How racist are residents of Ft. Lauderdale? Are there a lot of rednecks? (live, move)

[Juleysis1990]

Going back to the original question. The answer is YES. This is the South still. The west and north have more(churches and God messages everywhere)

Don't come to the South expecting not to see southerners or black people. There everywhere in the state

[jonaos]

Originally Posted by fauve

You have every right to say you prefer living in a non-diverse community. There is nothing disparaging there - just stating your preference.

And, that's not true - Weston, Plantation, West Pembroke Pines and West Davie (esp west of 75) are very diverse - these are hardly white enclaves. They're comfortable economically, but are not even majority Anglo.

Very true. I have some hispanic and black friends who still talk about Davie as though they will get pulled over just for driving there...Its pretty funny. Times have changed, for better and for worse.

As far as i go, I prefer less diverse areas...But if the people are 'americanized' [I dont know a better term] and act American, and dont wear thier racial background on thier backs [or in thier cars via little flags] then I have no problem. I think the majority of people feel this way, including Vr2. He just worded it wrong. Tensions usually arise when ethnic groups refuse to find a middle ground to meet at...And in Miami for example, that is one of the issues in certain neighborhoods where the people actively refuse to learn English [which creates instant tension between White and Black English speakers and themselves].

[Juleysis1990]

people refuse to learn English? No most don't learn it because they just don't need to As everyone around then speaks Spanish but I bet you 1 million dollars the majority would learn it if it wasn't so difficult to learn it. Many just can't B/c they don't have the time or the best environment

[vr2]

As Juleysis said, learning English has little to do with being a "refusal" and more to do with it being unnecessary.

Our PC media and pandering attitudes say that we should provide all forms multi-lingual, the newspapers have spanish versions, there are a ton of spanish channels, and the entire city of Hialeah speaks nothing but spanish. I know spanish people that live in Broward but drive to the Hialeah area just so they can be more comfortable and communicate easier.

[jonaos]

Originally Posted by Juleysis1990

people refuse to learn English? No most don't learn it because they just don't need to As everyone around then speaks Spanish but I bet you 1 million dollars the majority would learn it if it wasn't so difficult to learn it. Many just can't B/c they don't have the time or the best environment

Migrate to the states, and dont learn the language of the land ? That is the same as refusing to learn it even if everyone in your neighborhood speaks Spanish. Go to Mexico [to a English speaking enclave if they exist], live there for 10 years, and if you dont know Spanish by that time I would say you actively refused to learn it since you avoided Mexicans and thier culture. And English is not a hard language to learn for Spanish speakers or vice versa, both languages are related to a degree. Chinese would be hard to learn [and yet most Asian enclaves down here, the people speak English extremely well].

Vr2. Your right that our media makes it so people feel they should not learn the language, since PC is in overdrive nowadays. But still, if a entire neighborhood that has been hispanic for 10+ years still has hardly any bi-lingual speakers...That is thier fault and the media/multi-culturalism is a nice excuse to explain it. The effect is that it pushes Anglos and Blacks away [perhaps intentionally].

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by jonaos

And English is not a hard language to learn for Spanish speakers or vice versa, both languages are related to a degree. Chinese would be hard to learn [and yet most Asian enclaves down here, the people speak English extremely well].

.

The only people that think it's easy to learn a second language "fluently" (not just 2 or 3 phrases) are those who only speak one language or were fortunate enough to learn it as children. Learning to speak a second language is extremely difficult and it takes many years to achieve fluency. English and Spanish don't have that many things in common except for the alphabet and some borrowed words the English took from the French. The older the person, the lower the probability that they will learn a new language.

I know plenty of Asians who speak broken English(or no English) and have been here for many years. This urban legend that Asians always learn English is only heard in the city Data Florida board because we don't have a high population of Asians. Just ask the people in NYC or San Francisco and they will have a different opinion.

By the way the Chinese that do learn English most have better accents than Spanish speakers but it has nothing do with dedication or effort. English and Chinese have heavy intonation unlike Spanish or Japanese that's why the latter groups sound mechanical and with heavy accents.

Some people know so little about acquiring a second language that they confuse fluency with accent. You could speak perfect English with a heavy accent. Have you ever heard of Joseph Conrad?

[Robyn55]

Yes - learning a second language as an older adult is hard (all 4 of my grandparents were immigrants who came here when they were about 20 - it was hard for them to learn English but they did). But there is simply no excuse for someone who came here when they were 3 or 4 - or were born here (being a lawyer - most of the hispanic lawyers I know speak perfect English - even if they came here when they were 20 or older). Last time I went to Miami - I went to NM in Merrick Park in the Gables. The sales people were more or less 20ish - and they spent more time chatting among themselves in Spanish than trying to help me. I expected my 90 year grandmother to lapse into her native tongue when she couldn't find the right words to express herself. I resent that in younger people in the US.

I think Spanish is a relatively easy language to learn. English not as much so. But English is easier than German (the tenses in German are awful) - French (English isn't totally phonetic like Spanish - but the accent in French is hard to acquire) - or any language where the alphabet is totally different than the one in your native language (although a language like Japanese is easier than Chinese because it is totally phonetic without the tonal inflections you find in Chinese). And it is also one thing to speak a language - and another thing to read it. Robyn

[CoCoGirl]

Originally Posted by fauve

I love what you said about the northeast and I dont know why there is such a vast difference. My son is going to a liberal arts college in California where I figured the low key, out-going, friendly liberal type was in vast supply, but somehow fell in with this uptight, one-upping, materialistic crowd from the northeast that stab their closest friends in the back at every given opportunity.

They're awful and he's such a target because they just cant accept that he's a genuinely good guy that will always give them the benefit of any doubt. Although now, finally, he's even starting to accept that he needs new friends. He has such great friends here that are so NORMAL and yes, VERY diverse! I am VERY glad I raised my kids here and not there!!

These type of people are synonymous to the "ghetto" people in poor areas. The only difference is they are wealthy. I call them "blue blood hoodrats." They come from diamond and platinum covered "hoods." Their parents are never around to raise them properly, either. They are too busy off doing their "blue blood hoodrat" activities.

Definition of "blue blood hoodrat" activities: white collar crime/organized crime, acquiring more money and power, shopping, having affairs, plastic surgery, back stabbing, hiring hitmen, murder, theft, corruption, major cover-up of all their blue blood hoodrat activities.....

The cover-up makes them appear flawless, squeaky clean and All American hard workers who pulled themselves up from the bootstraps to build success. That's the difference between wealthy thugs and street thugs. Wealthy thugs can afford to buy their way out of trouble. Wealthy people are as guilty of as many crimes as the poor. Don't get it twisted.

[fauve]

Originally Posted by CoCoGirl

These type of people are synonymous to the "ghetto" people in poor areas. The only difference is they are wealthy. I call them "blue blood hoodrats." They come from diamond and platinum covered "hoods." Their parents are never around to raise them properly, either. They are too busy off doing their "blue blood hoodrat" activities.

Definition of "blue blood hoodrat" activities: white collar crime/organized crime, acquiring more money and power, shopping, having affairs, plastic surgery, back stabbing, hiring hitmen, murder, theft, corruption, major cover-up of all their blue blood hoodrat activities.....

The cover-up makes them appear flawless, squeaky clean and All American hard workers who pulled themselves up from the bootstraps to build success. That's the difference between wealthy thugs and street thugs. Wealthy thugs can afford to buy their way out of trouble. Wealthy people are as guilty of many crimes as the poor. Don't get it twisted.

It's interesting you say that. My son actually told me that one of his "friends" intimated that his family was part of the mob.

[CoCoGirl]

Originally Posted by fauve

Well, actually I was referring to the northeast and not California because that's where the kids are from. I was referring basically to kids from families in both places where money shouldn't logically have been an issue - so the only thing I can think of that would result in the difference are the values the kids were raised with and I believe even more influential, the values of the other kids they hung out with and the communities where they are from. I am not saying that element doesnt exist here, but for whatever reason, although relatively wealthy, my kids' friends from here were always very grounded. I mean when you think about it, the mall the kids hung out at here was an OUTLET mall. How snobby can you be?

Yes, it is the values and discipline our children are being raised with moreso than the socioeconomic status.