Tell me what you really think.
Dear Mamacita,
Will you marry me?
Check yes or no.
I bow to you, Mrs. President.
I'm writing your name in on my ballot.
You think I'm kidding.
But I'm not. 
I pretty much agree with everything you don't like--which is pretty much an heretical position here in Southern California.
You're too bright to be President.
(I am basing that on present-day facts.)
I wish I could write like you ... I am very jealous...and no Hallmark is not good enough for those I love either...
opps commented about the wrong one...hahaha, isn't that just like me though?! Well, since I'm here, I might as well tell you that this piece of writing is done well TOOOOOOOOO...sorry for all the confusion...
As a person who's been working in social services in different capacities for several years: AMEN! I'm a bit tired of those who come in, explaining that they deserve such and such because [fill in the blank with some reason they are "owed" money to do nothing]. My biggest pet peeve are the women who expect us to pay them money to provide "services" (daily living tasks such as dressing, grooming, eating, etc.) for their own children, including the mother who came in and yelled, "You don't pay me enough to take care of my son!"
I have always wanted to live in Spain and I sat here thinking to myself: Would I move to Spain and expect all the citizens there to learn English for me, to translate all their documents for me, to let me do everything my own way, in my own time, and in my own language...whether or not it inconvenienced others?
No. I can't imagine that at all.
Thanks for stating it so clearly. Very, very much.
It's nice when people don't like a lot of the same things.
AMEN. That's all I can say.
Wow. I agree with you wholeheartedly. It is sooo frustrating dealing with people who can't speak english. I can understand if they are brand new to the country but I have seen over and over people who have been here for years who are just too arrogant to speak english. I am all for diversity and mainting your cultural and spiritual beleifs but when you are in this country make an effort to learn english!! It is such a touchy subject and I applaude you for broaching it so perfectly. Here from Michele's tonight becasue on a side note I saw your comment about liking moxy fruvous. i love them too!!! i swear i didnt even know anyone else knew who they were so i just had to come visit.
They don't want to learn the language, wah. I think that is mostly a piece of racist crap fiction. ESL classes are packed. "Ingles Sin Barreras" videos sell like hotcakes. My library limits the amount of language books and tapes anyone can take out because they are so popular.
Hispanic immigrants are here working their butts off and doing stuff white people don't want to do. Picking crops, washing cars, wiping babies' butts, taking care of the elderly.
I used to work with a crew of women in a printshop bindery. When they finished their mind-numbing jobs there, they headed off to the guitar factory for another 8 hours to inspect guitar parts. Only 16 hours a day of work! Screw their lazy asses if they don't have time to learn English!
I agree with every single word. Amen. And Hoss is right, you are too smart to be president or even a member of a jury!
You tell 'em! Plus, I'm so glad you included the bums who were born here. All the freeloaders didn't come here, some were born here.
Oh Mamacita...I hear your frustration, and we could surely use more of your hard-hitting common sense here in Washington.
But I have to disagree with you on least 1 or 2 points. I teach the children of the Latino, Asian, and African immigrants who have flocked to the DC area. Undoubtedly, many are here illegally. But the majority of them are the hardest-working, most humble people I have ever met. They have sacrificed everything to try and better their children's lives. They are incredibly grateful for everything the school offers them in the way of services. They insist that their children do their homework and speak respectfully to their teachers. I have seldom, if ever, met an immigrant family that was ungrateful or looking for a handout. Many of them work 2 or 3 jobs, 7 days a week. I'm proud to live in a country that tries to ensure that all children-even those whose parents struggle with illiteracy, poverty, and language barriers--can receive a good education, a hot lunch, and basic medical care.
Sorry to leave such a long comment. And I hope you don't mind hearing a different point of view
My grandfather and my husband's grandparents were immigrants. They wasted no time in learning English, making sure their children didn't learn Spanish/Hungarian. They also worked their rear ends off and paid taxes.
AMEN to what you say.
Don't even get me started...but girlfriend you said it and you got it 100 percent RIGHT!
And I agree, you are way too smart to be president!
Right on!!!!!
I'm with Sue and Miz S.
WF
Quite simply, it's true...
I work in a lab, here in the u.s., which is comprised mostly of chinese nationalist. The put little effort into learning english and speak chinese most of the time. normally that's unacceptable...however, the P.I. (advisor/proff) is chinese...
it's quite frustrating. When working/living/immigrating to a new country it seems only common sense and just downright courteous to learn their language and customs.
Not necessarily to lose your own customs, but rather respect the ones in place and allow yours to blend.
That having been said... Please note that I am typing this in English and NOT in Hawaiian... That would be the language of my ancestors and the language of the people indigenous to Hawaii... Very little of what is truly Hawaiian exist today. And in a few more decads virtually nothing will be left of the Hawaiian culture except recorded memories...
What's my point? Thing's do change. It is the way of cultures to try to spread and suppress others, even replace them. The way the greeks did, the way the romans did, the way the europeans did, and yes, the way the americans did.
As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun... What you are seeing, is nothing new. It has been happening throughout history for thousands of years.
if that were not true:
- No tribe or nation in africa would be dominated by the english, french, or arabic language
-The people in England would be speaking the language of the 'picts' how owned the land before the romans or the time of King Arthur (roughly 300 A.D.)
-My family would most likely speak Hawiaan first and foremost
-This continent (North America) would be dotted with the language of the apache, cherokee, commanchee, etc...
Things do indeed change. Cultures clash. Cultures blend. Cultures dissappear...
Yes it is true, people who come to this country should respect our language and our culture... If we do not insist upon it, if we do not enforce it... then we risk going the way of the American Indian or the Hawaiian... So YES we should fight to keep this way of life if that is what we want... I rather like this culture.
However, we should be aware, that we are who we are, because those that came before us did exactly the opposite. They came, the conquered, they displaced..... right or wrong that IS the way of things...
I hope i havent offended. I certainly did not mean to
I failed to mention that i ABSOLUTELY agree, if you come to the U.S. with NO intention of working, but rather living off the sweat of others....
well, you need to go back from whence you came...
Whose ways? Whose culture? For that matter, whose language? It's clear to me when I see statements like this made that the ones making the statements are so entrenched in the dominant culture of White America that they forget that there is a whole other universe happening all around them, and just because it doesn't involve them doesn't make that "other America" less valuable.
As someone who often makes her bread and butter teaching non-native speakers English, I appreciate the currency that is the English language. It can be spent damn near anywhere on this planet (just not France--the Frogs really do insist on a currency conversion). Americans are foolish to believe that those who come here do not understand the importance of learning the language. They do, and the vast majority of them strive like madmen to learn it. In some communities, however, language learning is impeded by several factors, not the least of which is the necessary insularity of immigrant communities, especially illegal ones. They can't afford to come out and mix with us and use us as conversation partners. It's too dangerous. They keep to their own in the interest of their own safety. The problem with that, of course, is that in their own communities the only people speaking the language of their new country are their children, and the children tend to shift away from English the moment they get home from school for the sake of expediency.
Another factor, as has already been pointed out, is time. The vast majority of illegal aliens are here to do one thing: MAKE MONEY to send back home to their families. This means they are willing to work very long hours for very low pay at some dangerous, demeaning jobs.
It's damned hard to enroll in a community ed class if you are working 80-100 hours a week, even harder if you don't have the documentation required by most schools to establish residency within their districts. Without this documentation, enrollment in ESL programs is either impossible or exorbitantly expensive because it must come from private rather than public sources.
I have found that the folks who are most vehemently anti-immigrant are the ones who are from areas with the lowest concentration of immigrants. Why? Mostly because they are unaware of the realities of the lives led by these people and the contributions they make to our economy.
Trust me on this. The illegals I have known in my life (and I have known MANY) have not been whiny, lazy, nor do they expect anything from this country except a swift kick in the ass right back across the border. Instead, they are poor, hard-working people who come from miserable, third-world nations who hope that the dollars they earn here will allow them and their families to survive, thrive, and ultimately LEGALLY immigrate. Most illegals do not want to be here illegally, but they are doing what they must for their families until they are able to afford to do what is right and legal. Unfortunately, because of the systems currently in place, some of them will never be able to afford to apply for Visas and become naturalized citizens. They will live out their entire lives in the shadows.
Who will benefit? We will as we eat our reasonably-priced produce, enjoy our child care, lawn care, clean hotel rooms, tasty restaurant food....
Trust me, if they all left tomorrow we would be the ones to suffer. Our quality of life would go down the toilet. Because we need them, we also need to find a way to live with them and they with us. What we are all doing right now is clearly not working worth a damn.
Great post, great comments. For me a lot of it boils down to entitlement. I hate that sense of entitlement that some folks have. It's such a crappy bad karma, inverse substitute for gratitude and appreciation. Candadian or not.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Good job.
I agree with Sue and Miz S too. Why would you think immigrants don't work hard or appreciate life in the US? As has been said, they do the low-paid jobs that no American would touch, and they do them tirelessly, often without health benefits, paid time off, or other perks we in the middle class take for granted.
And you don't account for how hard it might be for a person to learn "skills," when it's possible to go all the way to high school without learning to read or write on grade level--that's the reality in plenty of American schools. There are simply very few jobs that require less than a college degree these days--as opposed to the days when industrial employers surrounded our cities.
It's hard out there, no joke.
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