By Mr. K
Can you guess which person said the following quote this week?
“If they’re afraid to go to church, that’s good.”
If you guessed “Osama Bin Laden,” you’d be wrong. But your answer would be understandable, as they certainly sound like the words of a terrorist.
No, the man who said this is actually somewhat of a hero on the right. Conservatives fancy him as a sort of cowboy sheriff, fearlessly rounding up lawbreakers and treating them as prisoners should be treated: no cable, pink underwear, and oh yeah…the chance that they’ll die needlessly from lack of the appropriate health care that they are guaranteed by law.
Which would be bad enough if only those actually convicted of a crime were treated this way; but Sheriff Joe Arpaio has gotten away with doling out the same brutal punishment to prisoners who have not even stood trial yet. Innocent people are being abused in his prisons and “tent cities” where the Arizona heat can reach up to 135 degrees.
But even instilling fear in the innocent-until-proven guilty has proved to not be enough to satiate Arpaio’s deranged lust for power and desire to be feared. Now he is expressing pride in intimidating children. From The New Yorker:
“The Guadalupe raid did have a chilling effect. It began the day before a Catholic-church confirmation ceremony–a big deal in Guadalupe–was scheduled to take place in the village plaza, and although the children had prepared for months, a number of them were afraid to come out, and missed their own confirmations.
America’s toughest sheriff is, as ever, unapologetic. Over lunch in New York, he told me that he doesn’t mind the effect he has. “If they’re afraid to go to church, that’s good.”
http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/07/see-real-live-police-statesee-america.html#disqus_thread
Again, these are children Arpaio is talking about, not criminals. But as everyone who has researched the man knows, in Arpaio’s twisted world, simply being brown is perhaps the worst crime of all. How else do you explain the time and money he spends on raiding the streets for “illegals” while dangerous criminals get so little attention? While I don’t believe in open borders, targeting illegal immigrants to the detriment of other, more pressing issues shows a profound lack of priorities. And now Arpaio, with his chilling words towards children, has confirmed that his round-ups stem not from a desire to uphold the law, but in a psychopathic need to intimidate and terrorize the most vulnerable groups in our society.
His message is clear: Whether innocent or guilty, adult or child, no place is safe for you when Joe is on the prowl.