I was having icecream with my son yesterday, who is 1/2 white, not that it matters but he doesn't look all that hispanic... anyway... and this elderly caucasion couple came up to us and were just oohing and awhing over my boy eating his ice cream. I smiled and told them hello and the man said VERY loudly (like if they speak up you'll understand them) "Hablas ENGLISH" I was like, yes sir".
I don't really know how to take that. I mean to you assume the same thing. I know they meant no harm by it, but it's just a little degrading to me... like I don't look like I could possibly be bilingual. And by the way, I don't speak a lick of Spanish! (I know, I know)
Thanks for your comments!
2006-09-07 03:58:50 · 9 answers · asked by Jamie D 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It happens all the time. It is not discrimination or prior bias judgement. People are just obnoxious. I work with people everyday who know I speak english yet pull the second language on me to supposedly practice their foreign language. They get kicks and giggles out of it when it annoys me. People are just obnoxious. Its just wrong.
2006-09-07 04:06:29 · answer #1 · answered by The One Truth 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm mexican (my skin is whitish, i don't use a big hat neither I look kind of scary haha, like the look we have on the movies, just to give you an idea) and I lived for a year in New York State and in the whole year I only had couple incidents, good for me they were at the very end of my time there.
One of them was as you said, about a person assuming I didn't speak English...
I was coming home and i had to change plane in San Antonio, after a break i went back to board, and there was this lady of the airline asking for the boarding pass and she explained me that suit case i had with me was too big that i couldn't take it on the plane and i had to leave it at the entrace of the plane (I knew that already because I had already flown from other city to San Antonio)..so I answered with an OK... i walked few steps and i heard she said with that kind of degrading tone...aghh! I'm talking to her like if she understands... oh i got so angry...cos her tone was not good, plus she told this to another passenger, so i went back and asked hey are you talking to me?, she looked at me and got all blushed, after some steps the passenger behind just laughed and said...she just assumed you didn't understand anything of what she was saying....
Even if i couldn't speak English it was not polite to say anything, because she was doing her job and if giving a service to someone who doesn't look like her upsets her, well she has some issues to work with...and actually shouldn't be working there...in that moment i was very angry the only thing I wanted to tell her was, hey u know what the only thing I can say in English is Bi***, does it sound familiar to u? hahaha...but I was coming back home and I had no interest in gettign in trouble or making longer the time to see my family again. hehe
2006-09-07 18:47:24 · answer #2 · answered by badtz 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am married to a Mexican. We were married in 1985. When people found out that he did not speak English they would ask me how we communicated. Depending on their attitude I would tell them I was dumb as a Mexican I could speak 2 languages. He speaks English now but we still speak Spanish in our home.
2006-09-07 04:15:03 · answer #3 · answered by BUPPY'S MEME 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If you are in Mexico you assumed to speak English, yes English. Well, I don't know how to speak spanish and, because of the poor amount of english speakers in school i think that's why they said that. I don't think it would degrade you (that would be rascist.) Looks
can be decieving!
2006-09-07 04:13:06 · answer #4 · answered by Karina B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am Not Latino & people think I am. They start speaking Spanish to me & I have no idea what they're saying! They think I'm rude cause I don't answer back. Yeah, I understand ya
2006-09-07 04:07:37 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's depressing.
Maybe it was because they were elderly, and... ah, who am I kidding, it was a rude aasumption.
I got the same crap (in reverse) in Japan; I'm a red-haired green-eyed Caucasian, and it was usually assumed that I couldn't speak or understand any Japanese. It got old, fast.
2006-09-07 04:08:16 · answer #6 · answered by silvercomet 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yeah all the time people just start talkin to me in spanish but I don't really know any it's kinda embarrasing but oh well.
2006-09-07 04:05:27 · answer #7 · answered by -мari♥ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, some people do think that way. I just ignore that, and answer them in English.
2006-09-07 06:35:28 · answer #8 · answered by Bonita 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
YES, all the time, and they start speaking broken english, or talk really slow. i dont know why!
2006-09-07 04:04:38 · answer #9 · answered by el_oso_candeloso 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋