U.S. Official Language?

[DianaB]

Originally Posted by Tink

If I went to an different country I would be expected to speak their language. When my grandparents came here they had to learn English. As the old saying goes "when in Rome do as the romans do".

I agree with Tink! If I were to move to another country I'd expect myself to learn their language. I wouldn't expect them to cater to me because I hadn't taken the time to learn the language.

[HALEY]

YES, YES, YES,
Cause i'm so sick of pressing one for english !!!! that just gets under my skin....

[Janet]

You definitely don't want to get me started on this one subject. Our town is in turmoil because of it. I agree 100% with Tink!!!!!

[AngieDoogles]

Whether you like it or not, America is a country with many different cultures. I am constantly amazed, saddened, and utterly disheartened by people's attitudes towards those different than themselves. A little inconvenience, like pushing a button to choose English, is nothing in comparison to living in a country where you don't speak the language, where no one understands (or tries to understand) your culture, where you are discriminated against and looked down upon, just because of your language and where you are from.

There is a transition period for those who move here. You don't just come and suddenly know the language. Many try to learn but have a difficult time. It could take years before they are proficient enough to even get by. I know I speak quite a bit of Spanish, but when I was in Mexico, I was still incredibly grateful when complicated things were in English. And besides, how often do you see Americans trying to teach foreigners English, or trying to include them in normal American cultural activities. They probably never even have the opportunity to learn English because no one cares enough to try to befriend them.

Has anyone here ever even taken the time to imagine what your life would be like if you were born in a country like Mexico, where your children had no opportunities and the government is in constant chaos, where middle class is worse than most of you have ever even seen, where medical care practically doesn't even exist? What is life without compassion? Is it really so hard to look at issues like this from the OTHER person's perspective?

I know everyone here will reply and say why I'm wrong and we shouldn't accommodate such a large population of already underprivileged people. I know that no one will even think about the things I've said. I realize I'm wasting my breath. I just wish there was more compassion in the world. I wish I didn't feel so alone in wanting opportunities to be the same for everyone. I wish America wasn't so set in its belief of what is "right" and what is "best" even if means ignoring the needs of entire populations...

I'm disappointed with America, disappointed with Christians who would rather judge than accept, and disappointed with this forum.

Go ahead. Tell me I'm wrong. Maybe I'll stop caring too.

[Tiramisu]

Originally Posted by AngieDoogles

Whether you like it or not, America is a country with many different cultures. I am constantly amazed, saddened, and utterly disheartened by people's attitudes towards those different than themselves. A little inconvenience, like pushing a button to choose English, is nothing in comparison to living in a country where you don't speak the language, where no one understands (or tries to understand) your culture, where you are discriminated against and looked down upon, just because of your language and where you are from.

There is a transition period for those who move here. You don't just come and suddenly know the language. Many try to learn but have a difficult time. It could take years before they are proficient enough to even get by. I know I speak quite a bit of Spanish, but when I was in Mexico, I was still incredibly grateful when complicated things were in English. And besides, how often do you see Americans trying to teach foreigners English, or trying to include them in normal American cultural activities. They probably never even have the opportunity to learn English because no one cares enough to try to befriend them.

Has anyone here ever even taken the time to imagine what your life would be like if you were born in a country like Mexico, where your children had no opportunities and the government is in constant chaos, where middle class is worse than most of you have ever even seen, where medical care practically doesn't even exist? What is life without compassion? Is it really so hard to look at issues like this from the OTHER person's perspective?

I know everyone here will reply and say why I'm wrong and we shouldn't accommodate such a large population of already underprivileged people. I know that no one will even think about the things I've said. I realize I'm wasting my breath. I just wish there was more compassion in the world. I wish I didn't feel so alone in wanting opportunities to be the same for everyone. I wish America wasn't so set in its belief of what is "right" and what is "best" even if means ignoring the needs of entire populations...

I'm disappointed with America, disappointed with Christians who would rather judge than accept, and disappointed with this forum.

Go ahead. Tell me I'm wrong. Maybe I'll stop caring too.

I could voice several of my opinions, but will just throw out a couple:

1) Why do I have to press 1 to continue in English?
2) What about the children born in the United States of America who have no opportunities, where medical care practically doesn't even exist?
3) Have you ever had your privacy invaded by an illegal?

I'm sorry, but I feel called out on this one. Who gave you the right to judge me? Who's the judging Christian?

[AngieDoogles]

Originally Posted by Tiramisu

I could voice several of my opinions, but will just throw out a couple:

1) Why do I have to press 1 to continue in English?
2) What about the children born in the United States of America who have no opportunities, where medical care practically doesn't even exist?
3) Have you ever had your privacy invaded by an illegal?

I'm sorry, but I feel called out on this one. Who gave you the right to judge me? Who's the judging Christian?

1. Oh yes, pressing one is such an inconvenience for you. Why don't we make it impossible for 13 million people to understand just so you don't have to press a button.

2. This is the case for 95% of the children born in Mexico...or more. What's your point?

3. No.

I am simply commenting on the lack of compassion and how I am disappointed by even Christians I respected and would have expected more from. If you take offense to that, maybe you should ask yourself why. I don't claim to associate with such a discriminatory and close-minded group. It is this attitude that has turned me away from "Christians" in the first place.

[Tiramisu]

Originally Posted by AngieDoogles

1. Oh yes, pressing one is such an inconvenience for you. Why don't we make it impossible for 13 million people to understand just so you don't have to press a button.

2. This is the case for 95% of the children born in Mexico...or more. What's your point?

3. No.

I am simply commenting on the lack of compassion and how I am disappointed by even Christians I respected and would have expected more from. If you take offense to that, maybe you should ask yourself why. I don't claim to associate with such a discriminatory and close-minded group. It is this attitude that has turned me away from "Christians" in the first place.

And, who gave you the right to judge me? Do you know me? Why are you lumping all Christians into your comments? You don't know me! Why can't I have my opinion without your judgments? I have not judged you for your opinions!

I am a law abiding citizen of the United States of America. I work for an honest living and pay my taxes some of which happen to go towards helping the less fortunate. You have no right to judge me!

[Tink]

Angie, it's not that I don't care. I've worked in a bank where we had several Mexican immigrants as customers and we did help as much as we could. I've also worked on an ambulance service and know how essential it is to be able to understand what a patient is trying to tell you. My Spanish is very limited, and most of my co-workers didn't know any. Can you imagine how this limited our ability to even fill out the most basic of forms in the bank? Being a small branch, we had only 3 people in house most of the time. There's no way they were going to hire a full time translator to help us.

Ambulance attendants here are on call from their homes as it is. They receive $2 an hr while on call and a set amount per call they respond to. They're volunteers, so get very little compensation. They are however held to the same standards as the professionals in bigger cities, which means if they screw up they'll be sued like anyone else. SO these people don't do the job for the money... they do it to be of service to the community. Many have quit because the risk of them being sued is so high that they can't justify putting their families in that position. If one non-english speaking patient can't get across to the EMT that they're diabetic, or are having an allergic reaction, etc... someone could die and the small struggling municipal service and the individual EMT could be financially devastated. What happens when we don't have ANY service for any of us as a result?

How is that fair? It's really not so cut and dry as you might think. We have welcomed them into our community, but we simply don't have the resources to provide interpreters on all levels for their safety or ours.