I know I promised an article about compulsive Guinness Book of World Records breakers, but it isn't available to me yet and so I'm continuing our ongoing discussion of the American justice system.
This week, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff in the United States" faced backlash from the Justice Department, perhaps for being too "tough." After finishing a three year investigation, the Justice Department determined that Arpaio's department unfaily targetted Latino Americans, an issue that is all too familiar in Arizona which as of lately, has been a lightning rod of attention in how individual states deal with the "immigration problem," especially since the passing of the stringent anti-immigration law SB-1070.
The New Yorker, two years ago, released a profile on Sheriff Arpaio and his questionable practices, perhaps foreshadowing the events of this past week. It is brilliant insight into this man's questionable practices, but also into how our nation, a nation of immigrants, struggles to accept its newest inhabitants. Please comment your thoughts, impressions, ideas, concerns, devil's advocacy, and so on.
The article can be found here.
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ReplyDeletePeople like Arpaio are the main reason that our country is in shambles. This guy cares about his reputation and his meeting of celebrities or lack there of, more than he does doing his job fairly. Its a travesty that this guy has had the power to send people to jail for the last 40 years and shows what is wrong with the republican party. Any person with a heart can tell that what this guy has been doing is wrong.
ReplyDeleteJosh Bass
So when I first started reading the article I saw nothing wrong with Arapio. Then as the article progressed the facts provided more and more horrific. The idea he had of the tents for prisoners was just downright cruel. I believe no matter what the criminals have done they do no deserve to swelter in the dying heat of Arizona. And on top of that its near a waste-plants which can really have detrimental affects on the prisoners. Arapio doing something like this shows just how bad of a person he is and his mindset. Also the idea that he things jails have no other purpose but for punishment also speaks volumes of his mindset. Personally I believe that is true, but I would it was otherwise, that jail would actually help better the inmates rather just make them stay in a cell and waste a years of their life, and then come out unchanged. However it is clear that Arapio has no such intentions and is only focused on punishing. On top of that he makes inmates watch the food network and he only feeds that two meals per day. On top of this he adds on other methods of demoralizing and humiliating his prisoners and what disgusts me is how people treat him like he is a hero when he nothing but a scum bag. His mindset on every problem being able to be traced back to illegals is so biased its just horrifying. I remember discussing if the death penalty should be allowed and even though nobody would pin Apaio with a crime I believe the man should be put to death. The world is so better off without biased, disgusting fellows like him. Also another discussion we had over wether humans are inherently good or evil applies here as well. This Apaio guy is most certainly inherently evil. These inmates have nothing to him, and neither the illegal immigrants and yet he goes out his way to make their life miserable. I agree with everything Ricardo said above.
ReplyDeletePlease remember that this blog is a school blog and that we should utilize language that is professional and appropriate in an academic context. While I understand that after reading this article, an article that clearly derides Arpaio, we must conduct ourselves professionally by utilizing language that demonstrates such.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, avoid unnecessary obscenities when making your point or your comments will be removed.
Arpaio and his administration is a clear example that the ignorance of some Americans can result in a cruel abuse of power. Arpaio's ideas come off as a little extreme at first, but if his department is researched at all then you will see that what he does is sadistic. I agree with Mohammad when he says that the tent prisons are terrible, some of the people being held there have not even been convicted and they are still under the physical torture.
ReplyDeleteArpaio says that he is saving taxpayer's money, but through lawsuits brought against his department he has cost the state millions of dollars. One of the most startling statistic presented in the article is that his department has been sued over fifty more times than the corresponding departments in large cities which were responsible for six times the prisoners.
Any reading done into this man should show how he has instituted atrocities into the normal running of his office. His immigration policy is completely racist, his attacking of other parties is oppressive, and many of the things he does are a clear abuse of power. It astounds me that he has been in office since 1993, and the only way that I can see this being possible is if the voters in his district have no idea who they are voting for. I would like to believe that there are enough people in Arpaio's district who have enough sense that they would vote against him if they knew what he was doing; I hope for the sake of everyone in that area that the voters are just blissfully ignorant.
This article serves as evidence that those in positions of authority can and will abuse their power. While it does not surprise me that this biased abuse of power has occured, I agree with Maxwell when he says "It astounds me that he has been in office since 1993, and the only way that I can see this being possible is if the voters in his district have no idea who they are voting for". It is likely that only a small percentage of potential voters voted in Arpaios' election, and those who voted for him may have voted for him due to his popularity and/or personal ignorance. Many people vote for individuals without actually knowing the intentions of those who they vote for. Voters should be wary of the people they choose to give power, especially those who regulate prisons. Citizens should also be aware of the available positions of power in their society and exercise their right to vote, after carefully evaluating the credentials and intentions of the candidate. People in positions of power should also be evaluated on a semi-annual basis so as to avoid abuses of power.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, I disagree with FLAMEZ statement of "I believe no matter what the criminals have done they do no deserve to swelter in the dying heat of Arizona.". I believe that certain criminals, such as serial killers, have earned this form of punishment. However, Arpaio seems to be the type of man that would inflict punishment such as this upon innocent people as a result of his biased views. It horrifies me that a man such as Arpaio has been in such a position of power for nearly two decades. It simply goes to show how corrupt people in power can be. The government must employ stronger methods of evaluating those in positions of power so as to protect both the natural as well as constitutional rights of all people in America, which Arpaio has clearly violated.
My impression on Arpaio is that he's an attention demanding sheriff. He attempts to take on any tasks that may attract attention such as personally locking up Paris Hilton for her DUI claiming he has a fetish for "fixing" celebrities which he would probably treat better than other people. When he was at the red carpet, two people had walked up to him asking for his autograph and that was when he stated "that's more like it." It shows how superficial he is, he takes this title of "toughest sheriff" upon himself to proclaim to the world why they should pay attention to him. Although his methods are money saving, they're a bit extreme. He's practically taken away most things that would entertain prisoners such as the TV and food. He forces prisoners to do embarassing tasks in pink cuffs and welcomes people to record or watch them. There have been deaths of inmates due to stungunning in a restraint chair which is absurd. He has abused his powers in public, for example: he has arrested two executive's of the New Times for investigating his address at their houses at night time. He has not acknowledged or apologized to any family or inmates that he has committed wrong-doings to. He has also arrested people in public for clapping. He seems to have a very big pride and want attention, I'd label him as a dictator rather than sheriff.
ReplyDeleteI want to address some comments so far as the discussion appears to raise certain points. We've all established Arpaio's seeming obsession with maintaining a celebrity status (as Josh and Charles discuss). Let's focus more on something Max and Shah brought up, how did Arpaio manage to stay in office as long as he has (since 1993)?
ReplyDeleteDo the citizens of Arizona simply not know of Arpaio's stringent policies?
If so many of the residents of Arpaio's district are Hispanic, why don't they attempt to vote him out?
Is it possible that perhaps Arpaio's non-Hispanic constituents condone his activity?
I find it curious that we are not addressing how this issue is a civil rights issue, an issue of race. Those subjected to Arpaio's abuse are racially profiled, treated as if they were criminals because of their appearance. Is this an issue in Arizona? Is this an issue in the United States? Are we Hispanophobic?
Keep it up everyone. Good ideas, good discussion, don't be afraid to ask questions, this encourages others to participate.
I think that the Arizonians are ignorant of Arpaio's actions because they really don't care much about what happens to the Mexican Immigrants. Most folks in these border areas have been swayed into thinking that most illegal immigrants are uncontributive to society and seek to steal American jobs, so it is unlikely that they would bother to look into the treatment of Mexican prisoners.
ReplyDelete-Michael E
Through reading this article I do believe that Arpaio has abused his power. We must take into account that immigration has in fact affected the United States in several ways, one of these major factors being the economy. It brings about the major discussion of which immigrants are beneficial and which immigrants are malevolent to the nation. Political corruption is exposed in this article when we see certain figures try and oppose Arpaio but the structure of the justice system that the United States has is flawed and Arpaio is able to use this flaw to benefit himself.Democrats didn't bother running a candidate against Arpaio in 1996 since polls show that Arpaio was the most popular politican in Arizona. I see how our lessons in class the past few days are related to this article because it discusses the rights of prisoners and the abuse of authoritative power. In fact, prisoners abused so much to the point of death have won millions of dollars in court after having solid evidence showing that Arpaio's administration/ workers are faulty. But instead of bashing them, Arpaio promotes them. Why? It's a psychological ego that demands more and more power and in fact he probably gained the nickname "Hitler" through his abuse of power and his motivation to become powerful. It feels like genocide because he targets immigrants as opposed to every other criminal and this causes him to overshadow the real crimes in society. It's this type of ignorance that makes people claim that America is in reality, not the land of free at all.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, Arpaio works hard every day only to maintain his title as “toughest sheriff” He doesn’t put away criminals or crack down on illegal immigrants to ensure the safety of citizens in Arizona, he works hard to promote himself, to show the world how tough of a sheriff he is. He overly punishes wrongdoers regardless of how ‘light’ the crime they have committed might be. His focus is to annihilate every wrongdoer in Arizona.
ReplyDeleteI think the Joe Arpaio hasn’t been and will not be voted out of office is because of the lack of voters for his opponent. For example, this immigration bill is meant to crack down on illegal immigrants in Arizona. These illegal immigrants can’t vote so therefore have no say in whether he stays or not. Of course they might and probably have friends that are citizens and can vote. However its pretty rare that the friend will remember or change their vote come election time. Some citizens in Mexico find what Arpaio is doing, right. There are many legal Hispanics living in Arizona and these illegal Hispanics are taking away their jobs, as low paying as they might be which is leaving many citizens in Arizona without jobs. Arizona is a major stop over and destination for Latin Americans, so some might understand that Arpaio has to work quickly in eliminating and deterring them from Arizona before the next couple thousand arrive. Also a lot of people feel safer with Arpaio’s fast and furious method of getting rid of criminals, as morally wrong as it might be. Many citizens in Arizona believe the thirty thousand undocumented aliens that have been arrested plus the roughly half a million undocumented aliens still residing in Arizona that eventually will be arrested over time will save them more money as a lot more jobs will open up even with the costly court expenses.
With all this in mind, I personally am against Arpaio’s methods as they are destruct communities, strip privacy rights, and harass and abuse most residents of Arizona.
I also don’t believe he should be put to death. Even though he is unnecessarily abusive to people, he doesn’t pose a threat to anyone if voted out of his sheriff job.
-Nayeem A.
This seems like a perfect example of how power can get to your head. Especially since the article makes a point of telling us that Arpaio's attitude towards illegal immigration used to be much more moderate and that he used to set precedence to real crime. With time however, he seems to have turned into some sort of sadist, depriving prisoners of salt and pepper because it "saves taxpayer money" and forcing them to go on marches in pink underwear. It really is a wonder that he keeps getting reelected, especially after a study found that more violent crimes go uninvestigated under Arpaio's "reign" than ever before. This, in addition to the tent city and deaths on restraining chairs, prove that voters are conditioned to believe that prisoners deserve to be punished and can therefore be treated as less than human beings. Its disgusting that Arpaio's war on illegal immigration has tore up families and ruined lives to the degree that it has. He needs to get his priorities straight by focusing on real crime and actually protecting the residents of the county. Arpaio has lost all sense of human decency and compassion and seems to have forgotten that these people came to America in search of a better life, just like his own immigrant parents.
ReplyDeleteArpaio has forgotten what America stands for: a nation where immigrants can find jobs and lead a better life because of the belief that America's streets "were paved with gold." Rachel makes a good point by saying that even though he was the son of immigrants, nonetheless, Arpaio still treats these hispanic immigrants without any decency or respect.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, the article portrays Arpaio as a man who is proud of his own actions. He condemns these immigrants to embarrassment, and even says that unlike his own coworkers, he knows his limits. Parading these powerless immigrants in pink apparel seems hardly a justified punishment, rather it is a cruel and unconstitutional act.
As he comes closer to being reelected for his sixth term in 2012, Arpaio seems to have the support from his employees as well as the conservative community of Arizona. As long as Arpaio continues to save the taxpayers' money by maltreating the prisoners, the citizens of Arizona will abide by Arpaio's decisions. The immigrants do not have a say in the matter because they are being held captive, and even if they were not, Arpaio would have made sure that their opinions were not broadcasted to the public. If Arpaio's acts go unopposed, his ruthless reign will continue indefinitely in the state of Arizona.
Someone once told me that going to jail is better than being homeless because that person gets food, shelter, free time, and therapy. However, my views changed completely after I read this article. These prisoners are publically humiliated in the summer when they have to walk down the streets of Arizona with pink underwear. I think that Arpaio is either mentally insane or is simply a cruel human. His “saving money” policy is too crazy for me. He bans smoking, coffee, movies, and limits the TV channels to the Weather Channel and Food Network. His meals cost between 15 and 40 cents of cold lunch and stopped serving salt and pepper. I find this to be too cruel, but tax payers of Arizona would like it because Arpaio is saving money for them. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why he is popular and gets re-elected. Another reason why is the corruption of power (as mentioned by other classmates).
ReplyDeleteArpaio also likes to be called “America’s Toughest Sheriff” and has no shame when people call him that. His nickname is “Hitler” and likes to be treated as a celebrity status. However, I find it ironic that he is Hispanophobic because these Hispanics are simply immigrants→just like his parents. They also came here for a better future. It is wrong and unfair to be so prejudiced against Hispanic Immigratns. Arpaio should be more moderate and should focus on protecting the residents of the county.
To answer Mr.Ferencz’s question, the many residents of this district don’t attempt to vote him out because they either don’t care or not have enough power to do so. Honestly, the legal Hispanic immigrants do not like the illegal immigrants because they will steal their jobs. I am pretty sure that the legal immigrants don’t mind paying less tax money. In this realistic world, I believe that people would only make change if it were beneficial to their self-interest.
Just in reply to Ying: I have a friend who lives in Aspen, Colorado, and she told me that homeless people get arrested on purpose to go to jail. Apparently, in jail, they have movie nights and on Fridays, they have pizza for dinner. (Which is just a funny thing to know, haha.)
ReplyDeleteI believe the reason that Arpaio has not been voted out of office because he is simply too powerful. If anyone decides to speak up or show any opposition to him or his policies, he would simply arrest them if they were a resident of Arizona. In addition, as Nayeem said before, illegal immigrants cannot vote. Those who can probably support Arpaio because he is locking up those who are taking jobs away from hard working Americans.
I just think that his money saving policies are just ridiculous. He says that he tries to save the taxpayer's money by taking away salt and pepper as well as making meals cost 30 or 40 cents each. Wait, when a jail gets sued, where does the money come from to pay client? Does it come from the taxpayers? Also, because the officers are too busy raiding, looking for illegal immigrants who are not posing an IMMEDIATE threat to anyone's lives, fewer violent crimes are being investigated and the lives of legal Arizona residents are being endangered. Because of his policies, everyone is unsafe. I personally think that he just does this for attention, and that he's a dictator. But I'm not going to go on about that.
In reply to Mr. Ferencz's question, I do think that this is an issue of race. This is a more extreme version of the views of a typical American. Let's say you're walking alone at night in a bad neighborhood, right? And you see someone come up behind you. You start walking faster, but as you see that the person walking behind you is white, you start to relax. This is a classic example used to demonstrate discrimination in America. America DOES suffer from hispanophobia. I'm going to be honest, when MOST people think of hispanic people nowadays, they will probably think of them negatively. Whether it be about the immigration problem, or gang related violence or whatever.
Although I disagree with what Arpaio's actions, I don't believe he is the power-crazed sheriff that a lot of people are making him out to be. His actions are based on what the people of Arizona want, which is why is has been re-elected so many times.
ReplyDeleteWe can not judge him so harshly because we do not know what his past was like. There has to be a cause for his hispanophobia: like being raised in a hispanophobic community or having some bad experiences with hispanic immigrants. I do not believe Arpaio is naturally cruel. Mistreating Hispanic immigrants is not a practice that he himself started. He has just taken it to a whole new level.
To sum it up, I do not support Arpaio's inhumane actions, I am just trying to say that his actions are justified to him and the people of Arizona. If anyone is to blame, it is the state of Arizona for the continued support of Arpaio and their racist beliefs.
I completely agree with shah that usually people in power will abuse it. Also I believe people will do anything to become recognized. Being extreme doesn't always mean you are the best at something. I believe Sheriff arpaio is only being as strict as he is to be recognized as the most strict sheriff there is. By practicing cruel and extreme punishments, he is recognized as the toughest sheriff but of you think about it, anyone can become stricter than him if they just had a black heart. Another example of this can be when a teacher practices extremely unfair grading hoping to be recognized. Being tough doesn't always mean your doing a good job educating your students. In Arpaios case, being tough isn't always mean you are being effective in any way.
ReplyDeleteDavid Jiang
"In 2005 he marched 700 prisoners wearing nothing but pink underwear and flip flops to shuffle four blocks through the Arizona heat, pink handcuffed together to a new jail. Another prisoner also had to cut a pink ribbon for cameras. He marched another 900 this April. 'I put them on the street so everyone could see them.' "
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting because it is compatible with the New Yorker article on the Supermax prisons where humiliation and self degration is what gets to the prisoners. Arpaio is clearly manipulating his power and getting sick pleasure from humiliating others. Someone with his nature definitely should not be in a position as powerful as his. I disagree, I don't believe he's still in power because people like him because he's saving them money. Although he did save $30,000 in tax payer's money, he did cost them 43 million. I believe the only reason he's still Sheriff since 1993 is because he's been Sheriff for too long; he's already too powerful. He already has all the connections and individuals who attack him, I'm sure will have severe consequences.
I'm thinking ignorance kept him in office. I recently read that nearly 20% of Americans still believe in the geocentric theory...
ReplyDeleteAlso, whoa. Giving out signed underwear to people.
I'm having trouble coming up with a comment worth reading- I guess prison, politics and racial inequality have never been of any consequence to me. It feels good to live in the Stuy bubble. (I was, however, somewhat moved by the story of the 'Ortega' family and the son who does nothing but study)
William's claim that Arpaio is not naturally cruel surprises me- it seems contradictory to everything stated in the article.
I don't believe Jennifer's argument that Arpaio is still in power because he has been. Although it adds to his "invinibility," he is voted into office every year, albeit with no competition, but still voted in. The reason he is still in power is because of the state and it's inhabitants. The article notes that the community is comprised of mostly older Caucasians who see the foreigners as a threat and want peace an quiet. His "order" and "success" at putting down violence and illegal immigrants has led to his popularity. His costs have been in the millions due to lawsuits.
ReplyDeleteSomeone is going to put a bullet through his head. It'll be perfect, he'll get the media attention he craves and seeks.
I feel that Arpaio has not been voted out simply because of indifference.Its similar to Zuckerburg's quote "A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa." Those who vote for him are probably not hispanic and are not likely to be sent to prison. They are isolated from it and therefore do not care.Instead they enjoy the benefits of Arpaio's reign.
ReplyDeleteAs for Arpaio himself, it is clear that he is infatuated with the limelight. He enjoys abusing the prisoners as well as the infamy he gains from the act
The reason Arpaio hasn't been voted or kicked out is the people of Arizona still like him. The people of Arizona have suffered greatly from illegal immigration. The drug trade runs right through their state. They suffer from this drug trade in the form of shootings, kidnappings, etc. If your state was suffering would you want to have a tough sheriff? The answer, in most cases, is yes. His policies may be cruel, but Arizonans feel that he is what they need right now. Personally, I think he is a racist monster, but I can't blame Arizonan's for liking him.
ReplyDeleteThis is a large issue in the Southern states. Many sheriffs try to protect the border by arresting all illegal immigrants. This happens a lot in Arizona and it's interesting how the sheriff and his office doesn't support the Constitution. Everyone knows he does it, but they cannot remove him. I agree with Jennifer, he has gained much prestige as a sheriff in Maricopa. Thus, he has many connections. I also remember in the article when a couple of people that criticized him were arrested. Their excuse was clapping. Obviously, this is a sill reason, yet it seems to work. There are people who support him and people who fear him. The people who fear him probably want to go against him but they can't because of his connections. The people who support him include the other officers who work for him. I believe part of the reason people still vote for him is because most of the illegal immigrants are already put into jail. Thus, they only get a one-sided view of illegal immigration. I remember watching a show in which a man was against illegal immigration, but after living with an illegal family, he began to feel sympathy. Maybe the citizens are misinformed about illegal immigrants.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I believe he is very cruel and inhumane person who thinks he is invincible. One question I would consider is why do people look at immigrants different from illegal immigrants? What does it mean to be illegal since the sheriff just assumes some people are illegal. He is very stereotyped, and I am somewhat astounded that he is still in power.
Soulin Haque, Period 2
I feel that racial stereotyping, to an extent, is acceptable. A majority of illegal immigrants is Latino because we are geologically connected to Latin American countries. It makes sense to suspect Latinos in Southern countries to have arrived there illegally.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I still think that our treatment of illegal immigrants is unfair. While it's okay to use stereotyping as a means for locating illegal immigrants, we need to be more democratic about the issue. If illegal immigrants benefit their community, their job, and the economy, it doesn't make sense to just lock them up or deport them.