An extremely old and familiar theme in U.S. history has been the episodic anti-foreigner xenophobia. So old, so familiar is this xenophobia, that at one time it was illegal in 22 states to teach a foreign language. The Supreme Court had to overturn this idiocy and still, by 1954, only 56% of American high schools offered foreign language study with less than 14.2% enrolled in foreign language study.[1]
Today, less than 9.3% of Americans are fluent in another language. Would you believe that many of my readers find this lack of global sophistication a “good thing”?
Like the word xenophobia or not, it is an actual disorder historically suffered by the vast majority of Americans. Applied to the linguistic issue it is called: xenoglossophobia.
America is currently in another episode of anti-foreigner xenophobia, whether legal or illegal, and it is currently focused on Latinos of all stripes. You would think from the rhetoric that abounds online that if you are a Latino, legal or illegal, you are the biggest threat Americans have seen since World War II.
Have you thought this immigration issue is an “Illegal Alien” problem only? Guess again! On Frosty Wooldridge’s website (he is one of the gurus of the anti-Mexican legal or illegal movement), there appears this statement:
“Ladies and gentlemen of Americawe are LOSING all four factors. If you look around you, we are losing the cohesive thread of our society at over four million legal and illegal immigrants annually. They are not assimilating nor are they speaking our language.”[2]
This appears to be what is called a “call-out” in journalism. This is a journalistic device to call attention to the article itself.
But, do not miss what he said here: Legal and Illegal immigrants. I’ve long suspected this has never been an issue of “Illegal Immigrants” only.
The absolute hysterical hypocrisy of this call-out is:
1. That the writer of this call-out shot himself in the foot in an implicit admission that this “Oh my God we are being invaded by all these disease ridden, murderous Mexican illegals.”, is a ruse, a deception, a liethey don’t want any foreigners, Legal or Illegal, in America.
2. There is a current “invasion” going on right now in Mexico. The invaders are Americans who are invading Mexico by the tens of thousands, running Mexicans off their land by buying it up, by forming American-English-Speaking-only enclavesNEVER BOTHERING TO ASSIMILATE THE CULTURE or LANGUAGE!
These non-assimilating and nonSpanish-speaking American invaders are now in the hundreds of thousands if not millions. It is estimated that 363,000 Americans are expatriating each year with most ending up in Mexico.[3]
They are destroying the cohesive thread of Mexican society at more than a million American expats. Most American expatsand I mean the vast majoritynever bother to learn the language.
You can visit a little town called San Miguel de Allende with about 10,000 American expats that have, according to Mexicans we have interviewed and expats who have fled that town because of the cultural destruction at the hands of Americans, ruined it!
So I am wondering at this point if the word HYPOCRISY comes screaming like a freight train in your mind? Or perhaps, DOUBLE STANDARD. Maybe that is what you are thinking.
I know I am!
[1] 2005 was made for you, monolingual Americans There’s a reason you fear learning foreign languages By DOUGLAS BOWER; Houston Chronicle
[2]
[3] The U.S. Census Bureau statistical yearbook of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. In a report called, Private Citizens Abroad, written by the U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs.
Doug Bower is a freelance writer, Syndicated Columnist, and book author. His most recent writing credits include The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Houston Chronicle, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and Transitions Abroad. He is a columnist with Cricketsoda.com and the Magic City Morning Star, and more than 21 additional online magazines. He lives with his wife in Guanajuato, Mexico. His newest book is, Mexican Living: Blogging it from a Third World Country
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