[Jaine Perotti]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

The problem with this renewed push for an official language in the U.S. is that in some influential circles, it's not at all about the convenience of communication, and all about the marginalization of those who aren't stereotypically American.

Excellent post, Tristan!

Encouraging immigrants to learn English is not exclusionary if done soley for the purpose of bettering communication. As someone here already said, most communication in this country is in English anyways, and it is still necessary for newcomers to this country to learn English in order to succeed.

Keeping this in mind, an official declaration of our language is really not needed. The fact that there is no need for such a law calls into question the motivation for introducing such a bill. Personally, I believe that the motivation is to treat non-native English speakers as second class citizens.

Originally Posted by Cody C

If it is illegal by our laws to come here through less than proper channels, then why shouldn't we treat those who do come here through those channels like criminals? If they tried to skip over the "transparent and just" system, why should they be shoved back into it? I agree that marginalizing a LEGAL minority is nothing but racist, but If the minority's very being here is breaking the law, then I don't see why they shouldn't be marginalized.

I agree that those who are criminals should be treated as such. The problem that I have is with the discrimination against those who, like Tristan said, are not stereotypically "American". I feel that our immigration system intentionally makes it very difficult to acquire a legal status - not because of the fear of terrorists (the system has been in place since before 9/11) - but because they want to "keep out" those who they perceive as being a threat to the existing culture (the Anglo-Saxon bubble that I referred to in my first post). This has happened throughout American history - the "old" immigrants have always made it difficult for the "new" immigrants to establish their identities as Americans.

When people complain about immigrants (legal ones) taking "American" jobs, I feel frustrated because in my view, these people ARE just as American as I am! Why is it that people who don't speak English are treated as something less than American?! This treatment is especially hypocritical coming from those who fit the "American" stereotype - people of European descent whose ancestors were immigrants once too! For example, my great grandfather came here from Italy speaking no English. But he worked hard making a living on a farm, had children, and in this way he established his family in this country. For a long period of time, Italians were discriminated against in this country and were viewed as "non-American". But I, his descendant, am now considered by society to be an "American". Why can't we allow modern immigrants to establish themselves in the same way? Why can't they be "Americans" too? Why can't they shape American culture in the same way that the English, Italians, Irish, Polish, Germans, etc. did before them?

To me, "American" isn't defined by ethnicity. You are an American if you have a desire to live in and contribute to this community. The deliberate attempt to strip people of their cultural identities does not contribute positively to the nation. The differences between cultures - and consequently those people's perspectives - are the things which make this country great. Establishing an official language (when it is not needed) is simply symbolic of trying to standardize the definition of "American" and prevent minorities from making a positive change to this country.

So, with that said, the problem I have is not so much with the direct effects of the law would be - but instead the message of racial discrimination that this law would represent.