Because of his “get tough” tactics, such as making inmates live in tents in the desert in the deadly summer months in the Valley of the Sun, he is the darling of both right wing radio and TV commentators, and "regular folks" who are “fed up” with crime and criminal behavior. Some of his programs, such as dying all the underwear pink to reduce the likelihood that inmates will steal county issued drawers upon release were goofy but did make a fiscal and political point. His fervent anti-immigrant rhetoric, however, places him far outside what most of us believe to be the mainstream of US society. And his antics have kept him in office for decades, so someone must think they work.
Compare and contrast, then, Sheriff Dupnik. He is also a long time public servant, who has actually been in office longer than Arpaio. Arpaio was first elected in 1992, while Dupnik has been the sheriff of Pima County since 1980.
Dupnik is no liberal. He is a major player in law enforcement, and a fan of the technological advances in law enforcement over the past generation. But while Dupnik garners the occasional headline for his work, he does not seem to seek the spotlight for the purpose of self aggrandizement. Dupnik is not afraid to speak his mind. He has opposed Arizona’s draconian anti-immigrant law, even in the face of threats.
Whatever civil rights pluses and minuses appear on Dupnik’s resume, his call for an end to the vitriolic and violent rhetoric that has invaded our public discourse last week showed courage and conviction. He carefully refrained from making statements that would further prejudice Mr. Loughner’s rights to trial in connection with this tragedy; he did not call for vengeance. He called for justice and for sorrow and for reflection, which are the best precursors of dialogue, which is the foundation for peaceful change.
I expect that, to the extent talking heads and policy makers engage in thoughtful reflection, they will be glad to have Sheriff Dupnik’s words to hand their virtual hats on. We don’t yet know why Mr. Loughner acted as he did, what demons or dementors played a role. We don’t know if the politics of the crosshairs had anything to do with his actions.
But we don’t know it didn’t.
And we do know that, whatever Jared Loughner’s story is, there are other weaker personalities and mentally unstable persons in our country who seek validation through the words they hear on the radio and the TV, and what they read on the Net. But we will never achieve a peaceful society if we build our government on campaigns stocked with violent images and rhetoric. We live in a society where our speech is even more violent than our headlines. Our country has devolved to a place where some people believe it is okay to treat other human beings as less than human. And whether Loughner’s violence was triggered by violent political rhetoric or the atmosphere in which it thrives, we must all consider that words, in Rep. Giffords’ own words, “have consequences.”
Sheriff Dupnik recognized that, and, for that, he deserves our thanks.
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