How does a “quip” become policy by stealth?

The Governor “quipped,” but the underlying message was serious. Others in the same situation have not quipped, but said in no uncertain terms that Americans had better start learning Spanish. In more and more professions, institutions and areas of life, Spanish fluency is now required. Spanish is becoming a de facto language of this country, even as the immigration proponents keep telling us that the immigrants are assimilating and learning English, and therefore that there’s no reason to worry about immigration, and therefore that anyone who does oppose immigration is a bigot and ought to shut up.

Greetings,

Even if we assume your argument is correct in that many will have to learn Spanish, I’d suggest that English would still be a needed language, in business, technical and for legal reasons.

English is one of the few languages out there that is constantly growing, adding vocabulary every day. In this way, English has a distint advantage over such languages as French and Spanish which are “controlled” by their Royal Acadamies.

I suppose, another example could be India, where if memory serves me right there are over 800 languages spoken. Hence, for all to understand each other the “official” language is English. To a lesser extant, this could also apply to Belgium and other of the “Low Land” countries, and maybe to even some of the Nordic countries.

Just a thought.

As ever, respectfully,

Mr. gil continues to demonstrate his talent for the gentle non sequitur, the intent (or at least the effect) of which is to make fundamental issues disappear. The issue I raised was not: “Wouldn’t it be nice for America to be like India, with hundreds of languages and dialects, but with one or two common languages, English among them, spoken by elites?” The issue I raised was the deceptive strategy by which immigration proponents disarm America, telling us that immigrants are all adapting to our language and culture and that immigration should therefore continue apace, even as the actual immigrants are not adapting to our language and culture (at least in any complete or meaningful way), but are forcing us, step by step, to adapt to theirs.

It is not, by the way, the fault of unassimilable immigrants (certainly unassimilable in such large numbers) that they are not assimilating . It is OUR fault for letting them in.

Now let’s watch Mr. gil change the subject yet again.

The newsman was inaccurate in referring to the remark as a quip. The remark was blatant demagoguery and taunting, in other words, a slur. Ironically, this might be good. If Hispanics support fools like Virginia’s governor, they are going to have much greater difficulty gathering allies. Let me urge others that find the remark threatening to use your outrage right now and begin a letter to your representatives asking them to support immigration reform and to demand an apology from the boorish Governor. Remember any fellow procrastinators, one little step at a time. Just grab an envelope today. Just get your representative’s address tomorrow, and so on. At the end of it all, you fought back.

As I think about this further, it strikes me that there is something exceptional about Gov. Warner’s remark. Of course, the same kind of thing has been said in the past (often with a threatening or triumphal air) by Hispanic activists, by a former Hispanic mayor of Miami, and so on. But this is the first time to my knowledge that a high-level, English-speaking, native-born American official said in public that Americans have got to learn Spanish so as to accommodate Spanish speaking immigrants. So, as Mr. Murgos suggested, I thought it was worth a letter. Here is what I wrote (for regular mail) to Gov. Warner:

November 20, 2002

Honorable Mark R. Warner
State Capitol, 3rd Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219
(804) 786-2211

Dear Governor Warner:

I am deeply disturbed that you addressed a conference of Hispanic activists in your state by delivering your remarks in the Spanish language for several minutes and then, according to the Washington Post, remarked that if there was anyone who couldn’t understand what you were saying, “If you don’t know Spanish, learn it.”

Governor, the language of this country is English. The vast numbers of immigrants we’ve admitted in recent decades were admitted on the understanding that they would adapt to OUR language and culture, not that we would have to adapt to THEIRS. If the real consequence of Hispanic immigration is that we must all start speaking Spanish, then our entire mass immigration policy is revealed as a fraud and there is no excuse for continuing it.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Auster

It’s simply amazing. The U.S. political/bureacratic/academic elite encourages Spanish-speaking immigrants NOT to assimilate. There are bilingual ballots in elections, politicians pander in Spanish, and bilingual education further impedes assimilation. Here in Mexico, the Mexican government doesn’t provide me with services in English, nor would I expect it too. Why should they, it’s their country! The Mexican elite, by the way, see the growth of Spanish in the U.S. for what it is - a conquest. See my article “Spanish and the New Conquistadors” - http://www.vdare.com/awall/conquistadors.htm
for documentation.

My apologies. When I wrote the word “bureaucratic”, I forgot the second u.
Sorry about that!

Mr. Auster having inspired me to delay not a minute, here is my letter.

Dear Congressman…

Congratulations on your recent landslide reelection. At your urging, I have sent a contribution towards the election of ….

I was deeply offended after reading that Governor Mark Warner of Virginia addressed Hispanic activists in Spanish for several minutes and then taunted, “If you don’t know Spanish, learn it.” (Attached is the news article.) Please demand an apology from Mr. Warner, who behaved as a demagogue. His address and telephone number are State Capitol, 3rd Floor, Richmond, Virginia 23219, (804) 786-2211.

If the immigration trend continues, there will no longer be anything left to fight for, which seems to be just fine with Governor Warner as long as he can get elected. Let me therefore again urge you to stand and join Congressman Tancredo’s immigration reform caucus. I am also attaching Mr. Steve Sailer’s recent report proving it is good political sense to stand for immigration reform. It is a winning stance.

Sincerely,

Earlier posters have covered the larger issues raised by Governor Warner’s disgraceful cultural capitulation (and in the Old Dominion; for shame!), so I’ll only mention a baneful practical consequence, one that has been covered on VDare and elsewhere. Tolerance of foreign languages as languages of business and government in the United States is creating a situation where large-scale employment discrimination in favor of immigrants and against natives is encouraged. It is excused as skills-based: “to perform job x adequately requires proficiency in Spanish/Cantonese/Vietnamese”, etc. ad nauseam. Naturally native speakers of those languages are the “most qualified,” if we accept language skill as the critical qualification. HRS

Here’s mine (to be sent in tomorrow’s mail):

The Dishonorable Mark R. Warner, “Governor”
State Capitol, 3rd Floor
Richmond, Virginia 23219

Sir:

The word nausea would be too weak to describe the sensation I felt in the pit of my stomach as I read how you addressed a group of Hispanic activists in a foreign language, then told Americans in the audience that if they didn’t understand that language, to go learn it.

Since when must Americans know any language but their beloved native English in order to communicate with their elected officials?

You do not deserve to hold public office anywhere in the U.S. You disgrace your state and defile the soil of Virginia where were bred such as Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Robert E. Lee. Until you are chased from office, Put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground. (Acts 7, 33 — or am I obliged to quote that for you in Spanish?)

[Signed, etc.]

unadorned, you are my idol. your sarcism is so bitter i can’t help but feel a twinge of pain when i read your posts, particularly that letter. please, please send it.

Remus, thanks for the kind words. (My letter was sent today, of course — exactly as it appears above, with the addition of my real name and address. The envelope was addressed to The Dishonorable Mark Warner, exactly as the letter itself, above — with Governor in quotes. He’s getting off easy — this guy deserves to be called a lot worse than I called him.)

Presumably Unadorned would like his letter to Gov. Warner to be read and, in conjunction with a batch of other, similar letters, to make an impression on his staff and ultimately on him. I don’t see how addressing the letter to the “Dishonorable Mark Warner” helps achieve that goal. Most likely, his staff will just toss it.

Mr. Auster, of course you’re right, and thanks for mentioning that. I guess I figured they’d throw my letter out either way — before opening it, or afer opening it and seeing the same wording inside. But you’re correct in pointing out that folks who want their protests to be read by the governor’s staff and by him had best not compose them in such an in-your-face way as I did. (Your letter, Larry, and Mr. Murgos’ letter would both be excellent examples of the right way to do it.)

I received a reply from Gov. Warner of Virginia, dated 1-17, to my complaint about his use of Spanish to a Latino Summit. It’s entirely non-responsive to my letter. Then he tells me he looks forward to hearing from me again. Not much chance of that.

“Dear Mr. Auster:

“Thank you for your letter and for taking the time to contact me with your opinions and comments regarding the Latino Summit.

“As you know, this was the first Latino Summit ever held in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I was honored to participate in this historical event because it demonstrates the strength that is generated, as a result of the diversity within our Commonwealth. The remarks that I delivered in Spanish were a reminder to all that we must embrace the different communities within our Commonwealth that make up the new face of Virginia.

“Thank you again for your letter. I look forward to hearing from you again.”