Hello world! I have been pondering on this subject for a long time, and it was just yesterday when I was speaking to a friend (my SISTER!) +amanda calabrese and we brought it up that I realized I was not entirely alone in my thinking.
Here on CRACEYSWORLD, my opinion is so well respected and even revered, that sometimes I want to keep it here lest someone in the REAL world take offense, BUT since you are visiting, you may as well hear some of the local conversation...
I am an American. I am very proud of my country. I was born and raised here, and I was in the US Army where I gained an even deeper and more profound respect for America and its history, power, and accomplishments. I am mixed with Black and Italian and I have an entire extended family of Puerto Rican since my Little brother has a little bit of that in him as well. I grew up in Yonkers, NY where we share a border with the Bronx. I probably do not need to say that many of my friends are Hispanic. (I know, 'I'm not racist I have Black friends'~cliche, but oh well) My best friend since HS is Spanish, and one of my great friends I met later in life is from Holland. Saying all that is just to say that I myself speak enough Spanish to communicate and articulate my needs, but being born here in America, the language is supposed to be English right? In school one of the course names was English as a second language!!?? Really?? Here? In America?? SECOND language my man, wow...
Anyway, there are many things we can improve on, but there's this one thing that bothers me on a daily basis, and I think moving here to California, where a shared border is maybe 2 hours away, it just becomes more prevalent...
How disrespectful is it to come to a place and not learn the language!!?? Like seriously! And the more burning question is when does it become less a courtesy to oblige those who speak another language to more of an obligation to accommodate??!! I mean, you don't go visit China and they bend over backwards to accommodate your lack of understanding! You get a damn English/Chinese dictionary and figure it the hell out! In stores where I shop the announcements come on in English, and then replay in Spanish! Billboards in some sections of my hometown are ONLY in SPANISH!!!?? Like are you fricking kidding me? There's a McDonald's in Yonkers where I promise you if you do not speak Spanish, you will have a big issue getting some food because NONE of the employees understand English!! I call my cell phone provider for assistance in tech support and some indignant stuffy dude from India tells me HE cannot understand ME!?
I am not saying anything against immigrants or foreign people at all. I think it is beautiful and even gracious and a fact to be proud of that America is known, and has been known to allow anyone to come here and partake of the American dream, but I still think it so very disrespectful to come here, utilize all that we have to offer, yet have the audacity to NOT learn a lick of English, and THEN we as a society, a country, TAKE that. We don't demand a little respect, we don't even expect it! No. We accommodate it. Go to any job site and more than 50 percent of the jobs require you to be bilingual!! REALLY!!?? It's not enough that I am an American and speak the language of the land!!?? I gotta learn to communicate and accommodate those who don't have to courtesy to learn OUR ways and OUR language.
I'll give you this example and then you decide if you wanna go buy a damn Rosetta Stone pack (or 3) and learn another language to fit in to OUR country. If I went to a retail store (pick one) and spent 2000.00 and get up to the register and the clerk says (in English) 'that'll be 2000.00." and I pulled out euros, is she gonna ACCOMMODATE me and accept my euros?? HELL NO! She is going to suggest I take my self to a bank or other financial institution and get the correct currency for the damn country I am in!!
SOOOO...
I may not say it out loud but I will say it here in the comforts of my world (where English is the first language) I wish all the people who LIVE here an have made AMERICA their home, would carry their sorry selves to the community college (or any educational institution) and learn English! And to top it all off, there are many, many government and state funded programs that provide this for free...
Damn, since we don't speak any other language here in Cracey's world, I cannot even translate that to accommodate my non English speaking visitors... HOW RUDE OF ME!!!
~Stacey
I completely agree with you on this. I want to learn Spanish for my pleasure not as a reqirement to live in my own country. You know I work in little Mexico (Buford hwy ) and some have attitudes becaus I don't understand. Smh...just point at the picture sir!
ReplyDeleteThat's my point! We have become so complacent as a COUNTRY that they get an ATTITUDE because we don't understand them!!?? I mean seriously, if these same people tried to pay you in a different CURRENCY, I bet your manager wouldn't be so damn accommodating!! lol @ lil mexico!! im in Cali girl, Little mexico doesn't evn BEGIN to describe it!! And I speak enough Spanish to communicate, but as you said, for my PLEASURE, and because I had to communicate with all those sexy a@@ Puerto Ricans in the Bronx, BUT ANYWAY.... lol
ReplyDeleteObviously - I am so on board with this posting!! It's not even about being prejudiced or discriminating against those who can't speak the language but WE as Americans are expected to learn or try to learn the language when we are going to that particular place or country. And that speaks on your point of going to China or working at McDonalds. My biggest issue is when you are in a CUSTOMER SERVICE position in the USA - where English used to be the primary language, I'm sure it is heading towards Spanish now - why on God's planet should I get frustrated to call a place when it is YOUR job to help me and yet you have no idea what I am speaking of!??!! I was passed onto at least 6 different Tmobile representatives the other day to get ONE thing settled - a payment. Do you not want my money? I mean - I just don't understand why I have to get to a point of a full on migraine because I have exhausted myself explaining my story over and over because the concept of what I am saying does not make sense. I would never apply to a bilingual position because I am NOT bilingual. So I wouldn't go there expecting the other nationality or language to understand MY language. I'm getting aggravated just discussing it lol But literally every point I have - is to what you said above. We are all expected to do our jobs - and do them well, yet these places have people working for them that can't even understand the concept. We need to stop focusing on just giving people jobs because they accept less money than say, a fellow American. (unfortunately, I'm sure as immigrants - sometimes they may take whatever they can, which is TOTALLY respectable!! And I feel for them) but on the opposite spectrum - WE are totally stressed out!!!!
ReplyDeleteTotally stressed out but it's even bigger than aggravation! It's like where is our PRIDE as a country!? Of course we embrace other cultures! We take them on, join them and make their holidays our own, but when it comes to this language issue, I continue to feel like we allow too many miniscule things like this just go until they become BIG and this my friend, is a BIG problem... I KNOW I'm not the only one....
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