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Arizona drains: Artists cancel, but slowly
With the new 'papers, please' law targeting people who don't look like the right sort of person in Arizona, there's a gentle cultural backlash starting to gather pace:
Hip-hop acts Pitbull and Cypress Hill have canceled upcoming shows in Arizona to protest the new law, which will take effect July 29. The legislation will require local authorities to determine a person's immigration status if he or she is suspected of being undocumented.
Banda star Jenni Rivera and reggaeton chart-toppers Wisin & Yandel are skipping the state on their AEG Live-promoted summer tours, while Mexican acts Conjunto Primavera and Espinoza Paz have canceled their previously announced concerts in Phoenix.
Amongst those seemingly quite happy to have their identities questioned by playing Arizona in the coming months are Tony Bennett, 50 Cent, She And Him, Iron Maiden, Athlete and Kings Of Leon. Imagine what sort of message that lot pulling out would make.
2 comments:
I'm sure the message would be, "We are trying to be popular by taking a stand on an issue we don't really understand. Oh, and because anyone who dares to express a different opinion is clearly racist."
If trips to Arizona really will decrease, the people who'll feel it the most will be the legal immigrant workers who are working their hardest to build a life for their families, since most of them work in hotels, the food industry and agriculture. Good job everybody. If you really think that the Arizona police will be stopping everyone who looks Hispanic, you clearly don't understand the size of the Hispanic population vs the number of the police officers. Obviously, there will be other reasons to question people. Until now, the immigration laws were virtually unenforced in the US. Many Americans have suffered because of this; foreign born Americans more so than any other group. The American border valley farmers who have gone bankrupt because of illegal immigration are often Hispanic. The Mexican mafia usually harasses immigrants from Mexico. How much do you really know about the issue?
I am an americanized immigrant from Chicago, and I hope that all of the US starts to enforce our immigration laws. It has nothing to do with racism. Most of the illegals that I personally know are white(usually Polish, Russian and Ukrainian). Some are involved in criminal activity, but most are not. Even so, they are still sending their kids to schools (and setting them up for rather bleak futures) and going to emergency rooms. Some hospitals had to close their maternity and children's wards because the government doesn't reimburse for people who legally don't exist. USA opens it's doors to 100 of thousands of legal immigrants each year. There were 47 native languages spoken in my high school. Most of us not at all rich, a lot of us helped by the government, and the vast majority of us were legal. It's not a negative thing to ask the people to live by the law, including the immigration law.
I am now a teacher in a low income school in Memphis, Tennessee. Almost all of my students are African American, Muslim refugees and Hispanics. The more of my students are legal, the more resources I'm able to get for them. And, of course, I can help the legal ones plan for their future.
By the way, I love your blog.
She & Him don't have an Arizona date scheduled. I wish they did!
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