The thing is, I think just the fact that someone from the U.S. could make the mistake of forgetting that Mexico is part of North America, if only for a minute, is really telling of the underlying egocentrism with which we are raised. We can forget about others because we hold the privilege. Do you think someone in Mexico would ever, even for a minute, forget that the U.S. is part of North America? I don't think so. It's kind of like how we can easily forget to consider the Native Americans (or even African Americans) that live in the U.S., but they can never forget about white people. We see the world as if we're the center of it, and we expect - and force - others to see the world as if we're the center of it too.
who does WE refer to?
Americans, as a group, in the fist example and white Americans, as a group, in the second. Or American and white American society, if you prefer.
(Just the fact that we describe ourselves as "Americans" when there are many other countries in the Americas is indicative of our egocentrism.)
The thing is, I think just the fact that someone from the U.S. could make the mistake of forgetting that Mexico is part of North America, if only for a minute, is really telling of the underlying egocentrism with which we are raised. We can forget about others because we hold the privilege. Do you think someone in Mexico would ever, even for a minute, forget that the U.S. is part of North America? I don't think so. It's kind of like how we can easily forget to consider the Native Americans (or even African Americans) that live in the U.S., but they can never forget about white people. We see the world as if we're the center of it, and we expect - and force - others to see the world as if we're the center of it too.
who does WE refer to?
Americans, as a group, in the fist example and white Americans, as a group, in the second. Or American and white American society, if you prefer.
(Just the fact that we describe ourselves as "Americans" when there are many other countries in the Americas is indicative of our egocentrism.)
The way I see it being a American is nothing to be ashamed of.....is it egocentric to back your favorite Football team, baseball team or favorite band.....I don’t see how being proud and standing up for your country is egocentric......and why are you separating Americans into White America then The rest?
“We the people are the rightful masters of bothCongress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln
The thing is, I think just the fact that someone from the U.S. could make the mistake of forgetting that Mexico is part of North America, if only for a minute, is really telling of the underlying egocentrism with which we are raised. We can forget about others because we hold the privilege. Do you think someone in Mexico would ever, even for a minute, forget that the U.S. is part of North America? I don't think so. It's kind of like how we can easily forget to consider the Native Americans (or even African Americans) that live in the U.S., but they can never forget about white people. We see the world as if we're the center of it, and we expect - and force - others to see the world as if we're the center of it too.
The way I see it being a American is nothing to be ashamed of.....is it egocentric to back your favorite Football team, baseball team or favorite band.....I don’t see how being proud and standing up for your country is egocentric......and why are you separating Americans into White America then The rest?
Backing your favorite sports team or band is not even remotely similar to excluding entire countries or races when considering societies to which they belong. We are able to do this because our privilege allows us to be oblivious to anything outside our dominant cultural norms, while alienating & marginalizing groups who are not like us. People live and die according to this power structure; it is nothing to be trivialized by comparing it to sports.
The acknowledgement of non-white or non-American peoples and cultures does not in any way translate into being ashamed of being American. To the contrary, non-white Americans are just as American as we are, and to marginalize entire groups of fellow Americans is what demonstrates shame for our country. I agree that we should be proud of and stand up for our country - and that means ALL of our country, not just the part that is like us.
The thing is, I think just the fact that someone from the U.S. could make the mistake of forgetting that Mexico is part of North America, if only for a minute, is really telling of the underlying egocentrism with which we are raised. We can forget about others because we hold the privilege. Do you think someone in Mexico would ever, even for a minute, forget that the U.S. is part of North America? I don't think so. It's kind of like how we can easily forget to consider the Native Americans (or even African Americans) that live in the U.S., but they can never forget about white people. We see the world as if we're the center of it, and we expect - and force - others to see the world as if we're the center of it too.
The way I see it being a American is nothing to be ashamed of.....is it egocentric to back your favorite Football team, baseball team or favorite band.....I don’t see how being proud and standing up for your country is egocentric......and why are you separating Americans into White America then The rest?
Backing your favorite sports team or band is not even remotely similar to excluding entire countries or races when considering societies to which they belong. We are able to do this because our privilege allows us to be oblivious to anything outside our dominant cultural norms, while alienating & marginalizing groups who are not like us. People live and die according to this power structure; it is nothing to be trivialized by comparing it to sports.
The acknowledgement of non-white or non-American peoples and cultures does not in any way translate into being ashamed of being American. To the contrary, non-white Americans are just as American as we are, and to marginalize entire groups of fellow Americans is what demonstrates shame for our country. I agree that we should be proud of and stand up for our country - and that means ALL of our country, not just the part that is like us.
So I don't see anyone here posting anything that That suggest only some Americans are good
No one has said non white Americans are any less American that other Americans.....you , the one that keeps mentioning White Males or White Americans are the one that wants to but people in categories.
If it’s illegal it’s illegal no matter what color or were your from....right?
“We the people are the rightful masters of bothCongress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.” Abraham Lincoln
So I don't see anyone here posting anything that That suggest only some Americans are good
No one has said non white Americans are any less American that other Americans.....you , the one that keeps mentioning White Males or White Americans are the one that wants to but people in categories.
Did you read the whole conversation?? It was in reference to the post earlier where someone totally left out Mexico as being part of North America. The part about different groups within the US was an analogy.
Regardless, the entire law in question is based on the underlying sentiment that it's okay to treat non-white Americans as less than white Americans. And my posts with which you're trying to argue are about privilege.
Here's a great explanation of privilege that might help you understand the correlation:
Invisible privilege is what you’re experiencing when you tell someone outside your race, gender, class, etc., “I don’t know why you’re complaining; the system works just fine for for me.”
Let me ask you the same question I asked the other poster (you know, the one where you responded not by addressing the question, but by accusing me of being taught by my school to hate America and break the law :roll: ): Do you acknowledge the unearned privilege that has been conferred upon white people (as a group) in this country?
that is the strangest political add I have seen :?
seems like something I would see on SNL
I agree with those that are opposed to this idea and there is no need to restate what has been said....
I will say that my daycare provider doesn't speak english well (she speaks some), she is not from Mexico, and she is here legally. Owns a house, pays taxes and gives back by looking after other people's kids so they can work.
(no I am not rich with a nanny, just the opposite, I am poor and she is all I can afford)
She watched my oldest and is now watching my second child, the language has not been a problem. I speak enough of her language that I can communicate and she sometimes has her daughter translate the important things. There is a lot more about communication then spoken language.
that is the strangest political add I have seen :?
seems like something I would see on SNL
I agree with those that are opposed to this idea and there is no need to restate what has been said....
I will say that my daycare provider doesn't speak english well (she speaks some), she is not from Mexico, and she is here legally. Owns a house, pays taxes and gives back by looking after other people's kids so they can work.
(no I am not rich with a nanny, just the opposite, I am poor and she is all I can afford)
She watched my oldest and is now watching my second child, the language has not been a problem. I speak enough of her language that I can communicate and she sometimes has her daughter translate the important things. There is a lot more about communication then spoken language.
Your kids are lucky to be exposed to and presumably have the opportunity to start to learn another language in their home!
agreed my 3 year old is already close to being bilingual
I purposely send my son to a school that teaches, even three year olds, English, Spanish and ESL. I recognize that we live in a multi-cultural, diverse society and have chosen to embrace it rather than deny at and try to live in some kind of unrealistic bubble. But that's just me. Me and my crazy liberal ideologies.
damn i really liked My Morning Jacket too. didnt know he was a racist.
LOL. That is what I thought... I figured if AR is Arizona .. and we were supposed to just "know" that... then certainly a thinking person would figure that Tim James was really a typo for Jim James.
I figured a MMJ reference would seem more at home on a PJ board than this crazy crap that some of these PJ fans have been coming up with!
that is the strangest political add I have seen :?
seems like something I would see on SNL
I agree with those that are opposed to this idea and there is no need to restate what has been said....
I will say that my daycare provider doesn't speak english well (she speaks some), she is not from Mexico, and she is here legally. Owns a house, pays taxes and gives back by looking after other people's kids so they can work.
(no I am not rich with a nanny, just the opposite, I am poor and she is all I can afford)
She watched my oldest and is now watching my second child, the language has not been a problem. I speak enough of her language that I can communicate and she sometimes has her daughter translate the important things. There is a lot more about communication then spoken language.
Awesome, As a single parent I wanted the same thing for my daughter having the ability to be bilingual in this country has it's advantages in school and for a career goal. If nothing else just being to understand another culture and it's language is something we should all seek out, not exclude those who don't speak english. If we don't see something wrong with excluding non english speaking people when we're a country made of many different people from many different cultures/countries then this country truly heading backwards.
Peace
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
What's sick is this guy is being called a racist. The thread title should be changed cause this guy said not one thing racist. Dumbest thread of all time. Waste of time.
I don't throw around that term lightly, as you may or may not have seen in other threads on AMT. Maybe what he said doesn't directly infer racism, but think about who the people are that will listen to it and agree with him. It will incite racist dialogue and thinking. I didn't think it was necessary to write a paragraph in my thread title.
So do you agree with this sentiments or don't you?
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Language is HUGE here. As someone else brought up, Quebec is a major issue here in Canada. There are many Quebecers that feel that the official language of Quebec should be French. English is our country's first official language, and French is our second. Language (and the heritage) is the basis behind the Quebec seperatist movement, which has almost happened on two occasions.
Everything on products sold in Canada have to have both languages on it, most street signs have both, etc. I'm not French, I know only what I learned in school, but never, EVER would I promote English as Canada's ONLY language.
Here's a question for the Canadians: Is language such a big issue there? Do people think English should be the only language spoken and that all signs and driver's exams, etc. should be in English? Does everyone speak English or do some people speak only French? Are the French-speakers or those who speak English with heavy accents looked down on as a group?
(Of course, accents are relative. Many people who are thought of as having accents would say they don't have accents at all - and that probably includes the guy in the video. I remember once when I had to call this hotel in Canada frequently for a couple of weeks - I couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying. But of course they were speaking English. Seems to me that if we're going to look down on people who speak English with accents - or ban them from teaching English, as AZ has done - then we should do that across the board. Don't just ban English with Spanish accents; ban English with all the other accents too. Then we'll really have a battle on our hands about who in the English-speaking countries and even in the U.S. is really the center of the world! And maybe we would be able to see the absurdity of it all.)
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Language is HUGE here. As someone else brought up, Quebec is a major issue here in Canada. There are many Quebecers that feel that the official language of Quebec should be French. English is our country's first official language, and French is our second. Language (and the heritage) is the basis behind the Quebec seperatist movement, which has almost happened on two occasions.
Everything on products sold in Canada have to have both languages on it, most street signs have both, etc. I'm not French, I know only what I learned in school, but never, EVER would I promote English as Canada's ONLY language.
Here's a question for the Canadians: Is language such a big issue there? Do people think English should be the only language spoken and that all signs and driver's exams, etc. should be in English? Does everyone speak English or do some people speak only French? Are the French-speakers or those who speak English with heavy accents looked down on as a group?
(Of course, accents are relative. Many people who are thought of as having accents would say they don't have accents at all - and that probably includes the guy in the video. I remember once when I had to call this hotel in Canada frequently for a couple of weeks - I couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying. But of course they were speaking English. Seems to me that if we're going to look down on people who speak English with accents - or ban them from teaching English, as AZ has done - then we should do that across the board. Don't just ban English with Spanish accents; ban English with all the other accents too. Then we'll really have a battle on our hands about who in the English-speaking countries and even in the U.S. is really the center of the world! And maybe we would be able to see the absurdity of it all.)
Good points.
Hey, are you from Eastern Canada or West?
I'm from BC so I can say the culture is different here, but we all learn about the political faultlines between the English and the French - its definitely a touchy subject. In B.C. you would be better off learning Punjabi or Mandarin or Cantonese... Maybe its the Rockies that separates us but we really don't have a large French speaking population.
One thing I find very cool here is that there is actually a channel that broadcasts the Canucks games in Punjabi. Hockey is a huge sport in Canada but it is really interesting to see how it has exploded in our indo-canadian communities. Its just a cool mixture of cultures!!!!!
Language is HUGE here. As someone else brought up, Quebec is a major issue here in Canada. There are many Quebecers that feel that the official language of Quebec should be French. English is our country's first official language, and French is our second. Language (and the heritage) is the basis behind the Quebec seperatist movement, which has almost happened on two occasions.
Everything on products sold in Canada have to have both languages on it, most street signs have both, etc. I'm not French, I know only what I learned in school, but never, EVER would I promote English as Canada's ONLY language.
Here's a question for the Canadians: Is language such a big issue there? Do people think English should be the only language spoken and that all signs and driver's exams, etc. should be in English? Does everyone speak English or do some people speak only French? Are the French-speakers or those who speak English with heavy accents looked down on as a group?
(Of course, accents are relative. Many people who are thought of as having accents would say they don't have accents at all - and that probably includes the guy in the video. I remember once when I had to call this hotel in Canada frequently for a couple of weeks - I couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying. But of course they were speaking English. Seems to me that if we're going to look down on people who speak English with accents - or ban them from teaching English, as AZ has done - then we should do that across the board. Don't just ban English with Spanish accents; ban English with all the other accents too. Then we'll really have a battle on our hands about who in the English-speaking countries and even in the U.S. is really the center of the world! And maybe we would be able to see the absurdity of it all.)
Good points.
Hey, are you from Eastern Canada or West?
I'm from BC so I can say the culture is different here, but we all learn about the political faultlines between the English and the French - its definitely a touchy subject. In B.C. you would be better off learning Punjabi or Mandarin or Cantonese... Maybe its the Rockies that separates us but we really don't have a large French speaking population.
One thing I find very cool here is that there is actually a channel that broadcasts the Canucks games in Punjabi. Hockey is a huge sport in Canada but it is really interesting to see how it has exploded in our indo-canadian communities. Its just a cool mixture of cultures!!!!!
neither. smack dab in the crotch of Canada: Winnipeg. So we also have a very fruitful Francophone community here. I actually live in the French community in the Peg.
I find the language issue is more of a problem with the previous generation, not mine (I'm 36). It's my parents generation that has a problem with the "this is my country, conform to our values" kind of bullshit. I don't know how many times I've tried to explain that this isn't our country, we stole it from the Native people that were already here. If they had the attitude that the Europeans that came here, we should ALL be speaking a Native Canadian dialect, not English.
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
It bothers me people don't learn a language in the country they move to - i wouldn't move to Barcelona and expect to speak English.
why would that bother you? I'd probably try to learn Spanish, but if I could get by without it, say, if most of the community I lived in were also English speaking, or I was 75 and just didn't give a shit to, then it's my own problem. But the issue here is that the US and Canada have a melting pot of different cultures and languages. It only makes sense for us to help those that aren't English speaking thrive in their new home.
I'm a white Irish/Scottish/English Canadian, and that's my opinion.
Gimli 1993
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
If we don't see something wrong with excluding non english speaking people when we're a country made of many different people from many different cultures/countries then this country truly heading backwards.
Peace
This message board makes me feel like it really is.
What's sick is this guy is being called a racist. The thread title should be changed cause this guy said not one thing racist. Dumbest thread of all time. Waste of time.
I don't throw around that term lightly, as you may or may not have seen in other threads on AMT. Maybe what he said doesn't directly infer racism, but think about who the people are that will listen to it and agree with him. It will incite racist dialogue and thinking. I didn't think it was necessary to write a paragraph in my thread title.
So do you agree with this sentiments or don't you?
If someone benefits from and actively promotes institutionalized racism, does that make him a racist?
It only makes sense for us to help those that aren't English speaking thrive in their new home.
Exactly. And it's the hypocrisy that kills me the most. It generally the same group of people who say everyone should learn English that are the ones who oppose ESL programs - whose sole purpose it to teach people English! They should make up their fucking minds. Don't OPPOSE something that supports your goal! This is just another reason to think it's not really about the language at all, but ultimately about contempt for different people. (It's the same, if you ask me, as the people who oppose abortion rights AND contraception and sex education. They say they just love the babies, but it sure seems like at some level they just hate the women.)
Wow. What is this country coming to? :( Should all hospital forms be in English too? What about all restaurant menus? And this coming from a country that generally doesn't learn anyone else's language but expects everyone in the world to know ours. :roll:
Yes they should be, I lived in Germany for almost 5 years, they did not change anything for me to English.
When does it stop should we have forms in all languages. Since not every one speaks Spanish either. Should we have German, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, French, Korean, Farsi, etc....
96 Randall's Island II
98 CAA
00 Virginia Beach;Camden I; Jones Beach III
05 Borgata Night I; Wachovia Center
06 Letterman Show; Webcast (guy in blue shirt), Camden I; DC
08 Camden I; Camden II; DC
09 Phillie III
10 MSG II
13 Wrigley Field
16 Phillie II
Tim James is just a twit.....thinks this is still 1960's Alabama where that crap actually worked....son of an ex-governor [one term as a Democrat (1978-1982) and one term as a Republican (late 1990s)]...lost re-election bids both times.....Tim got a sweetheart deal from daddy to build a beach expressway and a couple of toll bridges (the only ones in the state)....his TV ads are a hoot with that silly look down at the floor right before he makes his point
All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
Wow. What is this country coming to? :( Should all hospital forms be in English too? What about all restaurant menus? And this coming from a country that generally doesn't learn anyone else's language but expects everyone in the world to know ours. :roll:
Yes they should be, I lived in Germany for almost 5 years, they did not change anything for me to English.
When does it stop should we have forms in all languages. Since not every one speaks Spanish either. Should we have German, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, French, Korean, Farsi, etc....
Communities (and business, if they are smart) should make important services, like hospital services, available in the languages spoken by most of the community. Where I work, our brochures and paperwork are generally in English, Spanish, Navajo, and Vietnamese, and we have interpreter services for other languages. That's just practical if we actually care to do what we are here to do. What do you expect? That we should just tell patients they're SOL if they don't speak English? Should 911 do that to and, if so, will you be fine with it when you're in a car accident and a person with limited English proficiency calls 911 and they tell him they only serve people who speak English?
It bothers me people don't learn a language in the country they move to - i wouldn't move to Barcelona and expect to speak English.
why would that bother you? I'd probably try to learn Spanish, but if I could get by without it, say, if most of the community I lived in were also English speaking, or I was 75 and just didn't give a shit to, then it's my own problem. But the issue here is that the US and Canada have a melting pot of different cultures and languages. It only makes sense for us to help those that aren't English speaking thrive in their new home.
I'm a white Irish/Scottish/English Canadian, and that's my opinion.
Hmm, I don't know. I guess I consider it rude more than anything.
I don't get what your ancestry has to do with it though...
By the way, my mother is an ESL teacher for a government run program... And I don't disagree with drivers tests in different languages, like I said, you don't need to learn the language to know how to drive.
English is not the official language of the U.S. but those that choose not to speak it fluently (or have problems learning it) will find their opportunities (both business and social) to be severely limited. This is more evident the further north you travel.
It's simply a case of people not wanting to change because of entitlement and looking at things on the other foot. Pathetic... and it comes out in measures of racism, hatred, jingoism and ignorance.
I agree, and it's sad. Not just for the victims of our sense of entitlement, but also for us and our children, who are missing out on a whole world of rich language, culture, and experiences. Shouldn't we WANT to learn other languages? :?
I agree with this sentiment. It is a shame that Americans don't learn more languages. I only speak English...forgot all the french I toke long ago. I'll make sure that my daughter learns another language at least (hopefully spanish) and will certainly encourage it's use so she doesn't lose it.
I'm too lazy and busy to take my own spanish classes...but maybe someday while my kid is learning.
I do wish we could get past the whole...."Gotta speak English" and the whole "You're a racist" talk though...because underneath is a great debate.
Just what should tax payers be paying for? How many languages are enough? Etc, etc. Don't know the answer, but there is a line somewhere I would think.
I do wish people in the USA were more tolerant of people speaking other languages though. When I travel to other countries...and I only speak english...I feel bad, because I feel like I should be able to speak to them in their language, but I'm only visiting for a short time. And I also wonder what they think of me since I only speak english and some Americans have been real jerks about. I hope they are more tolerant of me.
Comments
Americans, as a group, in the fist example and white Americans, as a group, in the second. Or American and white American society, if you prefer.
(Just the fact that we describe ourselves as "Americans" when there are many other countries in the Americas is indicative of our egocentrism.)
The way I see it being a American is nothing to be ashamed of.....is it egocentric to back your favorite Football team, baseball team or favorite band.....I don’t see how being proud and standing up for your country is egocentric......and why are you separating Americans into White America then The rest?
Backing your favorite sports team or band is not even remotely similar to excluding entire countries or races when considering societies to which they belong. We are able to do this because our privilege allows us to be oblivious to anything outside our dominant cultural norms, while alienating & marginalizing groups who are not like us. People live and die according to this power structure; it is nothing to be trivialized by comparing it to sports.
The acknowledgement of non-white or non-American peoples and cultures does not in any way translate into being ashamed of being American. To the contrary, non-white Americans are just as American as we are, and to marginalize entire groups of fellow Americans is what demonstrates shame for our country. I agree that we should be proud of and stand up for our country - and that means ALL of our country, not just the part that is like us.
No one has said non white Americans are any less American that other Americans.....you , the one that keeps mentioning White Males or White Americans are the one that wants to but people in categories.
If it’s illegal it’s illegal no matter what color or were your from....right?
Did you read the whole conversation?? It was in reference to the post earlier where someone totally left out Mexico as being part of North America. The part about different groups within the US was an analogy.
Regardless, the entire law in question is based on the underlying sentiment that it's okay to treat non-white Americans as less than white Americans. And my posts with which you're trying to argue are about privilege.
Here's a great explanation of privilege that might help you understand the correlation:
Let me ask you the same question I asked the other poster (you know, the one where you responded not by addressing the question, but by accusing me of being taught by my school to hate America and break the law :roll: ): Do you acknowledge the unearned privilege that has been conferred upon white people (as a group) in this country?
Huh? :?
seems like something I would see on SNL
I agree with those that are opposed to this idea and there is no need to restate what has been said....
I will say that my daycare provider doesn't speak english well (she speaks some), she is not from Mexico, and she is here legally. Owns a house, pays taxes and gives back by looking after other people's kids so they can work.
(no I am not rich with a nanny, just the opposite, I am poor and she is all I can afford)
She watched my oldest and is now watching my second child, the language has not been a problem. I speak enough of her language that I can communicate and she sometimes has her daughter translate the important things. There is a lot more about communication then spoken language.
Your kids are lucky to be exposed to and presumably have the opportunity to start to learn another language in their home!
I purposely send my son to a school that teaches, even three year olds, English, Spanish and ESL. I recognize that we live in a multi-cultural, diverse society and have chosen to embrace it rather than deny at and try to live in some kind of unrealistic bubble. But that's just me. Me and my crazy liberal ideologies.
LOL. That is what I thought... I figured if AR is Arizona .. and we were supposed to just "know" that... then certainly a thinking person would figure that Tim James was really a typo for Jim James.
I figured a MMJ reference would seem more at home on a PJ board than this crazy crap that some of these PJ fans have been coming up with!
No, I just wasn't sure how to spell it and didn't care enough to look it up.
Awesome, As a single parent I wanted the same thing for my daughter having the ability to be bilingual in this country has it's advantages in school and for a career goal. If nothing else just being to understand another culture and it's language is something we should all seek out, not exclude those who don't speak english. If we don't see something wrong with excluding non english speaking people when we're a country made of many different people from many different cultures/countries then this country truly heading backwards.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
I don't throw around that term lightly, as you may or may not have seen in other threads on AMT. Maybe what he said doesn't directly infer racism, but think about who the people are that will listen to it and agree with him. It will incite racist dialogue and thinking. I didn't think it was necessary to write a paragraph in my thread title.
So do you agree with this sentiments or don't you?
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Everything on products sold in Canada have to have both languages on it, most street signs have both, etc. I'm not French, I know only what I learned in school, but never, EVER would I promote English as Canada's ONLY language.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
THANK YOU! I HAVE BEEN SAYING THIS FOR YEARS AND PEOPLE JUST COCK THEIR HEAD AT ME LIKE A CONFUSED DOG WHEN I BRING IT UP!!!
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
Hey, are you from Eastern Canada or West?
I'm from BC so I can say the culture is different here, but we all learn about the political faultlines between the English and the French - its definitely a touchy subject. In B.C. you would be better off learning Punjabi or Mandarin or Cantonese... Maybe its the Rockies that separates us but we really don't have a large French speaking population.
One thing I find very cool here is that there is actually a channel that broadcasts the Canucks games in Punjabi. Hockey is a huge sport in Canada but it is really interesting to see how it has exploded in our indo-canadian communities. Its just a cool mixture of cultures!!!!!
neither. smack dab in the crotch of Canada: Winnipeg.
I find the language issue is more of a problem with the previous generation, not mine (I'm 36). It's my parents generation that has a problem with the "this is my country, conform to our values" kind of bullshit. I don't know how many times I've tried to explain that this isn't our country, we stole it from the Native people that were already here. If they had the attitude that the Europeans that came here, we should ALL be speaking a Native Canadian dialect, not English.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
why would that bother you? I'd probably try to learn Spanish, but if I could get by without it, say, if most of the community I lived in were also English speaking, or I was 75 and just didn't give a shit to, then it's my own problem. But the issue here is that the US and Canada have a melting pot of different cultures and languages. It only makes sense for us to help those that aren't English speaking thrive in their new home.
I'm a white Irish/Scottish/English Canadian, and that's my opinion.
Fargo 2003
Winnipeg 2005
Winnipeg 2011
St. Paul 2014
This message board makes me feel like it really is.
If someone benefits from and actively promotes institutionalized racism, does that make him a racist?
Exactly. And it's the hypocrisy that kills me the most. It generally the same group of people who say everyone should learn English that are the ones who oppose ESL programs - whose sole purpose it to teach people English! They should make up their fucking minds. Don't OPPOSE something that supports your goal! This is just another reason to think it's not really about the language at all, but ultimately about contempt for different people. (It's the same, if you ask me, as the people who oppose abortion rights AND contraception and sex education. They say they just love the babies, but it sure seems like at some level they just hate the women.)
Yes they should be, I lived in Germany for almost 5 years, they did not change anything for me to English.
When does it stop should we have forms in all languages. Since not every one speaks Spanish either. Should we have German, Russian, Italian, Portuguese, French, Korean, Farsi, etc....
98 CAA
00 Virginia Beach;Camden I; Jones Beach III
05 Borgata Night I; Wachovia Center
06 Letterman Show; Webcast (guy in blue shirt), Camden I; DC
08 Camden I; Camden II; DC
09 Phillie III
10 MSG II
13 Wrigley Field
16 Phillie II
Communities (and business, if they are smart) should make important services, like hospital services, available in the languages spoken by most of the community. Where I work, our brochures and paperwork are generally in English, Spanish, Navajo, and Vietnamese, and we have interpreter services for other languages. That's just practical if we actually care to do what we are here to do. What do you expect? That we should just tell patients they're SOL if they don't speak English? Should 911 do that to and, if so, will you be fine with it when you're in a car accident and a person with limited English proficiency calls 911 and they tell him they only serve people who speak English?
I don't get what your ancestry has to do with it though...
By the way, my mother is an ESL teacher for a government run program... And I don't disagree with drivers tests in different languages, like I said, you don't need to learn the language to know how to drive.
I agree with this sentiment. It is a shame that Americans don't learn more languages. I only speak English...forgot all the french I toke long ago. I'll make sure that my daughter learns another language at least (hopefully spanish) and will certainly encourage it's use so she doesn't lose it.
I'm too lazy and busy to take my own spanish classes...but maybe someday while my kid is learning.
Just what should tax payers be paying for? How many languages are enough? Etc, etc. Don't know the answer, but there is a line somewhere I would think.
I do wish people in the USA were more tolerant of people speaking other languages though. When I travel to other countries...and I only speak english...I feel bad, because I feel like I should be able to speak to them in their language, but I'm only visiting for a short time. And I also wonder what they think of me since I only speak english and some Americans have been real jerks about. I hope they are more tolerant of me.