OPINION

I am writing in response to Donnie Lassiter's editorial on speaking English in America. I agree with his basic premise that immigrants should try to learn English when they come to this country. It's a basic necessity; otherwise survival becomes even harder. This was a major point of discussion at a recent Hispanic issues conference I attended. One of the points made is that it is hard for adults who are working such long hours to learn English at the end of a long day, especially when it can be expensive. Suggestions at the conference included workplaces giving employees an hour a day for English classes or even (as in the example of Canada) requiring all immigrants to take an intensive full-time language training class at government expense. Somehow I doubt these initiatives would go through in this country.
   On the other hand, there is no reason why you should view the incident at Bojangles as interrupting a safe haven or having your basic ideals infringed upon. After all, you got your order correctly, didn't you? You were allowed to give your order in English, weren't you? Why did it matter so much to you what was spoken over the intercom when most of the time it's shorthand jibberish, even when they are speaking in English? Would it have made a difference to you if they spoke in Cajun (since Bojangles, after all, serves Cajun food)?
   As a college student, you have a special privilege that many immigrants have not had. Your ability to speak passable German is the culmination of several years of daily language classes without the responsibilities of supporting a family and holding down a full-time job. The fact that you have taken language classes and had a chance to visit other countries probably makes you more open-minded than the average American. It is ironic that you use your stay in Germany as an example, since there is a huge backlash in Germany against immigrants, most notably with the resurgence of the Nazi party. Most Hispanic immigrants in the United States are not here on a cultural jaunt. Many are escaping poverty or political situations back home and are trying to earn as much as they can to send home. Some will go back but many will stay; Hispanics will soon be the largest minority group in the nation.
   As for your claim that when coming to someone else's homeland one should follow that country's traditions, practices and ways of life, I have one question: WHOSE? There are many practices, traditions and ways of lives in this country, thanks to the many different groups that have come here. Religion seems to be a big thing in the Bible Belt South, but there are also Muslims, Jews, Unitarian Universalists and Catholics, as well as the multitude of Protestants. Many African Americans now practice Kwanzaa, and Native Americans still practice their traditional dances and storytelling that date to hundreds of years before the Europeans came to this country. Even Chicanos who have been in this country for generations still celebrate Day of the Dead and Cinco de Mayo, in addition to the Fourth of July; that doesn't make them any less American.
   As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we are reminded of a time when British people came here for freedom of religion. They did not trouble themselves to learn the local language or traditions but managed to cooperate in peace with the locals in order to survive. Unfortunately, the settlers that followed were more intolerant, with tragic consequences for Native Americans. Since then we have had countless ethnic groups come to this country, most of whom have ended up "assimilating" eventually, but not without adding some of their own uniqueness to this country.
   You touched on a difficult issue that will not go away as more immigrants, especially Hispanics, come into this country and the area. I encourage you to react with compassion though: find out what you can do by volunteering to teach someone English as a second language (ESL). With your interest in languages and culture, why not even try learning a Native American language such as Cherokee to learn more about your own "homeland"?

Marcela Musgrove,
President of Association of Latin American Students