More Opposition to Crafton’s English-Only Proposal
As we reported here, Eric Crafton is once more attempting to make English the “official” language of Davidson County. This, despite the fact that English is the de facto means of communication in the entire state of Tennessee.
After our post yesterday, some folks in the Hispanic, academic and legal communities emailed me to chime in on the debate.
Among them is Gregg Ramos, a U.S. born Mexican-American and partner at the law firm North, Purcell, Ramos and Jameson. Fabian Bedne, president of the Middle TN Hispanic Democrats, and Vanderbilt sociologist Katherine Donato, also reached out to share their opinions.
They all make persuasive arguments against the Crafton effort, but Donato’s is particularly illuminating. She cites census data showing that 20 percent of Tennessee’s foreign-born population speak only English, and that over 40 percent “reported speaking English very well,” while another 23.5 percent speak English “well.” More census data on immigrants and English here.
Donato also points to a 2004 Pew Hispanic Center survey, which states that “the view that immigrants have to learn English is held by a majority of Latinos, regardless of how much money they make or their level of education.”
“These statistics show that many immigrants in Tennessee already know and speak English,” says Donato. “Given that one in five foreign-born persons in Tennessee already only speak English, and of those remaining, the majority speak English well or very well, I cannot understand why anyone would support an English-only referendum.”
See what the others have to say, after the jump…
Gregg Ramos
It is unfortunate that Mr. Crafton is resurrecting this divisive battle that ultimately will benefit no one. There are many things in life for which we do not need yet another law, and an English-only law certainly is at the top of that list. It's just not necessary here in Nashville in 2008. Somehow, Nashville has managed to survive for over 200 years without such a law.Newly arrived immigrants don't need a law to tell them that they will more effectively overcome the many economic and social barriers they face with a knowledge and command of the English language…. Rather than proposing a largely symbolic but ultimately ineffective law that only serves to make the integration process harder, Mr. Crafton, if he truly wanted to help, should be advocating for more resources to improve and increase the number of English classes for immigrants. Such classes are too scarce and overcrowded at present. They are overcrowded with immigrants who are doing everything possible to learn the English language and to make their lives better in this, the greatest and most accepting country in the world.
We will come together to show that there are many other humane, respectful, dignified and truly Christian ways to assist our immigrant population in the integration process. Mr. Crafton's divisive and ultimately ineffective law, on the other hand, will only serve to polarize our community. It will accomplish nothing tangible.
Fabian Bedne
I am an immigrant. I have lived in the USA for about 18 years. I was raised speaking Spanish and now I communicate in English. Why did I decide to learn English? Was it because it was the law? Not really. I did it for the same reason countless immigrants do it, because we come here to be part of this amazing community, and to be successful you have to do it in English. I don't think anyone who comes here comes not wanting to learn English. But anyone who's ever taken a foreign language class in school should be able to relate to how hard it is…. Will passing this referendum affect immigrants having a hard time learning English, or will it affect the rest of us? I believe that the second is the case. Not only do we need to effectively communicate and be able to get information from all Nashvillians, we also need to continue to show that Nashville is a city that looks forward to foreign investment and new ideas. We all benefited when Nissan moved to town, when international conferences are held here, when international students and researchers come to our universities, and when tourists visit the city. But all new ideas reflect the place they come from. And all the new ideas from Nashville will be better for the input of all the cultures that exist here.
Comments
I like that the eagle says, "Please."
Posted 06/10/2008 at 03:40:36 PMThe American eagle. Majestic. Brave. Polite.
Posted 06/10/2008 at 03:58:37 PMI don't know. I think the eagle kind of looks like it's giving the Sieg Heil salute.
Posted 06/10/2008 at 04:55:01 PMDoes this mean we'll have to surrender our "friendliest city" title? That may not bode well with Chamber of Commerce types.
Posted 06/10/2008 at 06:00:35 PMOne problem with Donato siting census data... census data is only for LEGAL folks! idiot...
Why are folks so adament that this has NO benefit to our community? The benefit of declaring English the official language of Metro is that it forces our guests to assimilate into our community. That's right, OUR community... OUR society... AMERICAN society... AMERICAN culture.
Whether you realize it or not YOU have assimilated to our culture.
Stop being an apologizer and embarrassed of the greatest country ever formed on this great planet. Celebrate our diversity by encouraging immigrants to assimilate and actively participate.
Posted 06/11/2008 at 10:29:10 AMActually Robert, the census absolutely questions everyone they can get their hands on, citizens or not. In fact, you don’t even have to be a citizen to WORK for the U.S. census. Silly…
Posted 06/11/2008 at 10:47:30 AMOne problem with Donato siting census data... census data is only for LEGAL folks! idiot...
Census data is for all residents of the USA, legal or not. The Census only records demographic information and doesn't care about immigration status.
Now who is the idiot?
Posted 06/11/2008 at 10:48:33 AM*raises hand*
Is it Robert?
Posted 06/11/2008 at 04:35:52 PMI know, I know - Robert!
Posted 06/11/2008 at 04:37:35 PMGot one of those robocalls asking me to support Eric Crafton's bill today. Full of dog-whistles like, "should taxpayers pay for the government to operate in languages ranging from Spanish to Arabic ..." Oooh! Scary!
And very stupid.
Posted 06/11/2008 at 05:18:21 PMSince "Speak English" is in quotes, does that mean they really shouldn't speak English?
Posted 06/11/2008 at 07:16:17 PMGood point Marvin. Until quotes and apostrophes (Cheeseburger's ---- $2.00 ea) are properly understood and used by the indigenous population, I don't think it's fair to make anyone else speak English.
Posted 06/12/2008 at 05:22:36 PMCelebrate our diversity by encouraging immigrants to assimilate and actively participate.
Yes. And then celebrate your nonconformity by pledging a fraternity.
Posted 06/12/2008 at 08:43:43 PM