Insanity OF Xenophobia: Watch This Connecticut Town Hall Erupt In Madness

Watch as a question is asked in Spanish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeXJNUIq3UM

The RWers freaking out are an extremely small minority here in this state.

My rep is Chris Murphy and he is quite awesome as well.

Bishop Alvarez "refused" to speak English and "demanded" to speak in Spanish.

It sure looked like he asked politely.

from Thursday on CSPAN right now. These people are crazy... they really have no sense and lack any coherent point. Fed completely by the FauxNews machine.

or a Klansman.

It makes me want to spray disinfectant on my hard drive.

The person posting the video on YouTube had the following message beside their screename and a picture of a crucified jesus. His page "Devout Catholic Vampire Slayer".

"Bishop Emilio Alvarez at health care town hall refuses to speak English at the heath care town hall.
Hispanic man demands Spanish be spoken at Health care town hall debate.
These people should be deported right now."

The majority in the audience do not speak Spanish. This is just another way of saying "fuck you" non Spanish speakers.

America should have one language - English and if you don't speak English then LEARN IT!

Long live the English language!

I see nothing wrong with that.

You see no problem in them not understanding the question in Spanish? The majority of non-Spanish should over rule speaking in Spanish - should it not? The majority of non-Spanish speaking should over-rule the 2 in the audience that speak Spanish - is that correct?

and used sign, with a translator there so that hearing people would understand, would you be so upset? Or would you have had him struggle to speak in a way he didn't feel as confident?

They first came over from New York then came to CT. In some towns in CT Spanish is spoken more the English. Just go to Meriden or Waterbury. I don't have a problem with it as the kids are taught English in the schools. I have worked with many Puerto Ricans and they were all bilingual. Most here don't think its a big deal and the English language was not the first language spoken in the U.S.
Besides, Xenophobia freaks me out.

In a world where most countries are at least bilingual and where most countries have adopted English as a matter of course, it would probably more behoove us to learn more languages ourselves. It's pretty damn arrogant not to, actually.

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But "than" again, you might not be too familiar with English either.

You know, English was not the first language of many of America's heroes, many of the people who made this country and made it excel, from Christopher Columbus to the slaves dragged here to build it to myriad inventors, business leaders and small-town citizens who simply made, amd still make, its day-to-day workings possible. The question was translated, so no one was left out of understanding. It was respectfully asked, respectfully answered, and the only obscenities I heard were the angry shouts of a mob denying a man the right to ask an important question in the way he would ask it best, his native language. To deny anyone the right to speak their mother tongue when it helps them reach a better understanding and doesn't keep anyone else from being in the loop strikes me as unnecessarily and cruelly restrictive. Do you really want that? Or does it symbolize a loss of majority and power that is frightening?

:hi:

already here. Peace out.

English-speaking life, to express himself in the way he wanted; my in-laws have the same problem. For complex matters, Arabic is FAR better for them. Inasmuch as the question and answer were translated for the rest of the audience, what, then, is the problem?

BTW, I agree with you - "when in Rome", etc.

That for monolingual wingers "Speak English" means "Talk sense". I think he found it hard to believe.

I heard Garrison Keillor joke about this once, too, that people in Europe speak Italian and French and so forth "just to be different."

Another very smart German (probably) said: "He who knows no foreign language knows nothing of his own." So, these folks ...

My belief is that the Hispanic-speaking bishop wanted to ask the question so that his non-English-speaking Hispanic friends could hear his question.

As I state in this same post elsewhere on DU (?) what arrangements were made for the non-speaking/hearing/English-speaking audience?