I hate bullies. To be more accurate, I hate opportunistic bottom feeders whose primary motivation is fueling their own egos. Arizona Sherriff Joe Arpaio is the best example of this type of bully that I know of. His target victims are Hispanic. He uses fear and intimidation as his weapons. His victims are largely hard-working innocent people who help keep our economy moving. He’s a bully of the worst sort and needs to be slapped down. I hope the Feds do it. The stage is certainly set for action and there is abundant evidence supporting his systemic racial profiling. His constituents share the blame. He feeds on their fear of illegal immigrants, or their fear of Mexicans. Choose an option. Arpaio will pander to either definition.
The Rolling Stone has an outstanding article on Arpaio: Culture: The Long, Lawless Ride of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Joe Arpaio, the 80-year-old lawman who brands himself "America's toughest sheriff," is smiling like a delighted gnome. Nineteen floors above the blazing Arizona desert, the Phoenix sprawl ripples in the heat as Arpaio cues up the Rolling Stones to welcome a reporter "from that marijuana magazine."
Hey! You! Get off of my cloud!
The guided tour of Arpaio's legend has officially begun. Here, next to his desk, is the hand-painted sign of draconian rules for Tent City, the infamous jail he set up 20 years ago, in which some 2,000 inmates live under canvas tarps in the desert, forced to wear pink underwear beneath their black-and-white-striped uniforms while cracking rocks in the stifling heat. HARD LABOR, the sign reads. NO GIRLIE MAGAZINES!
Read more: The Long, Lawless Ride of Sheriff Joe Arpaio by Joe Hagan.
By reading Hagan’s article I learned that Arpaio earned the nickname Nickel Bag Joe because of his penchant for focusing on small crimes while working for the DEA. It explains so much about Arpaio’s character. He brought his small-minded approach forward with him by focusing on detaining Hispanics for small crimes (or no crimes) over investigating more serious crimes, including sex crimes.
My personal opinion is simple: the man is a stinky turd who needs to be flushed away to oblivion.
