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And how is this deaf, dumb, and blind person going to work for a living after immigration here?
That's the whole problem, our immigration policies are now about making the USA into the giant flop house of the world. It should be about people who have some ability to work for a living, those who can provide for themselves, not about everyone coming here for the very generous welfare system we have here.
We're importing the world's worst illiterates who don't learn English because they haven't got the ability nor the desire. The welfare office speaks to them in their own language, so why bother to learn anything?
I had two jobs deaf-blind. I could speak but often chose not to because many people had trouble understanding that being able to speak and being able to hear aren't connected. I often had to turn my voice off because as soon as I spoke, people assumed I could hear.
Again, don't assume what others can do. You don't know how someone else might find a way to function in society, using techniques you never dreamed of possible.
I immigrated here from Russia in 1993. I wonder if you consider me welcome here (not that I would actually let that stop me or anything).
I had two jobs deaf-blind. I could speak but often chose not to because many people had trouble understanding that being able to speak and being able to hear aren't connected. I often had to turn my voice off because as soon as I spoke, people assumed I could hear.
Again, don't assume what others can do. You don't know how someone else might find a way to function in society, using techniques you never dreamed of possible.
No -- don't get me wrong -- I admire you because you truly had something to overcome and were very motivated to work. Many people with physical obstacles want nothing more than to work and be a productive member of society.
However there are people who have zero physical limitations who are very content to lay around and have babies to live off welfare handouts -- including perfectly able bodied illegals who are using childbirth to game the system. Many illegals come here while pregnant and never worked a day in their lives here. I see them all the time.
Ever heard of gestural communication? Many of the Deaf people who do not use their voices to speak do the things you listed independently.
If someone is unable to do those things without speaking English, it's because they have mental limitations on possible ways to communicate. When I was deaf (and I'm still blind), I not only did my own banking and went to the doctor regularly, I also held two jobs and had a meaningful social life.
Just because you can't imagine how some people might function differently from the way you do, doesn't mean that they can't do it.
There is also more to communicating than "speaking" the language. Deaf people can effectively communicate through written language. A Spanish-only speaker cannot communicate with an English-only speaker via spoken or written communication, now can they?
By the way, my posts were not directed at or towards the Deaf community, but it's been a longstanding controversy in your community as to whether integration with the hearing community should be a priority or to be avoided. Many deaf parents of deaf children choose not to implant their kids because they don't feel that having their hearing impairment is any sort of hindrance to being a functional member of society and don't see it as any sort of disability. That's their prerogative, but I don't see them as demanding that everyone in society cater to their needs either as such with the Spanish speaking contingents in our country.
If you were fluent only in Spanish, would you be communicating on this message board? That's my point.
True. How does one support his/her family when incapable of ever learning English?
We should give immigration preference to those who have already prepared themselves to come here, not to a bunch of people who will end up on welfare handout programs.
You're right. Check out the rural South, the land where old gloreeee flies above the trailers. Dey don know how to speek english corrxly. Many never done lernt how to read english. But dey don need much book lernin to unnerstand NRA and NASCAR. Dey done have hard tahmes tryin' to find a job, den they be put on welfare. But, ah hope y'all don't be plannin' to takes away they citizenship. Doggone it, they be born and they done growed up in the USA.
Should one have to speak English, or do so fluently, to become an American citizen?
Language is one of the few factors that a people have in common that binds them together sufficiently to creat a "country. Prior to that, they are just a bunch of people in the sam geographic area, aka tribes.
Again, don't assume what others can do. You don't know how someone else might find a way to function in society, using techniques you never dreamed of possible..
But, that all depends on how you define "function". I would venture to say that many of them are not functioning in society. Getting by in life relying on the assistance of English speaking family members/friends (if any), being able to press 2 for Espanol, having all government forms (and many other forms) translated into Spanish, or relying on (company or government) paid translators is not functional. Yes, they can and do get by, but as I said, there is an economic cost to society and a personal cost of potential isolationism. Our country caters to Spanish speaking individuals, so they don't have the same motivation to learn the language that many previous generations of immigrants did.
No -- don't get me wrong -- I admire you because you truly had something to overcome and were very motivated to work. Many people with physical obstacles want nothing more than to work and be a productive member of society.
However there are people who have zero physical limitations who are very content to lay around and have babies to live off welfare handouts -- including perfectly able bodied illegals who are using childbirth to game the system. Many illegals come here while pregnant and never worked a day in their lives here. I see them all the time.
I understand your point, but in that case, it's their lack of contribution to society and mooching off the system we should be complaining about, not their language competence. Enforcing English fluency isn't going to turn lazy people into hard workers. There are plenty of born-and-bred Americans whose fluency in English doesn't stop them from having the same attitude.
Goes back to my point of why do I have to choose english on an ATM machine, or press 1 to continue in english on the phone? Why do I have to choose my language within the US. Society makes it too easy these days to not have to learn english. Immigrants in the early 1900s were forced to learn some sort of english because you could not get away with not learning it.
This post is not towards the deaf community or those whom sign. This is for those that immigrate and want to be an American but dont want to speak the American language.
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