Stupidectomy Doomed to Failure

Most of us know that you can’t fix stupid and I saw another tired example of it last night in response to making English the official of the United States. Most of those seeking such status aim their exclusivity at Spanish speaking people oblivious to the fact that more than 30 languages are spoken daily in the nation.

“Language racists” as I call them fail to see the importance of speaking another language in their own country. For instance, speaking another language could improve business opportunities and produce better community relations. I call the “language racists” because their tunnel vision reasoning is similar to the myopic vision of bigots who miss the entire big picture of the benefits of “diversity.”

“America”, which is used incorrectly to refer to the United States, extends from the far reaches of Alaska to the hinterlands of Chile. The number language spoken in that vast area is also just as varied as it is in the United States. There is a lot of the land “south of the border” and only a small portion of it is Mexico, nor are all the people below the border Mexican.

There is no reasoning with such stupidity. Hundreds of thousands of people from other countries visit the United States regularly and rarely do they run into anyone speaking their language unless it is a relative or friend. Is it arrogance, ignorance, or indifference? In my opinion it is a little of each. We travel to other countries and expect English understanding, but we seem unaware that we don’t do the same.

For “language racists,” the answer is ignorance. They are so offended by “brown people” that they are blinded to the realities surrounding immigration, including benefits. US marketing firms “get it” as entire advertising campaigns aim at Spanish speakers. Almost every major city television media outlet has affiliations with Spanish equivalent.  Going even further, some US hotel chains offer Japanese, Arabic and Vietnamese.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a stupidectomy and even if there were, those in need of the procedure would be unaware because of their ignorance.

Sayin' What You mean Ain't Always Meaning What You Say

I grew up in a middle-class black family in a little town named Independence, Kansas. Being middle-class in those days had little meaning other than some degree of education accompanied the appellation. As children we were taught to speak "proper" English at home and Catholic School, but what we heard on the block was a mish-mash of Spanish, slaughtered English and jive By the time I began traveling on the road as a professional musician I could walk in both worlds without thinking about it.

 

Collective Pronoun

 

Normally, "we" is considered a collective pronoun, meaning an entire group, congregation or gathering. During those days if someone from the white community shouted, "We need to leave,there would be no doubt the speaker meant the entire group. However, in the black community "we" became a singular pronoun because whomever shouted "We gotta get up out of here," was already far in front of the rest of the group which would be divided into sub-groups according to speed.

 

Grammar

 

It's not always like that, but it's a piece of information that has little bearing on anything except bringing a smile to your face.