For those of you who are unaware, Joe Arpaio is the sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. He’s famous for being a shameless self-promoter, having branded himself “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” doing things like putting prisoners in tents, demagoging the illegal immigration issue and all manner of other stuff.
This stuff isn’t mere harmless grandstanding, however, inasmuch as he has been investigated on numerous occasions for violating prisoners’ civil rights, abusing his power and being a general race-baiting jagoff.
Well, he wasn’t investigated for that last one. He is a suspect in that regard, however.
His latest gambit? Putting prisoner chain gangs out at the All-Star Game in Phoenix next week:A group of inmates from the sheriff’s holding area for undocumented immigrants, all of whom were convicted of DUI, will join American male and female chains of DUI offenders to send a message about the perils of drunken driving when they pick up trash outside Chase Field next week, Arpaio said.
If someone draws another message about the legal pitfalls of undocumented immigration, all the better.
To the extent this is an anti-illegal immigrant thing it’s pretty weak sauce for Sheriff Joe. When he wants to go after illegals, he does it in a way more straightforward way. This is mostly just an attention whore doing what he does best. And he’s done it before, including at the Super Bowl in Glendale a few years ago.
But whatever the motivation is, I’m sure Bud Selig and all of the other dignitaries at the game are glad that the Midsummer Classic is being used in this way.