When I watched Ana and Roxana’s interview with Jorge Ramos of Univision last week, I was struck by an irony. Roxana spoke about the fact that the Latino community used to be all for assimilation, thus interested in teaching their kids to be as American as possible, which meant speaking English only (or at least more than Spanish). As evidenced by the growing numbers of SpanglishBaby supporters and the flurry of national conversation about bilingualism, this attitude is changing. The irony is that as the previous generation’s fear of acting or speaking like a Latino is on its way out, white culture has adopted that fear in reverse.
By that, I mean that some whites are now even more hateful toward Latino immigrants and their children than they were before this minority had any chance of becoming the majority. Although there are many non-Hispanic Americans like myself, who are interested in and passionate about giving our children a multicultural and multilingual upbringing, a huge demographic segment still resists the influx of Latinos to this country. Because it’s become harder for these people to avoid all things Latino (por ejemplo: “Press 1 for English, para español marque 2”), they are buckling down and holding tight to somewhat ridiculous representations of white America.
Since when have we cared if road signs or bathroom signs are written in both Spanish and English? Are people truly inconvenienced by extra text that makes no sense to them?
Why do some people get frustrated that their electronics instruction manual is translated into Spanish? That inclusion is just good business sense on the part of the manufacturer.
I admitted in a previous post that the prevalence of Spanish is also difficult for me, even if I understand the words. Yet, I’m not complaining about its availability for those who need it. In fact, I’d rather have warning signs and instructions written in Spanish than endure the consequences of people not following them because they can’t read English. To me, constant visual reminders of how many people in our country would rather read the Spanish part of the sign causes me to pause and be grateful for living in a place where people can thrive (not just get by) even when they do not speak the majority language.
In a time of great change, there will always be backlash. Fears are natural, and both Latinos and whites have felt this particular one – that their comfort zone is slipping away. Because we’ve both felt it, though, we should be more capable of understanding why the other group needs some reminders of home. I can only hope that this culture war inspires people to be more flexible, and especially causes whites to finally see the difference between cultural dominance and the reality of the “melting pot” we claim we have always had. Are we ready for the fact that some people will never mix in that pot, and therefore be ready to accommodate everyone?
{Photo by incolor-inc}
As a Spanish college professor I still see this to be a problem, so I’ve worried that my 5 yo daughter didn’t see herself as Latina (Mexican). The other day, while we waited a Children’s Close to home clinic because she had an ear infection I became a very proud Mexican mamá. Isa was playing with a little boy (white) and they were speaking English. I then said something to her in Spanish and the boy asked my daughter “what is that?” She responded very securely and, I would even say, proudly: “That is Spanish. It is another language.” The boy’s response was that he also spoke Spanish, to what my daughter responded “well, we are Mexican.” For the first time I heard her identify with a culture, our culture, but I also detected a tone of pride in her own words. Being Mexican, for her means being able to speak Spanish, but it also means a right to use that language to communicate between us. I’m very happy to know that, at least for now, she know who she is and where she is from.
I agree with you that warning signs, instructions, and emergency services should be in Spanish for safety purposes, but that’s all. I think we have a small, but very vocal group of people who make a living by providng services to the dependent Spanish speaking population, and they would like to keep it that way. And before anybody jumps on me, I’m not saying that it’s wrong to be bilingual, only that one of those languages should be English so that the individual can fully contribute and participate in American life.
My mom moved to the States 2 years ago. She is a legal resident and is trying really hard to adapt to the culture and language, but it has been extremely difficult! Learning a second language as an adult is more challenging than she anticipated… Sadly, in Utah we have the “English Only” law and she has not been able to get a driver’s license because of her limited English. She goes to English classes, watches tv in English, and is doing an honest effort to learn, still, when she goes to the store and is unable to communicate with the cashier, she has been offended and discriminated against. People feel they have the right to tell her that she is in American and needs to learn English. Little do they know the many tears she’s cried for being discriminated in a Country that claims to be accepting of all people…
I understand that people need to learn English but it is not possible for everyone and we should be more understanding…
Hi Chelsea,
Jut a quick note to point out that we, as Hispanics, sometimes unknowingly plant the seeds for this divide by thinking about it as “us” and “them”. While my intention is not to minimize the importance of all the great points you make on your post, I would point out that it’s not about “the whites” vs. us Hispanics. If you read your post carefully, you characterize “them” as “white,” when in fact language has very little to do with race and much to do with culture and Heritage. Living in Miami, for example, I am used to the large Cuban population, which is largely of the white race. At the same time, a large portion of our “American/Non-Hispanic” counterparts happen not to be white — many are African American, many are of Asian descent, etc. Anyway, I know this is not necessarily the topic of your post — which again, has some very valuable information. However, I feel it is important to point this out so we don’t add to the misunderstandings that deepen the division.