I Think I'm In A Mood . . . because I don't usually give a political opinion . . .

My comment on an entry Guido made was too long, and I didn't want to break it up, so I'm just going to post it here.  His entry was in response to an entry made by Dirk.  Guido made some very valid points in his entry, and in a comment left on Guido's entry, Dirk also made some interesting points.  Well, here's my own personal take on the issue:

 

I do not condone the attitudes of hatred and bigotry that some Americans display, and I have written about that before.  But unfortunately, it is unlikely that your {meaning Guido's} comments in this entry are going to reach the people with those attitudes, and, if they do, they are the people who are not going to be reasoned with.   Dirk made some reasonable and interesting points in the comment he left you, also.

 

Here's my take:  I think that introducing our children at a young age to a new language is a very good idea, in and of itself.  Since Hispanics make up the largest migrant/immigrant community here right now, it makes sense that Spanish be that language.  Something that I find interesting is that in the Hispanic communities in my area there are many, many dialects spoken.  At my husband's company, which employs 700-900 people on any given day, there are actually more people from various South American and Central American countries, Puerto Rico and Cuba than there are from Mexico.  They don't all speak the same Spanish dialect; they all have certain words and phrases that are unique to their own area.  A good friend of ours is married to an Hispanic man who actually had to learn Spanish AFTER he came to America.  He is from Mexico, but his birth language was of a Native Mexican Tribe (what we used to call "Indian"). 

 

At Thomas' company you make a big mistake if you call just any Spanish-speaking person "Hispanic" or "Mexican".  They are each very jealous of their own heritage and don't want to be grouped all together (and I don't blame them).  One Panamanian gentleman gets almost violent if someone refers to him as Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican, and there are several Cubans who have been highly offended when they've been referred to as Mexicans.  They want to be recognized for their own heritage.  They have learned, or are learning, English.  We also have large communities of Hindi, Koreans, Vietnamese, Cambodians, Sudanese, Croatians, and Bosnians in our area as well. 

 

I like diversity, and I like having people of different backgrounds and cultures around me.  But I personally have come in contact with some Spanish-speaking immigrants who actually have the attitude that America should change FOR THEM, and I have come to believe, from personal exposure to the evidence, that this group is larger than I had realized. 

 

Yes, I DO think Spanish should be taught in school from an early age.  But I also believe that ESL should be mandatory for immigrant children or immigrants getting monetary aid in any form.  It just makes sense that that would benefit both groups, American and immigrant. 

 

But there are more aspects to this issue that may not be understood by many people outside the US, and these aspects change from one area of the country to another.  Guido, your point about ostracizing a sizeable portion of your community coming back to haunt you in the future is right on.  But I'll tell you right now, most Americans don't like having something FORCED on them, especially in this age where perceptions of what is reasonable and balanced are so skewed, and what is morally correct is usually left in the dust.  (Most often by media outlets, talk show hosts who like to hear themselves talk more than they like to actually understand what they're talking about, and politicians who have over-bred political correctness until it has lost whatever intelligence and usefulness it had in the beginning -- yes, PC has become like a purebred dog that's the result of much in-breeding.) 

 

There is not going to be any smart, reasonable, or easy answer to this issue.  All the various "Listen to Me" groups are not going to let that happen.  The fringe groups are never going to be happy.  The bigots aren't going to be happy (especially the ones who don't even know they're bigots).  The politicians are either going to try to spread solutions too thinly to be of any real benefit for everyone or else they'll glop them up too thickly to the benefit of one group over another and benefit no one in the long run. 

 

Teaching Spanish to everyone in school can never be a bad thing, in and of itself.  It's all the little satellite issues that go along with it and that certain groups and factions are going to use to promote their own agendas, philosophies, and prejudices that are going to leave a bad taste in the mouths of those of us who really do care, and who really do want everyone to "just get along."