Why are people called racist for thinking everyone that wants to live in the US should learn English?

Question

When my grandparents came to the US, they learned English. Yes, even though they worked, they found the time to learn the language. Even people from countries that use a totally different alphabet (Chinese, etc) manage to learn at least enough to get by. Yet ine (just one) group of people refuses to learn, gets catered to, and then those of us that think they should learn English (including people that DID learn when they moved here) are called racists. Why is this?

bueko - did you read the details? BOTH my grandparents worked, and yet they learned the language.

marinera_negrita - we won't be the majority for long, since white people are not known for having multiple babies by multiple fathers, whether they can afford to or not. Unlike some other groups of people...

Answer 1

You have to understand, nobody chooses not to learn English. Every one wishes to do it. Otherwise you feel alienated from society. Some people don't have the chance, working 12, 14 hours with people who don't speak English. And to learn any language, you need a talent for it, something that many don't posses. Imaging somebody who doesn't have the talent to learn calculus, for example.

Answer 2

I have dealt with this first hand tons of times. I am white. Therefore everybody assumes I am racist if I make a comment about ANYTHING. I also live in California, so there are more Spanish billboards than english it seems like. I get very sick of this because I go to my bank teller and it asks "spanish or english" ? I think we are considered racist because people think we are close minded individuals who want everybody to be the same. If we were really racist, wouldn't we just tell everybody to go back home to wherever it is they came from? I think everybody should learn english if they want to live in america. You won't be losing your heritage or culture by speaking the "language of the land". I would for once like to go to fast food, a bank, grocery store, and not have to bust my *** trying to get the worker to understand me. Also, my great-grandparents ran their own business, worked 80+ hour work weeks, raised 6 kids, ran a home, and still had time to learn english. What makes them so different from any other immigrant? Oh wait, is it because they were Italian? Is that why? Yeah thats close to English isn't it? I'm so sick and tired of people who say that it is so hard for immigrants to be in america...THEN WHY ARE THEY STILL HERE? Why would anybody want to live in a place called the land of the free when it is so difficult and they dont speak the language? And I also know plenty of illegal immigrants who are not busting their asses for 3 dollars an hour. Everybody who is saying that all immigrants work their asses off need to check some better sources. And, why does it matter who the majority is? Every single city has a different majority. And us "white supremists" as some idiot above called us, are not worried about immigrants becoming the majority, we are worried about trying to go to a doctor and get a diagnosis and not be able to understand the person! I am so goddamn sick and tired of people assuming we are racist & prejudiced. You guys need to take a nice long look in the mirror.

Answer 3

I believe it's fairly simple. America has always been a land of multiple languages, with English, French, Spanish colonies having been present for hundreds of years. This was never an issue until very recently because educated persons always learned at least two languages and it was assumed one would speak the language they prefer. I believe you still have to learn a second language to graduate from universities, thanks to this same tradition. We're no longer quite as interested in education and open society as we were a hundred and more years ago, though, so now we have the modern push to form a state language. While this has some obvious benefits, it also creates a new immigration test that is pretty unconstitional (the courts decided that btw, not me)...ie, only the educated will have the chance to be citizens. Let's face it, not everyone escaping poverty or war or religious persecution coming to the US has had the benefit of an education..so instituting a requirement they speak english to be an american means poorer immigrants have an institutional bias against them. Since it's generally not the caucasian immigrants coming to the us because of poverty war and persecution, this means you're...whether you mean to or not and I am by no means saying you mean to...supporting a system that would bar people from these areas, many of which are third world areas populated by persons of different ethnic backgrounds. If that happened, that would be blatantly racist and that's probably where that sense is coming from.

Answer 4

I totally understand you. I have to laugh at how Hispanic people are the only ones that claim it is "so hard" for them to learn the language, then get mad when people point out that immigrants from other cultures that work just as hard and just as long hours still manage to find time to learn. Maybe the difference is the ones that learn are spending their free time (the little they have)learning the language and really trying to better themselves instead of making illegitimate babies so they can collect welfare.

Answer 5

I have no idea! I wouldn't dream of moving to another country and not learn the native language. That would be rediculous!!! We speak English in this country and if you want to become a citizen you should learn the language. We spend so much money printing out drivers handbooks, voting pamplets, etc in other languages and it is costing tons of money!!!

Back in the mid 1980's I worked at a hotel in the SF Bay Area. There were a number of imigrents from Asian countries and I had a number of them ask to just sit and talk to me in English or help them learn words, etc because they knew how important it was.

Answer 6

So you are friends with every single immigrant in the US? Then I'm sure that you must know while they are working 80 hours a week for 3 bucks an hour in some crappy wherehouse, even when they are done they go home take care of thier children clean house etc etc. It's not easy to learn a second language, even harder to get by when you are feeding children, taking care of a hom and worrying about some redneck screaming at them to learn english or die. Bah, my 2 cents

Answer 7

I don't think that people are racist just because they think that people that want to live in the US should learn english. That would make it easier for everyone. If I wanted to live for example, in Italy, I would want to learn italian so I would understand what was going on around me and not be depending on others to help translate everything for me.

Answer 8

I have never been called racist for saying that...but I agree with you...I just moved to Germany and I am learning a much as I can.

Answer 9

Because if it were a bunch of Europeans refusing to learn English then nobody would care. Here's a question. Why do white people get all up in arms whenever they fear that they're going to be outnumbered? (Which is highly unlikely). Smile, white folks, ya'll are still the majority.

Answer 10

I agree with you. We shouldn't have to learn their language, English is our national language. I wouldn't move to another country not knowing the language that's just stupid.