Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Politics and Other Controversies > Illegal Immigration
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 07-08-2008, 05:56 PM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,120,516 times
Reputation: 7373

Advertisements

I was watching CNN's "Situation Room" this afternoon and saw a clip of Obama addressing a public group and making this quote:

"Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn english - they'll learn english - you need to make sure YOUR child can speak Spanish, you should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual."

I replayed his clip three times to ensure I had the wording correct, but this is exactly what he said. I don't know who his audience was, but I found this comment rather startling.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:02 PM
 
Location: southern california
61,289 posts, read 87,117,353 times
Reputation: 55550
why is learning another language odious to americans? in strasburg (border town)everybody speaks german and french. whats the deal. none of the white or black kids here speak spanish. i live 12 miles from the border. whats up with that
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:03 PM
 
Location: California
3,172 posts, read 6,736,309 times
Reputation: 335
While I dont think everyone should have to learn Spanish, immigrants will learn English.

But theres lots of really smart people going for business majors in colleges that are learning Spanish. In business being bilingual or trilingual or quadrilingual is an invaluable tool.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:05 PM
 
8,978 posts, read 16,512,773 times
Reputation: 3019
Probably not a bad idea at all, just as a personal choice (I learned it decades ago). Yet as a politician's 'blurb', I must say it's pretty 'dumb'. It could EASILY be twisted around to sound like maybe "we" should learn Spanish, because we can't depend on "them" to learn English...(if they DID, why would we 'need' Spanish?) Not a very 'bright' comment to make when you're trying to bring the voters together. Sounds like something Bush would say.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:06 PM
 
8,978 posts, read 16,512,773 times
Reputation: 3019
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948 View Post
why is learning another language odious to americans? in strasburg (border town)everybody speaks german and french. whats the deal. none of the white or black kids here speak spanish. i live 12 miles from the border. whats up with that
NONE of them? Not even a FEW? Must be a pretty unusual border town.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:12 PM
 
Location: Maryland
15,171 posts, read 18,499,289 times
Reputation: 3044
He was pandering to the open borders pro-amnesty group, LULAC. I believe he's scheduled for another panderfest with La Raza next week.

I am not opposed to people being bilingual, but the tone of his speech was rather disturbing. This may in fact backfire on him.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:15 PM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,120,516 times
Reputation: 7373
Quote:
Originally Posted by macmeal View Post
Probably not a bad idea at all, just as a personal choice (I learned it decades ago). Yet as a politician's 'blurb', I must say it's pretty 'dumb'. It could EASILY be twisted around to sound like maybe "we" should learn Spanish, because we can't depend on "them" to learn English...(if they DID, why would we 'need' Spanish?) Not a very 'bright' comment to make when you're trying to bring the voters together. Sounds like something Bush would say.
It seems to me that this comment, linked with his earlier NAFTA "doubletalk" comments, is a bit of a concern:

Hot Air » Blog Archive » Obama’s NAFTA double-talk confirmed: CTV
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:21 PM
 
4,829 posts, read 7,725,554 times
Reputation: 621
Quote:
Originally Posted by Benicar View Post
He was pandering to the open borders pro-amnesty group, LULAC. I believe he's scheduled for another panderfest with La Raza next week.

I am not opposed to people being bilingual, but the tone of his speech was rather disturbing. This may in fact backfire on him.
It will backfire just like they said his support for comprehensive immigration reform would backfire on him.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:22 PM
 
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,680 posts, read 41,541,845 times
Reputation: 41302
Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToCA View Post
I was watching CNN's "Situation Room" this afternoon and saw a clip of Obama addressing a public group and making this quote:

"Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn english - they'll learn english - you need to make sure YOUR child can speak Spanish, you should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual."

I replayed his clip three times to ensure I had the wording correct, but this is exactly what he said. I don't know who his audience was, but I found this comment rather startling.
Why should i have to learn spanish if immigrants are going to learn english? My child should become bi-lingual, but why does that 2nd language have to be spanish? The second language i'm planning to learn is french. I did that as MY personal choice. The language you should learn if you want to make some $$$ is arabic. A lot of high-paying govt jobs can be had for arabic-speaking americans.

I heard that at my bank today and one thing i find sad is the lack of reaction from anyone who watched. I was shocked when i first heard it. Obama's comments today are one of the main reasons i'll be in the minority of african-americans who wont vote for him.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-08-2008, 06:25 PM
 
Location: OK
2,825 posts, read 7,519,202 times
Reputation: 2056
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alanboy395 View Post
My child should become bi-lingual, but why does that 2nd language have to be spanish?
Because Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Politics and Other Controversies > Illegal Immigration
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top