Press 1 For Spanish; Press 2 For English

Is anyone, like me, so damnably tired of a phone or ATM menu which asks you for your so-called “native language” — in the United States of America?

“Press 7 for Urdu.”
“Press 9 for BC Aramaic.”
“Press 11 for Central Siberian Ket.”
Um so weiter. . .
So when I hear and read of GOP Texas Senator Chris Harris (Arlington) interact during testimony:

Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition was testifying against Senate Bill 9 that would help crack down on illegal immigrants in Texas. Aguirre spoke through an interpreter even though he had been in the U.S. since 1988.


Two minutes into Antolin Aguirre’s testimony, Sen. Chris Harris, a Republican from Arlington, interrupted asking Aguirre’s interrupter, “Did I understand him correctly that he has been here since 1988?” Harris asked. “Why aren’t you speaking in English then?”


Through his interpreter, Aguirre said Spanish is his “first language and since it is his first time giving testimony he would rather do it in Spanish.”


“It is insulting to us,” Sen. Harris fired back. “It is very insulting. And if he knows English, he needs to be speaking in English.”

I’m with Texas Senator Harris: not only is this insulting, but it’s stupid, retrogressive, assumptive and racist.
The man speaking before the Texas committee has been in an English-speaking land since 1988. In that span of time no one has apparently had the guts to point out the obvious: you’re an Ignorant Mexican Parasite.

So, in TWENTY-THREE years, since 1988, this man had a CHOICE every day of his life.
Do I learn English or do I decide to subsume?
He purposely chose to subsume the easiest, most recognizably-Victimist path.
Though, in truth, he enjoyed the many benefits of the United States of America. He didn’t mind that at all.
A few years ago, a Mexican business in Reno, Nevada thought it cute to fly the Mexican flag above the American flag. An honest American Patriot responded:

And set things right. He was interviewed here:

I’d care for your thoughts now.
BZ
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12 thoughts on “Press 1 For Spanish; Press 2 For English

  1. There are people right here in Texas calling him a RACIST for expecting some son of a bitch that’s been here for close to 30 years to actually speak English…

    Imagine? Wanting people in the USA to be able to speak the language of the land… How DARE they..

    No habla Pedro? OK… BOOM!

    .45 caliber enforcement…

  2. I’ll set aside my strict Libertarian views here and say that that insolent bastard business owner put that Mexican flag above the American flag in a publicly accessible area as a direct provocation and he got a very appropriate response from a private citizen as a result.

    That veteran patriot is a hero and I’ll stand by his right to make a public statement by cutting that k-mart color-schemed rag down from above the Stars and Stripes every time before I stand by some dirt-bag’s right to make a statement by disgracing the symbols of this nation.

    It’s nice to see citizens do something to stop the ongoing commission of a crime once in awhile instead of sitting around waiting for the police to handle it. I don’t know what the law is in Nevada, but in the Great State of Texas citizens are legally justified to take action to stop a crime in progress, with the same powers of arrest as a police officer.

  3. We COULD HAVE made English the “Official language” of the United States some years ago, but didn’t do it,
    I suppose, because we didn’t want to offend.
    What are the chances such legislation could pass now? What are the chances Spanish WILL BE the official language of the U.S. when hispanics become a majority?

    I just hope I die before it happens.

  4. I get all my medical and meds via the Veterans Administration. I assumed that everyone in the military would have to speak English but, when I dial the various numbers to do my V.A. business I get the prompt, “To continue in English, press 1”. I would think that the V.A. would be the LAST place I would have to do that!

    Last I knew was that there were no interpreters needed in the military to conduct military business…..but mebbe I’m wrong as it’s been a while since I’ve been active duty!

  5. Ah, Texass. Land of the ignorant and the intolerant. You guys really do need to read The Constitution. Why do you hate Amrerica so much?

  6. Good for the Senator. After I took over a used car operation, I discovered the broken English speaking lot attendant, Vietnamese, had been in the US for sixteen years. Since he was eight years old. Didn’t see any reason for learning more or better English. I fired his ass.

  7. Bd, you’re correct, I hate Amrerica. It’s America that I love. Perhaps a little reminder from history:

    “”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.”

    BZ

  8. BZ: Well said and that is how it must be here for us to survive an recover from the onslaught of overdone political correctness, diversity and ugh, multiculturalism.

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