What the Hell Is Going On In Arizona?

So obviously we all know about this whole immigration law bullshit that Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed slightly less than a month ago. I'm not going to rehash this argument about the racist undertones and poor decision making which went into that bill.

Now Gov. Brewer has signed a new bill. According an LA Times article, "HB2281 bans schools from teaching classes that are designed for students of a particular ethnic group, promote resentment or advocate ethnic solidarity over treating pupils as individuals. The bill also bans classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government."

Just like the first bill, I get what the inspiration was. Brewer and the state of Arizona has an agenda to maintain American values, but at what cost?

I understand there needs to be immigration laws put into place. And not just in Arizona but nationwide. But giving cops the ability to profile immigrants wasn't the answer.

I understand they want to eliminate potential anti-American teachings within American schools. But that doesn't give the state the right to suffocate ethnic studies. Brainwashing them by preventing them from learning about their culture and history through arts and literature is NOT the answer here, either.

Teachers in grade schools and high schools are going to be looking over their shoulder at all times, worried that if they teach a book written by a Latino or Chicano author might end up getting them fired or losing the school part of their state budget money.

Are there books or movies or other forms of media that are negative towards America? Yes, of course. And maybe there should be a list of the truly evil ones that are banned from the schools. I get that. But eventually these students are going to begin thinking for themselves. Eventually they should be able to read those books and be allowed to have a discussion in the intentions of the author.

Eventually the students are going to read them anyway, shouldn't we be trying to provide the proper environment to maximize they're ability to understand them?

Ethnic studies have increased in popularity nationwide over the last couple of decades. Colleges and high schools everywhere, especially in ethnic-rich neighborhoods and cities, offer education in the relationship between their particular social structure and the nation they call home. 

That home has an infamous past. America has persecuted many different races over the last three hundred years. We've pushed the Native Americans as far west as possible and we've used slaves from Africa and cheap labor from China. We are not a perfect country.

Teaching these students a White-washed education is another step in Arizona adding to the list.

What's next? Are we going to eliminate gender studies as well before the women can read books about how chauvinistic our country is?