GC DRAMA! :eek:
NAFTA
Term Limits
English as the national language
Religion
Welfare Reform
Birth Control
Flat Tax

I'm not trying to start trouble here (really I'm not) but I have a question for those who think that everyone in the USA needs to speak English:

Have you ever volunteered to tutor immigrants to learn English?

There was a Dear Abby column today that addressed this issue, and I thought it was interesting.

The fact that I'm not out volunteering to do so does not mean the opportunity does not exist. The English As A Second Language Institute at my school is by no means overworked or in dire need of volunteers.

It's just that people that don't know english don't feel the need to learn it.

No, but it seems like a worthwhile thing to do with my time since I'm with you all who think every person who intends to stay in America needs to know basic English. It infuriates me when immigrants come here and expect to get by without knowing the language we speak, and it makes me even angrier to know we accommodate them with all the packages, signs, etc. in forty-seven different languages. I've been on the other side, and I know that Americans are VERY nice compared to other countries...for example, when I was in France, I didn't even so much as *think* about trying to speak English in restaurants, at the bus station, in a store, or wherever, because French people WILL NOT speak English with you. You have to speak French, or you get brushed off. Rude? Maybe. But can I blame them? No. It's their country, not mine, and as someone else said, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Man y'all need to shutup. My dream is a girl that can't speak English and I won't know if she's complaining.

-Rudey

Hahaha that's hilarious. Thanks, I needed the laugh. :D

lifesaver-You make a good point. I didn't look at it in that light. I guess I'm so SICK of Ol' Kennedy sitting on his arse...
Then, this is the land of Gov Edwards. I kept thinking are we a bunch of idiots or WHAT? We just kept on re-electing him. Thank goodness that's over. We have some judges here that are BLATANTLY unjust. Many examples, very recent as well, where they just pat the perps on the wrist. If you're white or a business MAN, they will clean out your retirement fund and spread the wealth to whoever claims "you done them wrong". Hubby quotes the Wall Street that coined the phrase, "Jackpot justice".
Valkyrie I also saw the column. I didn't really look at it that way either. What a wonderful program. Still, there are plenty of people in swamp land or Tx for example, who have been here for decades and STILL can't handle simple communications. I think that's the situation most think of on this subject, not those who really WANT to learn.
BTW Rudey, I think that thought has crossed Hubby's mind from time to time!!!:D ............................................like last night!
Cream I had to edit this for MORE shock value!!! I think people who stand up in church and act like they are holier than thou should have to take a lie detector test validating their true principles and "proving" if they are there to serve or have ulterior motives like- standing up as "pillar of the community" or model their new outfit!

Ohh...my controversial beleifs...GET READY!!!

I think all schools should REQUIRE instrumental or vocal music through 8th grade. That's right, ALL KIDS should be required to be either a band nerd, an orc dork, or a choir freak through 8th grade. Then in high school, they can choose to continue or not. I think it's such an enriching experience on all ends. Actually, I don't only think it, it's been proven in studies for years that studends that play instruments are better learners academically.

That being said, I also think kids should be required to be involved in at least one physical extracurricular activity through 8th grade, be it dance, football, softball, or whatever. Kids today are lazy.

Once high school hits, they should be able to choose what path to take, be it in athletics, music, or academics.

WELL ROUNDED PEOPLE.

---------------------------------------
I also think the legal drinking age should be 18. If I can give myself lung cancer or die for my country I should be able to drink. I don't get why my country deems me responsible enough to elects it's leaders, but not responsible enough to drink.
---------------------------------------
I think abortion is WRONG. However, I think the government needs to stay the hell out of my body.
----------------------------------------
Yes, I think if minor things like marriage and driving a car require licences, you damn sure better have licences for children. Too many stupid people get pregnant nowadays. If a woman gets prego that doesn't have a licence to raise children, they should be given up to an adoptive family that has one.
---------------------------------------

And my main beef, that fits with this thread...

If you're gonna live in America, you should speak english. I hate going to restaurants/grocery stores/gas stations and having to repeat myself a dozen times, or have to strain to understand what the clerk is saying to me. I also hate sitting in my math and physics classes and straining to understand what my foreign TA is saying either due to a thick accent, or less than stellar grasp of the english language.

I also hated working at a public library as a 16 year old, in the lowest position possible there, and being called away from my shelving carts (that I usually had lined up 10 thick to do) because my college educated bosses and their immigrant patrons were unable to communicate, and I had to help translate with my shitty high school spanish.

That being said, my job last year was tutoring ESL children in basic english concepts. It was a great job, and I felt I helped many children on their ways to becoming a part of functional society.

I spent one of my breaks my Freshman year in an immersion program in Mexico, living and working with the people there. I damn sure wouldn't have survived that if it weren't for the fact that I had 6 years of Spanish before I went there. Not a single one of them spoke English. I never expected them to speak english to help me out. I was in their country, I was the outsider in their world. This is why I also feel that (even though it is beneficial) it is ludicris to expect Americans to be required to learn a second language to make life easier for immigrants. If we went to their country, they wouldn't speak english for us, so why should we learn their languages so they can be more comfortable in our country.

------------------------------------
And my last little pet peeve...

I can't STAND the stigmas in the modern world that allow people to judge a person's intelligence or worth based on appearance.

What a person looks like on the outside has nothing to do with whether they are smart or stupid, and a good or bad person.


Yikes.

Polish-Americans should receive reparations as follows:

$1: For every Polish joke told
$2: For every Polish joke that starts out "An x, a y, and a Pollock...."
$3: For every "How many Pollocks does it take...." joke
$10: For every time someone looks at your name and says, "Ohhhh!! ___ski!!! You must be Polish!!!"

:)

Mods should had not deleted my "Animal House" thread, because I only remembered it vaguely.

I figured that your Animal House thread would be deleted, Princess Drank-a-lot, so I think that I saved it. Yes I did. Let me know if you want to read it. :p It was sh80. ;)

Ok, here I go:

I also believe that all schools should have a music department and an art department. I am so tired of the sports being more important to the school than the arts.

I can't stand people that have an easy time in school and are constantly shoving it in my face when I have to work my ass off to pass a class.

On those same lines, I believe that remedial classes in college are a very good idea. I had a very hard time in high school even though I worked my ass off and hardly got in to college. I had to take remedial classes and found out that I have a learning disability. Now that I know how to get around my disability I have a 3.7. So should I not be in college?:rolleyes:

I think this one is really going to get some people going.
I believe that people that smoke in front of their children should be considered child abusers. You are harming your child just like when you beat them. Sorry to offend anyone but this is just how I feel.

One last one, The morons that sat next to me in Applebee's tonight that sat there and drank with their little boy. Now who is going to drive home? The little boy??:rolleyes:

Ok I am done now.
Anne Marie

I always thought it would be cute if she was deaf and only signed.

That way when she started yelling at you you could just turn your back :D

LOL. OK you might find this interesting then. I know sign language and I had to go to a convention for the deaf for a class one time. Let's just say the proportion of good looking deaf girls was high.

-Rudey

Maybe it's growing up in South Florida that has made me numb to the problems of the immigrants (you would think it would make me more sensitive...) but I believe that if you come to this country expecting to get by without learning English then you should be deported.
There are so many people in the South Florida area who are hired in customer service positions with a minimal understanding of English. Just last month, I was driving home on the Florida Turnpike when I made a stop at the Palm Beach rest stop to buy a Sunpass which are those electronic toll things (to all those who live in Florida: aren't those things great?!?!?!). I was getting it for my boyfriend as a X-mas gift. The problem is that I had to go through toll roads to get to his place on Christmas and I didn't want his new Sunpass to have money taken out of it before he even got it. So, I explained this to the woman and then asked, "If I kept it in my trunk, would it still deduct the money?" She stared at me blankly and about a minute later she said, "Que?" I repeated the question and she answered with, "Oh, tu want adding dollares to Sunpass?" Nooooooooo. I asked the question again and she just stared at me blankly. I finally just stormed out of the plaza while the customers in line gave me understanding looks.
Even worse is when I worked in retail and the Spanish customers would come over and start talking in Spanish and get mad at you for not understanding what they were saying!
I understand that English is not the "official" language but, since English is the most widely spoken language in the US, a conscious effort to learn the language should be made.