Racism in America

[AL]

I don't get where you people think that immigrants who don't speak English are somehow being "accommodated" by the rest of English-speaking society. There is no law, at least in America, forcing you to interact with people who don't speak English. They are in no way a threat to any of you. If you don't wish to do business with them, then don't. If you do wish to do business with them, then as any good business person knows, you have to accommodate your consumer base by reaching out. But no one is forcing you to do so and you are free to avoid whoever you wish.

 

As for the talk of immigrants being rude because they refuse to learn the language...ever consider that most immigrants settle in diaspora communities, and thus really don't need to learn English to live and do business? If you're Chinese and live in China Town San Francisco, California, you're not really burdening anyone by failing to speak English. In fact, in this particular context, being able to speak Chinese would probably give you an enormous advantage over being able to speak only English.

 

Now, I await somebody's xenophobic tirade about how these diaspora communities are going to destroy American culture, values, and language, and how change and the evolution of society and mores is a bad thing. Please, as if the English language has done a fine job of preserving itself, considering that our English looks nothing like Chaucer's.

[ydoaPs]

if you wanna live in a [insert country here] town, move to the country. america is a combination of several cultures, but if you are going to isolate yourself with others and just keep your culture, then why move here in the first place?

 

to legally move here, you have to take a citizenship test. i THINK it is only given in english.(if it isn't, it should be) if that is so, then isn't it logical to assume that people who do not speak english are illegal aliens and by law should be deported anyway?

[Phi for All]

But no one is forcing you to do so and you are free to avoid whoever you wish.

Mi hombre, AL! Por la paz, amigo!

[ydoaPs]

¿Como se dice spam is bad en español?

[AL]

if you wanna live in a [insert country here] town, move to the country. america is a combination of several cultures, but if you are going to isolate yourself with others and just keep your culture, then why move here in the first place?

Very few immigrants come here to see other cultures. I think it's safe to say that by far, most come here for economic reasons, and as has already been pointed out, you do not need to learn English to be an economically viable agent in America.

[Phi for All]

Very few immigrants come here to see other cultures. I think it's safe to say that by far, most come here for economic reasons, and as has already been pointed out, you do not need to learn English to be an economically viable agent in America.

I definitely agree. Since the US was founded on the "Melting Pot" principle when it comes to immigration, I think someone who has moved here, become prosperous and well-liked in his/her community, creates jobs and generally contributes to the well-being of those they come in contact with is a more valuable citizen, even if he/she does not speak english, than some of the racist elitists who contribute very little and argue that they should be shot.

[YT2095]

I think that what winds people up the wrong way is that there's always quite a lot of asylum seekers who basically come into this country and live off the dole for the rest of their lives' date=' whilst the rest of us go out and pay for their new mobile phone/sofa/house/toaster/etc. There's a lot of bad feeling in our country at the moment about this, and (I believe) rightly so. I think to some people it seems like they're going to stay in a hotel with free room service.

 

What I meant to say (and you probably misinterpreted this), is that if these call centres are going to be shipped overseas - and mainly that's to cut costs, whilst taking away a lot of our jobs - then they need to be able to communicate with customers that are primarily going to be speaking English. It's not about toleration, it's just common sense really.

 

Looks like I'm getting that flame retardant jumper afterall [/quote']so should I then, `coz you`re NOT alone in your thinking there!

I also feel the same, if we`re good enough to scrounge off, we should at least be paid the common courtesy of being spoken to in words that we understand (namely English).

it extends much further than telephone operators too, going into an EXCLUSIVELY asian shop to by food (on the side of a BRITISH ROAD!) they talk about you! under the illusion that you can`t understand them, things like what is HE doing in here, he`s not one of us, type of thing, or why is he buying OUR food!!!!

 

it`s odd also that you may talk to some of them at the garden site in plain english, and yet you pull them up about something (spiting for example) then suddenly they know no English!

 

 

Grrrr....!

[Dave]

Yeah, I think it's pretty important to point out that racism does extend both ways as well. There's a lot of this kind of thing going on in Britain.

[Alexa]

if you wanna live in a [insert country here] town' date=' move to the country. america is a combination of several cultures, but if you are going to isolate yourself with others and just keep your culture, then why move here in the first place?

 

to legally move here, you have to take a citizenship test. i THINK it is only given in english.(if it isn't, it should be) if that is so, then isn't it logical to assume that people who do not speak english are illegal aliens and by law should be deported anyway?[/quote']

Grow up, girl ! If you are not an native indian, your grand-parents or ancestors were imigrants, too !

 

As I can see you spend too much time on this forum, maybe you should take some lessons of history and civility ! You really seem you need them both !

[Dave]

Grow up, girl ! If you are not an native indian, your grand-parents or ancestors were imigrants, too !

 

(I think yourdad is of the male variety, just for the record)

[123rock]

My dad knows everything there is to know about computer programming yet he's been out of a job for 2 years until recently somebody hired him, and now they say that there's been a problem that the boss didn't sign the contract for him to work, so he's basically out of work again. The fact that he was hired may be due to the fact that my parents changed their names from Ventzislav and Stefka, to Vincent, and Stephanie, which I firmly opposed but if it works it works.

 

Racism is one thing, but people tend to stick to people who are like them, e.g. Russians hang out with each other, they don't go out and hang with Mexicans, but the reason is the language, as I know a Russian guy that is always with a Mongolian guy and they both know Russian. The language is what unifies, and what separates if it isn't one.

 

Personally, I think the only racism that exists is in job offers, since most of the "big" people of companies have grown up from the past where people weren't that mixed as they are now. Believe me in a few decades it'll be nothing like this, and there's as little racism in the US as humanly possible.

[Douglas]

I'm probably going to get the ass flamed off of me for this' date=' but I personally think that people who come seeking asylum to this country should be given (at least the opportunity) to get some English lessons, or some kind of basic course.

 

Don't get me wrong, people can speak whatever language they like, and a lot of people come into our country and contribute greatly. I'm also not saying they should be forced into these courses.

 

Personally I find it annoying when I'm speaking to someone on a tech support line, or in the street or whatever, and can hardly understand what they're saying. This is not being racist - I don't hate these people, they're perfectly okay in my eyes - this is being practical - if we all speak a common language, it makes life a lot easier.

 

I'd also like to point out that I feel "racist" is a term used far too often in modern society - it's almost adopted the role of being a slang word.[/quote']

You got that right, the word "racism" is tossed around freely. I suspect that most people don't know what "racism" means, nor do they know the meaning of "bigot", prejudice or apartheid.

 

Yes, I agree that legal immigrants (especially kids) should have the opportunity to learn English, before going to school. I do not believe in Bi-linguistic education.....English only.

 

Yup, I know by now to never call for tech support at night "ave ye tuned de pooer swetch own ?", "repeat that please" "ave ye tuned de pooer swetch own ?" "Yes damnit, I've turned the power switch on".

 

The above statement is not racist. I have a service contract that requires English.