News From the Goron Front

[Darunia]

Very well; then I'll have to debunk it the long way. Again.

LISTEN TO YOURSELF! "I'm not against them speaking Spanish, I just don't want them to do it anywhere I can hear."

Yea, that's right. They have every right to do what they want amongst themselves, at home, but in public and for general usage, they should speak English. If I went to France, I would speak English on the phone with my friends and family in America, and I would speak French on the streets. I wouldn't demand that the French all learn English (though many of them do already speak it) because I'm so stubborn. The good of the many outweighs the good of the few---the nation shouldn't have to change to accomodate the minority.

I'm not anti-immigration, I just don't want anyone who can't instantly integrate to immigrate."

This has nothing to do with my stance. If you had really read what I wrote, you might've picked up on my lines wherein I clearly said, "I neither expect nor want people to come to America learning English... I know that English is ridiculously hard to learn... I'm all for speaking whatever the fuck you want in your home, and amongst your family. But you should learn English, and speak it in public." I don't expect or want anyone to have to "instantly integrate", but no one tries anymore because they don't have to.

It has always taken generations.

Well that's not true either. I know a nice family of Icelanders; first-generation Icelanders. I worked for them, delivering pizza at their restaurant. The parents have an accent, but speak fluent English, and their two stunningly beautiful daughters, one born in Iceland the other here, speak with NO accent...because they CHOSE TO LEARN ENGLISH. They didn't come here and bill Uncle Sam for an Icelandic-English translator. I respect them, and I'd gladly welcome more immigrants! They're industrious and make fine additions to our great land.

They always spend the beginning time in seperate areas, where their group can be together.

Uh; maybe in New York, but not all the time. There's no Icelandic getto in my town of 20,000. They don't need one, because THEY SPEAK ENGLISH!

But at some point they do integrate... it's just not happening fast enough for you. Like the world should move to your call or something?

You just don't get it, do you. NO ONE IS INTEGRATING ANYMORE! Say it all you want, it won't make it so. You don't even live in my country, how dare you pretend to know all our problems. I live in southern Massachusetts---New Bedford and Fall River are all thoroughly Portuguese. They speak it there. It is the language; it's like the city is a Portuguese colony. They're NOT INTEGRATING because more and more the government is saying "You don't have to, we'll adapt around you!"


If you want to continue that... you know that that's an absurd generalization. In just about any other European nation, excepting possibly Italy and Germany, people learn at least TWO LANGUAGES! So they speak their local tounge and one of the major ones. I'd bet on Hispanics going in that direction.

Yes, of course its an absurd generalization, but it's effectively true. You talk about European nations---WE'RE NOT ONE, AND NEITHER ARE YOU, CANADA! In Europe, one has to be bilingual because they're all powerful, small, closely-knit neighbors who form a community. America is a country that (at least used to) predominantly speak English. It was founded by English settlers, who absorbed and welcomed other nationalities. You want to subdivide our country into gettos and hoodlums; I want to be able to drive from Massachusetts to Florida without a flock of translators, and changing currencies from state to state!