Today, while I was out running errands I had an experience
that I could relate to the readings for this week. I think without having begun
this class, I wouldn’t have otherwise noticed or been as aware of it as I was.
I’m glad that I was aware of this and what was happening around me. I think for
anything to change, whether it is in regards to racism, education or anything
else, people need to first be aware of the situation and the problem in order
to fix it. It seems that many of the situations in the readings resonate true.
While I was walking
through a store, I noticed a mother and daughter speaking to one another and
they were speaking Spanish. Other people were walking by and someone rudely
(and loudly) commented, “this is America, speak English!” I couldn’t help put
shoot a dirty look that person’s way. I cringe when I hear people say this
phrase and unfortunately I feel like I hear it often. I immediately related to
the “White Privilege Backpack” article by McIntosh. How awful must it be to
have something like that said to you? This woman and her daughter weren’t doing
anything wrong; they were simply walking through a store speaking a language
other than English. It was like this person was on display and she could have
been saving puppies, but because she was speaking Spanish instead of English it
was all wrong. I don’t get ridiculed by others when I’m speaking English. People
speaking Spanish don’t come around me and say, “this is America, speak Spanish!”
I also related this to the work done by Omni and Winnat. Because of the mother
and daughter’s race, they are being discriminated against. Simply because they
are a different color and spoke a different language all of a sudden it put
them in a lower class and not worthy of common respect and dignity, according
to the person in the store. I am willing to bet that if I, a white person, were
speaking Spanish I would not have been ridiculed like these women were.
What gives these people the right to say such rude, hurtful
things and more importantly why do they feel this way to begin with? Who cares
if they’re speaking Spanish or their own made up language? I genuinely felt so
sorry for these people. They did not deserve such harsh, unfair treatment but
sadly I’m sure they’ve heard it before. It did not even seem to faze them that
it was said.
This situation reminded me of a story I remembered hearing on the news awhile back. See the link below for the story:
Thanks for sharing this experience Kim. This happens all the time to people and we don't even realize it. When I find myself in them, I often am conflicted. Do I say something? Should it be said to the perpetrator? Or should I apologize to the mother and daughter for the rudeness of the other person? It's like that tv show: what would you do?
ReplyDeleteThat was a very relevant example shared by you. Thanks. I can share some experiene here. The experience here is of an extreme kind but none the less related. Right after 9/11 attacks htere was a lot of racial hatred. Granted the terrorists came from middle east, had turbans and attacked the world trade center. There were news articles of Indians being attaked, abused in public and even murdered. One specific example is that of a Sikh taxi driver (Sikh is a religion followed by some people of the northern India, Sikkhism believes in protecting the weak and the men are known as Sardaars- meaning leaders, protectors. Sikh men wear turbans and have long hair, they also keep beard) in Northern California. He was killed for no rhyme or reason simply becaise his PHENOTYPE-outward appearance resempled a terrorist. I have the link attached here for everyone to read the article.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2011/summer/two-sikhs-murdered-in-california-were
The "why can't they all just speak English" line is one that I have mixed feelings about. On one hand, I do feel as though that if I, or anyone else, were to decide to live in a country where the predominant language was one that I did not speak, that I would make sure that I worked toward being able to speak the language fluently, and I would ensure, to the best of my ability, that my children were raised bilingual (preferably with a predominance to the language of the country they are being raised in).
ReplyDeleteThat said, I do feel that it is also important to retain who you are culturally. If language is a big component of that, by all means, maintain it. I do not get frustrated when someone is unable to speak English, but it does bother me a bit when they don't speak a word of English and use their children as translators for everything, since to me, that isn't displaying much of a desire to try to learn even conversational English.
Also, I would never, EVER, go and say something like "speak English, this is America!" to someone in public. That is just hateful.
I agree with what you've said, and felt much stronger about it years ago. My parents both tried very hard to learn English when they came to this country. I think it was a little easier for my father, because he worked and interacted with people every day, but my mother had to make it a point to practice and learn (she also did not drive). She said Sesame Street was one of the best shows for her to learn with, when she sat and listened with my sister, and then myself. But, like I said, she made the effort. I translate sometimes at my school, and there are parents who have been in this country for several years who still do not know the English language. However, I wonder if they can work, if they live in a tight cultural community, if they have limited means to venture out. Can I judge without knowing the circumstances? I didn't used to think this way, and thought everyone could learn English like my mother did, but maybe this just isn't the case.
DeleteThere are all kinds of people. I hope that, when possible, immigrants to this country will make the effort to learn the language, but I also hope that all people will accept the fact that there are circumstances when someone will not know English and we need to accommodate this.
I do have to disagree with your comments but I respect your view. Seeing it from the other side, maybe I can help shed some light as to why some people do not learn english and also some consequences if they do. My father was born in Dominican Republic and moved to the United States with his fammily when he was 9. He had to learn english in school and was still young so the process was very easy for him. At the same time, he was encouraged to speak the language perfectly and to lose his accent by teachers friends and most of society. Now if you hear him you would never know that he is a Dominican man. A big downside to that is the fact that my brother and I do not speak the language at all. My father never took the time to teach us the language while we were growing up because all he knows from his experiences is that it is so important to know english. The way society was when he was growing up made it a bad thing to speak spanish so he never thought it was important enough to teach us. In a way he lost some of his culture in his transition and it has now affected the next generation of his family, his kids!
DeleteOn the other hand, my grandparents had a very difficult time adjusting to the language. My grandfather worked most of the time so he picked up a little at work. My grandmother actually got a tutor to help her learn and really struggled with it. She would practice or try to use the language but people would make fun of her. Because of that she became nervous and uncomfortable speaking english in public. Im sure if this happened to me I would not want to speak in public also. Because of this she never learned a lot of english and today only speaks in english a very little. I think in the case it is easier said than done and it is tough to make the transition.
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ReplyDeleteThis is America, and we have something called the Bill of Rights. Now remind me, what was that first amendment about? :)
ReplyDeleteKim - this is a perfect example of complete ignorance. It might even be true that the mother and daughter DO speak English, however, it might be more fluid for them to communicate in Spanish while shopping. What business is it of ours to tell people what language to have casual conversations in, never mind to make discriminatory comments about.
ReplyDeleteI also imagine that if the mother and daughter were white and speaking French or German, the rude person might not have paid as much attention, or might even have stopped to admire their foreign accents! But, because they were speaking Spanish, they are assumed to be in a lower class. Another example of racism just not making a lot of sense!!
Such a powerful, but unfortunately common experience Kim! We commonly go day to day without realizing the cultural differences that are present in modern day society. Likely the families first language is Spanish and is something they cherish. In all reality that young girl may be a an English Language Learner. Ironically using the Spanish language fluently and with such precision will help the girls English language development. That is called Common Underlined Proficiency. Unfortunately these rude individuals don't think as in depth about the situation and see these individuals as foreign. Good thing the person who said, "this is America, speak English!” isn't a teacher!!
ReplyDeleteI think it is a shame when people say things like that. Yes, yes it is America, therefore, when speaking, we have that pesky freedom of speech there that allows people to speak whatever language they want. It is the ignorance of those people degrading this mother and daughter that is an example of people abusing that freedom of speech. If they were in a country that spoke something other than their first language, I bet they wouldn't appreciate it if someone walked by them and say "You're in Italy, Speak Italian!" I know I wouldn't be able to do it. I feel like there is this misconception throughout America that everyone everywhere speaks English or should speak English. While when I am in an area where English is the second language I am hoping that someone does speak it (as I am not proficiently bi-lingual), I don't expect the people of that area to speak my language, and I think that it is grossly ignorant for Americans to expect that of families who do not have English as their first language.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for shooting them a dirty look. They will certainly be surprised when karma goes and rears its ugly head at them.
I think the meaning of my first comment has been taken drastically wrong.
ReplyDeleteI meant that comment as a retort to the person who was harassing the mother and daughter, throwing his own words back at him: meaning that this is America and you have the freedom to speak Spanish (or any other language) if you want to.
In no way was I trying to defend the person who said you must speak English in America. In fact, yo creo esa persona es un tonto.
(My Spanish is a bit rusty, I hope I got that right.)
Muchas gracias el senor Kirk for the Spanish lesson (i.e., he thinks the person is a fool).
ReplyDelete