[purplewings]

First of all we came to this country speaking the English language, which later became our own American dialect, which is not quite the same as British.

Speaking different or same language is not racist in any form - if you see it as that, it is because you have a racist mind - not me. All colors and ethnicities already speak our language and have every since they arrived in America. No problem from language barriers. The real problem comes when people speak different languages. That is a major barrier to friendship or community participation.

I don't know your nationality but you obviously have no love for America. I do. It wouldn't be the country it is with different languages being used in public places... I don't care what language anyone speaks in their home or neighborhood.

And when a poll disagrees with your stance is it your way to decry all polls instead of paying attention to the results?

I don't want to support the illegals, and don't worry about alienating our 'visitors' who are actually trespassers. No one is picking on the Mexicans... they need to wait and come here legally like people from every other country - and then follow the same guidelines as all immigrants have done so we can keep the country we have formed.

I guess Michealb already answered your Canada vs Mexico dilemma.

[NeedKarma]

I don't know your nationality but you obviously have no love for America. I do.

Ah yes, when all else fails use the false-patriotic "I love america more than you" routine. Always good for a giggle.

[SkyGem]

The reason we don't build a fence on the border of Canada is because 12 million of then aren't trespassing into our country.

I don't know where you get your information but would you prefer the TERRORISTS who DO come from Canada (because it's easier to get through there), as has been reported, to trespass into our country instead of those who may be illegal but not terrorists, because that's just what you would get if they left you in charge to hold the gates wide open to terrorists AND illegals of other nationalities who come in from Canada. So, let's not just target Mexico. Let's be fair about this matter. Illegals can come from literally ANY place, Canada, Mexico, England, etc. not just one country.

It's like if you have two neighbors one has 2 kids that run into your yard. The other neighbor has 60 kids that run into your yard stay there and export your cash back to their house. If you could only build one fence at a time which neighbor would you fence out first? Even if you like kids there comes to be a point when you have to say keep your kids off my freakin lawn.

That is the most uninformed, racist analogy I have ever heard of. I don't see how it could come any closer. And if by your analogy you're saying that all Mexicans are thieves (as it appears most assuredly that you are), you have hereby indicted all the Mexican people who cross the border including those who are legal or visitors. By not qualifying your statement by saying that only those Mexicans who may have broken the law who were CAUGHT, Tried, and Prosecuted, IF found guilty, should be administered justice, you and purplewings are in the same racist boat. With mentality such as yours, it is no wonder Mexico hasn't erupted into a country of violence against "free-thinkers" like you. By the way, I do not defend illegal acts, I am AGAINST the "English Only" proposal because quite literally it is racist and that proposal is the main topic of this thread. Illegals can and will be prosecuted according to the law and brought to justice. But we don't need to erect fences around the U.S. - Mexico border to keep people out while trying to foster diplomatic relations with that Country. We need to tear down the fences of divisiveness with our neighbors to the South because if all people thought like you about Mexican people, we would be looking at another U.S. - Mexico war, with the U.S. being seen as the racist country who indeed likes to get their money by selling our exports to Mexico but hates to deal with its people many who come to BUY Our Products and help our own economy. Yes, fyi, there are many rich Mexicans who come here to BUY, believe it or not and many have been known to Save American Lives even to the point of putting their own safety in jeopardy by risking mean-spirited Minutemen in order to do kind deeds. So, it's not just one-sided any more than to say that U.S. citizens would go and exploit Mexicans and cause harm to them by being an illegal in their country. There will be some but many who would not. But we have both digressed and again, this thread is about "English Only" as the official language, something I much oppose.

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[SkyGem]

First of all we came to this country speaking the English language, which later became our own American dialect, which is not quite the same as British.

Who did? All Americans of mixed nationalities or you, with your superiority complex, or was it the ones who were first in this country, the American Indians, who were non-English speakers?

Speaking different or same language is not racist in any form - if you see it as that, it is because you have a racist mind - not me. All colors and ethnicities already speak our language and have every since they arrived in America. No problem from language barriers. The real problem comes when people speak different languages. That is a major barrier to friendship or community participation.

Now let me understand this. You said "Speaking different or same language is not racist in any form - if you see it as that, it is because you have a racist mind - not me." And in the same paragraph you have the hormones to say "The real problem comes when people speak different languages. That is a major barrier to friendship or community participation." Lady, have you lost it or what, or are you just nuts??! You are saying that speaking a different or same language is not racist in any form and that I'm racist. Then you go on to say that the problem comes when people speak different languages and that it is a " .... major barrier to friendship or community participation." A major barrier? To friendship or community participation? So, you don't want them anywhere near you, I see. So, YOU are indeed the racist as all can clearly see now! Thanks for elucidating that fact.

And your comment that all colors and ethnicities already speak "our" language? Are you sure about that? And it is not I who have a racist mind, but the more you write, we can clearly see that it is actually You! Again, let's revisit this statement of yours. You say "The real problem comes when people speak different languages." Why is that a "problem" for you, oh yes, I forget, it's your racist mind that controls you, therefore you could not accept it as the norm. But try to explain that to our Canadian friends who have areas that speak French exclusively instead of English. Tell them you have a problem with that and see where they'll plant a foot into! Tell the people who live and speak their own native languages in these U.S. such as Spanish in Florida, Los Angeles, San Antonio and many other places and see where you would find yourself.

I don't know your nationality but you obviously have no love for America. I do. It wouldn't be the country it is with different languages being used in public places.....I don't care what language anyone speaks in their home or neighborhood.

Oh, so you don't care what they speak at home or in the neighborhood but just so they don't do it in public places because that would be so despicable and un-American to you. And you do want to push this country into accepting ENGLISH ONLY as you are doing, huh. Now, I get it. Sorry but you are the racist in disguise. By the way, I Love America enough to care that it remains diversified not divisive as you do since you don't want different languages spoken in public places because to you it wouldn't be the country it is. You want all people speaking what you think they should be speaking. But better yet, try to explain that "logic" to the people of many different nationalities who keep a very special place in their heart for their native languages and speak it all they want. Explain that one to the Polish, Italians, Swedish, Germans, French, Spanish, Czechs, etc. who are Americans living in this country but who speak their native tongue and see how they would reward you for your "wisdom".

And when a poll disagrees with your stance is it your way to decry all polls instead of paying attention to the results?

Oh, give me a break, Ms. poll-believer! If you think polls aren't rigged to some extent to influence particular results, I will sell you the Atlantic Ocean (only you'd probably buy it with your mentality).

I don't want to support the illegals, and don't worry about alienating our 'visitors' who are actually trespassers. No one is picking on the Mexicans...they need to wait and come here legally like people from every other country - and then follow the same guidelines as all immigrants have done so we can keep the country we have formed.

Keep the country?! And you think they would just pick up this country and take it back with them or push you out of it, according to your way of thinking! Have you even heard of those who come to work hard doing the jobs no native-born American wants to do, those who actually help to put food on our table? What about you going out to the very hot fields on the back of a truck to pick fruits and vegetables for twelve to sixteen hours a day for a few bucks and little to no rights? Five minutes in the field and you'd be crying for mercy, kicking, screaming and begging for a fine Mexican illegal to quickly take your place! I've heard enough to know where you're actually coming from sister!

I guess Michealb already answered your Canada vs Mexico dilemma.

Actually, I had to enlighten him to some things he conveniently did not acknowledge. By the way, You too need to read my reply to him.

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[purplewings]

OMG. What language do you speak? Or understand? Not one thing that you've said in your response is accurate in my thinking. Please don't use the old 'racist' number for anyone who doesn't agree with what you think is correct. Mexicans are white - I am white. Where is the 'racist'?

Why you quoted me is a mystery since your response and my words are from two completely different places. Thank heavens I don't think like you do!

I knew long ago when someone screeches racist because they object to something someone else says - no matter how clearly defined the explanations - that person is answering only to the voices they hear inside themselves.

[talaniman]

Mexicans are white - I am white. Where is the 'racist'?

Not true, Mexicans are Hispanic. And diverse in their ancestry, per se. There must be something inherently wrong south of us, for them to be running here is the numbers they have, and the risks they take. That's another topic, but having English as a national language officially, is redundant to me, because that's a given, so I can't see wasting time and energy on a feel good piece of legislation, that basically changes nothing. So please enlighten me on what are the real impacts this will have in the real world?

[SkyGem]

OMG. What language do you speak? Or understand? Not one thing that you've said in your response is accurate in my thinking. Please don't use the old 'racist' number for anyone who doesn't agree with what you think is correct. Mexicans are white - I am white. Where is the 'racist'?

Why you quoted me is a mystery since your response and my words are from two completely different places. Thank heavens I don't think like you do!

I knew long ago when someone screeches racist because they object to something someone else says - no matter how clearly defined the explanations - that person is answering only to the voices they hear inside themselves.

Then by your own explanation, you are in complete denial of your racist attitude.

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[purplewings]

Not true, Mexicans are Hispanic. And diverse in their ancestry, per se. There must be something inherently wrong south of us, for them to be running here is the numbers they have, and the risks they take. Thats another topic, but having English as a national language officially, is redundant to me, because thats a given, so I can't see wasting time and energy on a feel good piece of legislation, that basically changes nothing. So please enlighten me on what are the real impacts this will have in the real world??

Clare Sheridan | "Another White Race:" Mexican Americans and the Paradox of Whiteness in Jury Selection | Law and History Review, 21.1 | The History Cooperative
In Sanchez v. State, 243 S.W. 2d 700, that 'Mexican people.. . Are not a separate race but are white people of Spanish descent.' In contemplation of the Fourteenth Amendment, Mexicans are therefore members of and within the classification of the white race...

Economic costs of mass immigration (legal and illegal immigration) - CAIR - Colorado Alliance for Immigration Reform

Currently there are an estimated 9 to 11 million illegals in the U.S. double the 1994 level. A quarter-million illegal aliens from the Middle-east currently live in the U.S, and a growing number are entering by crossing the Mexican border.

FAIR research suggests that "between 40 and 50 percent of wage-loss among low-skilled Americans is due to the immigration of low-skilled workers. Some native workers lose not just wages but their jobs through immigrant competition. An estimated 1,880,000 American workers are displaced from their jobs every year by immigration; the cost for providing welfare and assistance to these Americans is over $15 billion a year." The National Research Council, part of the National Academy of Sciences, found in 1997 that the average immigrant without a high school education imposes a net fiscal burden on public coffers of $89,000 during his or her lifetime. The average immigrant with only a high school education creates a lifetime fiscal burden of $31,000.8

80% of cocaine and 50% of heroin in the U.S. is smuggled across the border by Mexican nationals. Drug cartels spend a half-billion dollars per year bribing Mexico's corrupt generals and police officials, and armed confrontations between the Mexican army and U.S. Border Patrol agents are a real threat. There have been 118 documented incursions by the Mexican military over the last five years.

Illegal aliens have cost billions of taxpayer-funded dollars for medical services. Dozens of hospitals in Texas, New Mexico Arizona, and California, have been forced to close or face bankruptcy because of federally-mandated programs requiring free emergency room services to illegal aliens. Taxpayers pay half-a-billion dollars per year incarcerating illegal alien criminals.

***You might also want to read some of the former postings right here that further detail the repercussions of mass immigration.

[SkyGem]

Not true, Mexicans are Hispanic.

You are quite incorrect about that. The RACE of a Mexican is WHITE. The ethnicity of such a person would be classified as "Hispanic". That is the way it is and has always been. Perhaps because there are some who do not want to admit that Mexicans are White, they have concopted and stress more this category of "ethnicity" to classify Mexicans. But logically speaking there is no such thing as a "Hispanic race" since their race is White. You will find some mixtures in some Mexican people of course just as with any other nationality. But when you go into many places in Mexico you will find many Mexicans who are blond, blue-eyed and very fair skinned who do not speak any English only Spanish. With the Indian influence their appearance can of course change. And to digress a bit, of course, many Spaniards of European descent, although different from Mexican because they are not one and the same, are likewise blond and blue-eyed with fair skin as with other variations in between. Why should that matter? That's the way it is.

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[Galveston1]

All this argument started about language. I greatly appreciated a man I worked with some yeas ago. He was from Mexico legally, worked as a machinist and was good at it. He told me that when he got here, the first thing he did was to go to school and learn ENGLISH. His children spoke english, he paid taxes and bought a house. He understood the importance of learning the language of the country he chose to live in. Why is it so unreasonable for us to expect all immigrants to do as much? As to the native Americans, which one of their languages would you prefer that we learned. There were several, I think, and maybe that was one of the reasons they could never get together to defend their country against illegal immigrants. Maybe??

[N0help4u]

¿Qué dijo usted? No habla inglés

[Allheart]

I don't really see the harm in designating a languge, as the official language of America.

With that said, I think we, as Americans need to do a much much much better job, in getting our young ones learning a second language.

Schools should start right from the first grade, when it's easier to learn when you are younger, a second even third languge.

Most of the international community can speak English, yet a good portion of us, myself included, can not speak theirs.

I worked supporting the International commuinty, with people from all over the world that were here in the States and everyone of them could speak English, some better then others, but all put forth their best effort to learn English.

Their was a French Officer, who bought software to better his ability to learn English, yet I could only converse with all of the Internationals in my native tongue and felt quite foolish.

I think it would help all of us to learn at least one second language so that we can communicate and understand all that surrounds us today.

[purplewings]

I see people arriving here all the time from Asiatic countries. They have poor or almost non-existent English skills. Yet they set up businesses, and do far better than those in the neighborhood who speak English fluently. So I think that you need to qualify that statement to bering it more in line with reality.

My former mother-in-law was an immigrant from the middle east who never learned to speak enough English to handle her own affairs. She didn't drive of course, not being able to get a license without understanding the road signs or rules. That meant she had to be driven everywhere.

She had money to invest and her English speaking children found her income property to purchase. Although it made a nice living for her, she wasn't successful in my eyes. She had no interest in any social or political organization or event, or even a personal contact with her neighbors. She lived within her family members as they handled all her personal business, even taking care of her building maintenance and rental problems. She became a horrendous burden at a young age.

After working 6 days a week with four children to care for - and then to take care of her personal needs and business demands was nothing short of a nightmare.

Looking at her home and furnishings one would likely conclude she was a woman of wealth - a successful woman who didn't speak English... at who's expense?

[0rphan]

Hi everyone,

American is english but with variety of different accents, just as in England depending from what part you originate from you also speak with a variety of differing lilts, not to mention all the different nationalities, as we are now a multicultural society.

In England,yes you can request that any efficial papers be printed in your native tongue.If circulars come through your door they are printed in a number of different languages to satisfy the many different cultures here automatically.

Many would say that they always take priority over the English people!!

If I were American I think I would object to the suggestion of making my inherited by birth language English... how dare they, you are Americans and proud of it.

I am not up on American politics so am not qualified to answer other parts of your question... my apologies

[AmyShallFind]

This post has been a very interesting reading and by far the longest one I have seen so far.

What I have mainly read about is about reading materials to accommodate those that do not speak English. My main concern is, and I'm not sure how it is in other states but here in Nebraska, it is coming down to where businesses are starting to make it a job requirement to speak Spanish as well as English. Once the Spanish language becomes the requirement, what language comes next? I bet money that it will not end with the Spanish language otherwise that would be considered discrimination, wouldn't it?

It also reminded me of an incident that took place a few years ago here. An illegal immigrant from Mexico was killed while fighting 3 police officers when being apprehended. The communication was lost between them because the suspect did not speak English and the police did not speak Spanish. What was upsetting the most was that the illegal immigrant had lived in Chicago for 8 years prior to moving to Nebraska and still did not know English to communicate. And yet, certain group of people rioted about how the police were in the wrong because they did not understand what the suspect was saying.

I fail to see how it justifies that the American Citizens (especially those born in U.S.) will be forced to spend the time and money to accommodate every immigrants' languages when it would be far more simpler if that person who chose to live here in the United States learned the English language instead.

And to put another spin on this, what about those who do NOT have a choice on being able to speak English - the people who are deaf. They are far more limited then the immigrants.

Thank you for letting me put my 2 cents in!

[High Max]

Sure, we don't need an official language in the U.S. Just don't make me pay for your subsidized housing, and all of the special education for your kids to learn english, thanks. Immigrants from Bosnia and certain Arab countries get better benefits and a free ride in some cases then America's poor. I should have my U.S. citizenship revoked and come back in as an illegal or Bosnian immigrant to make a point.

[RustyFairmount]

The opposition in Congress to making English the official language of the United States is a near perfect example of the failure of the current leadership in Washington to adopt a deeply held value of the American people.

What possible VALUE would making English the official language actually bring?

Sounds like a total waste of time to me.

[purplewings]

A partial value would be so immigrants learn it and we wouldn't need to have DMV signs, school assignments, teachers, or corporate leaders in various languages. That would save money. Another very important thing is that we would understand each other. If someone yells 'Help' in a different language, shall I just go on my way because I don't understand them? And if I yell 'FIRE' should they be burned because they don't understand me?

At home anyone can speak whatever they choose. In public we need to establish a common language.

[mp2dtw]

I don't know where you get your 85% figure or how accurate it is. Why should English be the official language? Why not Navajo or some other language my ancestors refused to learn when they were the illegal immigrants from England, Scotland and the Netherlands back in the 1600s and 1700s refusing to assimilate to the native languages/cultures?

Have you had a governmental service denied to you in English? Is there any legitimate reason why we should make English an official language? Why should we force Mexicans to speak English when we, the US, stole half of Mexico in what we call the Mexican-American War?

Anyone wanting to do well in America needs English proficiency and they know that. Though I'd argue that only about 15-20% of Americans are proficient in English.

[mp2dtw]

A partial value would be so immigrants learn it and we wouldn't need to have DMV signs, school assignments, teachers, or corporate leaders in various languages. That would save money. Another very important thing is that we would understand each other. If someone yells 'Help' in a different language, shall I just go on my way because I don't understand them? And if I yell 'FIRE' should they be burned because they don't understand me?

At home anyone can speak whatever they choose. In public we need to establish a common language.

Save money?? Those who don't speak English don't pay taxes or buy goods too? If someone yells help in a different language and one can't figure out that they need help, maybe one has no help to offer anyhow.