Posted on 7/6/2007, 4:12:57 AM by gpapa
America can't afford to lose its common language.
It is late afternoon in Manhattan on the Fourth of July, and I'm walking along on Lexington and 59th, in front of Bloomingdale's. Suddenly in my sight there's a young woman standing on a street grate. She is short, about 5 feet tall, and stocky, with a broad brown face. She is, I think, Latin American, maybe of Indian blood. She has a big pile of advertisements in her hand, and puts one toward me. "MENS SUITS NEW YORK--40% to 60% Off Sale!--Armani, Canali, Hugo Boss, DKNY, Zegna. TAILOR ON PREMISES. EXCELLENT SERVICE LARGE SELECTION." Then the address and phone number.
(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...
Holy S! Even Peggy has “jumped the shark” on Amnesty!
Peggy just seems old and worn out. Her style, her substance, her soft spoken witicisms seem tired. I used to love to read her, no more.
We are far past even discussing this point, for instance. The Aztlaners will not learn English, to spite us. All her sweet phrases won’t change the reality we’ve seen in the streets: Mexican thugs with Mexican flags giving American the finger and carrying signs saying the the USA belongs to them.
Thus many good natured people are becoming less tolerant and more insistent on a lot of things, of which English is only one.
I am American and my grandparents immigrated LEGALLY to this country from Italy. I speak five languages.
All of these heart worming stories about jose and juanita are getting me steamed not weepy.
That’s so sweet Peggy.
Now imagine that she’s right next door to you with 15 others and they hate you because of the work they are forced to do all day. Pretend she ignores all zoning ordinances and builds who knows what structures all around your house - including outside kitchens.
Imagine the thump of foreign music after dark that vibrates your windows and the rowdy men drinking beer in the front who don’t speak English. Think about the cars parking on the front lawns and filling up the streets.
Wonder how it feels to have old women search your trash can on the street and think about if you are getting all of your mail the mailman puts in your box.
Think about how you feel in American to see her sister/brother/cousins on Phoenix street corners holding business sale signs in the air while the temperature climbs to 105+ degrees and the cars speed by - no foot traffic.
Is America starting to look third world to you yet?
Plenty of gaijin live in Japan for years with no interest of learning the lingo...
English and Spanish are so very similar; half the words are the same. I took the trouble to learn a little Spanish for when I go to Spain and French for when I go to France and German for when I go to Germany, and I suppose that when I go back to Holland I’ll learn a few words of Dutch. It’s just not that tough. So I expect that people who come here, as my father and grandparents did, and propose to exploit our economic system, will make the effort to learn the language upon which that economic system is built: English.
Demand a border fence! Build it NOW!! Beef up the border patrol and close our borders!
U.S. Senate switchboard: (202) 224-3121
U.S. House switchboard: (202) 225-3121
White House comments: (202) 456-1111
Find your House Rep.: http://www.house.gov/writerep
Find your US Senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Toll free to the US Senate:
1-800-882-2005. (Spanish number)
1-800-417-7666. (English number)
Courtesy of a pro-amnesty group, no less!!
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE Washington, D.C. 20003
phone: 202.863.8500 | fax: 202.863.8820 | e-mail: info@gop.com
Take a look at their hidden agenda: http://www.mexica-movement.org
Good point.
I agree with you. I am all for the study and preservation of ancestral languages, but English should be made the official language of the United States. One language on all government documents/signage.
Any country that devolves into or chooses bilingualism engenders political problems. “What about the Swiss?” The exception that proves the rule. The Swiss are so happy (and smug) about being apart from the mess of the surrounding European neighboring countries, they put up with the multilingual mess.
I think that English should be our official language. It has been our means of communications since the founding of this nation. If people wish to speak other languages, that is great. However, our government documents, signs, and schools should use English.
After you’re done hating on the foreigners, ask yourself why we Americans have aborted 40 million children, which is why we have such a demand for immigrant labor.
I don’t hate my neighbors, I want them to move next door to you.
And if you think 50 million dead babies can be replaced by illegal alien criminals, you are mistaken.
I agree, obviously. English is not just the language of America- it's the language of business.
The language issue is perhaps the most offensive to me- my own damn bank of 40 years starts its phone message with "1 for English, 2 for..."
But almost equally offensive?
She's dead wrong on this issue. People can speak whatever language they want among themselves, but English is the de-facto official language of the United States of America. It should be made legally so, so that I don't have to struggle to find the English side of the package at the local WalMart.
The elitists are upset that we, the people, do NOT want amnesty. They're mad that we don't want to add 10-30 million people to the number of freeloaders in this country living off the taxes and medical bills of others. All they can see is the price of lettuce going up 10 cents.
Peggy hasn’t jumped the shark, she used her humanity and compassion as a lead-in toward the support of her argument.
While I am all for rounding ‘em up and giving them a one-way ticket out of here, the *reality* is that it’s not going to happen. I think Peggy - with her high-level political experience - realizes the same.
The elitists don't live where we do, like we-- they have "communities" with limited access, gates, doormen, and valet parking.
We don't have that luxury...
My closest neighbors are a pair of gay gals- I've written about them, plenty, here, and we get along fine.
Next family over, across the street, is a black family. Sammy's a construction man, rough, but a good guy...
Then, there's the duplex next to them-- two doors down the street.
It used to have 2 families-- around here, that's 2 X $350 a month...
Now, it's filled with presumably illegal aliens-- front yard, and back, are covered with brand new trucks, and brand new cars. ( But they are poor, dontcha know? And humble, yet proud... )
Loud, flashy paint, huge spoilers, big, noisy exhaust systems and even bigger tailpipes.
Funny running lights on the hoods and grilles.
Average number of vehicles parked? Eight to ten. Each carries at least 2 people, so do the math...
8 X 2 = 16, 16 times a hundred dollars a month, per head = $1,600 a month for the landlord... obviously a better deal... for him.
Us? We get the loud parties, the endless circling the block to no discernible purpose, the trash.
My neighbor Sammy has these guys squatting on his fence, and using his front yard to make cell calls. ( The don't seem to have a landline, but everybody- every one of them-- has cell phones. And satellite dishes. )
It's a bloody mess.
And no, the elites don't even see it- they don't have to live it.
The *reality* is that if the government doesn't get off it's a** and do it's constitutional duty, then the people are going to start doing so. There is a boiling point to this issue and we are nearing it. Peggy's political experience means nothing - we as a nation have to stop looking at situations politically and look at them realistically for a change.
Dang, that's crazy. And I'd bet that the local authorities look the other way.
It isn't that bad here in my neighborhood, though I do see it as I travel about.
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