By Stephen Lemons in Feathered Bastard
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| Tucson native Linda Ronstadt joins the fight against Joe this January 16 |
In a conversation this morning via phone, Tucson native and rock legend Linda Ronstadt denounced Sheriff Joe Arpaio's reign of tyranny in Maricopa County and promised to march alongside thousands of activists planning to converge on Phoenix this Saturday, January 16 for a National Day of Action, which will include a walk to Arpaio's jails and a rally and concert afterwards.
The Grammy-winning recording artist, whose career has spanned four decades and multiple genres, said she was moved by the situation in Arizona and Arpaio's abuses of power to participate in the demonstration, which is being organized in large part by the California-based National Day Laborer Organizing Network and Phoenix civil rights activist Sal Reza's Puente Movement.
"He's a sadistic man," said Ronstadt of Arpaio. "He doesn't have great respect for the law. I come from a police family. My brother was the chief of police in Tucson for many years, a real law man...He was the one who made me understand that when the law is unevenly applied or badly applied, it weakens all law. That's what's very concerning about Sheriff Arpaio."
Ronstadt, who maintains a home in Tucson where she lives part of the year, cited Arpaio's raids against the undocumented, his mistreatment of prisoners in his custody, and the deaths in his jails as reasons for criticizing him. She also blasted Arpaio's police state tactics against those who speak out against his iron rule.
"Any of us could be snatched off the street without a warrant because of the way Arpaio is applying the law," noted Ronstadt. "He's had people go and arrest Republicans that have opposed him...They have these trumped up charges, and then later on they go, `Oh well, I guess we weren't right about these charges.' By then the damage is done and people are terrified of him. That's what happens in places...where they have dictators."
The lady once dubbed the Queen of Rock described at length her deep roots in southern Arizona. Her paternal grandfather Fred Ronstadt was born in Mexico and emigrated to the U.S. during the 19th Century to apprentice at wagon making. (The Ronstadt family name is German, she said, and is indicative of the European settlers who migrated to Mexico and intermarried with locals.)
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