Obama thinks your kids should learn Spanish

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I disagree. People should be free to speak in whatever language they desire for social purposes. If the Amish want to talk to their fellow Amish or to their mules in an antiquated dialect of German, more power to them. They speak English for business and legal purposes and when they relate to the outside world - that should be enough. When they are involved in personal conversations, it's nobody's business but theirs.

The inappropriateness had nothing to do with the fact that you were in public. It would have been just as inappropriate had the three of you been in his basement. When you are conversing with two people, you don't use a language only one of them knows.

It is extremely disrespectful, and goes against what our American ancesotrs fought for, to not want people to speak languages other than English, in public, especially when all parties concerned are of a native tongue other than english.Also do not forget, English is not the official language of the US.

Ok - what if three people are eating lunch, and two talk about football when the other person has no interest in football? Is that inherently rude? Should they ask the person if it is ok to talk about football? Or do they talk about football for a while, then move on to something else? Would it have been wrong to humor the guy who was learning Spanish, speak a few sentences, and then say "Ok, that's all the Spanish for now, how bout that running back that the Cowboys traded for"??

Doesn't matter whether or not the third person is interested in football. They are fully aware of what is being said, and can redirect the conversation to a different topic.




Well it wouldn't have been very appropriate given the situation. And as to whether or not humoring for a few moments would be tolerable for the spanish speaker depends on other things like how far this man has progressed, the purpose of going out to eat together, and how many times he's tried this in the past, especially the past few days.


So how would you feel if you went out to eat with me and another, and in the middle of the conversation I said

"Het is net zo klein mijn geld vervalsen is gestolen of per afdeling criminele recherché."
"Nog steeds aan het proberen?"
" Ja. Natuurlijk - Ik heb een geld nodig."
"En je hoopt dat dit nu wel werkt ? dat verhaal van die epilepsie werkt veel beter! Als je daar om geld vraagt dan krijg je het misschien nog!"
"Het spijt me, maar Ik weet het niet hoe spreek de waarheid in Nederlands."
"Ja, dat hebben we gemerkt."
"Is dat duidelijk?"
"Ja, dat is hééél duidelijk ....So how about those Padres?"

You would have just missed a chunk of the conversation and though you can pick out a word here and there, overall you have no clue what was said.

>> Het is net zo klein mijn geld vervalsen is gestolen of per afdeling criminele recherché."

Das tut mir leid. Eg tala English, Deutch og Islensk, aber nicht Hollandische. Sorry about you losing your money. Or something. But not offended.

Yes. I have yet to figure out why the criminal investigation department keeps steeling my counterfeit money

Did you miss the part where I said that there are places in south florida, a lot of places, where English is not spoken at all?? If you go into a store, you cannot get waited on because they will not speak english. Restaurants are the same thing.

Regarding the cuban flag thing, while there are many people down there who are anti English/American, there were also a bunch of ex-cubans who burned the cuban flag and flew the American flag instead. They were just as offended as the rest of America when the cuban flags were flown like that. A parade is one thing, but flying the cuban flag proudly is a different matter all together.

So basically, regardless of your race, if you hate America and English, then you don't need to be here.

So big deal. If it was a problem they wouldn't be able to maintain their business




If you worship English, than you don't need to be here either. There is a reason English isn't the official language of the US and that reason isn't so you can lord your english over all the other people who've retained part of their culture upon moving here. If you are against the values that America was founded on, then why would you want to stay here? Americans tolerate and embrace other cultures, they dont' shove people because they are different

Did you ever wonder why the Cubans in Miami flew the Cuban flag during the Elian Gonzalez episode? Was it because they hate America? I don't think so. Lots of them wanted to let Castro know that he may be dictator of Cuba, but he isn't Cuba itself. They wanted to show community support against the idea of sending little Elian back to Cuba! The fact that the Cuban flag is not American does not mean it is anti-American.

He also believes in National Service that seems volunatary

http://everyoneserves.org/obama_outlines_service_plan

At first it will just target one group starting with the children under the guise of helpful volunteer work. Both front runners believe in this program.

So people who are good at looking at such implementations can see where it leads. It always starts out with "we're only trying to help"

It's not just Obama either. Mccain too.

http://everyoneserves.org/obama_outlines_service_plan

That is the most asinine thing anyone has ever said. You think its OK that there are places in America that don't speak English?? I'm not going to give this thread any further dignity by responding. If you want to burn the American flag, then by all means, do so. But I won't be doing that or having anything to do with people like you who do.

Are you implying that both candidates are supporting a sinister plan? Is this really any different than the Peace Corps or CityCorps? A program that may have done some good, but which are pretty minor in terms of their budget or volunteer staff.

Yes actually I am. I'm one of those people who looks at budding projects and can tell where it is leading. I'm one of those types of people that have time and time again informed people around me of what is yet to come and get shrugged off. People don't like that I suppose. Beyond caring anymore.

Just go along with the ride. There's nothing you can do.

What does not speaking English have to do with burning the American flag? If they can get by (legally) without learning English, then good for them. I only believe that they are at a big disadvantage for not learning our language.

That is not true. I would be able to function perfectly fine had I not taken algebra. I don't use it daily. I only use it at school. I'd be able to function without history. I'd have less of an understanding of the world, but it would not impair my functioning noticeably. English class doesn't teach English, it's reading books. Honestly, I don't think I'm any better at anything for having read Great Expectations. And depending on where you are, Spanish may be very necessary for living daily. I don't make a whole lot of use of my Spanish, but I certainly use it more than I use geometry or make use of classic literature.

And to n4mwd:
America =/= English
English is not what America is about. Why is the language so damn important to you? Why can't people be proud of their heritage? I think my other post on this issue was ignored, about how many flags I fly, about St. Patrick's day, and such. Why is it okay to celebrate one's Irish heritage (woo!) but not their Cuban heritage?

That is some serious xenophobia going on, if you're offended just by seeing a flag that isn't American. Grow up.