English-only Paranoia
Just as earlier this year Louisiana joined the rest of the nation with its host of anti-immigrant laws, so, too does it continue to swim in the batter of hate-filled, xenophobic reaction to its diverse communities. The latest affront is happening right now in Houma, Louisiana. The Times Picayune reported this week that Houma school officials are considering English-only policies after a Vietnamese valedictorian spoke some phrases in Vietnamese. Now, as an immigrant who has worked hard to master the English language, to write in it, speak in it, even dream in it, I am all for getting all of our non-English speaking folks on board with the program. We live in the United States of America, after all, where the reigning language of the land is English.
So, in this regard, I guess I agree with the xenophobes, racists, bigots, isolationists, etc. What I don’t agree with is the notion that other languages should not be spoken in this land in any public space. I disagree passionately about that. I mean, come on, look around, the world is increasingly smaller. Wouldn’t it be good community, educational, democratic policy to institute bi and tri lingual education so that our children can compete better on the global stage? But, hey, what do I know? I’m not an economist, or a workforce expert.
What I do know is that Louisiana is a state of French, Spanish and Indigenous heritage. That’s a rather non English starting point that we, as a state celebrate. Why not celebrate this rather than pretend that we are an English only state, or nation for that matter (though right now I am only referring to Louisiana)? What would have happened if the valedictorian would have spoken in French down in Terrebonne Parish? Would that have caused the school officials to react so adamantly with English-only rhetoric? This could be debated.
My belief is that Louisiana is a special place in the United States, always has been. One of our assets in moving forward to shore up our economy, grow jobs, create opportunities, is our diversity. We are well positioned to attract business and talent. A good deal of this business and talent will be foreign. Why not begin to embrace our cultural diversity? The Vietnamese have as much right to say something in Vietnamese in public speech as do the French, the German, the Brazilian or the Spanish. This doesn’t mean that in doing so they are shunning English. On the contrary, the child who spoke at that commencement speech earned the right to be the speaker by way of her ability to master and use the English language. I am certain she understands the value and importance of speaking English. She also understands the value and importance of honoring her heritage. Louisiana should be proud of this student. Instead, Louisiana reacts insensitively by ignoring the accomplishments of an immigrant family’s successes and using their child as an example for justification of ugly, hateful policies that help no one.
Tags: hispanic, hispanic louisiana, hispanic new orleans, immigrant issues, immigrant new orleans, language access louisiana, latino, latino immigration, latino new orleans, latinola, vietnamese immigration