Proposition 200, the ballot initiative that's supposed to save Arizonans from the burdens and horrors of illegal immigration, encourages things far worse than unlawful migration.
Just ask Virginia Abernethy. This self-described "separatist" from Nashville was recently appointed to help lead Protect Arizona Now. She's probably a good choice to help lead the grassroots effort behind 200: she has a long and distinguished past promoting racism and bigotry.
Abernethy is on the advisory board for the Council for Conservative Citizens, which opposed the Civil Rights Movement. That's okay, though. People have way too many rights as it is. If the government can't expect people to take care of themselves, it's better to strip them of their rights one at a time until they're better behaved. After all, in these times of great national trial, there's nothing more unpatriotic than dissent. Protect Arizona Now doesn't argue against immigration as much as it argues for single-mindedness.
Besides, Abernethy really doesn't argue for white supremacy. All she's saying, according to a recent interview with the Arizona Republic, is that "each ethnic group is happier with its own kind." That's not an argument for supremacy at all. If people of different faiths, backgrounds or races weren't allowed to intermingle, life would be less problematic, which obviously translates into huge taxpayer savings to fund the war on ethnic groups the world over.
As a matter of fact, I don't think Abernethy and Protect Arizona Now quite go far enough. As written, the Protect Arizona Now initiative merely requires proof of citizenship to be able to cast a vote in state elections. All that does is protect Arizona's electoral process. That still leaves our children vulnerable to running into people of other races on the street, at school and anywhere else people might be able to roam freely, and at great danger to themselves and others.
I've got a better idea for Abernethy and the Protect Arizona Now crew. How about some internment camps? This state hasn't had one for about 60 years. Not since someone realized that Japanese people were going to rise up and take arms for their native land, threatening the sovereignty of an entire nation -- a nation consequently made up of immigrants from all over the world. Lest we forget, Virginia, that your ancestors were from somewhere else too.
Immigration hasn't really done this country any good anyway. We'd be better off not having to harbor the world's George Washingtons, Einsteins and those pesky Africans like Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Protect Arizona Now does not affect the ability of illegal immigrants to receive any benefits that aren't federally mandated. So while they can't bleed to death in the hospital lobby, Proposition 200 is supposed to bar them from getting anywhere near the polls to cast their votes.
So I have an even better idea than Protect Arizona Now. I'd like to encourage all illegal immigrants to register to vote (since Abernethy and Protect Arizona Now seem to think it's so easy) and cast their ballots against Proposition 200. That way, Arizona will truly be protected from the carpet-bagging racists who are content to ride the coattails of xenophobic legislation all the way to national prominence.
Brian Clapp is a biology and political science senior. For a good time, email him at brian.clapp@asu.edu.
