Yeehaw! The Chandler (Arizona) Roundup of 1997!

[Bluebear]

Google it. For five days, police swept the city of Chandler, stopping anybody who "looked" foreign (read: Hispanic).

Law-abiding American citizens were stopped, cuffed, humiliated, detained.

SB 1070 expands this racial-proflling "roundup" of human beings to a statewide level.

This law is not "misguided". This law is UNAMERICAN.

[SargeUNN]

1. Thanks for posting this

It is still an event that is hurting the area and seems others in the valley have forgotten or don't know of this black time in Arizona. Thanks

[YOY]

2. This law has the durp durps cheering I am sure.

n.t.

[Oceansaway]

3. and my racist sister lives

in chandler....:puke:

[DevonRex]

6. Can I commiserate with you?

Mine are in the South and are racist to the core. :hug: from one person with racist family members to another. People who don't have racist close relatives just don't understand how painful it can be.

[Bluebear]

8. My parents were.

We had a young lady come in once a week to help with housecleaning and my mother actually told me not to sit on the toilet seat after she did. Even at age 6 I somehow knew inherently that that was sooooooo wrong. You either take up the prejudiced torch from your parents or, as in my case, are repulsed by it and become your own person.

[DevonRex]

9. OMG.

That's pretty blatant, isn't it? I always knew I didn't fit in with my family's beliefs, too. I think I always felt that I had more in common with the people they're bigoted against than I did with them.

And of course they're all on the Focus on the Family bandwagon. Me? I have a "Focus on Your OWN Damn Family" bumper sticker.

[Bluebear]

10. It was horrible.

They told me to never think about bringing a black girl home to meet them. So I got even and married a white guy :rofl:

[DevonRex]

13. hahahaha! And...

I kinda got even, too. I married a damn YANKEE! :rofl: And I turned into a Democrat and don't go to church anymore. Oh, the horror!

On a serious note, I'll be asking for good vibes/prayers/whatever before I visit with my family this summer. I'm seriously afraid this will be the last time I'll be able to stomach it. I'm the peacemaker of the bunch and I usually find a gentle way of letting them know I don't agree with them. But as they've gotten crazier (to the point of stocking ammo and MREs for god knows what) it has become more difficult to keep my temper in check.

[Oceansaway]

11. thanks...n/t

[BlooInBloo]

4. They did that in some shit town in Texas (or Okla?) a few years/decade ago...

Just threw like 10% of black folks there in jail.

[Cleita]

5. There was a caller on the Ed Shultz radio show today, who said that

roundups in Hispanic neighborhoods are common in Arizona. The difference is that sheriff Joe had to restrain himself to rounding up people who were actually committing a crime, now he can arrest anybody because he doesn't like his face.

[SargeUNN]

7. Yeah Joe cracks down on such crimes as a broken tail light

while he allows felons to walk the streets. We have tens of thousands of unserved felony warrants that go unserved because Joe has nobody assigned to serve them, while he runs around and picks up anyone of dark skin that has a broken head or tail light, or some other type thing. Joe is just trying to be a "movie star"

[Jester Messiah]

12. Unfortunately it's very American.

It is only very rarely that this country rises above its hateful prejudice and bigotry. The election of President Obama was a huge victory for enlightened thought, but every action has its reaction. One could almost see it as a provocation. The forces of hate and ignorance certainly did, and are now on the march.