"WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Press 1 for English. Press 2 to disconnect until you learn to speak English. And remember only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, JESUS CHRIST. And the AMERICAN SOLDIER. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. If you agree... copy and paste in your status"
This statement is CLEARLY flawed and just plain RIDICULOUS. The fact that I see my friends reposting this makes me shake my damn head. First off, what the hell does speaking English have to do with respecting people who have sacrificed their lives for us? Ummm, NOTHING!
It's THAT type of hyper-American attitude that makes other countries laugh at our arrogance and inflated sense of superiority. If you want to correlate those two statements, then THINK about this...How many people in the armed forces are ESL citizens? And how many of their parents live in the US, but still can't speak English? BOOM! Because they can't speak English, does that mean they're not supportive of soldiers who die for us? I DON'T agree with the statement and I won't be reposting it AT ALL...Does that make me a bad American? F@$% NO!!! I come from a military family and have the utmost respect for those who serve, sacrifice of themselves, and bravely go into battle to secure our freedom. I will not deny that; but to pair that with an IGNORANT and unnecessary point, is disgusting.
Case in point, my mom moved to the US from the Philippines when she was 13. Instead of trying to help her get acclimated to US living and culture, the kids in her school, ridiculed and teased her for being FOB...Yay Americans! People come here to make a better life for themselves; that's one view on "living the American Dream." Instead of recognizing that, we try and belittle them for their lack of English skills. FAIL!
Yes, I tease the Filipino accent and I post funny youtube.com clips that poke fun at the culture and the pronunciation. But it's all in good fun, not out of malice. The type of "attitude" that's expressed in that status post is the reason why a lot of ESL people choose not to speak English. They fear judgement and being ridiculed, so they play it safe and stick to their first language.
You can call me sensitive, and maybe I am. But when it comes to this type of shit, I get hyped up. I've lived this type of harassment first hand. A lady once asked my mom if she was Asian, then asked her to translate to a woman who was Laotian...IGNORANCE...True story; my mom had to explain that she was Filipino and that the other lady was Laotian; 2 different cultures and languages...To which the lady replied, "But you're Asian right? Can you just tell her blah, blah, blah?"
That's who/what I equate the statement with...Before you go reposting ignorant shit like that, THINK about the message it's really conveying...How many of your friends or FAMILY members are ESL, or married to someone who is ESL? Get your minds right! If you're going to repost it, edit it, like my girl Kristen did with the following:
"GOD BLESS AMERICA! Remember only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, JESUS CHRIST and the AMERICAN SOLDIER. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom. If you agree... copy and paste in your status"
We live in a melting pot of cultures...in AMERICA...Open your damn minds and accept that.
No comments:
Post a Comment