Communication is essential

I'm sick of people bitching when I comment that immigrants need to learn English when moving to an English speaking country. It's not racist, you morons. It's not anti Mexican.  It's common frickin' sense.

You HAVE to be able to communicate with the people around you.  Communication is so important we invented sign language for people who can't speak so they'd be able to do it too.  It's not a racial issue.  It's not to penalize spanish speakers.  It's FOR YOUR BENEFIT.

Say there's an emergency and you need to tell the paramedics what's wrong with your loved one so they don't die.  If you don't speak the language the paramedics do, you can't tell them anything and your loved one could be toast.  Say there's some sort of disaster and you walk right into because you didn't understand what the people warning you were saying.  Not knowing the language everyone else is speaking can be potentially disastrous.

But it's not just emergencies.  It's every day life.  You struggle through basic stuff like checking out at the grocery store or registering your kids in school.  Traffic stops, trying to ask what bus you need, ordering food at a restaurant, renting an apartment.  How can you get your point across if you're relying on your five year old to translate?  If you don't know the language, you don't get far.  It's that simple.

And stop with the memes about how someone who speaks broken english is better than me because they know a second language. I speak broken spanish, that doesn't mean I'm always able to get my point across. If you're not fluid enough to hold a coherent conversation, you don't really know the language.

And stop telling me I have to make concessions for Spanish speakers because they're our closest neighbor and such a large portion of the population.  First, we have immigrants from all over the world who speak languages other than English or Spanish. If you're not willing to translate signs and what  not into ALL the languages spoken in the US, don't tell me to make concessions for Spanish.  That's not fair to everyone else.

Don't move to my country and tell me I need to learn YOUR language.  You're in MY country.  And don't even mention Native Americans. The past can't be changed, but we speak english here now and that's the ONLY thing relevant in this conversation.

And don't criticize me for pointing out the hypocrisy of making me do something for Mexicans that Mexico isn't willing to do for me.  It's the truth and if Mexicans aren't willing to learn english and have english tv stations in Mexico, it isn't fair to demand an English speaking country accommodate them.

And by the way, few countries make concessions like the US does for immigrants who don't speak the native language.  So don't tell me I'm not being fair.  That's how the world works.

Some countries even make it MANDATORY to learn their language prior to being allowed to immigrate there.

Communication is essential to life.  If you can't communicate, your quality of life sucks.  But if you really want better for yourself, you'll make it a point to learn the native language.