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“Why Aren’t You Speaking English?”

God damn racist Latino, La Raza terrorist supporter! Get these invaders OUT of our Country!!! This makes me SICK! :soap
 
What we need in this country is to make English the official language. We also need to eliminate ESL and teach children using the english immersion method. I am fed up with illegals demanding rights in our country. They have no right to be here in the first place.

This guy isn't an illegal.
 
He did it to stand out, to show he's for illegal immigrants first, America second, and got **** on by a Senator who had enough of that bs. I applaud the senator.
 
that's the kicker. the guy has been here 23 freakin years. if he isn't comfortable speaking english in front of people by now he either

1. has made no effort to assimilate into american culture and therefore his opinion means dick

2. he has made an effort but he is just dumb as **** and therefore his opinion means dick

3. he did this as some kind of stunt to make a political statement and therefore his opinion means dick
So does yours.
 
Do you have a link for that or is this just something you're making up as you go along?

Oh I just make it up. Obviously, as a politically active immigration reformer, speaking spanish in the senate was comfortable, I should just believe whatever he says is the truth instead of applying common sense, that'd be crazy talk.
 
but I would think you would find a large majority have various problems amongst the different linguistic-cultural groups of the country...

I have to disagree with you on that. First, I think that there are just as many multi-language countries as there are single-language ones, if not more. And I think those who experience major social and/or political problems as a result of multi-lingualism are the minority. I actually can't think of a single one other than Belgium. So you're gonna have to help me out here with concrete examples.
 
I have to disagree with you on that. First, I think that there are just as many multi-language countries as there are single-language ones, if not more. And I think those who experience major social and/or political problems as a result of multi-lingualism are the minority. I actually can't think of a single one other than Belgium. So you're gonna have to help me out here with concrete examples.

Most countries in Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and many, many more...
 
The only thing disappearing faster than species (biodiversity) are languages (sociodiversity). I'll learn kiembu (primarily to speak to the soil) and then kikiku and kiswahili to speak to the people.
 
Most countries in Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and many, many more...

That doesn't tell me anything, ludahai. Please list the specific serious political or social problems that resulted from multi-lingualism in these countries. The only government that actually shut down because of it, that I know of, is Belgium. I'm more familiar with Africa than Asia and I don't agree that the problems there are because of the various languages, but because of tribalism and religious strife. It may be different in Asia, though.
 
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that's why we are having this discussion. you guys just can't/won't see the point. it's really not about him speaking spanish.

as for grandma...if she'd been using a keyboard for twenty three years and was still useless at it, the she is a dumbass or hasn't been trying to learn

this guy has been speaking english for TWENTY THREE YEARS

Try this on for size:

I've been speaking German for 25 years and there is no way in hell that I can comfortably testify in front of any official body without an interpreter by my side to make sure I'm not messing up my words. There is not one politician in my country that would fault me for bringing a translator along.
 
The guy spoke and understood English fluently. He was making a point, and the point he was making is that even though he chose to leave his country of origin and chose to become an American, he did not choose to become a part of the melting pot that is American culture. Instead, he wants America to conform to the culture of his country of origin. As far as the "speaking from the heart" thing, the dude was reading a speech that was already written down.

There are probably a hundred languages spoken in America by immigrants from around the world. Why is it that a single language, Spanish, should be elevated to the point where there are almost as many radio and tv programs in that language as there are in English? There is little incentive for the hispanic community to learn English, because everything they need is available in Spanish. That forms a core separation between them and the rest of America, and that core separation will eventually lead to resentment. When one walks into a restaurant or a retail establishment on American soil, it's not unreasonable to expect those who work there to speak English so that they can communicate with their customers, yet in all too many places throughout the country this is not the case. It is incredibly frustrating to ask a clerk or a server a question about the product or establishment, only to be met with "No habla English."

Now I wouldn't have been particularly ticked off at the guy shown in the OP if he wasn't introducing himself as a hispanic activist... he did not identify himself as an American, and to me that's a problem... then proceed to rattle off in Spanish opposition to a proposed law that he believed would harm hispanics. America cannot be a melting pot when 40 million folks have decided to rope themselves off from the rest of the country, and consider themselves only Hispanic rather than American. That's happening far too often amongst Latino activists, and I don't see it as a positive thing for the country as a whole.

I think you've pretty much answered your question there, Di. And I think that 40 million figure is a very conservative one.
 
What we need in this country is to make English the official language. We also need to eliminate ESL and teach children using the english immersion method. I am fed up with illegals demanding rights in our country. They have no right to be here in the first place.

Now THIS, I actually agree with. THIS is what you all should be focusing on, not whatever freaking language he chose to speak in. This man is standing up for people who break the law every day they are on US soil. The problem with this guy is NOT that he speaks Spanish better than English after 2 decades in the country, it's that he's willing to stand against a law that would make it easier to adress the problem of illegal immigration.
 
Try this on for size:

I've been speaking German for 25 years and there is no way in hell that I can comfortably testify in front of any official body without an interpreter by my side to make sure I'm not messing up my words. There is not one politician in my country that would fault me for bringing a translator along.

have you been living in germany for 25 years, hearing and speaking it on a daily basis?
 
That doesn't tell me anything, ludahai. Please list the specific serious political or social problems that resulted from multi-lingualism in these countries. The only government that actually shut down because of it, that I know of, is Belgium. I'm more familiar with Africa than Asia and I don't agree that the problems there are because of the various languages, but because of tribalism and religious strife. It may be different in Asia, though.

You aren't familiar with the long civil war in Sri Lanka? You aren't familiar with the various rebellions in Burma and India? You don't know about the problems in Indonesia? Well, doing into a prolonged discussion of them is beyond the scope of this thread.

Ummm... tribalism in Africa... isn't that due to the lack of a national identity and not sharing a culture and language???
 
You aren't familiar with the long civil war in Sri Lanka? You aren't familiar with the various rebellions in Burma and India? You don't know about the problems in Indonesia? Well, doing into a prolonged discussion of them is beyond the scope of this thread.

Ummm... tribalism in Africa... isn't that due to the lack of a national identity and not sharing a culture and language???

I've heard of all those conflicts, I'm just not convinced the root of them all lies in the fact that people speak different languages. As for Africa, many tribes speak the same language and still hate each other's guts. :shrug:
 
I heard and spoke it every day for 7 years while living in Zurich and still use it on a daily basis for my job here in Geneva.

so the answer to my question is ... "no"
 
so the answer to my question is ... "no"

Um, you do know we speak German in Switzerland, right? Just checking, because I'm not sure what it is you're getting at. You expect this man to speak English, but you're giving me a pass because I'm not 100% comfortable with the most spoken language in the country I live in? Clarify, please.
 
He could have asked prior to testifying, maybe informed the committee with a short letter "Hey guys, I speak english but..."

It was, and we can fight over all the silliness in between, the fact in the middle of testimony we learn this advocate for illegals has lived here 23 years and couldn't/wouldn't speak English in the hearing that is the issue.
 
Um, you do know we speak German in Switzerland, right? Just checking, because I'm not sure what it is you're getting at. You expect this man to speak English, but you're giving me a pass because I'm not 100% comfortable with the most spoken language in the country I live in? Clarify, please.

I'm not giving you a pass. sorry if I piss you off, but if you have been speaking a language for 25 years and you are not comfortable speaking it in front of an official body, maybe you have no business speaking in front of said body.
 
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