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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.
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ZTA
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