(Untitled)

[chibi_totoro]

What brings me out of LJ hibernation? a post from someone on my friends list.

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his post: assimilation english. official language. now. it's not racist, it's not hurting immigrants, if anything it is helping them succeed and grow in our country, which is 100% fine with me. but if you're gonna come here

Comments

[x0coolbreeze0x]

The US has become a so called melting pot. IT has assimilated much from other cultures and new immigrants come here. Historically, many first generation immigrants have spoken little or no English however as English rules American business many children growing up under these conditions learn both English and help their parents assimilate. Those who don;t speak English are either immigrants or enrolled in certain(cotemporarily uncommon) language emersion programs. In either case, the privilage of not speaking English has been allowed to many whites and blacks immigrating to the US so the same alloance should be made for all immigrants. Further more with a very large portion of the world population speaking spanish and that part of the world likely to become economically powerful once it is developed maybe we should, oh i dont know...., learn spanish. Official languages are always a political issue used to segregate and/or seperate peoples which only reasonable justification can be to keep the powerful in power and the powerless

[skyball]

I love how it's common knowledge that English is THE language and if you don't speak it in this country, you're an ignorant, lazy moron. Your friend who posted the comment that started this string, how many languages does he speak? Does he know how difficult it is to pick up another language? And yes, poster, I know what you're going to say: regardless of how many languages you yourself speak, you speak the primary language (primary being the buzz word I'm sure you'll pick out and try to use against my comment) of the country you live in. Ya know what, if someone can get by who gives a fuck how well they speak the language? I'm sorry that your miserable existence forces you into situations where your simple education isn't sufficient to help you cope when the going gets tough. Don't take it out on everyone else. Grow up. Stop being so self serving and realize how difficult it has to be for people who didn't grow up surrounded by a language you take for granted, and for the record, can't use properly in simple LJ posts. Take

[loftygoals]

while certainly useful if everyone in the country spoke the same language, the best reason for promoting that situation would be in order to unify our country instead of having outcasts. but, assume everyone DID, in fact, speak english for a minute--think of all the dialects? soda, pop, coke? bubbler, drinking fountain? southern drawls and east coast whines--there is no such thing as one unified english. the trouble with everyone not speaking the same language, however, is that it contributes to "othering." that is to say, the less like you someone is, the easier it is to think of them as not quite as human, or not the same in terms of rights and such. language is a key contributing factor to this perpetual situation, but even if we were to have a unified language, people would still find ways to separate themselves out to make themselves more "unique"--at least in a culture like ours which is highly individualistic

[loftygoals]

ps--diane, good to see you back on lj. when're you coming back to madtown? and would you still mind burning those T&S cds?

[stehlik]

oh diane, you can use my name, i still like you even though we disagree!!

but i had to reply to you on my own journal with this:

yes, but i could have sworn that you are out for the rights of all human beings. apparently i am. by not at least enforcing english when immigrants get here you are hurting them. you are dooming them to fail and be working in the poorest and most degrading sectors of the work force.

do i care if money is spent by the government to teach immigrants english? no. i'm not a republican who whines when my money is spent on anythign but me. am i forcing people to stop using thier native language. no. if my money needs to be spent to help these people succeed in this country so be it. you calling me racist is blind, and i think you're the one on the moral high horse.