Two sides

Does the fact that I can see two sides (at least) to situations and arguments make me indecisive and unable to take a stand?  Sometimes, I think so.  I, like a lot of people, used to see the world as black and white.  There's wrong and there's right.  No two ways about it.  As I grow older and (at least in my viewpoint) wiser, I am becoming more and more convinced that it really is about shades of gray, and that very few things are black and white or written in stone.  I guess that's what makes me less and less able to understand conservatives and religious extremists.

Right now, some people are in an uproar over the recently passed law in Arizona that allows police to essentially stop and question anyone they suspect of being an illegal immigrant.  The governor of Arizona insists this is not about racial profiling.  She says she has no idea what an illegal immigrant looks like (hint: they are from a neighbouring country).  So I suppose police will, for instance, be stopping people who are standing on street corners waiting to be picked up for day labour, regardless of their race, because that's one of the places illegal immigrants hang out.

Now, coming from Malaysia, where identity cards are the norm and we learn from our teenage years to carry them around with us, I can't really relate to those who find that offensive.  In fact, when I first got my green card, I used to carry it everywhere with me because the idea of carrying some form of identification with me at all times was ingrained.  I didn't even think twice about it.  After I got my driver's licence, I carried both that and the green card around for a while.  Slowly, I got used to the idea of carrying around just the driver's licence.  But if I lived in Arizona, I'd have to go back to carrying both forms of identification, to prove that I'm there legally.  Since I went through a lot of red tape (and money) to get that card, I wouldn't find that a big deal.  But, I can understand why some people find that outrageous.

For one thing, if Bruce and I were walking down on opposite sides of a street in Arizona (so that people wouldn't think we were a couple), and there were cops ahead of us on the lookout for illegal immigrants, I suspect that the police would stop me to ask for proof I'm a citizen or legal resident.  I also suspect they would let Bruce keep walking without a second glance, simple because of his skin colour (or rather, the lack of colour).  I think that way largely because, despite protests by some, my impression is that people still tend to think of Americans as Caucasians, for the most part.  Perhaps that is prejudice on my part, caused by the fact that despite having been born in Malaysia, despite the fact that both my parents were born in Malaysia, despite the fact that I think of myself as Malaysian first and Indian second, I know that there are some people who think of Malays (not the orang asli) as the "real" Malaysians and the rest of us as outsiders.  In the same way, I think some people think of those who came over on the Mayflower, etc. (not the native Americans) as the "real" Americans.  And I think some Americans are as prejudiced against Mexicans as some Malaysians are against Indonesians.  You know, those who cross the Straits of Melaka in boats and enter Malaysia illegally to take the jobs that Malaysians would do (if they were paid more).  The Indonesians are blamed for the bulk of crimes in Malaysia, just as illegal Mexican immigrants in the US are blamed for crimes in states like Arizona.

I understand that mindset.  I understand the fear and anger.  Any large group of immigrants, illegal or otherwise, in any country, experiences the same reaction from groups of citizens in any country.  But that doesn't mean the Arizona law isn't wrong.  Although, as I said, I don't think it's a big deal to carry proof of legal residence with you (especially after having worked so hard for it), I've lived here long enough now to understand the outrage by some, who see it as yet another encroachment on rights, yet another stranglehold on freedom.  Arizona's biggest illegal immigrant problem is from South America, largely Mexico.  Anyone with a fair amount of brain cells would be able to deduce that police on the lookout for illegal immigrants will be looking first at those of Hispanic descent.  That means even if you are an American of Mexican/Hispanic descent -- someone born here, like your parents and maybe even grandparents -- you could be stopped and asked for proof of citizenship.  That is what people are outraged about, because that hasn't happened since people of African descent were asked to show proof that they weren't slaves who had run away, that they were emancipated.

But when reading comments in response to an article in today's Los Angeles Times about how some people were proposing boycotts of Arizona (tourism, products, etc.), I was a little startled by the anger coming from people living in that state.  Outrage at their fellow Americans for daring to protest the law; outrage that their socialist President was denouncing the law; outrage that the illegals, who are committing crimes and taking away jobs, are being defended; outrage that people are describing this as racial profiling ...  I'm all for entering the country legally, and for stopping illegal immigrants if they indeed are coming here only to commit crimes.  But to not be able to grasp that this law will definitely make people of certain races (i.e. non-Caucasians) feel like non-citizens, even if they were born here and legally have the right to be here -- I think that is disingenuous.  Why can't the outraged people see that side of the argument?