THIS BLOG is NOW RETIRED

I began this blog in May 2009 following the death of Marcia Powell at Perryville State Prison in Goodyear, Arizona. It is not intended to prescribe the path that leads to freedom from the prison industrial complex.

Rather, these are just my observations in arguably the most racist, fascist, militaristic state in the nation at a critical time in history for a number of intersecting liberation movements. From Indigenous resistance to genocidal practices, to the fight over laws like SB1070 and the ban on Ethnic Studies, Arizona is at the center of many battles for human rights, and thus the struggle for prison abolition as well - for none are free until all are. I retired the blog in APRIL 2013.

Visit me now at Arizona Prison Watch or Survivors of Prison Violence-AZ

David Rovics: We Are Everywhere

To my fellow activists now struggling through life - let this be a reminder that you are not alone and that we desperately need you here. All the injustice, grief, war, and human suffering calls for us to stay and do everything we can about it - you can't help us anymore when you're gone. Don't give up the fight - your last shred of hope may just keep someone else alive, too.
BLOG POSTS

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Speechless

Good for the residents of Fountain Hills who came out for a community meeting in support of those targeted by these hate crimes. This comes from the fortress of the predominately white, upper-class town that Joe Arpaio calls home:


3 Fountain Hills teenagers accused of 'KKK' vandalism

by Ofelia Madrid - Sept. 9, 2009 07:43 PM
The Arizona Republic
 
Three Fountain Hills High School students are accused of committing the vandalism that stirred fears within the upscale community.



Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio made the announcement at a community meeting Wednesday.
Alex Castellanos, 18, along with two juveniles ages 17 and 15 were charged with criminal damage, officials said.


The three students admitted to vandalizing seven vehicles, Arpaio said.


The most recent was discovered Sunday morning when Michele Jaber, who is Black, awoke to find a swastika, "KKK" and sexual images painted on her Ford and a friend's Cadillac outside her Fountain Hills home.


"We will not allow anyone to take hate through our town," Jaber told the about 200 community members who filled the center.


Jaber thanked the Fountain Hills residents for their support. She encouraged parents to talk to their children about "tolerance, respect and the beauty of diversity."


Arpaio, who lives in Fountain Hills, told community members that he understood the fear of possible white supremacists taking residence in the in the posh foothills community east of Scottsdale. But, he said that isn't the case in this instance.


"We've said from the beginning that they were juveniles," Arpaio said. "I don't think we have a lot to worry about."


Castellanos, who is on the high school football team, will also be charged with delinquency of a minor, officials said.


Parents of the three students will also be cited through a town ordinance, Arpaio said. The sheriff, who offered a $5,000 reward to find the vandals, said the students didn't have a racial motivation. 


Reporter Beth Duckett contributed to this story.

(How is there not "racial motivation" for KKK and swastikas being spray painted on a window? And why would we think white supremacists might move in there?)
Posted by Prison Abolitionist at 2:30 PM
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1 comment:

  1. MarcSeptember 11, 2009 at 12:14 PM

    …because these kids have money, are athletes and live in an upper-crusty neighborhood or whatever, their actions aren't racist? Is that what the Sheriffs Dept is saying there? That's how I took it.

    Thanks for the news!

    ReplyDelete

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