Ways to respond to racist/anti-immigrant remarks.
Could you wise ones out there give me some (preferably non-confrontational) ways to respond when people gripe about immigrants in the US. Also, a popular gripe here is that having signs and documents (such as signs in Home Depot and product guarantees) written in Spanish is costing the taxpayer too much ("They should learn English!") To the first type of complaint, I usually murmur something to the effect that all of our families originally came as immigrants. Thanks for any thoughts on the subject.
15 Answers
Ah, the good old days when all the signs were in Cherokee.
....such as signs in Home Depot and product guarantees....written in Spanish is costing the taxpayer too much
Home Depot pays for those signs and the company makes a ton of money from sales to "immigrants."
We were all "immigrants" at one time or another.
There used to be signs that said "No Irish Need Apply" and "No Chinese Wanted."
Though negative remarks about immigrants often make me angry, I learned long ago not to argue with ignorance. I normally walk away from conversations like this.
If anyone wants to know how I feel about immigrants, they can see the way I treat them in the clinic, at church, or in public. I don't need to rant about my opinions.
I still believe distance is better than confrontation when possible.
Well, you can first point out to them that Home Depot does not use tax-payer money to put up those signs. And then you can give them a quick lesson on the nature of the free-market (which is what ultimately leads Home Depot to putting up signs in Spanish).
Then you can always point out that these immigrants (illegal or not) are also tax-payers. That's right, they pay a sales tax too.
Or you can always tell them what Mexican folks say down here:
No nos cruzamos la frontera. ¡La frontera nos cruzó! hehe
Don't respond to ignorance.Buena suerte.
Sorry that you have to deal with this. What a shame.
I just say "Hey, don't impose your racist rants on me!" and I walk away.
If it's in my home, or the home of a friend/family member, I say "We don't tolerate racism here."
"You're in America....now speak English!" Isn't that the mantra we hear so often?
Well that is always easier said than done. The fact is, in the U.S., the growth of Spanish speaking people is growing by the day. To expect anyone to assimilate to a new culture and language upon arrival is ludicrous. Look how long it is taking most of us to get our Spanish up and running!!!
After spending many weeks in two Spanish speaking countries in the past two months, I never once encountered anyone judging those who were with me who spoke no Spanish at all. If I wasn't there to translate, someone usually came along to help them.
The truth of the matter is, living in a new country and culture is difficult. Learning a new language is even more problematic and takes time. You have to ask anyone with this opinion if they have ever tried to become fluent in another language and if so, how long it took them. My guess is that the majority of these people speak English only.
And as for all of those signs, I agree with Marianne and some of the others. They are huge money makers for us. And if anyone thinks that a few signs in Home Depot and the usual "Para continuar en español oprima los dos." that we hear when calling anywhere in the U.S. is going to keep Spanish speaking people from learning English....well you get my point. 
The truth is you probably aren't going to win too many arguments with these people. Just hang out with those of us who get it! 
Many stores post Spanish signs and labels, not because they are forced to waste money to do so, but because it makes business sense to do so. It expands the market of their products.
It's a case of the free market system working for good.
Embracing diversity is a true "win-win" strategy.
Remind them who used to own that land !
I take it with a grain of salt....Then kick them in the scrotum.
Friend of a friend who I didn't know well did this. I grew up in Texas so I dragged him down to a barrio. Found a restaurant, sat down with some people we met while waiting, ordered a Tecate or two, and got some delicious Mexican food. Granted, it was a Cuban place and we were talking about Mexicans but I was fighting racism so I lied.
sidenote: Tax payers do not pay for anything on products or in stores...the consumers do, so really if they dont like it...they ought to not buy the product...no one is forcing them to support those companies. I live in Vancouver Canada and we are extremely multicultural..and we DO (as tax payers) pay for signage in mulitple langauges....Before the olympics and part of taking responsiblity and apologizing for the way natives were treated by our government in the past, there has been an effort to give them back at least a bit of thier dignity, and now many of our road signs have the salish langauges written on them. Also having two national langauges, there is french on much of our products and on all government documentation, yes sometimes you have the flip the form over to find the english, but in the end.....its not hurting me in anway and its helping others, so what right to do I have to gripe. In pockets of our city you will find much more punjabi or chinese then you will english, and I love that!!!!!! What a boring city it would be if everyone spoke one langauge! Getting to experience so many different cultures without even having to leave my city is such a blessing to me!
I have al very prejudiced near relative who rants against almost anyone who is not white, English-speaking and Protestant. We've learned that it is impossible to argue or educate Whenever she starts to get on her high horse, whatever family members are there just shut up, or leave the room. It's a passive strategy but it seems to work for this person.
You're not a racist if you are against Illegal-Immigration. Ignorance at its finest.
