Fight English First, English Only, Official English etc movements of discriminatory legislation which targets immigrants. It seems those in government don’t realize that the vast majority of immigrants during the heyday of immigration could not speak English, and that a little tolerance can go a long way in enabling a smooth transition today.
If English becomes the official language of the United States, bilingual services would cease to be funded. These services include courtroom/legal services, health care, and emergency 911 centers. Without government funding, these programs could never survive, and those with poor to no English tend to be the poorest financially-speaking, meaning they would effectively have no access to services that we consider the most basic. By making English official, we could literally be sentencing thousands of people to death.
I’m not being over-dramatic. English legislation is that bad.
Several states have made English their official language. In those states, here are examples of what happened:
-a Latino immigrant was pulled over for speeding. The police officer asked him a question, and he was unable to answer it. The police gave the man a ticket not for speeding, but for not speaking English.
-a mother was taken to court and convicted of harming her grade-school child because at home they spoke a language other than English, and this was in theory hurting the child’s performance.
Most people think that Official English isn’t a problem because obviously, it is the dominant language. This is true, and I do see the necessity of a lingua franca (which is what we’re getting – all the immigrants from everywhere on Earth communicate with each other in English). However, making it legally our language opens up a can of worms that leads to blatant discrimination.
steps off of soapbox
