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General discussion (archive)Some days, I'm really ashamed of my fellow Americans(364 posts)(364 posts)
(364 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted February 08, 2014
I need to stop hanging out in threads like this. :P I joined GOG to talk about serious stuff, like robbing Hammers, shooting zombies, and sucking the blood of Nazis. Think I'll go look for a thread about that stuff for a while. :D
Posted February 08, 2014
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infinite9: "Suppose to be" is not the same as "it is."

I will say that I would support a law recognizing English as the official language of the United States thereby relieving accountability for people who do not put up warning signs in Spanish.
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doccarnby: Stamping out minority languages goes hand-in-hand with stamping out minority cultures. Just look at Breton, or Welsh, or Cantonese. Give any thought to this and the only way one could consider forcing English is if one is trying to force people into becoming the majority culture.

I will never, ever support an official language law because an official language law goes against what the American Melting Pot is.
As movieman523 already stated, you must have a common language in order to have some type of melting pot. Melting pot means people of various cultures coming together to form one group of people.

Also, people would still be able to speak Spanish, French, German, Arabic, etc. under an official language system. They would just have to learn English in order to become naturalized US citizens and they would have to get used to the idea that their kids are going to have to understand English in order to properly attend school. As I already said a couple of times before, a national language helps people of a nation work with each other. Not having an official national language is just going to further divide Americans.
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doccarnby: Stamping out minority languages goes hand-in-hand with stamping out minority cultures. Just look at Breton, or Welsh, or Cantonese. Give any thought to this and the only way one could consider forcing English is if one is trying to force people into becoming the majority culture.

I will never, ever support an official language law because an official language law goes against what the American Melting Pot is.
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tinyE: You are arguing with someone who thinks George Washington was born in the United States. Save your breath. :P
I know damn well that George Washington was born in the colonies that would become the United States. Jokes on you.
Post edited February 08, 2014 by infinite9
Posted February 08, 2014
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infinite9: Also, people would still be able to speak Spanish, French, German, Arabic, etc. under an official language system. They would just have to learn English in order to become naturalized US citizens and they would have to get used to the idea that their kids are going to have to understand English in order to properly attend school. As I already said a couple of times before, a national language helps people of a nation work with each other. Not having an official national language is just going to further divide Americans.
Indeed. Almost every European country has a single official language (exceptions: Belgium has three, Switzerland four), but almost every European country affords protected status to minority languages and often allows their official use in specific regions (Welsh in the UK, Basque in Spain, North Frisian in Germany).

The death of the Occitan language is a perfect example of what happens a country doesn't protect a language, as France has done. Actually, that's not wholly accurate, because Italy affords protected status to Occitan, but most of the speakers are in France.
Post edited February 08, 2014 by jamyskis
Posted February 08, 2014
On second thought forget it.
I so don't care anymore. :P
Post edited February 08, 2014 by tinyE
Posted February 08, 2014
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tinyE: On second thought forget it.
I so don't care anymore. :P
When in doubt, just throw virtual poo and sausages. :)
Posted February 08, 2014
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jamyskis: (exceptions: Belgium has three, Switzerland four)
Finland two. Curiously, Sweden didn't have an official language until 2009. Swedish has been an official language in Finland for far longer than it has in Sweden.

.

Also: I don't know if by buying this album, of which just over half is in the Gascon dialect of Occitan could be considered supporting the language, but I recommend you give it a listen at least (I think it's great).
Post edited February 08, 2014 by Maighstir
Posted February 09, 2014
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tinyE: You don't have members of Canadian Parliament insisting they be able to fly symbols of racial segregation over capital buildings.
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movieman523: The city I now live in is mostly white, English-speaking Europeans, with the biggest minority being First Nations, who either work alongside the white Europeans or do their own thing in their own areas. There are a tiny number of French-speakers, and a moderate number of Asians and Indians, who mostly want to get along with the white Europeans and do well in whatever career they choose. I think I saw a black person once.

Compared to Britain and America, it's already racially segregated.

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doccarnby: You can't have the melting pot without multiculturalism.
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movieman523: The whole point of the 'melting pot' was for new immigrants to abandon their own culture and become Americans in a cohesive nation. Multiculturalism is the precise opposite, where everyone retains their own culture and see themselves as hyphenated Americans. It exists to destroy social cohesion, not to create it.
Baloney. The whole point of the "melting pot" was a pretext for the Roosevelt administration to slam the door on immigration from countries the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant power holders considered undesirable. The "melting pot" has never been an admirable characteristic of American society. We are only true to our ideal when we make unity out of many, not unity out of conformity.
Posted February 09, 2014
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movieman523: The whole point of the 'melting pot' was for new immigrants to abandon their own culture and become Americans in a cohesive nation. Multiculturalism is the precise opposite, where everyone retains their own culture and see themselves as hyphenated Americans. It exists to destroy social cohesion, not to create it.
Even if that was the original intention do you really think that works or is moral in today's society? We've come a long way since Native Americans were put in schools to learn how to behave like Western Europeans.

Everything changes. America today is about multiculturalism. It's a train you can't stop. A nation of immigrants, without a State-lead initiative to conform, will become multicultural by default.
Posted February 09, 2014
I'm going to complain to coca-cola since Serbian/Croatian was not present in the commercial and we all know our criminal organizations are strongest in the US!!11!!
Posted February 09, 2014
You should try reading Martin Lindstrom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXsXMbm4Jo4

commercials can make people stupid, offend them, start emotions all for the love of money
Posted February 09, 2014
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hedwards: -snip-
"Terrorist language"

Should i laugh or cry? XD
Post edited February 09, 2014 by iippo
Posted February 10, 2014
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movieman523: How can you have a 'melting pot' if the people can't even speak the same language?

The 'melting pot' was about people from different cultures becoming Americans, not Americans splitting into different cultures. Multiculturalism is the antithesis of the 'melting pot'.
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tinyE: Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Canada bilingual? Aside from the occasional hockey riot in Vancouver, and keeping in mind that everything is relative, you guys seem extremely peaceful and considerate of your fellow countrymen regardless of what they look like or what language they speak. When is the last time you heard a Canadian screaming, "If you don't speak the language get the fuck out of the country!"
Montreal?

Anyway, he's right. America isn't a melting pot. Nothing has really melted, per se. Just like Muslims haven't had a smooth transition in Europe. Immigrants don't integrate, they segregate, and they tend to exploit any govt. programs they can. Being a born and bred Caucasian Merican, I don't have access to a number of state funded benefits illegal immigrants have. Such as free school lunches, free medical care, and no taxes to pay. Hell, if I had the option, I'd hop on this program as well.
Post edited February 10, 2014 by scampywiak
Posted February 10, 2014
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doccarnby: It isn't. The United States has no official language.
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infinite9: "Suppose to be" is not the same as "it is."

I will say that I would support a law recognizing English as the official language of the United States thereby relieving accountability for people who do not put up warning signs in Spanish.
I would like to see it as well. It would save me an extra step at the ATM. Though, you would think they could store your preferred language in the magnetic strip of your ATM card.

Other than that the only time it bothers me when someone speaks a foreign language is when they are shouting my order to the cook. Who am I kidding I love that part of it, it means the food is made by someone of that nationality and seems more authentic.
Post edited February 10, 2014 by jjsimp
Posted February 10, 2014
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scampywiak: ....Immigrants don't integrate, they segregate, and they tend to exploit any govt. programs they can. Being a born and bred Caucasian Merican, I don't have access to a number of state funded benefits illegal immigrants have. Such as free school lunches, free medical care, and no taxes to pay. Hell, if I had the option, I'd hop on this program as well.
I don't have any first hand experience but still I'm quite sure this benefits do not make immigrants living a life of luxury, nor does it cost the rest of population much, especially when taking into account that immigrants are often underpaid.

Immigration and integration are important topics also here currently. There is a strong xenophobic sentiment here probably not without reason but then whenever I imagine I could be one of the others I feel like big part of it is just ridiculous. If only we could agree that race or religion or whatever... is not such a big issue than many things would be much better. It would require a culture and education and commitment to values of equality, brotherhood and tolerance, otherwise it would probably fail fast. And because this culture is not there it fails.
Post edited February 10, 2014 by Trilarion
Posted February 10, 2014
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iippo: "Terrorist language"

Should i laugh or cry? XD
Oh, have you been reading about Basque?
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Some days, I'm really ashamed of my fellow Americans(364 posts)(364 posts)
(364 posts)