Musicians, Activism & SB 1070

Lady Gaga vs. Rage Against the Machine

On William Nericcio's Tex[t]-Mex Blog, there's a thought-provoking post on Lady Gaga's recent entrance into the conversation on SB 1070.
What I noted in the video from her concert in Phoenix was her dismissal of what she could do as a pop musician, ignoring the pleas of other musicians to participate in the boycott of Arizona. Taking an all-too-literal interpretation of the boycott, Gaga comments that her concert, and the concerts of other musicians, will not economically break Arizona. As a performer who is very conscious of the images she steals and allusions she makes to other musicians (mainly Madonna), Gaga seems to be playing a bit obtuse, implying that the boycott is purely financial and not about anything more.

Notice in the video below, from the concert Rage Against the Machine put on in Los Angeles with Conor Oberst and other musicians, the performers are clear about their message of the concert that they held outside of Arizona, in conjunction with the boycott.

Scabs Crossing the Picket Lines

Barbados-born, English and Canadian Musicians Ignore AZ Boycott

(Image from Arizona Daily Star)

Apparently Rihanna's umbrella isn't connected to a picket sign; after low sales in Joe Arpaio's neck of Maricopa county, Rihanna moves her concert to Tucson, ignoring the boycott of musicians like Kanye and Zach De La Rocha of AZ due to SB 1070.

After Elton John sang at Rush Limbaugh's wedding (People.com), personal politics don't seem to sway the Rocket Man as much as capital. As Meth and the Wu put it, John's motto might very well be: Cash Rules Everything Around Me, CREAM, get the money, dollar, dollar bills y'all.

I'm not hip enough to know the New Pornographers, but I imagine they could fall into this category on Stuff White People Like.com. And everyone seems to know that Robert Plant can't hit any high notes anymore, but that shouldn't cloud his judgment. In the rhetoric of the right: What part of Boycott don't they understand?

Something tells me that these foreign born (un)documented migrant laborers won't have to show their documents before taking their respective stages. Tucson is a small market town that doesn't get very many Top 40 headline acts, but this is hardly a reason to condone SB 1070 by ignoring the boycott. Concertgoers, what's your price?

It's Not Racial Profiling

Save the Earth, Ban NASCAR
Aristotle teaches us that there are only a certain number of themes/topics that come up and that the ways that these topics are debated can be identified when we're aware of the rhetorical strategy. It wasn't very long ago that immigration wasn't the issue in the Arizona spotlight, but the economy grew worse with the house-crash, so Republican politicians scurried to blame someone other than the deregulation loving 'libertarians' who targeted minorities with their toxic home loans.

So, Arizona got behind SB 1070 because Republicans know they can get re-elected when they come out against Mexicans, Mexican Americans and undocumented migrant laborers.

Entonces, I propose we change the topic. Instead of focusing on "illegal immigration," how about we focus on the pressing environmental of our nation's dependency on oil. While British Petrol has come up with very few solutions other than to put an American face on the publicity campaign, President Obama advised that we think about alternatives. What might happen if the state were to outlaw all recreational and entertainment forms of transportation?

Call the Bill: BP 10W-30
NASCAR, motor-cross, dune-buggying, ATVs, power boating, funny cars, Formula One--they could be taken off roads, tracks, trails and rivers to stem the excess burning of fossil fuel.(A cropped photo of my brother, one of the few Mexican Americans negatively impacted by banning NASCAR)

Take the gas guzzlers from the Indianapolis 500, turn Talladega into a scrapyard, drop bundles of Kawasaki motorcycles into the BP oil spill--Cap it up with a giant ball of metal forged from the carcass of Dale Jr. and Kurt Bush's chassis.

(apparently from fireball22.com website)

The a historical/cultural link to the Anglo-Saxon smugglers, whose tradition was carried on by Appalachian moonshiners informally racing for bragging rights, might be reexamined in a move to show how this law targets a particular group. "A Brief History of Nascar: From Moonshine to Dale Earnhardt Jr" Arguments about 'what part of illegal don't you understand' might be rethought for the bias for the privilege the refrain protects.

Or maybe more viable forms of energy will be released to the public? But that's like hoping that immigration reform might actually come about from arresting hard-working undocumented people.

Los Suns

Celebrating Victories Among Losses(Getty Image)

I was pleased to read on Yahoo Sports that the Suns would be wearing their Cinco de Mayo 'Noche Latina alternates' as a show of solidarity against SB 1070. It's difficult to say whether the Suns are trying to anticipate and avoid a boycott of the team.

Today, I signed a petition to move the baseball All Star Game from Phoenix as a protest, so this could just be what is called 'getting in front' of a controversy/bad news. Either way, more visibility of this issue is what is needed to shame Arizona on a national platform into overturning SB 1070.

Cheech, what do we do?

Reality Mirroring Art
With the passing of SB1070, I genuinely hope that this politicized issue is only that: a political ploy to get McCain and Brewer reelected by the conservative majority. Immigration is a much more complex issue that requires reform beyond turning Arizona into a police state. I am glad to see Obama has criticized the immigration bill that will potentially ruin many lives for political gain of few.
Which leads me to film Born in East L.A., in which Cheech Marin plays a Mexican American wrongfully deported to Mexico because he is unable to provide a green card during an INS raid. In this scene, we see that SB 1070's provision to provide documentation hasn't previously proven to have a track record as a panacea for immigration reform.




Undocumented laborers, like everyone following the flow of capital, will respond with innovations to work the system in much the same way that global companies pursue higher profit margins by switching to countries with cheaper labor forces, with no regard for human rights violations. Arizona's economy is in the tank and the conservatives in power know that if they support any anti-immigration issue, they'll get the votes they need. It's the unfortunate reality of politics and power using fear to motivate the majority without concern for what happens to communities.

Electro Movimiento

On-line Coalitions
No, I don't mean the Calle 13 song when I say "Electro Movimiento." I wanted to compliment all of the on-line movements against SB1070, including those on Facebook like
1 MILLION Strong AGAINST the Arizona Immigration Law SB1070 and The People Against SB 1070 Also, organizations like ¡Alto Arizona! have had an on-line presence, which has helped to spread awareness, and hopefully address the bill as a step backwards in Civil Rights

As with any discussion of race, many non-minority or racially marked persons have difficulty speaking about this bill because their standpoints do not allow them to live the experience of a racially marked person. For this reason, there is a lot of discussion of legal rhetoric in order for supporters of SB1070 to play the rhetorical shell-game of, 'we're not talking about race, we're talking about a legal issue.' It would be helpful for people who do not see it as a racial profiling issue to acknowledge that this is not something they have experienced in their realities, and might therefore respect the opinions of those who have, and fear for its institutionalization within the spirit of this law, if not in the letter.

A conversation that needs to be discussed is the One Cent tax to try and save Arizona schools from having to proceed with massive layoffs.
For more information on Prop 100

Update: Video of an anti-SB1070 Rally in Tucson

Speak Against Draconian Rights Violations

From yahoo:

"Arizona Illegal-Immigrant Law Draws Strong Opposition

The toughest anti-illegal-immigrant measure in a generation passed the Arizona legislature this week. If signed, as expected, by Republican governor Jan Brewer, the law will give local police sweeping new powers in regard to undocumented workers. Currently, immigration offenses are violations of federal, not state, law, and local police officers only can inquire about a person's immigration status if that person is suspected of another crime. Under SB1070, however, Arizona police will have the right to stop anyone on "reasonable suspicion" that they may be an illegal immigrant and can arrest them if they are not carrying a valid driver's license or identity papers." (source Yahoo News)

Write Gov. Jan Brewer and Tell Her What You Think about this Terrible Use of Tax Money

Jan Brewer's contact information (photos from Jan Brewer's Photo Gallery)
The full mailing address is:
The Honorable Jan Brewer
Governor of Arizona
1700 West Washington
Phoenix, Arizona 85007

Telephone (602) 542-4331
Toll Free 1-(800) 253-0883
Fax (602) 542-1381

Or click on the link to fill out a form e-mail (what I did)

Brewer is responding to the conservative scare-tactics that try to make the people of Arizona worry about hard-working undocumented laborers; instead, the people of Arizona should be worrying about the massive school district layoffs.

If you're not sure how to voice your outrage, feel free to mention some of these points:

• Arizona's budget crisis has state resources stretched thin, making the stress on state law enforcement even greater
  

• Many undocumented people work for substandard living, providing services to many small and larger local businesses in Arizona, contributing to Social Security funds that they will never cash in on, and paying retail taxes for all of their purchases in this country.
  
• this law is a misappropriation of state funds that will only serve to weaken an already stressed economy.

• Instead of putting this money into harassing hard-working people in our country, this money would be put to better use, reinvesting into the educational system of our state that has been hit with many school district firings.
  
• With an emphasis on education in our state, we might better strengthen our state infrastructure, making it a more attractive option for businesses to bring revenue and job-creating industry.
  
• Border patrol fulfill a certain need, one of which being the enforcement of illegal drug smuggling

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