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Good afternoon, and thank you for allowing
me to respond in writing, as I am presently out of town.
As you know, Derechos Humanos, along with
6-7 community groups, called for a protest of Joe Arpaio’s
appearance at his book signing at the Barnes and Noble. Because of
Maricopa Sheriff’s Arpaio’s outrageous police actions
in the communities of Phoenix, as well as his political views
surrounding the immigration issues in general, many of us in Tucson
have made a promise that we will not allow him to come into our
town without him hearing from those of us who stand in support of
the thousands of workers and their families who have borne the
brunt of his narrow-minded, ignorant policies. That he would come
to Tucson to promote a book filled with lies, fear, and ignorant
perspectives about immigrants, was especially appalling to us.
We stand for the principles of peace and
justice. We live in a very precarious moment in history, where,
again, human beings are being demonized and scapegoated, exploiting
on the ugly and fearful in all of us. Derechos Humanos protested
Arpaio, handing out flyers, briefly explaining why,and what he has
done in Phoenix. You can have one of our leaflets if you would
like, but among other things we denounce his antics that have
created great racial divisions in Phoenix, at a more than
$41,000,000 cost to the taxpayers, and a few other actions he has
engaged in. The leaflet states that we “continue to work for
a community that is diverse, respectful, and appreciative of each
other’s differences.” Others brought signs and
megaphones, with someone bringing a large piñata with
Arpaio’s face glued on the head. I am sure you are aware that
these types of symbolic images are not only common, but generally
are used in context of referring to the policies of individuals in
power.
I am now the target of a
corporate-media-sponsored campaign to get me fired from my job as
the Pima County Legal Defender.
The first thing that you should know is
that this is not a community-based campaign by those that disagree
with me, but a campaign that was instigated by [edited by
publisher1] (not his true name) who has a program in the new
hate-radio in town, [edited by publisher2]. On Friday morning, he
was on his program urging everyone to call Chuck Huckelberry to
fire me because I dared exercise my 1st Amendment right to express
my views. They cover it by saying that the breaking of a
piñata is a violent act! ??? That is simply absurd. The
piñata was a symbol of Arpaio’s racist, violent and
brutal policies. The youth did not hit Arpaio, they hit the
piñata to break the policies that keep us fearful of each
other, and that have caused so much pain to so many hardworking
men, women and their children. He is the violent one. I have spoken
directly to some of his victims/survivors of his power, and have
cried just listening to their accounts. US citizen and undocumented
children alike have suffered the separation from their mothers,
fathers, and siblings. People have lost their homes, families
separated, their whole lives being violently disrupted by this
horrible person, Arpaio. As a public official he should be aware of
the facts: immigrants have contributed and continue to contribute
to our society, they are human beings entitled to respect for their
human rights, including the right to work and survive, and the
right to be free from his unconstitutional interpretation of the
laws.
I am proud to have been part of the
community’s response to his arrival in Tucson. We stand
committed to stop hatred and xenophobia, and to work for a society
that respects human rights for everyone regardless of their age,
color, race, ethnic background, gender, gender-preference,
religion. As an attorney I find it is not only my right, but my
responsibility to stand up when the power of the state is used to
crush people. I will continue to do so.
-Isabel Garcia
Publisher's Notes:
1. I have deleted the name of the radio yakk-off for a simple
reason: I have no intention of giving this putz free publicity.
2. The same goes for the radio station.
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