Hello readers,
Like the rest of the world (well… anyone that isn’t racist, misogynist, xenophopic, homophobic, etc.), I was incredibly shocked to hear about Donald Trump winning the US election for president. I am from Arizona, a state located in the Southwest of the United States, so this issue is incredibly close to my heart. Although the presidency was on my mind, so was the reelection of Sheriff in Arizona. Yeah, yeah, I know, sounds right out of a old western film. But Sheriff Joe Arpaio, commonly known as the “toughest sheriff in America,” has been around the political sphere for almost seven terms. Phoenix New Times reports that locally and nationally Sheriff Joe is known for his horrendous jail conditions, reckless police operations, unconstitutionally discrimination against people of colour, and is a strict enforcer of immigration laws in Arizona. Oh, and he is also currently being investigated by the FBI for having personal vendettas against political rivals and members of press who publish negative media about him.
After several terms in office, he was finally ousted and now there’s a new sheriff in town (quite literally). I was overjoyed when hearing this, hopeful that my state was turning over a new leaf despite our electoral votes going to Trump. Earlier this week as I was reading the news I came across an awe inspiring article about Trump releasing a list of who might be in Trump’s cabinet and lo and behold Arpaio made the list. He made the list as potential for Secretary of US Homeland Security. So in summary, Arizona voted him out because he was a terrible Sheriff and Trump promotes him because he was a terrible Sheriff
During our ASTU class last week, we discussed the idea of common sense vs. uncommon sense. Common sense is defined as what we think because of our every day experience with the world whereas uncommon sense is the knowledge we create by asking questions and discovering beyond what we already know. Common sense is thought of as a good thing, with the saying “use your common sense,” as a way of indicating that someone has done something stupid. Although common sense is usually seen as a good thing in every day language, to scholars it can come with some consequences such as the belief that going out in the cold will make you sick or even more drastically, women in short skirts “deserve whats coming to them.” Uncommon sense isn’t really used in the every day vernacular so it can be confusing when someone first comes across it. Uncommon sense would be the knowledge that flu season hits in the winter because more people spend time indoors, closer together or that the belief that women deserve rape comes not from the short skirts but because of the rape culture that has formed in society.
Joe Arpaio and Trump display common sense. The idea that all Mexicans are drug lord rapists or that prisoners should be kept in inhumane conditions are not common, especially since Arpaio was not reelected, but that these are assumptions made without looking further into the issues. The common sense that these two show along with many other politicians is based on their own experiences in the world, not based on facts or truth, but in opinion and perspective. The fact that these politicians have made it so far based purely on dangerous assumptions tells us about a dangerous side to America.
This is just the opinion of one Arizona girl.
-Maddy
Works used
Gooding, Richard, Daniel Burgoyne, and Marlene Sawatsky. “Scholarly Styles I: Nominal Style.” Academic Writing An Introduction. By Janet Giltrow. Third ed. N.p.: Broadview, n.d. 211-33. Print.
Stern, Ray. “Arizona Ex-Politicians Kyl, Brewer, and Arpaio Are on Trump’s Short List for Cabinet Picks.” Phoenix New Times. N.p., 17 Nov. 2016. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.