Arizona Immigration Reform

by Jefferson Pinto

Incrementalism: I don't really know what is more stupid: Non U.S Citizens (including the president of Mexico) protesting the laws of the United States or Californians, protesting the laws of Arizona and escalating it into a boycott. I had an internal debate in my head whether I ought to even dignify this topic in my column. I'm sorry to say, the devil on my one shoulder over powered the angel on my other.

Specifically I'm returning to the outcry and colossal amount of media attention given the recently passed Arizona State Bill, SB 1070, named Safe Neighborhoods; Immigration; Law Enforcement.

Sneaking Into The Drive-in

On warm summer nights, my Mom would make brownies and popcorn, load us kids into the station wagon and go to the drive-in movie theater. In those days, the cost to get in was based on the number of adults and children in the car. When we grew old enough to understand, we suggested to my mother that one or more of us ought to hide under a blanket to save on the drive-in entrance fees. She rightfully challenged us that our proposal was both deceitful and wrong. She insisted on paying the posted price as it was intended. We got a little older and smarter and came up with a new argument. "The pricing is stupid and it doesn't cost them any more if three or eight people are in the car." Thankfully, my Mom didn't buy that line either. "If we don't like the price, we can stay home, but we're not going to cheat because we may think the pricing is stupid or wrong.

A few years later my grandmother decided to take my cousin and myself on a bus trip to see relatives in New York. At the time, I was forteen and my cousin was thirteen. Herein lies the rub. Grandma told the bus company we were both under  twelve to get the lower children's fare. My MOm wasn't one to pick a fight over a minor issue. But when she found out, she confronted her mother-in-law and said, "That's not OK and it sends a really bad message to our children. I'll pay the difference." The argument got a little heated when grandma said, "It's too late; I already bought the tickets."

Althou I couldn't appreciate it at the time, my mother didn't passively stand on the sidelines. She stood up for something that violated her core values, those same values she passed along to me. What got hurt? The bus company  took  the economic brunt