Mishri let me know about
this editorial on illegal immigration. I refuse to post any of the text of it here because of its vile, repugnant content. I will, however, post my response, which I sent in to
The Observer this afternoon:
"I take umbrage at Natalie Toomey’s editorial, “In Immigration Battle, English is Losing.” The list of hypocrisies, logical holes the size of Mack trucks, and contradictions is too numerous to go through, so I’ll try and stick to a few.
I was unaware that people speaking Spanish was mutually exclusive with “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I had no idea that Belgium, a nation with two very large and distinct language groups, expected their citizens to speak their “national” language. Or that Brazil would choose Arabic to print on its ballots when its four languages are Portuguese (the official language), Spanish, English, and French.
Ms. Toomey makes the contention that English is the “primary” language of the United States. Sure, English is the language that’s spoken by nearly all Americans, but it’s never been the only one. Ever heard of Germantown, Pennsylvania? Guess what the “primary” language was when German settlers moved there in the 18th and 19th centuries?
It wasn’t English. Same is true for most of the Upper Midwest.
When I’m not in school, I live in California. Southern California, to be precise. That nest of vipers that are seething with illegal immigrants who hate English, if you believe Ms. Toomey. Just to give you an idea of my proximity, my coworker this past summer told me that his father was “disappointed” in him for not joining the Minutemen, whereas all his friends had. Despite that, I don’t feel like I live in Mexico. There is law, order, and signs in English. People have jobs and even if I have trouble ordering a quesadilla at the local Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill (something I am comfortable enough to do without feeling like my American identity is threatened), the server can generally speak enough broken English so that I never have to send my order back.
Make no mistake: immigrants are learning English. No one wants to be a cashier or a manual laborer forever. To succeed, really succeed in America, you need to learn English.
But that’s not even my main point. Many of these immigrants have children. Children go to school. Ms. Toomey seems to see this as something wrong and immoral, but she fails to realize that children learn a great deal at school. California leads the way in providing English as a Second Language (ESL) programs to kids. No one is suggesting that students should be learning classes in Spanish, but it takes some time for kids to learn an entirely new language. And they are learning English.
Ms. Toomey laced her editorial with hyperbole and remarks that make me wonder how tolerant a person she truly is. Name one state legislature, Ms. Toomey, that is seriously considering making Spanish-only road signs, or Spanish-only ballots, and I will gladly retract this entire letter.
Until then, keep your ignorant hatemongering to yourself.
Josh Kaushansky is an undergraduate student at American University."
I'll post a less fortune-cookie-logic one-liner entry on my deeper thoughts concerning education a little later.
