Answering the phone WAS: Licensing snafu

[C Day]

Jeeez!  I thought all of them were here in Michigan picking crops and 
washing windows!

Charlie Day



John Esak wrote:
>> I've often discussed this with ``spanish'' friends from the U.S.
>> Southwest, and they've always said that bilingual education is a losing
>> proposition, that it's critical to be able to speak English fluently to
>> get
>> along in the main stream society.
>>
>> Bill
> 
> Hmmm, send some of those thinkers our way. I live in the middle of
> Pennsylvania... did that register completely... the *middle* of
> Pennsylvania.... to be exact the western most edge of the Poconos.
> Yesterday, Karen and I were in Lowe's and there was not one English speaking
> person in the entire building. The person taking our money at the check out
> line started out in Spanish... and when they realized that Karen wasn't
> responding in Spanish, just shut up. It was clear she didn't know enough
> English to understand my wife. Everyone before us in the line was Mexican,
> everyone behind us was Mexican. Every worker in the giant several hundred
> thousand foot place was Mexican. No one was speaking English as they were
> doing their work. The entire place was conducting business in Spanish. *We*
> were the foreign language speaking people.
> 
> I'm sorry, this is unacceptable to me. I won't go through my bona-fides as a
> non-racist, non-prejudiced person... I've got 'em in spades, believe me.  I
> am not prejudging anything, I'm judging straight ahead with clarity of
> thought and nothing hidden deep inside my psyche guiding my beliefs.  A
> business in the heart of America should be run in English, not Spanish, and
> I disagree with anyone who thinks otherwise. I am not against catering to a
> second language if the population in the area requires it, or there is
> tourism from other countries involved, but cater to it as a *second*
> language. It is offensive to me to hear a different language being spoken as
> the default around here. It was nice in Spain when people could communicate
> to us in English, also Rome, though not as much... it's a good thing to help
> tourists. It is *not*, however, a good thing to change our language to suit
> the enormous press of illegal people here from Mexico and South America. We
> should have our heads examined.
> 
> And, if you want to hear something *really* amazing. I swear to you this is
> the God's honest truth. I took my college friend Harry, his wife Sue and
> their daughter Raven to Philadelphia a couple weeks ago. We went to see the
> Liberty Bell. At the front entrance to the new building, security was
> checking everyone's bags and identity, etc. I got to the guy at the end of
> the table and he asked me *in Spanish* where I was from. I was so taken
> aback that I answered him in very pointed Spanish, telling him that I wanted
> to see his supervisor... because I was offended that at the Liberty Bell
> exhibition in my native country, a foreigner was asking me in *another*
> language than my own where *I* was from. I then proceeded to demand that he
> tell me where *he* was from, and to get his supervisor over here while he
> was at it. I demanded that the supervisor make this kid show me his driver's
> license, and I wanted to hear him speak to me clearly in English, or I was
> going directly to the local newspaper to get a reporter and camera man. The
> supervisor got upset and huffy. He was Mexican also. But, he had the kid at
> the table show me his license (which I couldn't even see :-), and ask me all
> the questions he needed to ask me in English.... which the kid could barely
> do.
> 
> You may think this is all funny. I think it is sad.
> 
> John
> 
> 
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