In the 1960’s when the nation saw Civil Rights Protestors being sprayed down with hoses, beaten, and jailed by southern police officers, many who never cared much about the issue of Civil Rights started feeling compassion and solidarity with the African-Americans in the South. The man who thought he was going to put out the Civil Rights Movement by shooting Dr. King actually guaranteed its legal recognition. In times of persecution and perceived oppression against a group, the empathy towards that group and their ideas actually gain more support in society. Islam grew greatly during the time of perceived discrimination during the early 2000s in the United States, and Christianity still continues to grow at the fastest rate in countries where it faces persecution (China).
The same is true for this latest backwards law out of Arizona. Because of the radical nature of the bill, it has actually caused much more support for immigration reform which will create a path for undocumented workers to gain citizenship. The LA Times went as far as saying “Thank You Arizona”, because they stated how the public support would now actually strengthen the cause of undocumented workers. In fact, now this issue has been moved to a top priority in the U.S. congress, in large part because of this bill. It makes me smile when I think of the irony of the situation. In the process of creating a very discriminatory and racist bill, Arizona has actually guaranteed that the people they are trying to kick out of the country will actually become citizens. I guess the old adage holds true, be careful what you wish for. Another unintended effect of this bill is how it has really damaged the Republican Party-which I will discuss in a later article.
