Editor's letter:
It’s Personal

Sheriff Arpaio's antics now affect citizen Latinos

“The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.”  – Plato (Greek writer/philosopher in Athens, 427 BC-347 BC).

It’s time to take Sheriff Joe’s abuse of civil and Constitutional rights personal.

And we’re not just talking about the Maricopa sheriff’s controversial immigration sweeps. Or the fact that many of those being stopped, questioned about their citizenship, and jailed are not just undocumented immigrants, but citizen Latinos.

You see, it becomes clearer with each day’s newspaper stories with Arpaio snarling and blustering at anyone that dares to disagree with him or his tactics – that the county’s top law enforcer is an equal opportunity rights abuser.

As a magazine that prides itself on journalism that serves its audience – Latinos – staying neutral and quiet about the growing evidence of Arpaio’s abuse of power would be an insult to our readers and our own journalistic credo.

Whenever there is a pattern of abuse of power and betrayal of the public’s trust by an elected official, silence by the media is complicity – and dangerous, because it only leads to further malfeasance. Yet until recently, the silence and lack of criticism by Valley media has only emboldened the sheriff to push the limits of his abuse.

Except for one weekly publication. Whether you philosophically agree or disagree with Phoenix New Times’ style and content, you have to commend their staff for doggedly reporting – in depth and detail – the pattern of abuse by Sheriff Joe Apario. To read the stories in its archives, and daily updates on its blogs, go to www.phoenixnewtimes.com. 

What this sitting sheriff has cost county taxpayers in settlements to the families of inmates who have died in his jails – and the ways in which they died – should be reason enough to call for a change in the Sheriff’s Office.

The portrait that emerges from the New Times archives of the county sheriff is chilling if you love our most cherished rights as U.S. citizens – open government, equal protection under the law, and legal protections against unwarranted harassment by law enforcement.

In the past, Arpaio targets have been those he considers political enemies and media foes such as New Times reporters and management.

Now is he is coming after us – citizen Latinos; whether that is intended or not doesn’t matter. The initial targets of Arpaio’s “crime suppression” sweeps were heavily Latino populated areas. The rhetoric that Latinos who have nothing to fear from the sheriff’s immigrant round-ups ring hollow when our writers see drivers in the target areas pulled over and questioned for minor traffic violations simply because they have brown skin.

It’s for this reason that Latino Perspectives takes a hard look at Sheriff Joe’s controversial tactics in this edition. Particularly, we hear from the article’s co-writer and veteran journalist Jonathan Higuera how Latinos are impacted by this lawman’s policies and actions.  It’s also why we will continue to report on issues in the Sheriff’s Office in future.

Because we asked Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon to write a guest column about Arpaio’s tactics for our May edition, we thought it fair to do the same with Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He did, and we publish the sheriff’s reaction in a guest column exclusive to Latino Perspectives.

We are also proud to publish another feature about a serious issue of great impact on the Latino community. Contributing writer Angela Rabago-Mussi used her family’s personal experience with fatal breast cancer to report on new and major research to discover why the disease kills Latinas more than others. The article also reveals how Latinas can actively participate in finding more effective treatment and prevention for this killer disease.

Thank you, Jonathan and Angela. And thanks to all the other good writers that contributed this month. And most of all, thank you for being a loyal reader of Latino Perspectives.