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Originally Posted by knox
I did not imply that at all.
I asked if you used that old trick racists use, but I did not say you were a racist. Slightly xenophobe, maybe.
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There's nothing xenophobic about anything I've said, either. Do you think that belieiving in an "official language" goes hand in hand with xenophobia? Consider this:
1. My mother is an immigrant who lived in this country for 40 years before becoming a citizen.
2. My father's father was an immigrant with very little money, who went to night school to learn English.
3. Instead of owning a home in New Jersey, where I can build equity and have some space and a nice yard, I pay rent to live in a tiny apartment in Manhattan. Why would I choose that if I didn't want to be around immigrants?
4. I share this tiny apartment with my girlfriend, who immigrated here from Asia and learned to speak English.
5. For 11 year, I have worked in a company where I have been one of the only Americans. My superiors and my peers in this company have come from about 20 different countries and represent almost every race. They all speak English.
You'd have a pretty tough time making a case that I'm a xenophobe. And yet I believe in an official language. It is not a contradiction. I even think you'd be surprised how many American immigrants, who didn't originally speak English, believe in English as an official language. I understand there are practical limitations for some people, such as money for English classes, etc. As someone posted earlier, maybe the government could sponsor this for people in need. The point is that if people don't have the desire to be able to communicate with other Americans, then I don't think they should live here.