Does Anyone Speak English in El Paso? (Allen, Canton: move to, educational)

[moxygem]

I have a friend whose parents are from Mexico, and she had to learn the hard way. Today, as she tells it, it's the hard-headed, "I'm entitled" hispanics who down-right refuse to learn it and teach it to their kids. I, too, have a ton of experience and have been turned down for jobs, it's frustrating because I GREW UP HERE!!

[XChucoresident]

Originally Posted by josh231985

I have found it very hard to find a job in El paso . Because I do not speak Spanish, If I am not mistaking This is the United States right ? I should not be turned down for a job because i do not speak spanish? AND I SHOULD NOT HAVE TOO

What a stupid question!..Does anyone speak English in El Paso..of course we do..it is still in the United States...DUH....my father was one of those so called dumb MExicans who graduated from Bowie High School in the late 1940's..among his classmates..several became lawyers, doctors, teachers...among them..the famous Doctor Gardea..who I think recently passed away..by the way..I did grow up and was educated in El Paso...I graduated from the elite University of Tx at Austin..where only 15 out of evry 500 that apply there get accepted..and I was almost valedictorian of my high school..so yes...we do speak both English/Spanish in El Paso..

[ocean2026]

Look - if you people in El Paso don't like us speaking Spanish GO BACK TO THE UNITED STATES!

LOL

Actually if you grew up in El Paso and didn't learn some Spanish when you had the opportunity all over, that's your fault. Its great to learn another language and someone who makes that effort deserves an advantage in the job market.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

Look - if you people in El Paso don't like us speaking Spanish GO BACK TO THE UNITED STATES!

LOL

Actually if you grew up in El Paso and didn't learn some Spanish when you had the opportunity all over, that's your fault. Its great to learn another language and someone who makes that effort deserves an advantage in the job market.

This is the most common attitude I see in El Paso. That Americans must learn Spanish in order to live here.

[alliswell]

I was in Walmart last night, on Mesa. A really nice looking young man was working in the household goods department where I was looking at some of the new colors of bath towels. He asked me if I was finding everything and I said I was just looking. He continued what he was doing. An older woman walked up to him and apparently asked him if he spoke Spanish because he answered, "No, just English". I was shocked. If he was not Hispanic then I don't know what else he could have been. He sure looked Hispanic - maybe I assumed too much, I don't know.

I just thought it was very interesting that, due to my first impression of him, he did not speak Spanish and after I thought about it more wondered if he really did speak Spanish but chose to tell her no.

[malamute]

Originally Posted by alliswell

I was in Walmart last night, on Mesa. A really nice looking young man was working in the household goods department where I was looking at some of the new colors of bath towels. He asked me if I was finding everything and I said I was just looking. He continued what he was doing. An older woman walked up to him and apparently asked him if he spoke Spanish because he answered, "No, just English". I was shocked. If he was not Hispanic then I don't know what else he could have been. He sure looked Hispanic - maybe I assumed too much, I don't know.

I just thought it was very interesting that, due to my first impression of him, he did not speak Spanish and after I thought about it more wondered if he really did speak Spanish but chose to tell her no.

Surprising that would happen at that Walmart. At one time they were doing the store announcements in Spanish, music played there was that loud Mexican cantina kind of music, and I've seen clerks there unable to count out change in English or speak any English.

I did recently witness something very similar at another store. Some customers went to a guy that looked hispanic -- but he could have been Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, French, German, or other ethnic background and spoke Spanish and he told them he didn't. They got angry and demanded someone who did come wait on them and he told them no one working at that time spoke Spanish.

I saw something pretty interesting once. A fast food restaurant where all the employees were speaking Spanish. I placed my order in English which they did understand. When a Mexican farmworker walked in, they switched to English and made him try to give his order in English. He ended up having to point at some menu and I kind of felt sorry for him and wondered if he had been some elegantly dressed person if it would have been different.

[mistabinks]

I recently got my oil changed at Walmart. There is a stereo display near the waiting area. It was preset to a Spanish station. Up comes three blond haired blue eyed people loudly complaining about the music. The female just slaps at radio until the channel changes (why she couldn't just change the channel using the tuner is beyond me). I guess the display models are preset because it returned to that Spanish station within a few seconds. I was the closest one to the display. When the Spanish music returned, all three of them turned around and attempted to give me a mean look. I gave the thumbs up and said "good music isn't!" I could not believe how mad the female got. She turned around in a huff and stormed off. The two guys tried to stare me down. This was beyond childish to me, plus I wasn't intimidated by either one them, so I kept the stare and they eventually gave in and stormed off as well.

That was a literal LOL. I can't imagine walking through life so bitter and with no tolerence or patience that hearing Spanish music in a public store would instantly snap me and my friends. How pathetic - yet hilarious.

[alliswell]

A fast food restaurant where all the employees were speaking Spanish. I placed my order in English which they did understand. When a Mexican farmworker walked in, they switched to English and made him try to give his order in English. He ended up having to point at some menu and I kind of felt sorry for him and wondered if he had been some elegantly dressed person if it would have been different.

That's sad and just plain mean.

[us-enabling]

Domino: "If you are required to deal with Spanish-speaking clients/customers/public, it is only practical that your employer would want someone who speaks Spanish. Find yourself a job where you are not required to deal with the public."

Why are they speaking Spanish and not English in America? Most of them probably can speak English but just don't because we enable them by hiring bilingual which makes this situation worse in the long run.

[TexasCCW]

Haven't been on here long, but I think you might take the "back from the dead thread" title!