The Drought of Compassion

Disgusting. Utterly fucking reprehensible.

Someone vandalized two water stations set up by a humanitarian group that is trying to prevent deaths among illegal immigrants crossing the desert, a group volunteer said.

Two 55-gallon water tanks east of Naco were poked full of holes during the holiday weekend and thrown over a border fence into Mexico, said Humane Borders volunteer Marilyn Jones. The tanks’ spigots were stolen, as was the station’s 30-foot flagpole, which is topped with a blue flag to alert migrants to the location.

A flagpole at the second station was bent and the spigots were stolen from its two water tanks.

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This has happened before, but it never ceases to make my blood boil hotter than the mercury in my patio thermometer. Rather than criminalize this type of murder, because that's what it is, the GOP-led state legislature is too busy working on ways to get their immigrant criminalization policies into the law books.

The bill would criminalize the presence of illegal immigrants in Arizona and provide $160 million to help authorities lessen the state's immigration woes.

It also would set fines for businesses that continue to employ illegal immigrants after receiving warnings, require local police agencies to train officers in enforcing immigration law and deny education benefits to immigrants.

Some Republican legislators have suggested they would try to put a similar measure on the ballot in November for voters to decide if the Democratic governor vetoed the bill.

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Meanwhile, a statewide poll's results were released that is characterized as a "mixed bag". This particular section caught my attention.

Most notably, 92 percent of residents of Cochise, Santa Cruz, Pima and Yuma counties were in favor of laws to make it easier for workers to cross the border, compared with 73 percent statewide.

One potential reason for that, de Berge said, is that Southern Arizonans are more likely to be dealing with immigrants — legal and otherwise — on a regular basis, particularly in the labor market. "Familiarity in this case breeds sympathy," he said.

We obviously have to do a better job at advocating our support because I would bet the ranch that the assholes who poked the holes in the water tanks will receive more support than widespread condemnation.

Prove me wrong, America. Lives are at stake here.