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Is it racist to ask for immigrants to speak English?

Is it racist to ask immigrants to speak English?

  • Total voters
    118
Boo Radley said:
Well that's hope. Then we'll work for low wages and no benefits. A friend of mine calls it the mexicanization of America.
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Where's the logic here?
 
ChrisL said:
Where's the logic here?
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Cheap labor means higher profits for the few. Illegals are cheap labor. You see wages stagnating while profits for business grow. Many factors are leading the country this way.
 
No but to be honest they already want to. The top advertiser on Spanish language TV channels in America are learn English educational products. You just can't speak English if you don't know the language.
 
molten_dragon said:
I wouldn't call it racist, but I wouldn't expect it to happen either. Making English our official language and using it for all government documents is one thing, but asking immigrants not to speak their native language in public is going a bit far.
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Did someone say that they shouldn't speak their native language at all? Not that I recall.

It's when they are attempting to transact business that the country's language should be spoken. I don't care what they speak otherwise.
 
Donahue said:
So then the answer is no where? Oh, OK. I thought so.
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Again youre inability to read or move beyond your baiting threads is only exceeded by your lack of understanding.
 
wolfman24 said:
Again youre inability to read or move beyond your baiting threads is only exceeded by your lack of understanding.
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Sure but at least we're in agreement on who said what, right?
 
I voted other because its not racist to ask them to speak English, but saying the US does not have an official language its pointless. But to say to an immigrant, "Speak English or get out of my country" i believe is racist.
 
Cardinal said:
And I agree with that, too. I live in Los Angeles and don't speak Spanish. You better believe that's been a problem.
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I lived in Orange County and don't speak Spanish or Vietnamese and never once found this to be a problem...
 
No. It is not racist to want or expect immigrants to speak English. Like many have said, they are only hurting and isolating themselves. That said, most if not all first generation immigrant children are bi-lingual. There is also a major socio-economic aspect to this that I have not seen addressed yet. Poorer immigrants don't understand the value of speaking English while more affluent immigrants do.
 
GottaGo said:
Did someone say that they shouldn't speak their native language at all? Not that I recall.

It's when they are attempting to transact business that the country's language should be spoken. I don't care what they speak otherwise.
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Well, the OP talked about asking them to speak English in public places, which is what I responded to. I don't really care if they want to speak their native language to conduct business (though they shouldn't expect businesses to cater to them by having translators or bilingual staff). The only thing English should be required for is any government business.
 
molten_dragon said:
I wouldn't call it racist, but I wouldn't expect it to happen either. Making English our official language and using it for all government documents is one thing, but asking immigrants not to speak their native language in public is going a bit far.
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No one's asking them not to speak their language. I said in public places where one should speak the majority language so that others can understand them. I just can't stand it when someone comes up to me and tries to get directions or whatever, and they just sit there pointing at things because they can't bother to learn at least basic English.
 
Boo Radley said:
Cheap labor means higher profits for the few. Illegals are cheap labor. You see wages stagnating while profits for business grow. Many factors are leading the country this way.
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Well then you must oppose illegal immigration then. Thank you for finally agreeing that illegal immigration is not good for our country. :)
 
ChrisL said:
Well then you must oppose illegal immigration then. Thank you for finally agreeing that illegal immigration is not good for our country. :)
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Yes, I do oppose it. never said I didn't. However, I could care less what language anyone here speaks. It is hardly our largest problem. But I also recognize reality. We lack the will. Our leaders have no real intention of stopping it. We don't need new laws. We need to be serious about stopping it.
 
Boo Radley said:
Yes, I do oppose it. never said I didn't. However, I could care less what language anyone here speaks. It is hardly our largest problem. But I also recognize reality. We lack the will. Our leaders have no real intention of stopping it. We don't need new laws. We need to be serious about stopping it.
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I don't care if someone speaks a foreign language at all, but if they are to become permanent residents of this country there should be requirements and expectations (one being to KNOW how to speak English). I don't think that is an unreasonable request.
 
ChrisL said:
I don't care if someone speaks a foreign language at all, but if they are to become permanent residents of this country there should be requirements and expectations (one being to KNOW how to speak English). I don't think that is an unreasonable request.
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It is really. Much harder for adults. Historically, the children learn.
 
I don't see how it could be. You're asking people from a different culture to speak your language. I don't think that's the same as thinking your "race" is superior to theirs. It may be offensive to some, but certainly not racist unless you want to think it is.
 
Of course it's not racist; if I live in France then I'd learn French, likewise people should learn English if they live long-term in an English speaking country.
 
Saykine said:
Of course it's not racist; if I live in France then I'd learn French, likewise people should learn English if they live long-term in an English speaking country.
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But the Chinese in Chinatown and Gypsies in their sites may not want to learn to speak English though. What may be at play? Too much freedom?
 
If they're talking to you? No. If they're talking amongst themselves and you're pissed off because you can't eavesdrop, then at the least you're an idiot.

Personal anecdote, I work with a lot of Hindi speakers, so one of the first phrases I learnt in Hindi was "English bolo", which is "Speak English".
 
DDD said:
But the Chinese in Chinatown and Gypsies in their sites may not want to learn to speak English though. What may be at play? Too much freedom?
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It depends on the context; if it's for casual or academic use then they're free to speak their own language, the Chinese can speak Chinese and the Gypsies can speak their language (Romanian, Irish Gaelic?) but on official documents the national language is used. This isn't a pro-English thing, I'd expect any country to support their national language not just anglophone ones.

It would be racist and backwards if speaking other languages was banned, but that's not what we're talking about (or at least, it's not what I'm talking about..)
 
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I'm a bit late to the thread, but no, it's not racist. It is, however, irrelevant. The United States has no official language at the federal level, so requiring immigrants to speak a certain language is ridiculous. If you're immigrating to a country who has an official language, that's another story, by law that's what's required.
 
Funny, they NEVER spoke english for me in my 2 years in mexico...........
 
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