Comments on: Mrs. Hocker

By: extremecentrist

extremecentrist — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:26:07 +0000

Please, please, please, please don't think that Sarah Palin and her idiot followers are representative of most US citizens. They most definitely are not. They're in the news because they make a lot of noise. The vast majority of Americans think Sarah Palin is a joke.

Just as every Arab is not a terrorist jihadi, and every European is not an smelly effite snob, neither is every American an ignorant xenophobe.

Also, of course I can't speak to your specific experiences, but I'd suspect that people aren't so much upset that Spanish is being spoken at all, but rather that immigrants from Latin America are often difficult to do business with because their English is poor or non-existant. As a tourist in Germany, for example, I would try to learn some German. If I were to emigrate to Germany to work, I'd strive to learn good, idiomatic German.

By: Wolfgang

Wolfgang — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 10:48:00 +0000

Alot of them do in California and Florida. I was on vacation in Florida and many Americans were complaining about Spanish being spoken. We also see in the European media that Palin has a large following in the US. She seems to control the opinion on political issues.

By: extremecentrist

extremecentrist — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 09:22:00 +0000

What Americans get angry when they hear Spanish spoken inside the USA?

Please don't assume all Americans are Fox News, Tea Party whack-nuts. That's just a small, but loud, minority.

By: Wolfgang

Wolfgang — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 15:03:37 +0000

Interesting, people in Europe have more understanding for foreign languages. My daughter speaks German, French and English. I you live in Europe you have to adjust to the multicultural world. I know from Americans that they get angry when the hear Spanish spoken in side of the USA.

By: extremecentrist

extremecentrist — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:33:06 +0000

I'm not following how the original post evoked this response, coatsmoe. Just because the fellow mentioned that Arabic was being spoken, how does that equate to racism? It's just a statement of fact. Could just as easily have been English (if the poster was a non-English speaker), Swahili, Urdu, or Klingit. A poorly behaved fellow passenger is what the post is about.

By the way, I detest "Do you believe in Jesus" as well, where ever I hear it. I realize they're just trying to help, but it's hard to be polite when people are delusional. I am a native born US citizen, by the way.

By: extremecentrist

extremecentrist — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:23:26 +0000

She meant that automatically assuming that the poster was from the US was "racialism," even though the US is a country, not a race.

By the way, everyone, "racialism" is not a word. Try "racism."

By: Gaetano

Gaetano — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 10:30:27 +0000

What do you mean with "I think you also need to check your racialism."?

By: Jodi

Jodi — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:28:58 +0000

I agree with Patty – who said the writer was American?

By: Patty

Patty — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:33:24 +0000

I think I missed the part where the poster says he's American. He could have been Canadian or Mexican. I think you also need to check your racialism.

By: coatesmoe

coatesmoe — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 04:53:47 +0000

It is always interesting to read about America on the road. The first impression that they give is that America is a superior culture. Non Americans are subhuman and normally unclean coming from less democratic countries. The smells, looks and of course the foreign languages are negatives that one has to take into consideration and endure. A trip to Europe is comparable to Dr. Livingston´s travel through the dark continent. It has always been a strain to travel with these clean boys and watch them spray mouthwash into their mouths and sanitize their hands with blue bottles after shaking the hands of some European CEO. Then there are the night wanderings through the red light districts and the required question "Do you believe in Jesus?". Mom or the wife has to be contacted two to three times a day to assure the home folks that they are still alive in good old Europe. I have gone through so many three day business trips and had to suffer with the limited flexability and was always surprised with the limited knowledge of Europe that they pack in their overnight bags. Never the less it is interesting to hear about where the individual American is coming from and what their expectation is toward the future. Americans can be very enjoyable and fun to be with. I would suggest that they bring a bit more openness to others and a little less racialism.