The state language of Arizona is now English.
Affirmative action has been banned in Michigan.
Arizona | Proposition 103: English as Official Language
Would make English the official language of the state of Arizona and significantly reduce government sponsorship and funding of dual language-printed material for circulation.
Tags: discrimination, overt, Race, racism, sexism, Social Justice, white privilegeMichigan | Proposition 2: Restrict Affirmative Action
Proposed amendment to Michigan Constitution would “prohibit the University of Michigan and other state universities, the state, and all other state entities from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.” On June 23, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, ruled in favor of affirmative action in the University of Michigan’s admissions policies. The Bush administration opposed the university’s pro-affirmative action admission policies.
Coverage of Arizona’s English-only initiative was scant in Oregon. I’d be curious to learn about the rhetorical strategies that the campaign used. For instance, were there new code words employed to incite xenophobia? I lived in Southern California for a good chunk of my life and worked in the construction industry, and I remember the insidious techniques that were put to use there to maintain English and white privilege.
Discussions tended to be about the expense of providing multi-lingual options and the putative insult to our “proud” English-speaking heritage that occurs when the laboring classes are allowed to transact the business of their lives in their native tongue. All of which, of course, was utterly racist and amounted to disenfranchising them from their rights as taxpayers and productive members of our society.
Sigh.
Thanks for keeping tabs on this, Eric.
Dennis
[…] English is the official language of Arizona. Michigan kills Affirmative Action. California says fuck alternative energy. Colorado says fuck domestic partnerships. Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin ban same-sex marriage. […]
I just happen to live in Arizona. Why shouldn’t the offical language be Enlish? We are Americans,and if we go to another country we must adapt to their language and culture. My parents had to adjust when they came here from the old country. I feel no obligation to accomidate those who do not want to try.
@ Rob,
Please read Dennis’ comment. It’s thoughtful and articulate. Let me know if that helps…
Well while I agree that all foreigners of any country including the United States should adapt to the country they are living in by learning the countrys’ language I also feel that the USA is one of the few Countries that doesn’t promote international thinking which includes learning more than one language. The problem with the laws in AZ is that they are alienating themselves in an already alienated Country. But maybe AZ is being singled out for the drama in the 80’s and 90’s with not adopting the MLK Holiday.
VeganKid is right though because there are many States that have similliar problems. I grew up in CO and they had a tough time “accepting” the MLK Holiday complete with KKK members in hoods protesting the parade and Holiday. I live in SoCal right now and believe me there is no shortage of ignorance and Racism here. In fact I believe that Southern California is no different from the Southern States other than the fact that they “pretend” not to be Racist when they are and God I thought segregation ended decades ago and here it is alive and well practiced in SoCal.
And while I feel that the USA government isn’t doing anything about the “immigration” problem it forces States to adopt measures on their own which in turn may or may not be politically correct. But in the same token the USA is bankrupt and so yes immigrants, particularly Latins, are targeted because of their massive numbers and because they don’t believe in birth control so in turn yes it’s adding stress to an already stressed economy. It doesn’t matter how many millions they spend each year on consumer goods the simple fact is that the USA is faced with a crisis of shortage of water, food, etc. Especially AZ with all the drought problems. So yeah the elected officials want to point fingers but not find “SOLUTIONS”.
I appreciated most of your comment except for the stereotype that Latinos do not use birth control…
To sum up:
AZ’s state government is racist: check.
Racism is present all over the United States, including Colorado and California: check.
[…] The state legislature in Arizona seems to be under the control of a white supremacist group. A recent proposal targets race-based groups (note that groups that are all or mostly white are not mentioned) that largely consist of students of color. Arizona public schools would be barred from any teachings considered counter to democracy or Western civilization under a proposal endorsed Wednesday by a legislative panel. […]
Dear Readers;
I will comment personally that Arizona is a racist state and being a Black American, I experienced it on a first hand basis. I purchased a home in Goodyear, Arizona in 2004, was repeatedly harrassed, my new home window was shot into, couldn’t find employment and I have a bachelors degree and experirence, no criminal history and good driving and credit rating, was ask on interviews: why did you move here? and What are you doing out here? The southwest is REALLY the GOOD Ole Boys Land from Texas to California and God forbid the Lilly Northwest of Oregon (a stat in history that banned Blacks for living there) as well as Washington State. Usually the Black there have no sense of the identity, hate themselves, lie about where they are from (usually were military personnel) and won’t even acknowledge you because the are with a white person. Being born and raised in One of the Most Racist Cities in America…Chicago, Illinois, I am highly aware of sublte racism. I was raised to maintain property inside and outside, to sit on my patio in the backyard (not the front) and take pride in your community. Most of the Whites who retire in Arizona are from the Great Lake Region and they want to keep it White. Those of us who are Black and are from Chicago, The Great Lakes Region or New York that move to Arizona, Nevada,Texas and the Southwest usually move for health, retirement or for liking the terrain as well as we move with a certain caliber of being well dressed and well spoken something that the good ole boys and gals aren’t use to out there. America and Arizona needs to wake up, but this country was founded on theif, ignorance and racism..but George Washington and Thomas Jefferson enjoyed sleeping with our black forefathers and mothers.
I will say as a person of ethnic origin living in the USA I agree with everything Rick said. Racism never left the USA it was simply brushed under the rug with all the other great White lies of the USA. White America is simply nothing but “Thieves Of Knowledge” and will always be that way. This Country and many other countries explored by White European explorers was simply stolen from it’s original owners and then after they stole this great mass of land they forced many Africans into slavery. The USA will always be what it is: covert racist. The September 11, 2001 incident with Osama Bin Laden only made it worse for anyone with ties to any African or MiddleEastern backgrounds harder to live here. In my opinion the wound and blood of racism was spread deeper after 9/11. Now we see the reintegration of segregation, booming capitalist society and the increasingly widening gap of the rich and the poor. Believe me you have Daddy Bush and Son to thank for that clam shell of a mess. I live in Santa Monica, CA and I grew up in Colorado and my Father grew up in Arizona and my Mother grew up in Washington. From personal experience of living in all these States they are very Racist. Especially Arizona, Colorado and California. The problem with Southern California is that not only are they Racist they are far behind in mentality. The people here have the mentality of people in the 60’s both Black, White and anything inbetween. Santa Monica is perhaps one of the most racist cities in Los Angeles County. I am a Woman who has my life very together and I speak in perfect proper English in fact I sound like a White Woman. People here are shocked by this factor. I drove a Mercedes Benz ML350 for 2 months because a friend of mine lent it to me while my Infiniti was gathering dust. I kid you not you should have seen the shocked look on White people’s faces. White people would be driving in front look back, in the rearview mirror, and slam on the brakes in utter bewilderment. I was followed by Cops to their disappointment they could not do anything because the Mercedes was not stolen. Total Bullshit. I used to date strictly out of my race until I moved here. Now I don’t think it’s a wise idea to date White men. I dated White men here in this State of California who would become angry at some trivial BS and call me a Nigger. I have never been called a Nigger so many times until I moved to this crazy State of California. Ebony Women have a much harder time in Society because they are constantly depicted as crack whores, foul mouth and angry and aggressive species. It’s like they think Ebony Women are nothing but animals. Black Men on the other hand might have settle raciscm like being asked why they moved somewhere but nothing like the constant harassment Ebony Women receive. I have encountered both Black Men and Women who have serious identitiy issues. Black Men who hate themselves so much they only date White Women. It’s like Black Men think Mulatto children are better looking and have lighter skin and that’s better to them. I have heard Black Men say this. I have met some beautiful Mulatto people who fry their hair with Relaxer because they don’t like the natural curl and I ask them why they do this and they have no idea-it’s brainwashing to believe you are better with straighter hair and lighter hair. Black Men who whine about raciscm must be blind because they definitely have life much easier they are heroes to young boys everywhere with that they are depicted as the sidekick or the Hero in movies or in real life they are the thugs with money(rappers) or Athletes who shine(Kobe, Michael Jordan). But Ebony Women are hated by everyone including their own people. But take a trip down to the Dominican Republic and Africa you will find worse raciscm within the Black Race then you will ever find in the USA. Dominican Republicans are completely brainwashed and have no identity with being Africans. Africans who no longer want to be Africans. And all for what? This thing we call Western Civilization that is effecting the identities of all Countries around the World. You see people that would kill to be “white” skinned and this obsession with Blond hair and Blue eyes is just sickening. Asians especially are a disgrace and are completely racist and obsessed with “White”. So in the end what do we have? We have Coporate Economic Globalization that took over the World and you have Western Civilization imposing their views on the entire World. But what goes up must go down. Hint: Iran or S. Korea.