This has just got to be seen to believed. It is a letter from La Raza to it’s members: (via NRO)
This sounds like they don’t wish for the Hispanics to assimilate into our Country, doesn’t it? Anyone surprised?
I thought not.
The efforts of groups such as La Raza have worked well. I am confronted daily with Hispanics in South Central LA who cannot speak one iota of English. They make no attempt at trying to speak it, and they EXPECT that a Spanish speaking officer will arrive so their call for service can be handled.
A good example of this is in article in the Contra Costa times on Mar 25th:
Alicia Alvarado presses two for Spanish.
Nearly everything the 44-year-old janitor needs can be had in her mother tongue. She shops in Spanish, files police reports, talks to nurses and teachers and voice-mail systems. For 17 years, Alvarado has lived in a Spanish-speaking world, first in Los Angeles and now in Concord’s Monument Corridor.
Her continued monolingualism stems from cultural pride, a hectic life and the challenge of studying a foreign language.
“We don’t want to lose our roots,” she says.
Then, she blushes and adds, “when I first moved (to Concord), I was ashamed to attend English classes.”
You get that? Ashamed to be learning English in the United States!
Eighty percent of the customers at the busy El Molino Tortilla Factory in Concord are Spanish speakers, says owner Santiago Morales. Dozens of businesses up and down Monument Boulevard cater to Spanish speaking customers. Spanish is heard on every corner. Alvarado says she can get everything she needs without having to speak English.
And in Chinatowns, Koreatowns and Little Italys across the Bay, a melange of global consonants and vowels accompany their corresponding foods, art and culture.
“In this 21st century, we celebrate diversity, we recognize diversity,” said Assemblyman Leland Yee, D-San Francisco. “We’re saying, ‘you’re in America, it’s important to learn English, but it’s also important to preserve that culture that you came from.'”
Yee said his mother, who has lived in the United States for 50 years, would have a richer life if she could read English newspapers and communicate better outside of Chinatown. Yee decries the shortage of English-as-a-second-language classes, but he also champions policies to provide more translators and promote multiculturalism.
The seemingly contradictory message of promoting both assimilation and multiculturalism hurts immigrants, says one researcher at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.
“I don’t think it’s a coherent message,” said Jose Enrique Idler, a national research initiative fellow at the institute. “We encourage you to become part of us, but we want to encourage you to speak your language.”
Immigrants should learn English so they can participate more in the political life of the nation, said Idler, who was born in Venezuela.
That’s a novel concept huh?
I would like La Raza to explain to me why learning English and American values would be dangerous to people wanting to come to this country? Explain to me why these idiots flying Mexican flags while proclaiming themselves to be American ever even left Mexico? If it was so friggin great that you would fly that flag in this country why the flying eff are you even here?
I would like La Raza to explain to me why learning English and American values would be dangerous to people wanting to come to this country? Explain to me why these idiots flying Mexican flags while proclaiming themselves to be American ever even left Mexico?
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Man oh man…I used to actually live in the monument blvd area … right up until last year and I tell you what, there is no way I could have done business there…even at the grocery store, unless I knew how to speak Spanish. It was ridiculous. I actually watched a spanish guy get the crap beat out of him by a cop because the guy didnt speak english and did not understand the officers orders to hit the deck.
Lets get Tom Tancredo to start a bill making english the ONLY language we speak in America.
This may be one of the most ignorant posts I have ever read. Your opinion is certainly valid in its own right, but you should really consider the bigotry underlying your statements:
Explain to me why these idiots flying Mexican flags while proclaiming themselves to be American ever even left Mexico? If it was so friggin great that you would fly that flag in this country why the flying eff are you even here?
And Dennis…
Lets get Tom Tancredo to start a bill making english the ONLY language we speak in America.
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You need to get a clue about the values of this country and realize that it is a diverse place that welcomes all ethnic cultures, LANGUAGES, and values… not just your own. There should probably be more of an effort to legislate bills mandating that Americans be required to become bilingual, in the least. We are competing in a globalized market– the world certainly does not revolve around the United States, and you need to realize this.
How many languages should be mandated? Should citizens inhabiting the major cities in this country be forced to learn the language of perhaps, four ethnic groups? five or six? because some can’t be bothered to learn one, this country’s language?
Better idea, those who choose to speak in their native tongue should be mandated to provide their own translators. This issue slows Curt’s job and threatens the safety of other citizens in LA, I would guess on a frequent basis, send them downtown and make them call in a translator.
When my grandfather moved to this country, he mandated that his family speak English because they became Americans. His decision has not adversly affected our family’s culture one iota.
Realize this, people come to this country because they are looking for a better life, learning this country’s language would enhance their lives, they should accept that responsibility rather than pushing it off onto their fellow citizens. They have the power to change the negative perception citizens in this great nation hold for them, it’s their ball.
😮 Force them to speak a language then prosecute them! geezzzz Spanish is a colonize language also! mexicans are indians so it doesnt matter. we should speak what we were speaking before the settlers decided to settle on others land. im not english i hate speaking it, not from england!
When my husband was stationed in Italy I learned Italian so I could get to know the people, understand the culture, and read and watch the news so I could understand what was going on around me. I was only going to be there for three years, but I didn’t want to live in darkness for even a minute. Right before we returned to the States another wife — who hadn’t bothered to learn more than a few phrases and who would grab one of us linguists to help her shop/travel — looked at me with a sneer and asked what good learning Italian had done for me now that I was going home? I replied that it had made my stay in the country more comfortable, helped me understand and appreciate the culture, helped me make Italian friends, and, most of all, had made me dependent on no one. Ms. Clueless flounced off.
Lefties would label Ms. Cluless an “Ugly American” for not learning Italian while living in Italy. But these same lefties give Hispanic immigrants a complete pass and don’t call them “Ugly Mexicans/Whatever” when they refuse to learn English no matter how many years they live here. No, to the left the Americans are still ugly for not learning Spanish to speak to immigrants — even illegal ones — in the U.S. What nonsense!
When will Hispanics become ashamed of being treated like backward children? When will they become suspicious of people/organizations who pander to them and lull them to sleep? Hispanics need to wake up and realize that, if they really want a better life for their families, learning English and getting an education is in their best interest. It will truly empower them (not politicians/interest groups), make them better citizens, and make them dependent on no one. It is time and effort well spent that will reap rewards for their entire lifetime.
If the majority of people, before and after colonizers, are of spanish speaking cultures why didnt [or doesn’t] the colonizers desendents learn to speak the majority language?? Nothing wrong with being trilingual or bilingual.