Only you can make yourself feel worse. I was pointing out a number of flaws in our argument.
Get over yourself, dickweed. The vast majority of non-English speakers that I run across are people that have been in the USA for years and are proud of the fact that they haven’t bothered to learn English. One of the local TV stations interviewed a Mexican family a few weeks back; the grandmother came over in 1974 or so and doesn’t speak English; has no desire to learn it. I’ve had people come into my place of business and go away royally pissed off because I don’t speak Spanish.
The point that I was making is that if one goes to another country, one should learn the language of that country. Period. There is no excuse for people coming to this country and demanding that we speak Spanish or Greek or Southern FootrotFlatsian or whatever because they’re too damn arrogant to show us some basic courtesy.
Er, make that “I was pointing out a number of flaws in your argument.”
At some point though, you risk alienating (forgive the pun) a potential customer-base. Eventually, your policy might even run you out of business (maybe the chance of that happeneing to you in your lifetime is relatively low, but given your location and what little I know about the demographics of the area, you certainly might be limitting your reach; but again, maybe you don’t care)
What is inherrently American English about this soil as far as commerce goes, I’m not talking about governments now? Nothing I suspect. Isn’t it that most of the people here speak American English, so American English is the commonly decided language of commerce? (I suspect that’s so.) What if most of the people in a region of the U.S. spoke Spanish? Would it then be appropriate, under your Rule, to require anyone visiting that area to learn Spanish? Out of basic courtesy and all. If not, why not?
The flaw being…? What? That my writen english sucks? I knew that already. Thats why I usually use a word processor with spell check and get my wife to proof read anything before I send it to a customer.
I guess I’m missing your point. I guess you missed the various flaws I pointed out in your arguement also. 
-XT
p.s. I know ‘Only (I) can make (myself) feel worse’. We are all sensitive about something…I’m sensitive about my flawed english.
The major flaw in your argument is your assertion that Spanish isn’t used in the US. I provided a link that showed you that one state has Spanish as one if its official languages.
And I live in that state. If you want a job above the level of agricultural worker then you better speak English. If you speak English AND Spanish, thats great (in fact, it can actually be a job winner in many cases)…but just having Spanish gets you nada (while conversely most folks even in New Mexico only speak English, so it doesn’t work the other way). What does that say about your ‘Spanish as one of its official languages’ in real terms? So, I’m unsure what your cite is worth in the real world…or why that makes my argument flawed. ‘Spanish is an official language…but, you can’t get a job if you only have Spanish (unless you want to pick peppers or do day labor). So sorry. Now, if you can only speak English, then we might have something for you…’.
-XT
It shows that your absolute statement that Spanish is not used in the US to be false for two reasons: (1) one state, at least, has it has an official language, and (2) there’s quite a number of people throughout the country who gasp actually use Spanish.
Ok Monte…my absolute statement about Spanish was incorrect technically.
Which, in real world terms means dick. But yes, you are technically right. That an 2 dollars will get you a cup of coffee.
Sure…we are the fastest growing minority group. Soon to be the largest minority group, and perhaps one day the largest ethnic group. If you wants a job above picking lettuce or peppers or doing day labor though, best learn english too. If you want a GOOD job, best learn GOOD english.
Anyway, I’m tired of going back and forth with you on this. You seem to be nitpicking what I said earlier, wanting acknowledgment of your technical correctness on a minor point (I’ve given it), and in any case I don’t see us progressing any on this hijack of the thread. I have to admit your post correcting my english stung (as I assume you intended), but overall you are still a poster that, though I don’t always agree with, I usually at least follow. Thats still the case.
-XT
This is precisely what I oppose. I imagine that I am probably ethnically disturbed by anyone coming to this country to make a life, a living and a family and flaunting their disregard for our language. WHY are there people in their early twenties that aren’t trying to learn our language? I can understand the geriatric generation not having a desire to learn, but young adults and teenagers? That just burns my wick. I tried to chat to a woman in Target just two days ago “wow, they sure don’t have much for little boys, do they?” and she just completely ignored me. I imagine she could have been deaf, (pretty sure not tho) but wouldn’t it have been polite to nod or acknowledge the statement even if she couldn’t answer in English?
I worked in an auto parts store for 10 years and it was quite clear that the non-english speaking customers almost expected that I’d know their language. That offends me. Why should I be expected to know a language to accomodate someone coming here to live that hasn’t even bothered to learn that nations language? These are young people, folks. We’ll be an alternative language speaking country in 50 years…mark my words. :smack:
Bullshit.
xtisme, you have shown admirable patience with some really idiotic criticism; congratulations on your very good attitudes about life. I admire you.
mhendo, maybe in Baltimore things are different. In states like mine with large populations of Spanish-speaking people a large percentage did not come here to become Americans. They came here to get jobs and make money. They have kept their language and their life-style unchanged. This creates a certain amount of friction. For example, the people who live next door to me play extremely loud music day and night, sometimes from two different musical sources at the same time, and they do not speak enough English to understand me when I tell them to turn it down. They piss in the alley. They allow their dogs to crap in the alley. They tell me I “hate Mexicans” when I ask them not to. And they have lived here for 10 years. I don’t hate Mexicans. However, I did not choose to live in Tijuana, and I don’t appreciate them bringing Tijuana here to me. When I visit Mexico on vacation I do not ask the residents to speak English, or turn down the music, or stop pissing in the street. When they visit here, or move here, they need to try to adopt our way of life, or at the very least stop inflicting their way of life on the unfortunate souls who live next door. And I am REALLY REALLY tired of being told I am a bigot.
Correction obvious misstatement of fact =/= idiocy. Unless, of course, you really want it to. :rolleyes:
Feel free to insert the preposition of in its appropriate place in post #73.
Because you are trying to sell them something.
I’m in sales. I hate it when someone calls and we can’t help them because of language problems. That means a lost sale, and it means we’ve failed in our service. We can’t know every language, true, but every language we don’t know is a lost opportunity.
If you work in a store, you might not know Spanish, but if I see you being an asshole to someone because they don’t understand your language, I’ll take my business elsewhere, too. A business needs customers. Why should you be expected to accomodate people? Because that’s what businesses do.
And anyone who worked for me with that attitude would be out on their asses immediately.
Hmm, you tried to chat up a strange young woman in a store and when she ignored you, you assumed it must be because she didn’t understand English?
I wish I had your self-confidence. 
Then stop making statements like this, "When I visit Mexico on vacation I do not ask the residents to speak English, or turn down the music, or stop pissing in the street. " Maybe then someone will see you as something other than a bigot. Until then, they have every reason to.
And this presents a probelm how? And I assuming the “that” above should be “this,” in which case I have to ask, when did English become this nation’s only language?
If the sort of behaviour you describe was peculiar to immigrants, or to Mexicans, you might have a point.
But the only group to which the behaviour you describe is unique is the group known as “selfish assholes.” Plenty of genuine, home-grown Americans (black, white, or whatever) play loud music at inappropriate times of night, and ignore all efforts to make them act considerately. Call the cops if they won’t listen to you.
And if you want to see pissing in the street, might i suggest that you wander the streets of any large city after dark. Hell, last time i was in New York i saw two white guys with American accents pissing against a wall in the East Village at about 5 in the evening, while it was still light. And these weren’t the sort of homeless or mentally ill folk from whom such behaviour might be understandable. It was clear that they were just two guys, perhaps just finished an afternoon of drinking, who decided that it was easier to piss in the street than find a toilet.
Not if you limited it to what you knew was protected speech. You could get your rocks off knowing your sign was sneering in the faces of English-speaking Indians, Koreans, etc., and they couldn’t do a thing about it.
Silly me. I thought I was talking of a negative workplace environment.