My Response Essay with Aja Martinez to SB 1070 Article

Arizona as 'Home Place'
In issue 4.2 of Present Tense: A Journal of Rhetoric in Society, Aja Martinez and I have a response essay to an article published in the 4.1 issue of Present Tense called "Economic Globalization and the “Given Situation”: JanBrewer’s Use of SB 1070 as an Effective Rhetorical Response to the Politics ofImmigration." In our response, Aja and I advocate for more critical engagement with the lived experiences of people affected by this and other dehumanizing Arizona policy. We do so as a call for ethical consideration of Arizona's historical context that has a long tradition of anti-Latin@ laws and legislative action.

(http://www.presenttensejournal.org)

Here is the link to our article "Contexts of Lived Realities in SB 1070 Arizona: A Responseto Asenas and Johnson’s “Economic Globalization and the ‘Given Situation.’” We take the opportunity to speak about the tradition of anti-Latin@ policy; however, we also address the culture of police (over)enforcement, as in the case of Dr. Ersula Ore.

Counterstory
In addition to complicating and problematizing Arizona as a 'given situation,' Aja includes a counterstory that originated from her recent experiences in Tucson while visiting family. When dropping off her father at the place he's worked for decades, the security guard asked Aja and her father if they were both "U.S. Citizens" [or 'illegals']. Aja writes:

When and how did this security gate become a border checkpoint? What was it about me that prompted this question? Why do I feel so ashamed? Why was my dad so numb?

Link for the article pdf.

(Aja Martinez from Present Tense site)