Well, it was reasonable, well thought-out, and compassionate.

SOMEONE must have hated it.

Right on!

I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t really agree with most of it. I know first-hand of immigrants who have no desire to learn english and have come to this country with such attitudes of entitlement that it makes me sick. I don’t expect instant fluency, but I do expect people to make the effort.

I also do not think we should be giving free rides to those who have started out their life in the US by breaking our laws. Are we going to start letting Canadians and Europeans come in and become citizens without going through the process? No, of course not. So why should we give hispanics that option? My best friend (canadian) had to be separated from her American husband for four months because this stupid country wouldn’t let her live with him while she was getting her green card.

I didn’t hate it, I just didn’t really agree with most of it. I know first-hand of immigrants who have no desire to learn english and have come to this country with such attitudes of entitlement that it makes me sick. I don’t expect instant fluency, but I do expect people to make the effort.

I also do not think we should be giving free rides to those who have started out their life in the US by breaking our laws. Are we going to start letting Canadians and Europeans come in and become citizens without going through the process? No, of course not. So why should we give hispanics that option? My best friend (canadian) had to be separated from her American husband for four months because this stupid country wouldn’t let her live with him while she was getting her green card.

Ahh, sorry

I’m amazed at the lack of rational thinking shown by the people crying racism. As far as I know, no one has been singling out mexicans….people who are against illegal immigrants are against them all, regardless of where they come from. There are just more illegal mexicans than other ethnic groups. *shrug*

I’ll have to go find your prior column.

Have a great weekend!

Well, I’m from the Southwest, and folks here were speaking Spanish long before the English-speakers showed up. It seems to me that Spanish-speakers have been mighty accomodating, all things considered.

My family has its own complicated relationships with language. My great-grandparents spoke German (having emigrated from Germany), and, although they learned functional English as adults, lost their English skills in old age (one of the common effects of Alzheimers). So my father grew up with a grandmother who adored him and loved to tell him stories. However, his own father had been of the “this is America and we will speak English” persuasion, which resulted in my father’s complete inability to understand a word his Grandmother said to him. All that history, that whole relationship, lost to English-only prejudice (certainly related to anti-German prejudice surrounding WWI and WWII). Yes, I earned a BA in German, but that was too little, too late.

I tend to worry about what happens when one learns English; I am concerned by the rather common assumption that one will trade in one’s home language in order to learn English, and saddened by the losses implicit in that abandoned language.

WEB DuBois’ notion of double consciousness is helpful. One shouldn’t be required to abandon one identity or the other; DuBois is right in desiring a single consciousness that fuses all aspects of one’s identity.

(Actually, before WWI, German was widely accepted as an appropriate language for public discourse in the US; when Germanness became politicized, so did the language and its speakers).

OK, I have too many opinions on this topic. and will stop now.

Oh – while I agreed with your statement about beef jerky, Everything But The… is far superior to Moose Tracks.

If you speak a second language, teach it to your children. Even if they don’t retain it, they will find it a lot easier to learn a second language as an adult. Plus if not too many others know what you are saying, it’s like you guys have a fun secret code.

There is a caveat to this, though. I tried this with my oldest. Come to find out that he has a speech issue that is exacerbated by teaching another language. I am now having to force myself to teach our second child without causing the eldest to feel left out and it’s not easy.

I’m not sure I completely agree with the Ugly American idea. Most of the folks I know who travelled did take the time to learn the language. The difficulty they met was when they mispronounced some words and were told not to bother, please just speak English.

Which brings up the point, Phisch . . . when was the last time most of us were able or inclined to say, to a latino stammering through some broken English, “Please, just speak Spanish”.

Phisch – having lived in France for a year, I can vouch for the Ugly American stereotype. I saw it all too often, particularly with middle-aged to older tourists. They made no effort at all to speak french and had quite the attitude. I was embarassed for my country.

I am still torn on the language issue. On the one hand, I see the benefits in having insurance policies, etc. in multiple langauges, but at the same time, are we just making it easier to keep this gap between cultures and people by not forcing the issue? There are good arguments on both sides.

As for learning languages, I think our schools should start teaching them early, and they should all be required courses, but it will never happen. Americans are too self-absorbed and don’t want to bother learning about other countries. Most haven’t a clue about their own country’s politics and history.

Wonderful article, John.