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Pablo-me, I'm sorry for your friend's loss touching your life as well. I have had three cars totalled by foreign nationals in the last 7 years here in L.A., two of which were helmed by unlicensed drivers, who gave utterly false information to the police at hand. I too am weary of illegals driving as if they were still in their "home country."
"Foreign nationals" -- what does that really mean? Are they tourists who didn't understand what it means to drive on our streets? I mean, someone from England could easily confuse the left side of the road from the right side of the road -- was Fastfilm hit by tourists from England driving on the wrong side of the road?
Were they unlicensed in their respective countries or unlicensed here? I mean, you can rent a car if you are from Europe and you can drive it here. I really don't understand the "unlicensed" part.
Honestly "foreign national" tells me that they are from another country but not much else. Is this a diatribe against tourists? So confusing!!
If she has been in the US for 30+ years and has not bothered to learn to speak English she has no one to blame except herself.
Well, she worked 80 hours a week, then ferried her husband who had had a stroke around and her daughter with leukemia had to be ferried around too -- are you suggesting she could have gotten by with less than 2 hours of sleep a night in order to take English classes?
Honestly, I was in tears a lot of times due to her family problems -- but you think she could have done more?
Well, she worked 80 hours a week, then ferried her husband who had had a stroke around and her daughter with leukemia had to be ferried around too -- are you suggesting she could have gotten by with less than 2 hours of sleep a night in order to take English classes?
Honestly, I was in tears a lot of times due to her family problems -- but you think she could have done more?
Her husband has not had a stroke the entire 30 years nor has her daughter had leukemia the entire time. Over several decades of living in a country where English is the primary language, one should be able to speak at least passable English if all you do is listen to the radio or TV and attempt to speak with others, in my opinion. Over time you should be able to pick up enough to function in society.
If I have been living in France for 30+ years and I still don't know how to speak French, then something is wrong. And it would be even more wrong for me to expect the French to accomodate me by providing interpreters, etc. The onus is on me to learn the language even if my initial efforts consist of trying to order coffee and a croissant in French at the corner bakery.
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Who's fault is that? Is it hers? Why did her American employers choose to hire supervisors who were bilingual instead of forcing her to learn English. Shouldn't they take part of the blame? Why didn't they give her some time off from work to go take English classes? Instead of hiring a massage therapist (which they did to prevent worker's comp injuries) -- why didn't they hire an English teacher?
This boils down to the concept of personal responsibility. It is not her employer's job to provide her with English classes. It is not her employer's job to give her time off work to attend English classes. Nor can her employers 'force' her to speak English. Had they tried to do that, there probably would have been a lawsuit. If her supervisors were bilingual, why not attempt to speak English with them? At times people have learned to speak other languages under very onerous conditions. The will to learn the language is the most crucial part.
Last edited by andreabeth; 09-08-2007 at 10:04 PM..
one should be able to speak at least passable English if all you do is listen to the radio or TV and attempt to speak with others, in my opinion.
In Southern California, it is possible to avoid English almost entirely. We have Spanish media: TV, radio, newspapers. Many shopkeepers cater to a Spanish-speaking audience. Many people like Christina use their children as interpreters as the children get older.
Well, she worked 80 hours a week, then ferried her husband who had had a stroke around and her daughter with leukemia had to be ferried around too -- are you suggesting she could have gotten by with less than 2 hours of sleep a night in order to take English classes?
Honestly, I was in tears a lot of times due to her family problems -- but you think she could have done more?
The above from you is exactly one of the problems we have with the illegals and legal immigrants who refuse to assimilate. They do not need excuses at all because they refuse to assimilate all on their own. Her supposed hours and such is no excuse. The immigrants from long ago worked just as many, if not longer, hours and yet learned to speak English and assimilated and became American, which is something the new ones don't do.
In Southern California, it is possible to avoid English almost entirely. We have Spanish media: TV, radio, newspapers. Many shopkeepers cater to a Spanish-speaking audience. Many people like Christina use their children as interpreters as the children get older.
I am very sorry that your friend has endured such terrible health problems in her family, and I don't wish that on anyone. And while these health problems are very heartbreaking for anyone, I think they are beside the point. The point is, why does everyone assume that just because a person doesn't speak English, they must be illegal. The reason I assume this is as follows:
Overview of the Naturalization Process:
Naturalization is how a foreign citizen or national can become a U.S. citizen. In order to be naturalized, an applicant must first be qualified to apply for citizenship. Then, he or she must complete an application, attend an interview, and pass an English and a civics test. Upon successful completion of these steps, the applicant takes an oath of loyalty, and becomes a citizen. These legal requirements help the immigration service ensure that only those people who are sincere in their desire to become Americans become naturalized.
Scoring well on the required English and civics tests is essential to becoming naturalized in the United States. During the course of the naturalization process to become a U.S. citizen, an applicant will be scheduled for an interview at a local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. At the interview, an applicant will be tested on his or her ability to read, write, and speak English. The applicant will also be given a civics test to measure his or her understanding and knowledge of U.S. history and government.
Now, I don't understand how there are so many immigrants who are supposedly here "legally", yet can't speak a lick of English when, if they were here legally, they would have been required to pass these English tests the previous two paragraphs speak of. I assume it was because they came here illegally and were offered amnesty in times past, as you speak of in a prevoius post? I'm sure those people make up a very small minority of the non-english speaking immigrants. Not to mention if they are legal under those previous amnestys they would have had to be in this country a very long time and should have had ample opportunity to learn English. I think that is why myself and so many others assume that those who can not speak English are most likely here illegally.
Because...even most illegals do in fact speak some rudemtary (sp?) English. They refuse to speak it unless you want to talk about money then they become fairly well English speaking. The facts are that most of the Spanish Speaking immigrants no longer want or need to speak English because in reality they hate this country and M exico damn sure wants the whoile country, and not just what we won and paid them for after the Mexican-American War. You will find very few people in this country who honestly can't speak some broken English.
That is true, even for my neighbor. He comes to me whenever something breaks in his house or cars and exepects me to fix it. Often I do because I love to problem-solving (which is probably why I find illegals so frustrating). He used a smattering of english to tell me he could'nt operate a squirt bottle. I showed him how the nozzle is turned from "off" to "on". These uneducated immigrants could never pass our citizenship test, which is simple enough for a second grader, so they break the law and enter illegally and exercise birthright citizenship by procreating.
The point is, why does everyone assume that just because a person doesn't speak English, they must be illegal. The reason I assume this is as follows:
Overview of the Naturalization Process:
Naturalization is how a foreign citizen or national can become a U.S. citizen. In order to be naturalized, an applicant must first be qualified to apply for citizenship. Then, he or she must complete an application, attend an interview, and pass an English and a civics test. Upon successful completion of these steps, the applicant takes an oath of loyalty, and becomes a citizen. These legal requirements help the immigration service ensure that only those people who are sincere in their desire to become Americans become naturalized.
Scoring well on the required English and civics tests is essential to becoming naturalized in the United States. During the course of the naturalization process to become a U.S. citizen, an applicant will be scheduled for an interview at a local U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office. At the interview, an applicant will be tested on his or her ability to read, write, and speak English. The applicant will also be given a civics test to measure his or her understanding and knowledge of U.S. history and government.
Now, I don't understand how there are so many immigrants who are supposedly here "legally", yet can't speak a lick of English when, if they were here legally, they would have been required to pass these English tests the previous two paragraphs speak of. I assume it was because they came here illegally and were offered amnesty in times past, as you speak of in a prevoius post? I'm sure those people make up a very small minority of the non-english speaking immigrants. Not to mention if they are legal under those previous amnestys they would have had to be in this country a very long time and should have had ample opportunity to learn English. I think that is why myself and so many others assume that those who can not speak English are most likely here illegally.
One of my neighbors married a woman in South Korea who only spoke Korean. She moved here as his spouse and she is a permanent resident alien. If she desires to become a US citizen, she will have to learn English but if she decides that she doesn't want to be a US citizen, she doesn't have to learn English unless she wants to.
People also come to the US to work on work visas, as refugees, or even on tourist visas. Again, there is no requirement that they speak English.
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