realjohnboy wrote:Forgive me for injecting this little essay into the personal attacks on each other by whomever and whomever. I must admit I scroll past the postings. Have yall considered conducting the discussion via pm? I suspect that many of the rest of us don't really give a **** about who can insult whom the quickest. And do we have to see it go on and on and on?
I heard this story today (which I can source if asked) about Clarkston, GA. It is a suburb of Atlanta. It has gone from being 90% white to 66% white and 34% "mixed" in a few years. The story rather sloppily defined mixed, but it includes blacks, hispanics, as well as folks from Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and what used to be Yugoslavia.
The story was about a soccer club made up of 6-15 year olds who call themselves the 'Fugees. Clever name, that, a shortening of refugees. Coached by a white woman who not only teaches soccer but also sets aside time for homework and emphasizes the "no drugs, no sex, no alcohol, no baggy pants" theme.
The story wanted to go to the problem the 'Fugees were having in finding a practice field but the mayor had what, in my mind, was a fine explanation.
I am going somewhere with this. Trust me.
The owner of an Eritrean (formerly the northern part of Ethiopia) store said something to the effect that "It is not easy to mix people. It takes time to understand people."
We talked briefly a day or so ago about assimilation. I would like to revisit that. We have had these waves of immigrants over the last couple of centuries. And quick assimilation didn't happen. The Irish lived and worked here, the Germans there, the Jews over here and the Chinese there. Assimilation was a long process, and we never got into their world and they, for the most part, never got into our world.
But now I go in the 7-11 and the clerks are Indian or Pakistani and the guys doing my yard work are Mexican or Honduran. They are much more visible than the colonies of immigrants who stayed hidden from the most of the rest of us in the past. And they talk to each other not in English.
Which brings me back to Clarkston, GA. I hope that smart young lady who runs that team will include kids named Billybob and MarySue on her roster.
Thank you for reading this, if you did indeed read this. -I am realjohnboy-
Well so far you haven't said anything that at least the more reasonable people participating on this thread haven't also said and acknowledged. We have discussed and agreed that assimilation is not always a quick and easy process which, at least in my mind, is another good argument for not attempting it at a rate faster than it can be effectively accomplished. We've also discussed that Haika and Ramish and Jose are welcome along with Billybob and MarySue and a person's race, ethnicity, country of origin, or first language need have no bearing on a person's desire to be a productive citizen who loves America.
I don't think anybody thinks immigrants should not use their first language. But the fact is, anybody who wants to do business with me better be able to speak English too. And I think that's a quite reasonable policy in the interest of a common language that makes assimilation much easier. Nor is it in any way unreasonable to expect anybody who drives or participates in any tasks where reading signs or following directions is of importance to be able to read English. A US citizen should be able to take and pass necessary tests written in English and should be able to read a ballot and vote in English.
I'm not sure exactly where you ended up with your post, however. Are you worried that there will be no place for Billybob or MarySue at all?
_________________
--Foxfyre
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I?-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference
