'Why should I have to 'Press 1 for English?''

[Rink]

from the August 12, 2005 edition

For illegals, a spreading backlash

Counties, states hope to needle Bush into tightening US border.

By Mark Trumbull | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

CALDWELL, IDAHO – This oasis of irrigated farm country in the high desert is a long way from the US-Mexico border, and even farther from the nation's capital, but it represents America's new battleground on immigration policy.

Here county commissioner Robert Vasquez is trying to do what he says Washington won't: crack down on illegal immigration. He recently sued several local employers in a novel bid to use federal anticorruption law to prevent hiring illegals.

Mr. Vasquez's controversial crusade is part of a larger pattern. As the border continues to be punctured by illicit crossings, and as immigrants spread to places unaccustomed to or unprepared for the influx, a local backlash is building.

The moves, ranging from police arrests in New Hampshire to community activism in Tennessee, point to a sharp political divide. At the very least, they signal a rift among conservatives among conservatives that may be growing more pronounced, as President Bush seeks an accommodative policy but faces resistance from some other Republicans such as Vasquez.

But the attempted crackdowns also reveal a larger rift - one that separates much of Main Street America from the nation's policymaking elite. At a time when Congress is considering guest-worker programs to legalize more undocumented workers, polls show most Americans want to see illegal immigration curbed.

Local lawsuits and policies will hardly achieve that goal by themselves, but if successful they could create pressure for stronger federal action.

"The public agrees on certain things, and one of these is the distinction between legal and illegal immigration," says Steven Camarota of the Center for Immigration Studies. But "in the end it's mostly within Washington's purview."

Indeed, Vasquez is seeking to take his fight to the nation's capital. He hopes to win a seat in Congress in 2006 and push for stricter immigration policies alongside Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) of Colorado.

But first he faces a hearts-and-minds battle here in Canyon County as he presses his lawsuits along with two fellow commissioners.

Caldwell, the community where Vasquez's office sits in the county courthouse, is oriented around a railroad track and the Farm City Agribusiness Park. Where some streets sport freshly painted bungalows and lush lawns, others are defined by trailer homes that have seen better decades. What binds the 26,000 residents together, however, is a tradition of hard work in the nearby fields, shops, and food-processing plants.

Vasquez, whose grandfather came from Mexico, complains of an "unarmed invasion" that is fast transforming American towns like this one. "Why," he asks, "should I have to 'Press 1 for English?' "

More on this Story (http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0812/p01s01-ussc.html?s=itm)

[tacitus]

Vasquez is seeking to take his fight to the nation's capital. He hopes to win a seat in Congress in 2006 and push for stricter immigration policies alongside Rep. Tom Tancredo (R) of Colorado.

We need more representative like this. Maybe we will some day. Good article Rink thanks for posting it.

[Kathy29]

Why should you have to press 1 for English?

Because you won't stand up and fight back. We're all letting this happen. Where we should be at those mexican consulates protesting the matricular until the consulate shuts down, we're watching survivor and cracking open another brewski.

[DesertFox]

I'm very strongly against illegals, but I see no problem pressing 1 for English.

[Joe Spout]

I have no problem pressing "1" for English as long as I can push other number for different languages. If we are going to have special menus for Spanish then we should have them for most if not all languages. What we should not have is interpreters so that a person who cannot speak or read English can get a drivers license or other services. If you are going to reside in the United States then you should at least be able to speak English. It only makes sense that if you speak the language of the country you live in your life will be much easier and less frustrating.

If you think pressing "1" for English is bad what do you think about school officials in Dallas having to learn Spanish so they can communicate with students and student's families? http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45684 (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=45684)

[DesertFox]

With the number of Spanish speakers in America, it makes sense to have that menu. It does not make sense to have a menu for every single language spoken in America, since most other-language speakers number too few for it to make sense.

Private businesses can do what they want on the telephone menus. If they have a large Chinese clientele, it would make sense for them to have that on the menu.

People coming to America should indeed learn English. That said, I find it hard to believe so many people passed on the chance to pick up some Spanish in high school. I was in high school from 64-67. I was going to study French for the helluvit and my dad said, "There's a lotta folks in America who speak Spanish and not many who speak French. You might wanna think about that." I switched to Spanish and have never regretted it. Can't believe I'm so much smarter than everybody else.

[Rink]

My High school had No Spanish classes, Only French.

[DesertFox]

Can't believe I went to a smarter high school than you did, Rinkster. :D

[Keb]

One year of required Latin and three years of French equals a wish to have taken Spanish instead. So much more useful today.

[Rink]

Can't believe I went to a smarter high school than you did, Rinkster. :D

You aint a-kiddin DF, I wished they had spanish, it would have been a lot easier to keep in ones head and remember with the latinos in this area than 'French'.

[Kathy29]

Private businesses can have whatever they like on the menu. Government offices should have no such options.

In addition to having phone menus in spanish or english. I now have to contend with store personnel who say "Do you prefer spanish or English". I refuse to answer. Someday I'm going to say Sanskrit and be done with it.

Or worse, have a salesperson immediately address me in spanish. I walk away and have been known to leave the store.

[Wyatt_Junker]

In addition to having phone menus in spanish or english. I now have to contend with store personnel who say "Do you prefer spanish or English". I refuse to answer. Someday I'm going to say Sanskrit and be done with it.



I love you.

:devilange

[UhUhNoWay]

One year of required Latin and three years of French equals a wish to have taken Spanish instead. So much more useful today. No Kidding Keb, I took one year of Latin (hated the new teacher otherwise I would have continued) and 3 years of German...Spanish would have been more useful especially here in So Cal. I also wish I would have picked up more Japanese. If you call at some here, you have options like cantonese,vietmanese,laotian as well as spanish.

[CzechPrince]

I took 4 years of Latin.

[Melz]

I'm very strongly against illegals, but I see no problem pressing 1 for English.

I have an issue with this (beyond the illegal issues that WE ALL have), that we push numbers for English and Spanish. Yet there are tons of folks from all over the world with different languages who are in this country, not just folks of Spanish language. Those other countries learn English early on and enough so that they don't have to push a button to get something described in "their language." They know enough about the English language not to need a special button to push. If everyone wants to be in this English speaking country, everyone who comes here should know the basics on simple things, conversations with customer service, ATM's ..etc.

I guess it is courteous, but why is Spanish the only language we feel we need to accomodate? Probably because they are the only ones who feel they can come to this country without needing to know an ounce of English. Blah to that.

[DesertFox]

The govt needs to do everything in English. End of policy statement.

Private business can do as it wishes. Were I running a large, successful business I would have the language choice of Spanish because there are so many whose first language IS Spanish, among them my wife. If my product line catered to Hmong, I'd have that lingo on the phone, too.

[Bluemoon_Rising]

I was going to study French for the helluvit and my dad said, "There's a lotta folks in America who speak Spanish and not many who speak French. You might wanna think about that." I switched to Spanish and have never regretted it. Can't believe I'm so much smarter than everybody else.

LOL! I'm working on Spanish now. Please tell me it gets easier as you go. Any tips?

[Melz]

I took French for 6 years (HS and college), and I can communicate enough with French folks. In this country..lol. I cannot and do not require to speak with those who cannot speak English in America. But I find lately that I want to learn Latin. It is the basis of all languages. And I did fail Russian in my freshman year of college. Perhaps if I had taken some Latin beforehand? Or perhaps, had I been willing to take an 8AM class on Monday mornings?? Haha, I do blame myself. I will learn much from the Lithuanian guy who works across from me though, he has that whole "eastern European" accent, not what I am used to, but it is growing on me :)

[Rink]

I wouldnt mind taking Spanish, and learn to be proficient in ASL (American Sign Language)

[DesertFox]

Any tips? The only way to really learn a language is to immerse yourself in it. It's often embarrassing, sometimes painfully so, but there are programs you can get into where you spend a summer with, for example, a Guatemalan family that speaks no English. When you have to learn, you learn. If there's a single person there who knows English, you'll keep reverting to English "just for this" or "just for that," and you'll never get away from using the crutch.

I know, cuz I been there. We're all lazy by nature. Leave yourself no choice and you'll do what you must. Think Ranger school.

Don't go to Guatemala, though, until you've studied the language enough to know all the verb tenses. They don't teach it as well as they once did. When I was in high school we had all the verb tenses the first semester of the first year; nowadays they don't teach them until the fourth year!

An alternative is what they do at DLI: A course that's away from the family, maybe a six-week thing of nothing-but-Spanish. It would be expensive but you'd learn Spanish, would be able to converse and understand what someone said back. Anything less than that and you'll have no confidence in your ability no matter how long you work at it.

It's a matter of hard work and attention to what you're doing. Drill, drill, drill. Get rid of distractions and use the language every chance you can. It's worth it in the end. One day you'll overhear somebody saying something to someone else in Spanish, and realize that you know what they said! You really are bilingual! For Americans raised as we were, in pretty-much a monolingual culture, it's something to be proud of.

[Bluemoon_Rising]

Will do, Fox. Thanks, especially for the heads up about the verb tenses. That makes sense. I'm going to go back and start again from scratch on those. Spanish has become increasingly important in my line of business, and I need to be less reliant on intermediaries.

[DesertFox]

It's a shame we don't live closer. I've formulated what I think would be some effective approaches to learning a foreign language, especially Spanish. They would be drill-intensive and focus on "model sentences" that you memorize and apply as needed, substituting needed verbs and nouns. Prepositions are much more important than we normally think them, and the model sentences would progressively incorporate more prepositions in more complex sentences. There'd be a goodly amount of vocabulary memorization that you'd have input to in order to focus on your business's specific products. IOW: Basic Spanish molded to suit your particular needs.

After working at them awhile, the patterns stick in the mind and you no longer have to translate from English to Spanish as you go. Songs and march rhythms help; you make up lyrics to songs you like (or translate songs you already know), and recalling the tune then helps you remember the phrases. Poems work the same way. I did this stuff all unknowing when I studied Spanish in high school, and I think a lotta folks might find it useful -- unless one has no rhythm and is tone deaf. :D

Still, no matter what system a guy uses, the important thing is to stay at it constantly. Wherever there are Spanish speakers is a classroom.

[Patriot Heart]

:soap: I guess I will sound very obstinate here, but I absolutely categorically REFUSE to learn Spanish, it infuriates me to no end the way that language is pushed everywhere. This the USA for crying out loud, every time we acquiesce to the mob we are making it easier for them NOT to learn English. And by the way, I think taking Latin in junior highschool was one of the best decisions I ever made, it has helped me immensely.

[DesertFox]

Knowing Spanish is advantageous for the one who learns it, and for no one else, PH. But no one is obliged to do what's advantageous for himself/herself, and certainly everyone can define "advantageous" as he/she wants to.

But those who do learn Spanish are hardly acquiescing to any mob. You do it for your own reasons or you don't do it at all, because it's too much work to do it just to acquiesce to any mob.

[PatrioticAmerican]

That's right. Learning another language enriches one's life, even if one doesn't employ it in everyday life. That's why I decided, long ago, to master the versatile language of Pig Latin.

Iberalsay akemay emay antaway ukepay.