Letter: GOP hypocrisy on artifact theft case

Opinion

Monday, June 22, 2009

"Once again Republicans reveal, through statements by Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, their outrageous hypocrisy by complaining about the police arrests of elderly white people, et al. for looting Indian artifacts. Apparently Hatch and Bennett don't have a problem with white people ripping off the cultural heritage of Native Americans. Nothing in their statements deplored the actual ongoing criminal activity, just the fact that the justice system took action.

Republicans have promoted themselves as the party of "law and order" for decades. What they mean is setting the justice system against the impoverished and people of color to maintain order for their overwhelmingly white constituents. How many people of color live in gated communities in the U.S.? Damn few.

Age and European ethnicity are hardly a guarantee against violent and criminal acts. Both the recent terrorist attacks in the U.S., the cowardly murders of Dr. George Tiller and security guard Steven T. Johns at the Holocaust Museum, were perpetrated by elderly white men.

In this day and age the police must assume that everyone they arrest may be armed (as the behest of the NRA) and willing to use deadly force, particularly when they have a warrant to raid a home to find contraband.

Artifacts may be extremely valuable, in many cases worth more pound for pound than refined drugs such as crack cocaine or methamphetamine."

Get the Story:
Dav Mar: Republicans artifacts complaints outrageous (The Farmington Daily Times 6/20)

Relevant Documents:
DOI Press Release: Federal Agents Bust Ring of Antiquity Thieves Looting American Indian Sites for Priceless Treasures | DOJ Press Release: Arrests Made in Operation Targeting Network Selling Stolen Native American Artifacts | Remarks of Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden at a Press Conference