"Are you an American?" (Miami, Pembroke Pines: dangerous, legal, moving to)

[planetsurf]

To be clear -- I meant downtown Davie, NOT Nova itself. (We were allowed off campus for lunch.)

I have a few friends that went to Cooper City HS --- they had some SERIOUS rednecks there but I never heard of any REAL problems because of it.

[TannerMan]

Intrestingly enough the only time ive seen a confederate flag in South Florida was in Weston on Weston Road and Indian Trace. A white truck with a HUMUNGOUS conf. flag on the back and confederate stickers all over the truck.

[jbravo]

Well, today I'm still Cuban.

[Marlin331]

Cubano de pura cepa but MADE IN DADE, right?

I think the above phrase can be the theme of this whole thread! You can identify with an ethnic group but still be as American as they come. Kids raised in Miami don't turn out to be anything but American.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by planetsurf

I have a few friends that went to Cooper City HS --- they had some SERIOUS rednecks there but I never heard of any REAL problems because of it.

The rednecks at Cooper City were REALLY cool, never recall them being racist. I still talk to some of my fellow rednecks from Western too.

Originally Posted by TannerMan

Intrestingly enough the only time ive seen a confederate flag in South Florida was in Weston on Weston Road and Indian Trace. A white truck with a HUMUNGOUS conf. flag on the back and confederate stickers all over the truck.

Probably coming from Davie LOL!

[jbravo]

Well, as my final post (if not deleted)
I'm still Cuban.

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by big mean bear

Excellent post. Much of the rest of Florida Miami because it has not assimilated, and it is getting worse. That is why you think the 'blender' is breaking down or slowing at least. When I tell some people I live here they look at me in disbelief, that I would want to live in such a Hispanic dominated immigrant society as a minority. But me, I think I'm fighting the good fight.

Solution - ???? Gov't sponsored work programs!

Maybe the best way to encourage healthy assimilation is to give the option for immigrants to Miami (and other places) the ability to enroll in public works programs where they are housed, fed, taught English, and completely immersed in American culture (English only). They can choose different options for where they go and what they learn - JOB training!!! Healthcare, construction, cooking, business skills can be taught.

It would not be a jail sentence but rather a "fast track" for either getting into the U.S. or becoming a citizen. It would be completely voluntary and if they drop out they would be bussed back to the border or sent to the back of the line...

This all exists, no bigger government please, it's bad enough now.

Lemme get this straight. Bring people from other countries here, give them jobs of their choice, (instead of Americans already living here), give them housing, teach them English, FEED THEM....HUH?

Is there a shortage of people here, we need to import them and pay them to live here? whoops...I think we're already doing that in IT...

Hmmm, actually we had something like that till a couple years ago, called Welfare to Work. Except the Immigration part....people thought it was really mean.

Now we PAY people who came here on their own free will as if it's a privilege for us to give jobs to people who are not capable of doing them, and getting "special treatment" to learn English? Like I'm gonna call AETNA and speak to someone who cannot understand me in health care for example? They already don't understand me and screw up every claim as it is, and they all speak English at AETNA LOL.

Anybody who wants to can go to school in ENGLISH. Work in construction, cooking, and other jobs in ENGLISH. Shop in ENGLISH, socialize in ENGLISH. Total immersion in ENGLISH.

The challenge for your idea is to get them to want to.....Like the parents who are suing the PRIVATE school for banning other languages at school. Good luck with that....

Only in America. Would you move to a European country and demand that stuff?

Anybody can do it. My DH did Berlitz and total immersion and didn't expect a single thing from the government. Everyone's mad they have to learn or speak English and assimilate.

Yet all over the world people WANT to learn English it's the business language of the world. During the Olympics there was a documentary on PBS following some kids in China around competing to get into different levels of college. Several didn't make it into the better schools. Because their English was not good enough. In China.

These kids lived in shacks, wore coats inside cuz they had no heat, lived 20 people to a house, ate meager broth and crap for meals....and they achieved. Versus here, lazy and entitled.

I think this is a very SMALL issue that is totally out of proportion in Miami and some parts of Florida only. NOW we're hearing that "American" actually means everyone from the whole Western Hemisphere. ROFLMAO

Only on a forum called "Miami" can you hear these concepts.

[tallrick]

Why do people use the term "redneck" in a bad way? I have never had a bad experience with people commonly called rednecks. In fact, I have had a lot more problems with other types of people. The worst in my opinion are the pretenders who try to appear affluent, but have an effluent personality. Pickup trucks and country music are not something to be upset about, HOA busybodies and Team Metro are what I find repulsive.

[rnc2mbfl]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

NOW we're hearing that "American" actually means everyone from the whole Western Hemisphere. ROFLMAO

Only on a forum called "Miami" can you hear these concepts.

From Wikipedia:American - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American may refer to:

A person, inhabitant, or attribute of the United States of America
A person, an inhabitant, or attribute of the Americas, the lands and regions of the Western Hemisphere
A person or attribute of the indigenous peoples of the Americas

From Websters American - Definitions from Dictionary.com

A·mer·i·can Audio Help /əˈmɛrɪkən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-mer-i-kuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective 1. of or pertaining to the United States of America or its inhabitants: an American citizen.
2. of or pertaining to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere: the American continents.
3. of or pertaining to the aboriginal Indians of North and South America, usually excluding the Eskimos, regarded as being of Asian ancestry and marked generally by reddish to brownish skin, black hair, dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones.
–noun 4. a citizen of the United States of America.
5. a native or inhabitant of the Western Hemisphere.
6. an Indian of North or South America.
7. American English.
8. a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and no rear truck.

As a full disclosure, I was born in the U.S. My parents were born in the U.S. All 4 of my grandparents were born in the U.S. I didn't grow up in Miami or anywhere that had a strong international influence. However, I am not smug enough to think that it's laughable to consider Americans other than United States citizens as truly American. In the end, the only people who should even be remotely smug about the use of the term are the people whose culture in the Americas predates European invasions and settlements.

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Why do people use the term "redneck" in a bad way? I have never had a bad experience with people commonly called rednecks. In fact, I have had a lot more problems with other types of people. The worst in my opinion are the pretenders who try to appear affluent, but have an effluent personality. Pickup trucks and country music are not something to be upset about, HOA busybodies and Team Metro are what I find repulsive.

Redneck is also used to describe lower class Caucasians, who yell, fist fight, and drink beer all night (commonly stereotyped to live in trailer parks or run down rural areas).