Are You a Racist?

**Nash** · 15 Sep 2011, 02:27 PM

I live with a guy who doesn't speak a single word of English (okay, he can say "hello" and "bye"), and we communicate and get along fine.

Also, when I went to Vietnam, I couldn't read Vietnamese so I was completely at a loss when I went out into the streets and couldn't read the signs. So I took it upon myself to learn how to read Vietnamese to make life easier for me over there. But if the people there told me I had to learn it, I would have told them to fuck off.

**Frogacuda** · 15 Sep 2011, 02:32 PM

Originally Posted by Some Stupid Japanese Name

People do have to speak English.
We have a responsibility to help them learn, and they have a responsibility to try to learn.

I've met people from Poland and Italy that have lived in this country for 50 years and don't speak a goddamn word of English. I've never met a Mexican who has been here more than 5 years that I can't have a basic conversation with. Why is this all of a sudden a crisis, exactly?

Like I get that it's frustrating when there's a communication barrier with a large group of people, but the Mexicans have learned English faster than every major immigrant group before them including the Italians, Germans, and even the Irish, and close to 100% of their kids born here speak English fluently by age 10. It's just not a real problem.

I mean there were groups that came to this country and spoke another language for generations. I mean my family was in this country for almost 150 years before they switched over from German to English. The Mexicans are actually doing a fantastic job of learning English very quickly, but they still get a ridiculous amount of shit over the issue. No perspective.

**Josh** · 15 Sep 2011, 02:52 PM

But... they have brown skin.

**Yoshi** · 15 Sep 2011, 02:53 PM

It's a big deal because legal documents should never have to be translated. It's a waste of time and money. That's probably the single largest reason that impacts more than those directly involved.

Also, Latinos > Italians and Germans but not Irish, unless we're talking about food, and then Latinos kill anything from Europe.

**Frogacuda** · 15 Sep 2011, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by Yoshi

It's a big deal because legal documents should never have to be translated. It's a waste of time and money. That's probably the single largest reason that impacts more than those directly involved.

What do you reckon those actual costs are? It's probably comparable to printing on 8x11 paper instead of 8x10 or using a slightly larger font. It's a manufactured issue.

And it shows a complete and utter lack of historical perspective, too. We're a nation of immigrants. The overwhelming majority of us descend from people that came here and didn't speak English, and statistically they continued to not speak English for decades longer than the Mexicans.

**Yoshi** · 15 Sep 2011, 03:24 PM

Why is it that what has happened historically only matters to liberals when it is convenient? Want to add a side of strict construction to your multilingual country? I'll make that trade in a second.

You're also not looking at the big picture. It's not just the printing of the documents. It's having bilingual public defenders, court clerks, etc.

**dave is ok** · 15 Sep 2011, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Why is it that what has happened historically only matters to liberals when it is convenient? Want to add a side of strict construction to your multilingual country? I'll make that trade in a second.

You're also not looking at the big picture. It's not just the printing of the documents. It's having bilingual public defenders, court clerks, etc.

I go to courts all the time and they definitely don't have those. Maybe you can request one, but it's not like they have a full time clerk sitting there just for hispanics.