Political Email

[Delightedly]

The original post was aimed at minorities, not specifically illegal immigrants. the statements against 'Miss black America'- does that pertain, by any stretch of the imagination, to immigrants? 'Girl Scouts'- are they crossing your borders in droves?
Excuses for ugly thoughts are what make people tie themselves in knots to justify the ugliness.
This is just like the thread about minorities a little while ago.
In response to the questions directed at me about illegal immigrants here, nope, I don't agree with the support given by my govt to them. I do think people should have to earn their living instead of living off those who are working, if they are able to. Economic migration is fine if the people bring their skills and abilities to wherever they are heading, it enriches cultures.
In my job, this has been a hot potato. Huge drives to recruit qualified nurses from the Phillippines, India, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong etc to deal with shortages, coupled with an increase in recruiting trainees led to a shortage of available jobs for newly-qualifying English trained nurses. The govt here then reneged on agreements in granting citizenship to the foreign nurses.
In many cases these nurses have settled here, bought houses, had children and worked their backsides off to get slapped in the face. As a result they are now leaving in droves. So the newly qualified nurses have posts available.
Unfortunately, a newly qualified nurse who speaks with a cut-glass accent is no match for the nurse with better training and 10 years experience who is being kicked out of his or her adopted country. Personally, many good friends have left and I miss them. Professionally, I'm convinced it will take years for the skill loss to be overcome.

I couldn't say it better mysefl.

 

[Joejr14]

This statement just confirms my original thoughts, congratulations. Of course I mean post - WWII, I mean NOW. When you actually start reading about global affairs, come back and talk with me again.

So let me get this straight....

Just what does global affairs have to do with the increasing immigration into the US and the effect on the economy? Isn't the US economy trending towards a recession? If immigration is up, based on your 'theory', shouldn't we be booming?

Are you actually going to argue that the boom of the late 90's was a result of increased immigration? I guess it was called a 'Tech Boom' for the hell of it.

 

[clipclopclip]

Have I ever mentioned that I'm a fan of irony?

regards,
jazz

I wasn't going to mention it.......but......:laugh01:

 

[TandJ]

well my grandparents came from germany after leaving poland during ww2 if i'm not mistaken. and i wouldn't neccesarily have a problem with someone having a global warming sticker or the bush one i'd say my opinion on it and that is i don't believe in global warming or any of those things, but a problem with them having it there no. But my land is not the same as yours as i am in canada again filled with laws rights and privledges but further north and in my opinion a better country then america, Although i am kinda biased on that

Of course my Ancestors ( all ym Grandparents are long gone.. ) came to North America prior to WW1, with all kinds of Euro trash tossed in, of course I do have "Black" cousins by blood, and even An Asian cousin, not that it matters, but the claim of racisim and hatred gets thrown around here by both sides.. I am appauled by the sterotypical things that get mentioned about our American Cousins.. A lot of it is nonseseical to me, and biased and hench being pretty close to blantant racisim.. Unless you have actually lived in the US, I don't feel you can give an accurate synopsis of what it is like to live here.. Yes, I am Canadian, but I have been in the US for almost a decade, I have also lived in another country for a short period of time.. *shrugs*

IMHO, a lot you folks are pretty darn messed up, filled with notions of this and that, and it is reasons like these, I don't participate more, of course I am not posting whore eithier.. there are a lot of members that have been for a lot shorter time than myself, and have 2 to 3 times more posts than myself.. What I see here is a bunch of bafoons trying to impose their personal view points onto to others, and a bunch of name calling when the imposed view is not accepted with open arms.. Get a grasp of reality, and realize your probably part of the problem, and not part of the solution.. Its good to keep an open mind, but its not so good when your brain falls out, which I see a lot here.. *LOL*

Regards.. Tim of T and J

 

[desertanimal]

You are mistaken. There is only one official language of the United States and that is ENGLISH. When immigrants were coming here in troves (emphasis mine) in the late 1800's and early 1900's one of the main requisites of becoming an American is that you had general knowledge of the English language and knew how to speak it.

Since we're talking about the ability to speak English, here, I feel compelled to point out that it's droves. If I had MY druthers, we'd all be required to speak English as facilely as Dale in order to retain American citizenship. But alas, born-and-bred Americans with poor English skills abound (to be clear, I am not implying anything about Jay, who's skills are just fine). *shakes head* Tsk tsk. I agree that good English has gone down the toilet in this country, but it has naught to do with illegal immigrants. But alas, again alas, the general populace seems to hold the apparently subjective bar for "proficiency in English" somewhere other than where I hold it.

p.s., This was tongue-in-cheek.

 

[desertanimal]

IMHO, a lot you folks are pretty darn messed up . . . of course I am not posting whore eithier. . . What I see here is a bunch of bafoons trying to impose their personal view points onto to others, and a bunch of name calling when the imposed view is not accepted with open arms (emphasis mine) . . . and realize your probably part of the problem, and not part of the solution. . . but its not so good when your brain falls out, which I see a lot here.. *LOL*

Regards.. Tim of T and J

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

p.s., For future name-calling episodes, it's buffoon.

 

[Snake Dave]

So let me get this straight....

Just what does global affairs have to do with the increasing immigration into the US and the effect on the economy? Isn't the US economy trending towards a recession? If immigration is up, based on your 'theory', shouldn't we be booming?

Are you actually going to argue that the boom of the late 90's was a result of increased immigration? I guess it was called a 'Tech Boom' for the hell of it.

You've completely missed the point and you're over-complicating my statement. What I meant originally was the fact that Britain is also suffering from the exact same problems as PJCReptiles described, but he said something along the lines of 'how would you feel if this was happening in your country?' So I said 'you obviously don't read about anything outside your shores'.

Then, when you said 'when was this?' and 'is this post - WWII?' it just confirmed what I thought about Americans with views such as yours couldn't care less about the troubles of others outside their precious country. Make sense now?

 

[ghosthousecorns]

In the OP from Joejr

I think the police should have every right to shoot you if you threaten them after they tell you to stop. If you can't understand the word "freeze" or "stop" in English, see the above lines.

reply by redneck

i wish people would learn English since it is the language used in this country last i checked?

reply by PJC reptiles

SPEAK ENGLISH! (Because this is America and I shouldn't have to press the damn "1" button every time I get an automated answering service when I make a phone call.)

reply by matthew

I've been denied two jobs because I can't speak Spanish. I live in a country who's language is 'supposedly' English, yet I can't get the <insert expletive here> job that I wanted because I can't cater to someone else's communication needs. Last time I checked, we were just north of Mexico.

I could go on, the reply by Susan, reply by TandJ, etc. There is a trend here that scares the %&$#@ out of me in this country. I feel absolutely awful that I have to read statements like this on a CORNSNAKE forum. If I didn't know any better I would think this is 'speak English or die' dot com. I find all of your statements bigoted, prejudicial and offensive as a person of Hispanic descent and American Citizen. How can you agree it is OK for a policeman to shoot somebody because they don't understand the word "Stop" as stated in the OP. What if that person is here legally, paying taxes, and working hard to support their family? What if they are taking classes at night after putting in their hours at work so they can learn? It doesn't happen overnight, you don't get your green card and suddenly magically know the language. And you ask them to put their own language and culture aside to embrace America. Not as if they could possibly have anything good to bring with them like family values, work ethic or strong belief in God. If they are here legally and paying taxes what skin off your nose is it what language they speak? So you sometimes have to press one on your phone. WAAAH! Hope your poor little finger is going to make it through all that!

 

[diamondlil]

Well said Jen. I'm proud of my mixed ancestry, I'd bet I have people with Gaelic and Romani as their first languages, and know from my mother that my great-grandmother spoke a mixture of Irish and English. Given that she was married to a man from European Jewish blood, I have no idea what language my maternal grandfather's people spoke.
Instead of language I carry their heritage in my skin and hair colour and in my genes. I tan so dark that in Greece and Spain on holiday the locals are puzzled I can't understand them, then took great delight in helping me with my halting phrase-book efforts at communication.
I don't know how one nation could declare itself better than all others, and to do so on the basis of race disgusts me.

 

[diamondlil]

Actually, I'm going to ask a direct question. Hands up all the white English-speaking people posting here who think their genetics and upbringing make them superior to us with darker skin, or who speak other languages.

 

[desertanimal]

My legal immigrant Chinese grandma's English is crap. She can get along, but she is difficult to understand. I couldn't understand her at all until I was an adolescent. And it isn't because she didn't try to learn English, it's because she learned it late and will never be very good at it. Most people in this thread probably wouldn't have a problem with my Chinese grandma who moved here when she married my white army granddad and became his faithful, subservient wife. But she doesn't speak good English.

So which is it? Do people only dislike illegal immigrants, or do they dislike immigrants who can't speak English well (some those are legal)? I mean if you're legal, really, come on. Being more comfortable speaking English than Spanish isn't required for citizenship, so how can you really be irritated at people who've followed all the laws to immigrate? Or do people only dislike illegal immigrants who can't speak English well? Which is it?

Or, do people conflate the issues simply because they are correlated to some degree? Ahhhhh. Perhaps it's conflation. I hate conflation. It belies sloppy thinking.

 

[starsevol]

My legal immigrant Chinese grandma's English is crap. She can get along, but she is difficult to understand. I couldn't understand her at all until I was an adolescent. And it isn't because she didn't try to learn English, it's because she learned it late and will never be very good at it. Most people in this thread probably wouldn't have a problem with my Chinese grandma who moved here when she married my white army granddad and became his faithful, subservient wife. But she doesn't speak good English.

So which is it? Do people only dislike illegal immigrants, or do they dislike immigrants who can't speak English well (some those are legal)? I mean if you're legal, really, come on. Being more comfortable speaking English than Spanish isn't required for citizenship, so how can you really be irritated at people who've followed all the laws to immigrate? Or do people only dislike illegal immigrants who can't speak English well? Which is it?

Or, do people conflate the issues simply because they are correlated to some degree? Ahhhhh. Perhaps it's conflation. I hate conflation. It belies sloppy thinking.

Conflation? That sounds a bit like a smelly disgestive issue. I try to avoid that whenever possible! (sorry, trying for some levity here).
For me personally, it's all about people who obey the law. All the laws, including immagration laws.
As far as speaking english....well since that is the only language that I speak, OF COURSE I prefer people who I can understand, and who can understand me. Basically, I dislike ALL illegal immigrants regardless of their english-speaking abilities, and I like and throughly respect ALL legal immigrants, regardless of their english-speaking abilities.

 

[jazzgeek]

Actually, I'm going to ask a direct question. Hands up all the white English-speaking people posting here who think their genetics and upbringing make them superior to us with darker skin, or who speak other languages.

HA! Replace "English" with "German", and it's 1936 all over again. :sidestep:

(After all, 2008 is an Olympic year.)

regards,
jazz

 

[Susan]

Since we're talking about the ability to speak English, here, I feel compelled to point out that it's droves. If I had MY druthers, we'd all be required to speak English as facilely as Dale in order to retain American citizenship. But alas, born-and-bred Americans with poor English skills abound (to be clear, I am not implying anything about Jay, who's skills are just fine). *shakes head* Tsk tsk. I agree that good English has gone down the toilet in this country, but it has naught to do with illegal immigrants. But alas, again alas, the general populace seems to hold the apparently subjective bar for "proficiency in English" somewhere other than where I hold it.

p.s., This was tongue-in-cheek.

Well said! I am not nearly as eloquent as some members here on the forum, but I at least try to write in complete sentences with proper spelling and punctuation. Personally, I blame our continually decreasing standards in the public education system for the lack of a proper grasp of the workings of the English language which seems to be very prevalent in those much younger than myself.

Due to financial restrictions, my eldest child was only able to attend kindergarten and 1st grade in a private school. However, during her limited time in that system, she was already well above higher grade level students in the local public schools. For example, she started learning to write in cursive in the later part of kindergarten and continued into 1st grade. However, she is currently in 5th grade in the public school system, and they are only just starting to teach that, and I believe it is an "extra" and not required curriculum. I distinctly remember learning to write in cursive while in the 1st grade. :shrugs:

I make sure that my children get additional schooling at home because I know for a fact that the local schools only teach what is going to tested on the FCAT, leaving a good deal of basic knowledge untouched, especially in the areas of history and social studies. As it is, if it wasn't for the extra studies my children are given at home, they would be completely bored with school. My 8 year old son, who is currently in the 2nd grade, is reading and writing at the 4th and 5th grade level, while my daughter is well beyond the 7th grade level. She is also being taught algebra to supplement the math being taught and she is also the only child in her class that even knows there was a WWII, let alone that the Germans and Japanese were NOT on the American's side.

I used to think that my younger co-workers were simply being lazy and not thinking, but I now realize that they are simply ignorant of correct spelling and grammar. If a large portion of the general work force between the ages of 20 and 35 spell "stopped" as "stoped" and "decide" as "dicide", both of which I have corrected innumerable times in the past week alone, then I feel the education system in this country is long over-due for a complete upheaval.

 

[jazzgeek]

Conflation? That sounds a bit like a smelly disgestive issue.

I was thinking it was more of a rise in prices for those who are in prison.

"Sorry, it'll now cost you an extra pack of smokes for me to toss salad."

regards,
jazz

 

[tanner123]

Well said! I am not nearly as eloquent as some members here on the forum, but I at least try to write in complete sentences with proper spelling and punctuation. Personally, I blame our continually decreasing standards in the public education system for the lack of a proper grasp of the workings of the English language which seems to be very prevalent in those much younger than myself.

Due to financial restrictions, my eldest child was only able to attend kindergarten and 1st grade in a private school. However, during her limited time in that system, she was already well above higher grade level students in the local public schools. For example, she started learning to write in cursive in the later part of kindergarten and continued into 1st grade. However, she is currently in 5th grade in the public school system, and they are only just starting to teach that, and I believe it is an "extra" and not required curriculum. I distinctly remember learning to write in cursive while in the 1st grade. :shrugs:

I make sure that my children get additional schooling at home because I know for a fact that the local schools only teach what is going to tested on the FCAT, leaving a good deal of basic knowledge untouched, especially in the areas of history and social studies. As it is, if it wasn't for the extra studies my children are given at home, they would be completely bored with school. My 8 year old son, who is currently in the 2nd grade, is reading and writing at the 4th and 5th grade level, while my daughter is well beyond the 7th grade level. She is also being taught algebra to supplement the math being taught and she is also the only child in her class that even knows there was a WWII, let alone that the Germans and Japanese were NOT on the American's side.

I used to think that my younger co-workers were simply being lazy and not thinking, but I now realize that they are simply ignorant of correct spelling and grammar. If a large portion of the general work force between the ages of 20 and 35 spell "stopped" as "stoped" and "decide" as "dicide", both of which I have corrected innumerable times in the past week alone, then I feel the education system in this country is long over-due for a complete upheaval.

personally i don't care if people can or cannot speak english or use proper punctuation or spelling i'm a decent speller but barely ever use punctuation because i don't like to when im jsut typing something out as long as you can understand it whats the problem i think you expect too much of the schools around you and are just being alittle bit too uptight about spelling and grammar

 

[jazzgeek]

personally i don't care if people can or cannot speak english or use proper punctuation or spelling i'm a decent speller but barely ever use punctuation because i don't like to when im jsut typing something out as long as you can understand it whats the problem i think you expect too much of the schools around you and are just being alittle bit too uptight about spelling and grammar

Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm forum welcome to Edward Estlin Cummings.

If you think Susan is uptight about spelling and grammar, wait until you start applying for jobs outside of the service sector. Just sayin'.

regards,
jazz

 

[Bobo's Mama]

personally i don't care if people can or cannot speak english or use proper punctuation or spelling i'm a decent speller but barely ever use punctuation because i don't like to when im jsut typing something out as long as you can understand it whats the problem i think you expect too much of the schools around you and are just being alittle bit too uptight about spelling and grammar

But that's just it. I COULDN'T really understand you. I was taught how to use punctiation and grammar. I might not do it perfectly all the time, but at least I have the decency to actually use it in public. I guess its just a generational thing... I know, I know....

its quicker to write like this all the time even though its hard for some people to read no one cares what it looks like as long as its fast and easy to type then its ok if noone ever takes you seriously or anything.

It's actually HARD for me to write like that.

As far as language goes; if you are in the process of becoming a legal citizen, then you should at least try to learn the language of the country you are joining. But... at the same time, you shouldn't be forced to abandon your own culture either. I don't know what I'd do without authentic Mexican food. I love the stuff! Gimme some nice hot homemade tamales! :dancer: """""white""""" food can be boring sometimes. It's nice to be able to find some cultural diversity in food now and then.

 

[ruraldean]

Ladies and gentlemen, give a warm forum welcome to Edward Estlin Cummings.

If you think Susan is uptight about spelling and grammar, wait until you start applying for jobs outside of the service sector. Just sayin'.

regards,
jazz

Yes, but I think e.e. cummings was doing it on purpose. :uhoh:

And, while I'm at it, the immigrant population of the UK is growing at an alarming rate, both legally and illegally, and not particularly helpful employers here are employing them due to their cheap labour costs. This is driving wages down and making it impossible for some British workers to get jobs, particularly in deprived areas.

I'm not sure whether anyone would agree that English is the official language of England or not, but I suspect it is, and we have Local Authorities here providing translation services at taxpayers' expense to immigrants who don't speak the language, have never contributed to society, and who have declared no interest in learning the indigeonous language. Witness one Asian woman who has been here 39 years and doesn't speak a word of it (and why should she have to when we happily supply her with a free translator whenever she needs it).

Call me a Nazi, redneck or whatever you want, but recognise that I'm only interested in England remaining English. As someone who welcomes and enjoys racial and cultural diversity I fear that multiculturalism will destroy it eventually by diluting cultures, resulting in the subsequent loss of any diversity at all. Remember the song "Melting Pot"? Do we really want a world of "Coffee-coloured people" rather than the distinct and enchanting diversity we have now? Or should nondescript blandness be our future?

(P.S. - Do any of you realise just how twitchy I've become in the preparation of the post? I know that one spelling mistake will see me lynched. )

 

[tanner123]

But that's just it. I COULDN'T really understand you. I was taught how to use punctiation and grammar. I might not do it perfectly all the time, but at least I have the decency to actually use it in public. I guess its just a generational thing... I know, I know....

its quicker to write like this all the time even though its hard for some people to read no one cares what it looks like as long as its fast and easy to type then its ok if noone ever takes you seriously or anything.

It's actually HARD for me to write like that.

As far as language goes; if you are in the process of becoming a legal citizen, then you should at least try to learn the language of the country you are joining. But... at the same time, you shouldn't be forced to abandon your own culture either. I don't know what I'd do without authentic Mexican food. I love the stuff! Gimme some nice hot homemade tamales! :dancer: """""white""""" food can be boring sometimes. It's nice to be able to find some cultural diversity in food now and then.

exactly though i don't care if i get taken seriously if i'm just typing here if i want people to take me seriously i'll actually attempt to make an effort to use correct punctuation. as of right now im not asking a question that i want an answer for or writing a formal letter or anything so i could care less if anyone takes me seriously