What if you were Latino and living in Arizona?

I bypassed a long left-turn-waiting line driving my daughter to school by taking the right lane past the light and making a U turn to come back for a right turn. A Sandy police lady ticketed me for illegal U-turn. I pointed out U-turns are legal when there’s no oncoming traffic and clear view of road ahead, but she replied, “We’ve been told to give anyone who U-turns there in the mornings a ticket. When I got to court the mediator threw it out, saying, “If they want to do that they’ll just have to put up a sign.” So this a case of the lieutenant inventing law
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An officer pulled me over for making several short honks at the driver in front waiting to make a right turn, because the way was open, no traffic, and she had the right of way to go ahead. I asked why he stopped me. He said, “Why did you honk at that lady?” I told him, and unable to come up with something to charge me with, he let me go.

Small examples of how easily a little police power can go astray. Not that police in general are scoundrels. They are mortals like the rest of us, who, when we get a little authority will almost always begin to exercise unrighteous dominion over others. And the powers of arrest and imprisonment entrusted to these officers are substantial ones.

This is why some people are very upset at the new Arizona law directing police to inquire into legal status, if there’s a “reasonable suspicion, for anyone they stop. “Reasonable suspicion” is not a standard recognized in the law, is something less than probable cause, and almost invites a prejudiced officer to stop and harass Latinos. It is not hard to understand the desperation of Arizonans over the flood of illegals over their border, and the Federal Government’s gross negligence in the matter; but neither is it hard to understand Latinos’ opposition to this law. The law borders on police-state tactics. Imagine what police would have done with such a law for Jews in Nazi Germany. Anyone an officer stops on reasonable suspicion may be hauled in for questioning and anyone’s ID papers may be suspect. If you were a Latino citizen of Arizona, you might feel it necessary to pack your birth certificate everywhere you went. Not unlike Jews being required to wear a star on their sleeves in Holland in WWII days.