My boyfriend is originally from Australia. When I showed him this article, he smiled and asked me where the white ribbon was in my craft box. He's proudly wearing one to work today.
That being said, Go Aussies (and Kiwis!) for helping to spread awareness about this serious issue. I hope that targeting the potential aggressors of violence instead of the victims will make a difference.
@miss_so_unknown: Hmm, I live in Australia, and I heard nothing about it. However, I am subjected to PSAs from the govt daily that essentially say to women "If you drink, you will be gang-raped."
@rbdfoxes: Wow - maybe it was only advertised in certain cities or parts of the country? Every time I use a bathroom on my college campus, I'm confronted with giant posters about date rape drugs and sexual assault. I really wish I could just take a pee without having the fear of sexual assault drummed into my head.
Joe Arpaio is an abuser. He emotionally, mentally, and physically abuses those least capable of leaving the abusive situation.
Sadly, the fact that he's been re-elected numerous times, with a large winning margin, is a testament to his PR firm's ability to create a story and a headline, and to their ability to spin nearly anything for the sake of the mighty dollar.
If you are tired of it, please get out there and campaign against this man. We can't do it alone in Arizona. We need the nation's help.
@TildeMarks: Unfortunately there are people all over the nation who AGREE with Asshole Arpaio - my father-in-law regularly forwards emails from his conservative friends about how great he is, and I'm in NY.
That being said, what can those of us outside of AZ do? Because this man is a menace.
@TildeMarks: Arpaio absolutely belongs in prison. There are many, many pathetic bullies in law enforcement, but few as vile as him, and none with the power he has over so many. I've noticed lately more chatter about what a villain he is, so perhaps the tides are turning. We can only hope so and do our best to make it so.
@La Chica Lucy: Just get the word out about his numerous human rights abuses. Here's just one of many websites that give you some information and a way to help financially or just by sending this out.
I will tell you, I am actually fearful of posting too much. Those who do, tend to find themselves in cuffs and a courtroom. No lie. Two editors for a local paper have been fighting bogus charges for years as a result of pointing out how Arpaio abuses prisoners, suspects, and citizens.
@La Chica Lucy: Ugh, the last time I visited my MI relatives, my uncle brought up "that real sheriff" Arpaio and how "awesome" he is - most of my extended family sadly buys into the republican "dream", even though their buy-in has cost every single one of them a lot of grief over the last 10 years. It's cognitive dissonance at it's finest.
@morninggloria: Boo. But! Apparently they're trying to pass a bill allowing individuals with certain chronic diseases to grow their own chronic! Two of my friends qualify!
How do you give birth while cuffed at the ANKLES? I've had three kids and I can tell you that is one of the most unreasonable things I have ever heard in my entire life.
Also, they took her baby away right at birth and she had no contact at all for 72 days? That is just beyond the pale. Just so horrible I can't even begin to contemplate it. Emotional and physical horror is all I can say. That will have consequences for that baby and mother for the rest of their lives.
@applejuice: Likely her ankles were not cuffed together. The restraints at the psych hospital where I work (yes, I abhor them and refuse to participate like any sane person ought) are actually velcro/webbing/lock contraptions and there is a separate one for each wrist and ankle. They hook into the bed, so the person has their feet apart and their wrists restrained by their hips.
@Her Grace: About the abhoration and the refusal to participate in restraining in a psych ward situation, I sincerely ask, really? Once we had to have a family member restrained and I'll tell you I never felt relief like the relief I felt once he was restrained. Is it wrong?
@crotchety: I work in a kids' psych hospital, if it makes any difference. A lot of our kids need to be restrained or secluded because they don't have adequate coping skills and may hurt themselves or the staff--but the staff's inadequate coping skills are what escalate them to that point. There's not enough training (or requirements of a degree to get the job in the first place), so while there have been some bed restraints that genuinely were a good idea (17 year olds who are psychotic and big enough to overpower anyone on staff, in a blind rage, for example), most are bad situations and tend to have been triggered by staff's incomplete understanding of a kid's needs and abilities. I definitely feel more ambivalently towards adults and nearly-adults (our 16-17 year old crowd) who need to be restrained, though still not good, if that makese sense?
This Australian campaign sounds incredible- they're targeting the perpetrators instead of the objects of violence, and doing it non-accusingly and with humour. I'll be following this with great interest.
@Sanfo: I agree. New Zealand is also participating. I get great hope from the actual potential perpetrators of violence against women being targeted by the awareness campaign, rather than the victims! Go common sense! Woot!
Arpaio is a bigot/racist. How unsurprised was I when I clicked on the link and I found the woman to be *brown*. No one needs to be shocked at the behavior of someone who collaborates with ICE.
@Evie Havok: And yet he keeps getting elected. There is something rotten at the very core of society when that can happen.
ICE is an absolutely frightening group. The fact that something like that can exist on American soil is an abomination. But they don't make headlines, so the president and congress aren't going to do a goddamned thing. There's nothing political to be gained by treating the downtrodden like human beings.
@Evie Havok: Well, a Mexican woman, and poor no less, so evidently she had it coming, right?
The saddest part is what she herself says: "I'm not afraid to come out with my story," she said. "But I'm disappointed to see that not much has been done to stop [Joe Arpaio]."
This dude has been in office for how fucking long? I remember him since I was in college, and that was eons ago. And he's still getting elected!
@Evie Havok: Co-operation with ICE isn't as bad as the deliberately humiliating and barbaric manner which she was treated in the County jail system. FTA (NewTimes):
She waited 14 extra days in jail to be picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"[ICE officers] took me to the Florence Detention Center, where they treated me much better," she said. "At least not like an animal."
@WagaMama: I'm sure that if he could take Arizona back to the glory days of Tombstone, he would. There he could be judge, jury and executioner and really live the dream. Ugh.
@Evie Havok: Actually, last month ICE revoked Arpaio's field arrest powers, because they received so many civil rights complaints against him. He then held a press conference where he called Homeland Security a bunch of liars. You know Sheriff Joe is bad news when the federal government no longer wants his help in immigration issues, despite the fact that Arizona borders Mexico.
Also, under Obama, ICE has undergone revisions where it instructs officers to go after undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes. Not that I think it'll make a difference, people like Arpaio would use anything as a pretext to target immigrants.
Also, the shackling of that woman is bad enough, but taking the baby away from her immediately after birth is ridiculous. It's traumatizing to both mother and child, and could have long-lasting ramifications for both.
@whynotshesaid: She was incarcerated without a breastpump, or the opportunity to nurse her baby either. Mastitis is no fucking joke, and I can't imagine the kind of pain she must have been in emotionally and physically. It actually makes me feel really sick to my stomach to imagine what she had to go through.
@GirlFailer: I missed that part of the article. How infuriating.
Another thing that sucks is that she was arrested on warrants that, had she had access to halfway decent legal representation, would have been nothing. Driving without a license and a misdemeanor shoplifting charge? Shit. I just wrote a story about a 17-year-old girl who was accused of hitting and killing a homeless woman with her car, then who drove home without telling anyone. She got fifteen months probation as a juvenile, and you KNOW the fact that her parents had money to get her a decent attorney had SO MUCH to do with it.
And then of course the fact that she is undocumented....ARGH. You'd think the preamble to the Constitution contained the clause that all people were imbued with inalienable rights...as long as they are Americans.
@whynotshesaid: What he did is also a violation of international norms, and medical practice. The U.N. Committee Against Torture, (which monitors compliance with the Convention Against Torture) and the Human Rights Committee (which monitors compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) have both declared that shackling an inmate in labor violates both treaties.
The U.S. is unsurprisingly behind much on the world on this.
@GirlFailer: I cannot read comments on sites other than this. My local newspaper's commenters scare the shit out of me. No matter WHAT the subject matter of the article, there are always comments that are seriously unhinged, racist, sexist, homophobic, govmint hating, or gun-loving-paranoia. Or all of the above.
11/25/09
That being said, Go Aussies (and Kiwis!) for helping to spread awareness about this serious issue. I hope that targeting the potential aggressors of violence instead of the victims will make a difference.
11/28/09
11/28/09
11/24/09
Sadly, the fact that he's been re-elected numerous times, with a large winning margin, is a testament to his PR firm's ability to create a story and a headline, and to their ability to spin nearly anything for the sake of the mighty dollar.
If you are tired of it, please get out there and campaign against this man. We can't do it alone in Arizona. We need the nation's help.
11/24/09
That being said, what can those of us outside of AZ do? Because this man is a menace.
11/25/09
11/25/09
[www.arpaio.com]
I will tell you, I am actually fearful of posting too much. Those who do, tend to find themselves in cuffs and a courtroom. No lie. Two editors for a local paper have been fighting bogus charges for years as a result of pointing out how Arpaio abuses prisoners, suspects, and citizens.
11/25/09
It must be terrifying to live in his county.
11/25/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
(And child born. Boo.)
11/24/09
Also, they took her baby away right at birth and she had no contact at all for 72 days? That is just beyond the pale. Just so horrible I can't even begin to contemplate it. Emotional and physical horror is all I can say. That will have consequences for that baby and mother for the rest of their lives.
So so sad.
11/24/09
11/25/09
11/25/09
#tips
11/24/09
11/25/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
11/24/09
And to think when I was in high school we thought Ev Mecham cancelling MLK Jr. day was bad ...
11/24/09
ICE is an absolutely frightening group. The fact that something like that can exist on American soil is an abomination. But they don't make headlines, so the president and congress aren't going to do a goddamned thing. There's nothing political to be gained by treating the downtrodden like human beings.
11/24/09
The saddest part is what she herself says: "I'm not afraid to come out with my story," she said. "But I'm disappointed to see that not much has been done to stop [Joe Arpaio]."
This dude has been in office for how fucking long? I remember him since I was in college, and that was eons ago. And he's still getting elected!
11/24/09
She waited 14 extra days in jail to be picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"[ICE officers] took me to the Florence Detention Center, where they treated me much better," she said. "At least not like an animal."
11/24/09
11/25/09
Also, under Obama, ICE has undergone revisions where it instructs officers to go after undocumented immigrants who have committed serious crimes. Not that I think it'll make a difference, people like Arpaio would use anything as a pretext to target immigrants.
11/24/09
Joe Arpaio is a total fascist.
11/24/09
11/24/09
Another thing that sucks is that she was arrested on warrants that, had she had access to halfway decent legal representation, would have been nothing. Driving without a license and a misdemeanor shoplifting charge? Shit. I just wrote a story about a 17-year-old girl who was accused of hitting and killing a homeless woman with her car, then who drove home without telling anyone. She got fifteen months probation as a juvenile, and you KNOW the fact that her parents had money to get her a decent attorney had SO MUCH to do with it.
And then of course the fact that she is undocumented....ARGH. You'd think the preamble to the Constitution contained the clause that all people were imbued with inalienable rights...as long as they are Americans.
Again I say, FUCK JOE ARPAIO.
11/24/09
The U.S. is unsurprisingly behind much on the world on this.
11/24/09
11/24/09
How ironic.
11/24/09
11/24/09
11/24/09