :)
And go to the actual border and take a peek at what is going on there. Seriously- there is a war going on there that is just about as bad as any war we read about in the scriptures. It isn't pretty at all. ;)

Melanie said...

Thankyou for saying so well exactly how I feel. I agree with you completely and understand so much better since living here in AZ.