June 01, 2005

Yep! And besides all that a governor of Texas said that the bible was written in English and if English was good enough for Jesus then it was good enough for the Mexicans. I love Texas logic.

This may be a wee bit off topic but...has anyone else noticed how difficult it can be to find the English version of product names, instructions, and contents, etc. on things that you buy at the grocery stores, wal mart, etc. now days? I was looking at air conditioners yesterday in wal mart and it took me forever to find the English version of the info that I wanted on the box. Spanish was all over the place. I stated out loud, "Geeze, where is the damn English!! You would think we lived in freaking Mexico or something."

I wonder what the extra costs are to American tax payers to manufacture bilingual packaging for our illegal friends?

Interesting article, multi-issues! I hope the language of love predominates, however the words are shaped. Aside, my youngest daughter is starting her second year of teaching in China, this time to educate the teachers, all of whom teach English as a second language. I believe English will become the universal language of the future. It's already headed in that direction.

Gotdamn right ! Anybody been to Miami lately? The fucking cops don't even speak good english. I think one day Florida is going to become a foreign country. You been here more than a few years and you don't speak english then I say "Go Fucking Home" or else we let Bejus drag you off and shoot you.

Amen. My son worked at a restaurant where some of the kitchen staff were from Mexico and Guatemala, and some of them refused to speak English unless forced to. They knew how, they just didn't want to 'bother'. Like pushing everyone else to speak Spanish wasn't a 'bother'.

My husband had told our neighbor's son we'd be interested in going in halfs to fix the fence between us.
The son had to get an interpretur so his dad could speak to us.
Neighbor kid down the street, 4/5 years old, can't speak English..........

If English is good enough for the Italians, Poles, Russians, Chinese, Japanese, etc who have immigrated here, it's good enough for the Mexicans, too.

One approach: stop posting instructions, etc, in Spanish. I don't expect such postings in non-English speaking countries, and it is not a testament to our superior civilization that we do so here.

If foreigners who've moved here don't wish to assimilate, I wish them to return home.

assrot, how in the hell did you get into Florida without a green card?

Oh, Acid, but some DO know English very, very well...they just fake it.

My husband works in construction. He taught himself Spanish so that he could communicate to his crews better (we live in Tejas).

It's simply amazing the transformation that occurs when he asks a crew leader (most likely a "wetback", refer to below) to do something in English, he shrugs like, "me no understandy," and then the husband says it in Spanish. Wouldn't ya know, all of the sudden he can give instructions or make requests from that point forward in English?

I'm not saying ALL Hispanics are like this, but you would be surprised at how many are. Even the native Hispanics here in Tejas call the illegals "wetbacks." But, unlike some African-Americans, they don't get all pissed off when us Anglos call them "wetbacks."

Was that a PC enough of a post? **snicker**

Surfie, I actually do the same thing in Costa Rica. If you pretend NOT to speak Spanish at first, you can listen to the people trying to con you. Then, if you suddenly call them crooks and thieves in their native tongue, they stop the bullshit and give you a fair deal.

Sometimes, it's better never to show your hole cards until you need to.

Took Spanish for the past two years, and forgot most of it. Hard to remember a language that you really don't use outside the classroom at all.

Hey Acidman,
Been reading your blog forever and finally need to post. I have the special privelege of being an American by choice. Mercifully, we emigrated here before the PC culture. My brother and I didn't know one word of Engish when we arrived. We were simply thrown into class and guess what? Within months we were literate in English. I don't remember any trauma involved with this experience. Our experience is not unique as people from all over the world have done the same thing. All it takes is a little effort. Damn it pisses me off to see what's happening today. I have little tolerance for this shit. When you don't demand anything of people they'll give you nothing in return. I'm wondering if this nonsense will ever stop.
Keep fighting the good fight. You're the FN shit.

Like Godfried, I am an American by choice. When my family emigrated here, my father could speak three words of English. Within three months, he was the manager of a carwash and making himself understood, albeit with a thick accent, in ENGLISH.

We did not maintain our native language in the home because my parents felt it would be too confusing for us (the only mistake I fault my parents for) we were immersed in english and spoke it exclusively.

Bi-lingual education is an albatross around the neck of any immigrant that truly wishes to
succeed in this society.

Rob,

I live in a bi-lingual country. Matter of fact, I was forced by provincial law to take French in school for 9 years.

Want to know how much I can speak today? About as much as Patti LaBelle.

My wife learned English BEFORE she came to the US. She thought it absured to do anything else. When she got here she was amazed to see an ATM. They don't have many of those in former Soviet Union Nations. After the ATM she was amazed that you had to choose between Spanish or English. She thought WTF? Why don't they have a choice for Russian?

The point is that our country accomodates the Spanish language so that there is no reason for native Spanish speakers to learn English.