One of the many blogs I follow is "1,000 Tiny Things I Hate." The guy basically just (occasionally) blogs about things that piss him off. He rarely posts, though.
He may have failed to entertain me, but he has certainly succeeded in inspiring me!
Trendon and I often talk about things that just piss us off. It's amazing that two such anal people could possibly stay married. Regardless, yesterday we were talking about how much it sucks that it's "politically incorrect" to HATE when people can't speak english.
In France, one must speak French. In Sweden, one must speak Swedish. In MEXICO, one must speak Mexican Spanish.
I called the local tailor to get an estimate for getting Tren's pants hemmed and his suit coat's sleeves taken up. Should have been no big deal.
SURPRISE! I still have no clue how much it would have been. I ended up apologizing to the guy and hanging up. We took his pants to the tailor next to Target and the guy at the other place lost our business because, apparently, it is TOO DIFFICULT to let an English-speaker answer the phone in MARYLAND.
On the flip side, there are some businesses that are incredible when it comes to this particular problem. There is a Latino-Chicken (Latin food and chicken, not necessarily latin chickens) place that we like to order from occasionally. It's called Crisp & Juicy (and it's remarkably healthy.) When I call and order, if the person who answers does not speak english well (or at all), s/he says, "Hold on. Just one minute." and hands the phone to someone who CAN speak english. I'm fine with accents, I love them. I think it adds a lot to the demographic when people are bi- or multi-lingual.
I also understand wanting to adhere to your native culture.
If I moved to Germany, I'd learn German, but would have a very American home life. China? Sign me up for Mandarin or Cantonese courses (depending on the part of the country) but believe I'll be wearing Keens and cotton jersey skirts.
It's not fair for these people to get to enjoy the benefits of living here, without shouldering some of the responsibilities that come along with it. Seems simple: your business caters to english-speaking people, ergo, speak at least a modicum of english.
Call me a fascist, but these people really just piss me off!
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I'm with you, babe! And let me be totally un-PC as well-- there was an article this week in Parade from the Sunday paper about a girl w/ CP who wanted to dance-- she was completely wheelchair bound-- there are a million things she could do successfully, a million, but dance? Someone needs to tell her, just like a person who is blind would not be led onto the baseball field to swing aimlessly at balls being hurdled at them, dancing is not for her-- the article went on that she played air guitar and spun her chair rhythmically along w/ the music as part of the dance routine..really? Rhythmically? Those with disabilities can do things that no one thinks is possible, but as a former Spe Ed teacher, you MUST be realistic--just as I will never be able to get my Grammy for Best Country Album, climb Mt Kilimanjaro (not that I'd want to), or change the fact I have flat feet, she will never be able to really dance...therfore, to me her story wasn't inspirational, it was sad that no one said, "You know, why don't you play the jazz flute while Joe over here dances? That way you can be a full part of the performance and yet retain your dignity and be admired for your determination"...
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