On what planet is this acceptable?

[XiaoTortuga]

"During September 2008, a Spanish-speaking parent came to the school crying and stating in Spanish that someone at the school had placed a stick in her seven-year-old son's buttocks," the suit says. "(Mateo) asked Ms. Gimenez if she could translate for the parent. Ms. Gimenez refused and told the parent her seven-year-old son could translate. The parent continued to cry and eventually left without having her issue resolved because she could not understand Ms. Gimenez's responses."

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/loc...y/1230320.html

School assistant fired for speaking Spanish to Spanish speaking parents.

Okay, whatever the stupid reasoning behind not allowing staff to translate for parents, fine. But insisting that a 7 year old translate for his mother when mother is there to talk about a stick being shoved up her 7 year old's butt (assuming the same 7 year old here, but even if it is a different one) WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU INSENSITIVE IDIOTIC HATEFUL WOMAN!!!!!

Seriously. This woman is in charge of a school!!??!

[Wingates_Hellsing]

It seems to me that overly PC and/or bureaucratic dipshits are infesting our education system. Paralyzed by their unwillingness to take action should they face any consequences and capable of swift and utter stupidity when they feel their careers are endangered. The old knowledge was that you could be a bad leader because you make bad decisions, or because you made no decisions. These people have transcended that spectacularly...

[Aethian]

From some of the responses it looks like the majority say that the parents should learn english. We have a very difficult language and when one is stressed they will go with what they are more comfortable with. Besides if the lady had come in speaking some/early english would she been able to get her point across or would it be lost in translation?

[Greenday]

Besides the point that if you move to an English speaking country, you should PROBABLY learn English (just like if you moved to a Spanish speaking country, you should PROBABLY learn Spanish), if they had an adult that could easily translate, there's no reason why it shouldn't be allowed.

[Skunkle]

Thing is, the hardcore English-language people, it seems, don't simply want all people living permanently in America to speak fluent English. This isn't an unreasonable idea at all. They seem to want people to speak nothing BUT English here. It has nothing to do with being PC. In my personal opinion, many of these people are terrified either that America's Amerca-ness is being dangerously diluted, and/or that people speaking other languages could always be plotting to rob you blind, or calling you an asshole. In fact, they probably are; those <insert slur here> are always putting us down for being better, aren't they?

I actually got my school bus driver fired partly for doing this, though it wasn't my intention. I was 14. My bus route carried several North African girls. Headscarves, colorful clothing, and they always, the three or four of them, sat together and chatted in their native language. On more than one occasion, the bus driver would say loudly "If you come to America, speak English, and English Only. If you want to chatter away in your own language, go back to Africa!" This was not the only reason I mentioned this to parents and school; one stoplight on the route was just ahead of a railroad crossing, and the driver would regularly pull up and wait ON the tracks instead of stopping short of them.

Incidentally, I also had a friend who pulled this crap. About eight years ago, I worked at a small old theater, which had started showing two-dollar, third-run American movies alongside un-subtitled Bollywood films. The owners were Hindi guys. It cost us $800 to rent, say, "Saving Private Ryan" for four days, and we got a total of ten customers - at $2 a pop, we HAD to stop those, couldn't pay for them. The Bollywood films, however, got standing-room-only crowds. I was fixing up the theater, and my friend came in to help occasionally. He knew we used to show American films,. And to my horror, he walks up to the owner one day and says "You know, being that this is America, Indian people really should be watching American movies in English here, since that's what America has. You really need to quit showing these Indian movies, people should only watch them in India, and go there if they want to see them". Thankfully, the owner laughed at him, and I gave him an earful later. And yes, this person also ghets *extremely* paranoid when anyone chats in non-English near him. And he's pretty open about being certain they're saying bad things about him; he has indicated that that's the only possible reason they'd want to talk in <insert language here> in America.

Note: I am American-born. What little I know about my birth parents is that they, too, were not immigrants; they were native American/caucasian. And I don't speak anything but English... but other people talking in <insert foreign language>? Unless they're snickering and pointing, I don't think there's much chance they're making fun of me.

[Rageaholic]

More stupidity in action! Look, I understand that if people are in your country, they should learn the damn language, but if you're going to hire a bilingual secretary, and she can translate, damn well let her.

And I can't believe some of the commentors. "but she broke teh rulz!11" well the rules sucked and were preventing her from solving the problem. Rules do not trump common sense.

[kiwi]

quotes that stand out to me from the article

Ana Ligia Mateo claims she was hired as a bilingual secretary

where Assistant Principal Kimberly Vaught told Mateo she knew Mateo could empathize with the parents because she "crossed the border just like them."

fucking pathetic

[DrFaroohk]

Rules do not trump common sense.

Hello, welcome to Earth! Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I do hope you have an easy time adjusting to our way of doing things.

[elsporko]

The parent is at fault for not knowing English. Everybody should be required to know English before being allowed to immigrate into America, if they don't speak it then we would know they are illegal and can deport them. Anybody who lives in America but refuses to learn English doesn't deserve to live in America anyways.

[linguist]

The parent is at fault for not knowing English. Everybody should be required to know English before being allowed to immigrate into America, if they don't speak it then we would know they are illegal and can deport them. Anybody who lives in America but refuses to learn English doesn't deserve to live in America anyways.

may as well close the borders now, then, since most who immigrate here come from places where they wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn english prior to coming here.

as for deporting anyone who doesn't speak english, what about tourists? not everyone who comes here comes here to live permanently.

[elsporko]

Well of course tourists aren't immigrants. I don't think I ever said they were.

As for closing the boarders, I say if the potential immigrant doesn't have the intelligence are drive to learn even basic English then we shouldn't want them. We should only be allowing the very best into our country.

[linguist]

it isn't a matter of intelligence or drive, it's a matter of opportunity. many of these people are coming from areas or countries so poor they don't have schools, or the schools where they may be given the opportunity to learn english are only available to the rich.

[AdminAssistant]

"Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses yearning to be free......some restrictions apply, see rules for details"

In a stressful situation like that, the secretary should have been allowed to translate for the mother. I believe the comments from the principal and her assistant show some inherent racism in the administration.

[elsporko]

it isn't a matter of intelligence or drive, it's a matter of opportunity. many of these people are coming from areas or countries so poor they don't have schools, or the schools where they may be given the opportunity to learn english are only available to the rich.

And its America's responsibility to let them in why? Life sucks for them but that doesn't mean we have to give them a free pass.

[linguist]

And its America's responsibility to let them in why? Life sucks for them but that doesn't mean we have to give them a free pass.

no one's saying we have to give them a free pass. not speaking english does not preclude the possibility of being a useful, productive, successful member of the community.

my abuelita grew up extremely poor in mexico. she left school at age 10 to help support her family after her father died. she came to this country in 1947, where she opened a restaurant. the restaurant became a success, and then became a chain of restaurants. every year she gave a large portion of her income back to the community in the form of charitable donations. in the early '80s the chain was sold for a tidy profit, most of which was again given back to the community. she died in 1992, at the age of 98. her funeral was huge, attended by almost everyone in the community, all of whom loved her dearly.

the kicker? she never learned english. it wasn't that she refused, or that she didn't try, but she was one of those who for some reason just couldn't learn the language beyond a few words and phrases. and yet she was deeply respected by everyone who ever met her, english and non-english-speaking alike.