Once again Trump feeds the fringe’s hatred of the “other” Speaking more than one language is an asset not a detriment in our Chief executive.
Sr. Trump, que es una buena cosa que hablar más de un idioma. Es un activo cuando se trata de otros Jefes de Estado, ya que muestra el respeto, pero no sabría nada de eso.
I have visited a lot of countries in this world. I’ve seen folks like Trump in may of them. They speak only English and seem put out when others don’t. Usually it ends badly with both sides disrespecting the other. I’ve found that if I make the effort, even if fractured, to show respect and speak the other’s language I get a friendly response. What Trump is selling to his knuckle dragging base is demagoguery, racism and disrespect of people different from himself. he is attempting to slyly say I’M BETTER THAN YOU BECAUSE I AM AN AMERICAN!!!
Trump is the classic ugly American.
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Unfortunately I agree with him. I speak German at home, never would do so publicly except in German speaking country. I lived in San Bernardino and I would go to bank and the folks would speak to me in Spanish first, just assuming because I lived there I spoke Spanish. I can speak a little, I do speak English, French, Romanian, Italian,and first language of German. In Europe as matter of manners you speak the tongue of the country. Spanish speakers in USA seem to not even try and to mix it even when they do not need to, They also have the irritating habit of doubling; They repeat parts in English and Spanish for emphasis for example " I have lived here five years Cinco anos" and such statements.
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Si.
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… It’s kind of hard to believe just how bigoted and racist Trump truly is. It’s just so damn racist and bigoted. And so in the open!
However, it’s sadly very easy to believe that it’s precisely due to this that Trump is #1 in the GOP Primary.
P.S. I’ve heard this BS too many times from White people. Thankfully it hasn’t happened in a few years now. It’s kind of depressing to hear it yet again. Imagine talking with family and/or friends, and some random asshole says: “You’re in the US, you should speak English!”. I never dignify the comment with a reply. It’s not my policy to engage douche-bags in conversation.
Nope, just my opinion.
Of all the dog-whistles this one is pretty bald. It hearkens back to things like the “re-education” of Native Americans and stuff like that. It says that white american christian culture is the only acceptable standard and speaking only English is a big part of that mindset.
And to put a finer point on it, when they say English-only they are only talking about no Spanish. So the racism inherent in the movement is pretty grim. It comes from the same place as the loud criticism against Black Vernacular English, but those same critics don’t denounce Asian communities for keeping their cultural heritage alive, for example.
In my opinion, its not about actually making people speak only English. How could it be? How is that enforced? Who pays for the language lessons? What about the older immigrants who will never learn English no matter how hard they try? No, it is just a clever way of saying “Get out of my white country you spic/nigger!” and I think the various minority communities understand that better than anyone.
Again, just my opinion.
EDIT: Its another nod to guys like this: Trump Supporter tells American Jorge Ramos to “Get out of my country!”
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I live in Tucson. Around 35% of our population uses Spanish as the lingua franca of social interaction and business. So, it behooves those of us who don’t speak the language fluently (I am one) to have at least a passing understanding. Out of respect if for no other reason. I consider it an asset to be multilingual. Trump sees it as unnecessary as everyone should speak only English because that’s all he understands. We need to see his over riding selfishness. My wife and I plan to visit France next year and we’re taking lessons in French basically to show respect to our hosts. Trump if he were in our shoes would assume all would speak English. His motivation is not generosity but rather selfishness.
I envy your language ability. I wish I were fluent in more than just English.
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Problem with Trump is that once you engage him he keeps coming back. I dont see how this back and forth is doing Jeb any good since he’s having to restate his conservative credentials each time Trump takes a shot @ him.
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He wants to attack Jeb! for one of the very few admirable things about him? How very Republican. Yes, Trump could be the nominee after all.
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It would benefit all our children to learn multiple languages. As I told my son it is all about open doors the more you learn of language, math, history the more doors remain open and opportunities are enlarged. Language facility has benefited me throughout my life.
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He’s thinking, “Goddammit, Trump’s made me look like a gullible, naive fool in less than 24 hours.”
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Shut-down lines – a staple of GOTP campaigning since the Birth of the (Southern Strategy) Nation – have been surprisingly absent from Trump’s opponents.
The Dem nominee is going to walk all over the lifeless body of the GOTP nominee in the general.
Or, at a minimum, he could speak from his mouth instead of his rectum.
I know that Trump speaks something he claims to be English— he should learn ho to speak the real thing.
I have never seen anyone outside a comedy club do a better job of throwing a saddle on a man and riding him around like Katherine Harris on a horse
JEB!'s feeble jabs at Trump are like sprinkling a mouse with catnip before a predatory cat
Trump takes a nap, has something to eat scares the beejbus out of his pet JEB! - then repeats the cycle
I see a double standard at work here. Trump has never made the same demand on Sarah Palin.
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Right on…I thought maybe you had some data I wasn’t aware of, but it’s an opinion I can certainly agree with. I always conceptualize it as being that the whole point is really just to use “English only” sentiment not so much as a “we’ll police you to make sure you no speak-a anything else” but to make sure that all official business is done in English only so as to create more barriers to entry and participation. It’s a premise for exclusionary policy that pretends not to be, just like the voter ID nonsense.
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I think you have a reasonable point, but I believe darrtown hit the nail on the head. Trump couldn’t be bothered to be respectful to other nationalities by learning or speaking one’s native language. The other side of the coin is that there is no national official language in the USA. However, in 31 states English is the official language, and Hawaii has both English and Hawaiian as official languages. The USA is a truly a multilingual country. Always has been. Likely always will. Can’t speak English much in any US Chinatown, Koreatown, Vietnamesetown, Creole or native american or latino districts (used to be Irishtown, Germantown, Polish quarter, etc.)
The only reason 31 states have English as the official language is because white English-speaking guys are in power. That will change with time, and English will no longer be the official language in these states.
Oh yes. Trump’s grandfather, Friedrich Drumpf, a german immigrant, probably didn’t speak much English when he hopped off the boat.
Yes! Exactly.
My POV of all this stems from growing up in a richly racist household. My old man, uncles, and all the guys that were around the house were the worst. In the 80s English-only was a huge topic, at least with those guys. And they minced no words about why they thought English only was the only way to go. You can’t speak English, you can’t live here was the least offensive of those rants. That topic is just a polite gateway that leads immediately to all sorts of racial slurs and stereotypes that we don’t speak about now in polite company. Made me sick as hell.
So when I see it trotted out now, I’m not sure everyone hears the dog whistle the same as I do. I hope so simply to avoid going down that ugly path again.
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