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[calysto]

The United States almost incorporated Canada into its fold during the U.S. Revolutionary War. If that occurred, would Quebec still predominately speak French? More than likely yes. Which leads me to wonder... if, today, the U.S. had an area as huge as Quebec speaking French... (as well as other parts of what would have been Canada) would Americans

Comments

[schoolofsoul]

Anti-Spanish backlash is mostly three-fold.

For some, its roots lie in ancient British anti-Spanish sentiments that go back centuries, and include the competition between the European powers for the New World territories. So some of it is related to just that. Old cultural and political prejudices.

For some, it's racism, pure and simple. They consider Spanish speakers, particularly those of Indigenous ancestry to whatever degree, to be of some sort of lesser race, or from a lower quality culture.

For other people, though, it's mostly just frustration with Spanish simply not being the primary language of social discourse and commerce in the US, which, traditionally, has been the status quo for quite a long time. Also, before the 1980s, you generally did not see the kind of immigration influx from Spanish-speaking countries, on a national level, that you have in the last 25 or 30 years. This has affected the job market, even at the lowest-paying level. There have been cases where, even at fast food outlets, one cannot be considered for hire unless one is bilingual. Compounding the problem is the fact that Spanish language instruction has not been a requirement for all US students, or even all US students in areas with large Spanish-speaking populations, and this resulting inability to easily communicate with Spanish-speakers (and in some cases, with Spanish-speakers' inability to communicate with English speakers) can cause resentment, suspicion, and conflict. Language barriers are never any fun for anyone.

If communication was more fluid and easier for all involved, xenophobia would decrease as a result. People usually only fear and loathe what they don't understand.