Just Learn the Language

So I caught up on Latinos in America and watched The Garcias version. It was pretty interesting, sad to watch (one of the stories had a girl who went to a high school with a 70% dropout rate. She vowed to not be a statistic but went ahead and got pregnant at 17 and didn't graduate). The one story that caught my attention was the one about the members of a catholic church that seemed to have a division between the Hispanics and the white members. Because of the language division, the church has had to split,they have separate masses, one in english and one in spanish to accommodate the hispanics that can't speak english, they've also had to create a separate church council and organize their social events separately. 6 members from each side were interviewed separately and it was interesting to see the points of views because as with everything when you add religion it becomes tricky.

Soledad asked questions and at one point, one of the members on the "white side" said, "how long are we going to accommodate them?" and my first reaction was, "how unchristian like" then Soledad asked if they were going to attend the fiesta that the Hispanics were having and she answered with a no, because it's a two sided thing, the hispanics don't come to their events either ( I should mention that at this point the lady had started crying and was upset about the rift). Switch over to the "hispanic side" and they are saying they will be upset if the whites don't come to their event but they admit that they do not go to theirs either.

Well what happens next is of course, taynement starts to think :D..That lady's statement came to mind, "How long do we have to accommodate them?". Why do the hispanics feel like we owe them accommodation in terms of speaking english? Many of the people mentioned have lived here for years and still can't speak a lick of english. The documentary gave working many hours as the reason why most of them didn't have time to learn but I don't know if it's safe for me to call b.s on that. If you decide to enter America to pursue the American dream, the language of the American dream is English, how do you fulfill that dream without understanding the language? How is it that other people are able to come into the country and learn the language? I mean if my grandma came to yankee today, I don't think my parish has Igbo mass to accommodate her. Basically, what I am trying to say is, I totally understand having a hard time not being able to speak the language but where I totally feel no pity is when you decide not to even try to learn the language. Fellow bloggers, wetin you feel?






In other race related news (lol) check out my latest entry on http://www.tayne-ment.blogspot.com/

Comments

Nice Anon said…
Make we leave matter nnem. Christianity isn't all it is cracked up to be these days.

A brother at one of the churches here was caught having an affair with one of the secretaries. he went ahead and did some inhumane things because he was caught! Biko don't ask me what inula

Tomorrow now he will ask me " sister have you prayed today? Abeg o! Ya bia nso kam wuya mmiri oku!
BSNC said…
i am with you o. Yes we all know learning another language is hard, but at least make the effort..
Azazel said…
Forreal @ Nice Anon @ christianity isn't all it is cracked up to be..
It's still crappy crap..
Hiss religion controls ppl, divides ppl and deludes ppl finish..
But idk, me i suck @ languages o, but I would wish that they learn the language as you said.
Myne said…
I have two hispanics in the ESL class I teach. One needs English in her work, the other hopes to find a job. Both have been here for years and admit that in their homes, they speak no english with their families. At least they are learning...
Repressed One said…
It is rather alarming how everything is now bilingual. How do people come here to earn a living and somehow their language becomes the 2nd national language [albeit unofficial lol]?? I don't see it changing tho'...much as America screams about illegals they are the real [read:cheap]labor force in this country.
Bibi said…
what i can't understand is who gave english the authority over other languages? english is one of the many languages in the world. just like they would accomodate me in France, is just how we should accomodate them because when you think about it, most "whites" can only speak one language and that is english. which is why they feel that everyody has to understand it because without it, they will be lost. so i don;t think everybody should undertsand english. it sure will make it easier for you but if you are willing to face the inconvenice it is not a neccessity.
TayneMent said…
Bibi noone made english authority over other languages but it happens to be the official language of the states hence the reference. If i was talking about CHina, I'd replace english with China, France with French etc etc
Original Mgbeke said…
I feel that they need to learn English darrnit. How are you in the US of A, and not know how to speak English? You know if it was our African asses, dem for don yab us by now. Nonsense and ingredients.

@ Bibi:- English is the official language in the US of A. Let all man get with the program.

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