Would Archie Bunker survive in Queens today? (New York, Roosevelt: living in, law)

[rlrl]

i've read archie was scots-irish, a group with a large presence in the south. def protestant.

**the surname "Bunker" sounds German to me. I thought it was hilarious how all his friends had either Germanic or Anglo Saxon names (ie Hefner, Cunningham)

Wasn't Archie from Astoria? In the episode where his chair was donated to the Smithsonian he told someone his address was in Astoria

[Moth]

Yes he was supposed to be in Astoria although the intro was filmed in Glendale.

[UpstaterInBklyn]

If Archie Bunker were a real person living in Queens in the 70's, he'd be retired today with his mortgage paid off.

Eventually he'd be so distraught with the "damn foreigners" moving in that he'd sell his 3BR semi-detached on fictional Hauser Street for about a half mil.

Then he'd then take the cash and buy a condo in Arizona (too many Jews in Florida) and live off his union pension.

[Classicalguy]

Interesting quote from TR. When my grandparents came to the US in 1919 from russia, they decided that they would only speak english in the home. No more russian. Their children never learned to speak or understand russian. Assimilation was not an insult, it was a goal. I think being bi-lingual (or multi-lingual) is great, but everyone in the US should learn to speak and write the official language.

I love the multi-ethnicity of NYC. People who can't accept equal rights, hard working immigrants, and the vibrancy of mixed cultures (like the idiot who made that ugly comment about mixed-race babies) do not understand what America is all about.

[009]

Originally Posted by Classicalguy

...but everyone in the US should learn to speak and write the official language.

Just to put it out there for those who don't know, English is the de facto language of the US. In other "words", it's not written in law that English is the official language of the United States, but being that it's the prominent language, it's accepted as such. Some states recognize it as such and others don't. A handful of States(3) and all the territories of the US also have a second de facto language.

[Fred314X]

I could be imagining this, but it seems to me there was a story in some book...I think it was called "the Bible," about the Tower of Babel. And the point of the story was the concept of communication. I don't have any problem with people who aren't English speakers (my grandparents were members of that club) but people really should make an effort to learn the de facto language of the country they settle in. I know that I'd do so if I moved elsewhere--it just makes sense.

[apvbguy]

I post this whenever this topic pops up, it was appropriate in the time it was originally said and is very appropriate now

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt

[mead]

Originally Posted by 009

Just to put it out there for those who don't know, English is the de facto language of the US. In other "words", it's not written in law that English is the official language of the United States, but being that it's the prominent language, it's accepted as such. Some states recognize it as such and others don't. A handful of States(3) and all the territories of the US also have a second de facto language.

And all of those states and territories suck. Correlation? I think so.

[Huckleberry3911948]

Originally Posted by UpstaterInBklyn

If Archie Bunker were a real person living in Queens in the 70's, he'd be retired today with his mortgage paid off.

Eventually he'd be so distraught with the "damn foreigners" moving in that he'd sell his 3BR semi-detached on fictional Hauser Street for about a half mil.

Then he'd then take the cash and buy a condo in Arizona (too many Jews in Florida) and live off his union pension.

i love it that his how i will remember him forever. great thanks.

[Classicalguy]

Good point 009. English is the de facto not de jure official language in the US. I would never suggest that people should be forced by law to use only english language signs on their store fronts or anything silly like that. I would hate for us to have the kind of situation that exists in Quebec. I am just suggesting that everyone in the US should be encouraged to learn to read and write in English.