SPECIAL ARIZONA BUYCOTT EDITION
Dear Readers: All together, now:
¡A LA CHINGADA WITH ARIZONA’S SB 1070!
For those of ustedes too occupied with the your Drinko por Cinco hangover, the initiative I mentioned (signed a couple of weeks ago into law by Arizona’s governor) gives immigration powers to the state’s police officers and sheriff’s deputies and allows them to stop and question anyone they think looks like an illegal immigrant. Besides being the most blatant invitation to racially profile Mexicans since the sombrero, it’s also a civil liberties disgrace that is making the Copper State’s greatest son, libertarian icon Barry Goldwater, no doubt wishing he was born in Utah.
A movement is under way to boycott the state and also national companies based in Arizona such as U-Haul and US Airways. A boycott of the state worked back in the 1990s, when Arizonans refused to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a state holiday, and it should work now — visit arizona-boycott.org for other companies to shun (and if you’re a baseball fan, don’t root for your team when they play the reprehensible Arizona Diamondbacks, whose owners shower millions on Arizona’s retrograde politicians). But I also want to urge a buycott — there are good people who have been fighting the Know Nothings in the state for decades, who constantly get threatened and who need our support. Below is a partial list of groups and organizations that deserve your attention, whether a monetary contribution, a kind note, or physical support.
Now, some of the good people of Arizona:
• Phoenix New Times: Sure, they carry my column from time to time, they’re the sister paper of the Mexican’s hometown OC Weekly, and Phoenix is the base for the two drunk micks who own our parent company, Village Voice Media. But the New Times, more than any other news organization in the country, has exposed best and longest the terrifying reign of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the intellectual godfather of SB 1070. Their reporters past and present, especially John Dougherty, Paul Rubin and Stephen Lemons, have been the subject of intimidation, stonewalling and harassment by Arpayaso and his goons solely because they’ve exposed Arpayaso for the corrupt, taxpayer-waste of a pendejo that he is. Arpayaso knows how dangerous the New Times is — he once had my patrones Michael Lacey and Jim Larkin arrested on charges so spurious he had to release them within a day. Click on phoexnewtimes.com a million times a day to spur their readership numbers, which allows them to bring in more advertising and gives them more fuel against that pinche Arpayaso.
• Flagstaff Live! and the Tucson Weekly: They carry my column — enough said. Visit flaglive.com and tucsonweekly.com.
• Puente Movement: Not to be confused with the fine Puente Project, which helps California students advance to universities, the Puente Movement has been the primary organizer of protests in Phoenix against Arpayaso and must frequently suffer bona fide Nazis hurling invectives at kiddies and peaceful people. Visit puenteaz.org
• Somos America: A coalition of Arizona groups united for immigration reform, now understandably focusing on dismantling SB 1070. Visit somosamerica.org.
• Derechos Humano: Fighting the same fights as the other groups, but from Tucson. Know Nothings despise the group’s head, Isabel Garcia, which means we should anoint her the next Dolores Huerta. Visit derechoshumanosaz.net
• Border Action Network: Exactly what it sounds like. Visit borderaction.org
Hopefully, I can return to this column’s usual obsession with little people and big-breasted women, but let’s help the good who fight evil in the belly of el Diablo. Again, people: ¡A LA CHINGADA WITH SB1070!
Get all your Mexican fun at myspace.com/ocwab, youtube.com/askamexicano, or send your questions to themexican@askamexican.net!
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519