GOP Candidate: "This is Alabama, we speak English"

Naumadd:

Pika--PikaCHUUUU. PiKAchu! Pikachuuuuu!

Translation: I humbly disagree, sir.

You make some good points about mexico not accommodating foreigners such as yourself but do you think that by sticking it to the immigrants that are here your somehow getting back at the mexican government for not being gracious hosts to you. two wrongs dont make it right. and im guessing that when you were in mexico it was much easier for you to afford a translator than for an immigrant here to get one. and your absolutely right there is a major double standard but it may be because the US is not a third world country but instead the richest country in the WORLD and arguably the best place to look for opportunity, and just so happens to be built on the backs of slaves and immigrants. I would recommend that you get over the lady from miami. staying angry for so long is bad for your health. but i did wonder if you speak spanish and she didnt speak english why would you get angry instead of politely asking in spanish? i guess you have a pride issue that wont allow you to lower yourself to speak anything other than english in the USA. well anyway in a perfect world you would get what you want but sorry guy its not perfect and your just gonna have to deal with it, look on the bright side you know spanish your already part of the X nation. as for the news are you sure it wasn't fox news. for your information a lot of times people dont TRY to speak english because they are embarrassed not cause of some secret planned defiance against the country or you personally. give them a break. and nobody wants unsafe drivers on the road but i just dont see the connection between not speaking english and being unsafe my parents dont speak english and have never been in an accident or even gotten a ticket in about 30yr in this country and they became citizens. its just not as black and white of an issue as you would like it. its more of a brown and white issue. we all just need to be more tolerant. opinions and laws that discriminate and alienate are not the solution they are making our problems worse im sure we can agree on that.

Let's imagine for a minute that COCKROACHES take over the planet and ban English from being spoken.

Have fun, and if you think life is difficult now, think about that, too.

The dichotomy which you pose to Walks give me pause to wonder if it is not already to late and difficult for you.

2hellnwait:

The dichotomy which Walks poses to us is no less ridiculous and completely removed from reality.

Ah, I see, it IS to difficult for you. . . so okay, if that's what churns your butter.

No butter for me. Too fattening.

wow... what an intelligent comment... do this now or go back to where you came from! wow... you sir got my vote for DICK OF THE WEEK!

and you deserve it sir!!

Heh, kiss my grits wetback.

wetback? wow... another intelligent comment... what's next DICK OF THE WEEK?

. . . and while you're done with that small task, don't' you think you best get busy laundering more cartel money,"Bankster"?

Said like Jane Cannary! A true hard ass American.

I have no clue what in the world you're trying to say. The first part of your post reflects that you think Americans are dumb, but apparently my suggestion to partially rectify this problem—that is, for them to be bilingual—is apparently "fucked up".

Or maybe you just don't know what "ideally" means. Try re-reading my comment. Take a good look at what the first word is.

(Hint: It's "ideally".)

That makes sense, no matter what walks in storms has against it. Maybe if you said multilingual he would have understood. I don't know, I've come to believe that more education, either personally or on a societal level, is damn near always a good thing.

I think that would be a wonderful world to live in and where I'm from, most ppl are at least bilingual. My mom for instance, speaks 7 languages and its extremely handy. Growing up with someone who has been the gateway to other cultures and peoples has given me a unique and worldly perspective of our society. I don't know why people resist learning a new language so much... I think most of these "english only" americans (who actually can't even speak english that well in the first place) are just lazy whiners. America is a multiracial country, it has been that way since its infancy, and to deny it is to deny the history we should be cherishing.

our countries history in large part is one of a country lying about its history to whatever suits it the best. a great deal of americans are oblivious of their nations history and like it that way. sad i know.

this country is not going downhill cause of the fact that people dont speak english stop kidding yourself. we have way bigger fish to fry. worry about our bogus wars, renewable energy needs, and corporations with way too much control, that keep the little man down including you and immigrants. but as you demonstrate it is a lot easier to scapegoat the less fortunate among us. i dont know if your a racist but the people you seem to agree with most likely are so i guess your guilty by association. but good luck trying to teach the world english.

such aggression is a sign of fear dont be scared little doggie. as if you haven't noticed english is not all that necessary i hate to break your heart with that little jew of information, but people can usually get by without it. but if you insist then good look with your quest to force your wonderful language with everone in our borders. o and your the "panocha" (cunt in spanish) see now you just learned spanish too. have a great day

I love how much you infer from my comments. Fear? No. My words weren't said in aggression but instead in a calm matter-of-fact way. Not to mention that your comments are quite aggressive as well. Don't take the internet so seriously. And I've got no problem with spanish you racist "lazy peace of dog shit." Oh, shit. Did quoting you just prove your point? DAMN YOU, MIGLUE! DAMN YOU! You have a good day too. "Panocha," love it. That's almost musical.

pratfall....good word. between me learning english words from you and reactionforce learning spanish from me it looks like we're making progress. and granted a lot of people around the world speak english for various reasons but thats doesnt make it mandatory for anyone anywere including the US.

see you said it yourself you love words in spanish and that was just one word. why not just chill out and let people communicate anyway they want and quit being such a panochita.(little cunt) the world would be a better place if we quit trying to force people to do what we want and they dont.

Then perhaps you should quit trying to force reactionforce to do what you want.

Oh, and calling someone a "little cunt" or a "panochita" makes you sound like you belong in middle school.

i dont remember trying to make anyone do anything. i am against the notion of forcing people to do anything hence i dont agree with people trying to be forced to learn english. so maybe you should check yourself. and i was just giving spanish lessons dispensa(sorry) if i offended you. in was unintentional.

To be fair I called him a cunt first. So, I think it's fair to say we're going to the same junior high school. But, we are ruling the AP classes.

No, it's not a racist issue - it's a misinformed one. The United States has never and will never exist in isolation from the rest of the world. "Borders" are mental constructs, not real ones. The planetary environment, the planetary community has great influence over American lives. There is no real separation. One can acknowledge it or continue to live in ignorance and denial. Also, the United States has always been mulitcultural and multilingual and still is. It's true, an americanized version of English - which has many identifiable dialects by the way - is the most widespread language in the nation, but it is hardly the only language and hardly the only language used officially and in the marketplace. Certainly, learning some american English to get about and conduct business within the United States is probably a practical thing to do, however, to insist that "english" is or should be the national language is a gross misunderstanding of the nature of the United States. A genuine understanding of American history shows the great accomplishment of the United States was to establish primacy of the individual over primacy of the state. This means maximum respect, liberty and justice for the individual rather than ultimate esteem granted to the state. Calls to create a "national language" is a step in the opposite direction intended by those who officially declared their independence and officially founded the nation.

Their intent is quite clear in their recorded thoughts both before and after the writing of the U.S. Constitution. some continue to honor their intent, others, like those who would call for a national language, do not.

I don't want to force anybody to do anything. I will, however, try to be less of a panocha and spread the joy of that word all across the land. I hope you don't take the vulgar aggressiveness of my first comment serious; the humorous tone is obviously lost in type or maybe I need better taste in comedians.

In case you were wondering: total number of speakers native and non-native (as per 2005 numbers):

Mandarin Chinese - 1.051 billion
English - 510 million

Total native speakers:

Mandarin Chinese - 873 million
Hindi - 370 million
Spanish - 350 million
English - 340 million

we're speaking the wrong language, all hail our Chinese and Indian overlords.

I was with you the whole way 'til the last comment. Is vulgarity really necessary? You had already made your point, a good one at that!

Cats with machine guns and custard. THAT is inept language.

I'm in a highly goofy mood, Storms. Comes with being young, I guess. Sorry. It also keeps me in a good mood.

Vulgarity is an essential HUMAN tool. Neither liberals nor conservatives, democrats or republicans, Americans or any other color of human have any "first claim" to it nor is any kind immune. It requires no more than the human ape's native talent and passion for grunting to make a point.

Of course, even pigs can do that and, perhaps on occasion, with better skill.

Geeze, and I thought political correctness was a *liberal* thing. Apparently it's LIBERALS who have the balls to be vulgar and conservatives who try to censor their speech. -_-

Like it or not, the United States IS a multicultural, multilingual, multi-religious nation. On close examination, so is the state of Alabama despite their historical efforts to live in a non-existent vacuum.

It benefits consumerism... and America is all about profits.

Nien, sprekin ze deutch? Zufill ist zufill!

I took both Latin and German in Jr./Sr. high. We had French in grade school. I tried to find the correct spellings on line....

None taken, I won't tell you how many decades it's been since German II classes!

lol... how sad you still think it's the 60's or 70's...

There are Asians, Europeans and Latinos that speak a lick of english but, just like you they are citizens and vote... LOL... get over it!

So, you're native american are you? Or do you ask people to risk their lives to steal back ill-gotten gains?

Yes, ill-gotten. Read a proper history book.

But we took Caleeefornya, New Mehico, Texas and parts of other states from Mehico and THEY WANT them back....Damn it. It's in the text books of the grade schools.....

well aside from the fact that texas and france were in both cases invaders of mexico...

And, if you go back far enough, so were the Spaniards. One either abhors invasion of the homes of others OR one excuses all such behavior - not simply the one's you find personally agreeable. Invasion is either wrong or it is not. This is precisely the point needed to be made to Americans today who decry the "alien invasion". Their personal status as invaders may be long-lived, but it is no less true for simply having endured.

In my mind, this cry to "speak english or get the hell out" is simply a new generation's continuing agreement with the invader's mentality held by the monsters who originally imposed their will on lands and people not belonging to them.

Had europeans peacefully introduced themselves onto these lands, we would not be having this discussion about the enduring wish of invaders to impose a foreign language along with the rest of their foreign culture on people's who continue to remind them who they actually are.

The "american way" has more often than not been, if they will not voluntarily adopt your ways, physically compel them to do so. Nothing much has changed in that regard and this poor example of a human being who wishes to governor of Alabama is a shining example of it.

I am not talking about any state's war for independence, only about the state of mind the Mexicans are educated to have. Mexico elementary level history books tell of the USA stealing Mexican country and that they must fight to get it back. So if educated there these 'illegals' may have the desire to take Mexico's land back from the USA.

Now that was narrow minded and racist... he's not from West Virginie....

wake up...American Dream??? That left when Obama arrived

Actually, the American Dream has been pretty much a myth for some years now, meaning before Obama.

Should street signs also be posted in several languages? Press one for English, press 2 for Spanish... Ops she just crashed her car into a bus...

Wow... that was ignorant to say... I thought you were more understanding to people that come here looking for the same thing your ancestors were looking for.

It's sad to see that you out of all people, have this mentality... when you yourself, are always looking for help on man and their kids.

If you haven't noticed, the majority of street signs, like 99% are just pictures.

You want to know what was ignorant? here you go... "Press one for English, press 2 for Spanish... Ops she just crashed her car into a bus..." I wasn't aware Latinos were the main cause for car accidents in America, because of their lack of english. That I find EXTREMELY IGNORANT.

You and I have nothing to debate or discuss... Just like i said it before and I'll gladly say it one last time. Your parents came to this country looking for work and a new life. Mexicans and every other "illegal alien" in this country, are looking for the same thing.

If you feel righteous that your parents made it here before these folks did and didn't have to go through the same bullshit Mexicans have to go through now... good for you.

If you feel upset that your jobs are being taken by people that don't speak a lick of english and you can't see that's your fault... good for you.

If you feel angry and furious that this country is assimilating to accommodate a race that has helped the economy and brought you cultures you or other poor white people, could have never have been able to see in their lifetime, because they are poor and pathetic... good for you!

Again, don't tell me how mad you are that your world is changing. The only thing they are looking for is a chance... don't like it? oh well...

I am multi-lingual and often volunteer as an interpreter. I support diversity and multi-cultural America at the same time I believe that every American citizen must be able to speak English.

so in your world what would happen to those that dont learn english? they get put in jail, or kicked out of the country? america was never meant to be a country that made such petty demands of its citizens. i thought you just had to work hard pay taxes follow the laws and spend the rest of your time enjoying the FREEDOM to do what you want anyway you want. again people need to stop trying to judge and interfere in the lives of others and just worrying about themselves.

Yep, the government has been trashing it for over a hundred years.....

Yep, that's happened to the restroom signs, too. Unfortunatly little girls become confused because most women don't wear dresses or skirts anymore!

Are Latino Americans the largest minority in this country now?

Our founding fathers all spoke English and all of the documents were written in English....immigrants learned English so they could read the countries literature on attaining citizenship.

that's why we need to be ignorant and dial one for english and two for spanish... right..

They sure are...

First of all the reality is There is NO Freedom in America!

Take your pink glasses off and notice innocent imprisoned, the next door neighbor can forever change your life with one phone call, pharmaceuticals are in control feeding our children legal drugs and children as young as 7 yo commit suicide, when a man is sent to a maximum security cell block for unpaid traffic tickets or non-payment of child support, when an innocent men will never recover from serving nearly 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, and when a mad woman falsely claims rape for financial gains or for the revenge.

If and when America can overcome injustice against own citizens and have compassion for American children then and only then I can feel compassionate for the people who clearly broke the law and wish to help America be the free country so many claim to be.

Now any immigrant who is chasing "American dream" should first follow the immigration laws, and are required to learn American history and learn English to pass citizenship tests.

ok so there is no freedom in america i can go along with that, but it is what this country is supposed to stand for right? so why not do what we can to work toward that. and yea when these corporations are making billions off of imprisoning people for any reason, and by convincing people that if they would just take this pill they will be all better then yea there will be a lot of what we see today. but that does not mean that we should turn a blind eye to those that are not citizens, by as you said not showing them "compassion". compassion should not be something that you hold back from anyone. if you care about one than you should care about all we are all humans dont forget that small fact. and if you had to choose between a better life for your children and an immigration law i would hope that your compassion for your children would lead you to say fuck that law and do whats best for you family. that is the decision these immigrants are faced with everyday.

That's kind of begging the question though: Who's responsibility is it to ensure that immigrants know the English language?

That's a good point. Does Alabama have as many ESL classes as California has? Does the candidate support education as a solution or does he support deportation to fix it?

The immigrant.

PBS...Sesame Street...is a good start. The church we attended this am had the church's native language on one page and the English version on the other side.

You are very wise.

your a fool. and i will leave it at that.