Saturday, November 10, 2007
Proud principle author of Oklahoma's new racist immigration law, Randy Terrill, R-Moore, wants to relocate all people of questionable pigmentation and citizenship from Oklahoma to south of the Rio Grande river. Mr. Terrill denies he is a racist, as does staunch xenophobe Lou Dobbs, but advocating for his bill he simply could not refrain from using tinted language like disease, drugs and crime. Oh yes, terrorism was part of his hyperbolic rhetoric as well.
The good people of Oklahoma have seen the face of a terrorist and witnessed the actions of terrorism up close and personal. I don't remember them being very brown at all.
Our state is celebrating its 100th anniversary by creating legislation deputizing hordes of vigilante racists working under color of law.
A $1000.00 fine and/or a year in prison is imposed on anyone helping someone of questionable pigmentation. Well, actually, it specifies illegal immigrants, but why take a chance? Landlords, employers seem to be the primary focus, but I guess it includes bus drivers and cabbies as well, due to the "transporting" language in the law.
Perhaps Mr. Terrill is not a racist, but his law allows racism to flourish in broad daylight under the color of law, and in a state named "Red Man" and was the tail end of the Trail of Tears, it is a sad way to begin our second century with history repeating itself.
People are frustrated with the immigration issue, but the state level is not where you deal with immigration. This is a bad law born out of frustration that will result in overt racism. People who cater to that particular base will find it slowly shrinking.