Dan, do you really think 53% of LA's population participated in the poll? C'mon! They use statistical sampling and especially so they can count illegals who wouldn't answer the door when they see a pollster with a clipboard come a knockin'. I don't think I've ever met a person in this area who could not speak English, who was not a visitor (I mean tourist, traveling businessman, etc.) and who had a job any better than that of day laborer or ditch digger. They might very well be here legally. You don't have to speak English to file a petition for alien relative of a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. But if you ever have to go to court, you will require a translator. If you go to the ER, you will require a translator. If you go to DMV, you will require a translator. Get the drift? If you can't speak English, you are very likely the kind of person who uses up services. I don't go to DMV. I do it all online. I don't go to the ER when I have a non-emergency problem. When I go to court, I don't need a translator. In fact, I'll never ever have a problem getting a job, for which I am otherwise qualified, and which requires "excellent communication" skills. Someone who can't speak English, unless they run a web-based business from their home, will almost never rise above poor, maybe a step up from dirt poor.

QUOTE: "This is not diversity. This is not assimilation. This is not influence from a global community. It is an invasion."
____________________

Exactly.

When thousands of people of Mexican descent, whether here legally, or illegally, walk the streets carrying signs protesting OUR GOVERNMENT planning to do something about ILLEGAL immigration, that is a perfect indication that the problem is completely out of control!

And the fact that the I.N.S. was not there tossing them on busse's further indicates the 'head scratching/do nothing' attitude of our elected officials.

Mo, we agree!:p

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/suppo...s/beerchug.gif MULE!

hey , if you don't speak the language (Spanish), get the hell out of the state. All the city names are mexican, why not the language, culture?

Wisdom from the ramp.

Ramp, The consistency with which you come up with these off the wall statements is truly impressive.

"All the city names" are NOT "Mexican", not remotely close. I know you mean "Spanish" which is the name of a language spoken by peoples of South America, Central America, and North America plus parts of Western Europe, not just Mexico.

But even if your preposterous contention were true, so what? Are you upset because the state is named California? Because Florida is called Florida? How about Chicago being called Chicago, after all that is a name with its origin in an Indian language. Lots and lots of city names and State names in this country are Spanish origin words - Colorado, Arizona, Tejas...uh...er...Texas. Or of Indian language origin. Why do you suppose that is anyway? Because these places were originally populated by people that spoke these languages?

Look, despite what some of you may feel emotionally, I am NOT in favor of illegal immigration or the outfall of it. I know it has a huge impact on American society. On the other hand I am not frightened about people speaking a language I don't understand. I am concerned about a segment of immigrants who are in the position of being victimized by a few because they took the most expeditious path they thought they could to improve their situations. I am concerned about ANY color or creed of people that are becoming a semi permanent second class and seen by many as a servant class and openly referred to derivisely. That is unacceptable to me and not just because I LOOK like these people. THAt is not the America I believe in.

I'm curious.... in the news article did they mention if those 53% speak Spanish at home, as opposed to Korean, Chinese, German, etc.?
And did they say that they didn't speak English?

You know what they say:
What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bilingual
What do you call a person who only speaks one language? An American

Have you considered changing your name to ON CRACK?

Que ???

If this presents a problem, the language barrier is only a mirror of far more complex and difficult cultural differences.

Both makes up for an intricate, deep rooted, biological array of human manifestations to be traced back to the stone age and beyond, where those who tend to stick with their own kind tend to live longer and have more offspring. The key word here being FEAR. A natural and evolutionary speaking healthy strategy for the individual - fear the unknown and you will survive in the gene pool.

Now, to put this deeply rooted biological 'strategy' and put it in the context of modern civilization makes for a preeety intricate political stage.

No it doesn't. Just don't skip high school Spanish, and you'll do fine.

My moms side of the family usually communicated in their language, polish at home. But they also spoke clean English while dealing with the world outside of the home.The older family spoke it, and worked hard to learn to speak English.

My 5 yr old started kindergarden this year. His class in the morning is spanish. I have an issues with him being forced at 5yrs old to learn a foreign language, when he should be learning the English language at that age. I fail to see why kids should be forced to learn spanish, when the spanish illegals, or legals aren't forced to learn English.

It shouldn't matter what is spoken within the confines of your home. But with that, what ever country you make your home, you should have to learn that countries primary language to survive, and progress.

Idoicracy anyone? :D

How is this any different then it's ever been in our fine country? All of my grandparents were born in the U.S. However, both of my maternal grandparents spoke Italian growing up, my paternal grandmother spoke German growing up, and only my paternal grandfather spoke English as his first language. But somehow they all managed to learn English, and become productive, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. Learning English as a second language is not the problem.

From the article I don't really understand what is the issue ... for people who want (or can) to speak other languages aside from English at home is absolutely encouraging to me, I can imagine that at some point in the past more people spoke Italian, Polish, etc. at home in New York than not English. At home my kids (6 and 4) hear mom in Chinese and dad in Spanish (Castillian) and they always reply in English.

I grow up with two languages (Spanish and Catalan) and by now I am fluent in five more languages and I am able to find a bathroom and order beer in eight more, very handy ....

Seriously - I think what all of us are experiencing is just a generational effect of people who don't speak English, not some vast language-based conspiracy on the part of Mexico and Mexicans.

Have any of you spoken to the sons and daughters of Latin immigrants? Yes, while these sons and daughters speak Spanish, their English is flawless. That's because they speak English at school, on the street, at work, etc.

I rarely find an 18-yr-old Latin kid in any public situation who speaks little to no English.

In all actuality, Spanish may go the way of Italian back in the '20s and '30s, where it is spoken almost exclusively among the old people, yet nowhere near as prevalently among later generations.

You know what......you're right. America has a heritage, albeit a short one. Its heritage is that of a Melting Pot. Native American is the original language spoken here. Then came the immigrants. With the exception of Native Americans, EVERY SINGLE ONE of its subsequent inhabitants was an immigrant. From England, Germany, France, Ireland, etc.

It also has a heritage of freedom. The immigrants who came here, came for two reasons. One was to flee oppression. They didn't like being told what to do. Like for example, what language to use in their discussions. The other reason was for opportunity. The same reasons immigrants come here today.

And so, now we have a new breed called "conservatives" who would like to forget our freedom and opportunity heritage. While you guys are telling me that 1) immigrants should not come here in the first place and 2) if they do, they should be required to conduct their conversations in English.....while you're doing that, don't try to tell me how flexible conservatives are in their thinking patterns compared to narrow-minded liberals......that discussion is happening on a different thread.

No, didn't say what they speak, just that 53% of the people don't speak English at home.
As far as speaking more than one language, I think a lot of U.S. schooled people now have some understanding of more than English. The major problem with that is you can basically travel 3 thousand miles in any direction here and still speak English. Australia may be the only other country that is like that. It isn't like we can eat breakfast in Germany, lunch in Belgium and dinner in France. We don't need to carry cash other than our currency and we really don't need to use another language in our day to day affairs.
There is always an exception, you might travel to Quebec.

say big momma, my momma dint raise no dummies


Supes, you are mixing up immigration and illegal immigration, as happens to so many on the left coast


There was a time when immigrants to this country came to become Americans.

My father's parents were native German speakers, and it was okay to speak it around the house, though it was discouraged. If my grandfather heard that his kids had been speaking anything but English outside the house, it warranted a whipping with a razor strap.

Now, there are a lot of advantages to being here illegally, no taxes, free healthcare, wages that are many times what they would be in the homeland, potable water from the tap, indoor plumbing, the list goes on...

Oh, it is certainly primarily Spanish, but there are a lot of Southeast Asian and Russian immigrants too

+1000