Government Worker in U.S. Fired for Speaking English

NewsMax.com ^ | 5/7/2002

[Bob Evans]

With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff
For the story behind the story...

Tuesday, May 7, 2002

Government Worker in U.S. Fired for Speaking English

Link to NewsMax article

An employee of Miami-Dade County, harassed by Latino co-workers for being a white American, says she was fired for speaking English on the job.

"I was referred to as the gringa, the Americana," Zita Wilensky told Miami's WSVN-TV. "Did they mean it in a polite way or a derogatory way? In some ways, at times, it was joking. But then it was like every single day, and you know what? I have a name."

She was the only "Anglo" in the Domestic Violence Unit. All of her co-workers were Hispanic, and she says they liked to play tricks on her.

"My boss presented me with an envelope one day when the anthrax was going around and told me: 'Come here; could you smell this? This just came in the mail.' Big joke in front of the whole department. Made me look like an idiot."

A 16-year county employee, she has a personnel file full of letters of praise, but the racial discrimination began to take its toll.

"Then Zita was told she had to speak Spanish in the office. She was given 60 days to learn. After 30 days her boss disguised her voice and called her," WSVN reported.

Wilensky told the station: "So she called pretending to be someone who didn't speak English."

"And when you could not communicate she fired you?"

"Yes ... that's how it happened."

According to the county, she was fired (merely) for transferring the call to the clerk's office. Wilensky says she transferred it because she wanted what she thought was a Spanish-speaking caller to talk to someone. Her boss claims she just requested that Wilensky learn Spanish, but a letter from the boss says Wilensky must speak Spanish, the TV station reported.

The result: After her long service with the county, she was fired and replaced by a Hispanic.

Now she is looking into whether an American can be fired for not speaking Spanish on the job.

WSVN says that according to its legal expert, Howard Finkelstein: "The Florida Constitution says that English is the official language of the government. So you can't fire someone simply because they don't speak Spanish, and you can't fire them simply because they are Anglo. That's discrimination. That's illegal."

Finkelstein added: "An employer cannot allow an employee to be subjected to racial slurs like 'gringo' or to be ridiculed or intimidated. ... That's called a hostile work environment, and that's illegal."

If Wilensky sues the county, she has an excellent chance of winning, he said.

The banana republic of Miami-Dade County, by the way, is the same government that failed to fire three black firemen who refused to respond to emergency calls until an "offensive" American flag was removed from a fire truck.

[anniegetyourgun]

You mean THIS government worker?

[nothingnew]

Don't know how true this story is...but.....Viva Zapata!!!...(/sarcasm)

FMCDH!!

[Washington_minuteman]

"... So you can't fire someone simply because they don't speak Spanish, and you can't fire them simply because they are Anglo. That's discrimination. That's illegal."

[sarcasm] What sort of nonsense is this? Everyone knows that only minorities can be discriminated against. White folks are just getting what they deserve.[/sarcasm]

Sheesh!

[afuturegovernor]

I support English and it's traditions!

[El Gato]

So you can't fire someone simply because they don't speak Spanish, and you can't fire them simply because they are Anglo. That's discrimination. That's illegal

Firing someone because they are anglo (gringa in her case) would be illegal, but firing one for not having a required language skill is another thing. No different in principle, than not being able to read, or do required math. That said, the time given to learn Spanish was entirely unreasonable, way too short. It's difficult for most, but not all, adults to learn a new language. I know it was for me starting in my late 40s, in fact I never did learn it very well, but I can at least be polite, the equivalent of "how are you" , "good evening", "thank you", "good day" and like that.

[Clemenza]

Agreed. This bilingual boy has increased his income significantly by learning Spanish. You are right in that she cannot be fired simply for her ethnicity.

This story has been posted several times and the usual suspects have been making a tempest out of a teapot.

Remember folks unless you REALLY want to put up with politics, political correctness and boring work DO NOT WORK FOR THE GOVERNMENT!!! --- Clemenza in Doral, Miami-Dade

[dalebert]

I think this is going on all over the country in Government jobs. Reverse descrimination.

[dalebert]

I don't think the job description called for speaking spanish. Sounds like it was just an excuse. Could be a younger supervisor trying to get rid of an older worker. There is a lot of that going on. Age descrimination.

[Clemenza]

Government employment, a'int it a bi-ch! All the bennies in the world couldn't compel me to put up with the political BS.

I'll stay in banking, thank you.

[glc1173@aol.com]

"This bilingual boy has increased his income significantly by learning Spanish."

The issue at stake isn't whether bilingual individuals can individually each earn more money - it's whether the U.S. wants to go the Quebec route.

At least Canada's "Quebec issue" is self-limited almost entirely to Quebec - as the only Quebecois who move out of Quebec are those fluent in English. But here in Burlington, North Carolina - over 1,000 miles from the border - lots of signs are in Spanish, most of the public-health leaflets in the local hospital are in Spanish, and most of the leaflets and posters at the welfare office are in Spanish. (None are in other foreign languages!)

IMMIGRATION resource library - with public-health facts of immigration!

[Bubba_Leroy]

Previously posted at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/679489/posts.

[Clemenza]

I am against GOVERNMENT MANDATED bilingualism, which this case may involve. I am a strong advocate of PRIVATE SECTOR bilingualism, particularly here in Miami. Without the rich and middle class Latin Americans coming here to shop, bank and buy second homes, the economy would die. Thanks to the Colombians and Venezuelans, real estate in Weston and Coral Gables has gone sky high.

[dalebert]

I wouldn't put up with it either but my sister is a state employee with a lot of seniority and things are pretty bad. Its my view that there is a big push right now to squeeze white workers out of these agencies. It also looks like some politicians are looking the other way. It could have something to do with building voting blocks.

[Clemenza]

The government has had unofficial public sector hiring quotas for over 30 years now. There is no "new" conspiracy to push "white" workers out.

[William Terrell]

but firing one for not having a required language skill is another thing.

This is America. Presumably these were American citizens. The language spoken in America is English, not spanish. If these people want to speak spanish, move to a country whose major language is spanish. Why cause trouble here?

When you become a citizen of a nation you become a countryman in common with those already here. If you don't, you create conditions that weaken the fibre of the nation with fragmentation, and that threatens your safety as well as the entire country.

This woman shouldn't have it even be suggested that she learn a foreign language to work, especially at a American government job, either state or federal. The notion is ridiculous and I certainly hope it is actionable.

Are you here legally, that is to say, went through the lawful process to become a citizen, or born here to lawful American citizens?

[spald]

I think one way for the INS to regain credibility is to go down to Dade and straighten this out. Sounds like there may be illegals in this department.

[Imal]

Affirmative Action at work. Literally.

Imal

[Jack Black]

The myth of Aztlan can best be explained by California's Santa Barbara School District's Chicano Studies textbook, "The Mexican American Heritage" by East Los Angeles high school teacher Carlos Jimenez. On page 84 there is a redrawn map of Mexico and the United States, showing Mexico with a full one-third more territory, all of it taken back from the United States. On page 107, it says "Latinos are now realizing that the power to control Aztlan may once again be in their hands."

Shown are the "repatriated" eight or nine states including Colorado, California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, Oregon and parts of Washington. According to the school text, Mexico is supposed to regain these territories as they rightly belong to the "mythical" homeland of Aztlan. On page 86, it says "...a free-trade agreement...promises...if Mexico is to allow the U.S. to invest in Mexico...then Mexico should...be allowed to freely export...Mexican labor. Obviously this would mean a re-evaluation of the border between the two countries as we know it today." Jimenez's Aztlan myth is further amplified at MEChA club meetings held at Santa Barbara Public Schools..

The book, paid for by American tax payers, cites no references or footnotes, leaving school children totally dependent on their teacher to separate fact from opinion and political propaganda. The book teaches separatism, victimization, nationalism, completely lacks patriotism towards the United States, and promotes an open border policy. The book is 100 percent editorial -- the opinions of the author.

WHAT IS MEChA

The official national symbol of MEChA is an eagle holding a machete-like weapon and a stick of dynamite. .

WHAT IS AZTLAN? The acronym MEChA stands for "Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan." or "Chicano Student Movement of Aztlan."

MEChA is an Hispanic separatist organization that encourages anti-American activities and civil disobedience. The radical members of MEChA who refer to themselves as "Mechistas," romanticize Mexican claims to the "lost Territories" of the Southwestern United States -- a Chicano country called Aztlan. In its national constitution, MEChA calls for self-determination by its members to liberate Aztlan. MEChA's national constitution starts out: "Chicano and Chicana students of Aztlán must take upon themselves the responsibilities to promote Chicanismo within the community, politicizing our Raza with an emphasis on indigenous consciousness to continue the struggle for the self-determination of the Chicano people for the purpose of liberating Aztlán."

These anti-American "Mechistas" live with the false illusion that they are being racially discriminated against because they are Latinos while totally dismissing the idea that maybe it is their ideology that is being discriminated against.

At the MEChA National Conference on March 15 - 18, 2001, the official "MEChA Philosophy" was ratified. An excerpt from the document states: "as Mechistas, we vow to work for the liberation of Aztlan."

The MEChA Clubs on each of the Santa Barbara high school campuses are not the only ones. MEChA groups exist on 90 percent of the public high school, college and university campuses in the Southwestern United States.

WHAT IS RAZA

"La Raza" (The Race) is a broad term which refers to those whose ancestry is indigenous to the area of Mexico (or "Aztlan"). MEChA members refer to themselves as "La Raza" or "Raza," but the term itself is used to indicate camaraderie among those in different organizations with the same objectives. There are a number of organizations who consider themselves to be La Raza.

The most visible of these groups are MEChA, The Brown Berets de Aztlan, OLA (Organization for the Liberation of Aztlan), La Raza Unida Party, and the "Nation of Aztlan" to name a few. Although the activism of these organizations vary from somewhat radical to extremely radical, they share the same objectives, the "liberation of Aztlan." Each follows the Raza manifesto "El Plan de Aztlan (sometimes called "El Plan Espiritual de Aztlan"). The Nation of Aztlan, tied to La Voz de Aztlan disseminates the exact same propaganda that MEChA spreads including antisemitic propaganda. Believers in the Aztlan legend insist upon the indivisibility of "La Raza" and their common goals, one of them being the need to abolish the border between the U.S. and Mexico. There is a myriad of Raza college newspaper. Some are El Popo, Aztlan News, Chispas, Gente de Aztlan (UCLA), Voz Fronteriza (U.C. San Diego), La Voz Mestiza (U.C. Irvine) and La Voz Berkeley. It is not uncommon for the writers of these publications to refer to the U.S., as "AmeriKKKa."

Rhetoric by some Chicano educators strongly suggest Communist or Socialist leanings. Recently (May, 2000), more than 1,200 students gathered at UCLA for the seventh annual Raza Youth Conference, which the members say promotes higher education and recognition of the Aztlan culture. Sponsored by MEChA, the year's theme was "Reclaiming Our Razas through education, resistance, and promoting the idea of remembering the historical struggles of Raza" said Erika Ramirez, co-chair of the conference. The conference drew students from 80 middle and high schools and community colleges; featured speeches by those actively involved with the Chicano community.

The keynote speaker was Antonia Darder, a professor of education and cultural studies at Claremont Graduate University and director of the Institute for Cultural Studies in Education, who received a standing ovation for her speech.

Darder described American capitalism and what she said were its impacts on racism and sexism. "I grew up in a capitalist society, a society that taught us that the greed of corporations control politics," Darder said. "Capitalism is the root of domination. Racism and sexism exist because capitalism requires it." Darder said a globalized economy forced smaller countries to give up their self-sufficiency, resulting in people migrating to the U.S. "We're here because U.S. foreign policy in Latin America has forced us here," she said.

The University of Oregon Chapter of MEChA hints at its communist sentiments by posting a picture of Cuba's communist dictator Fidel Castro. On its web site, "La Voz de Aztlan" has an excerpt from a speech of February 7, 1997, by Fidel Castro who said "the United States should return to Mexico huge chunks of that country's territories it acquired more than a century ago" Click here for full content of the speech. La Voz de Aztlan also disseminates antisemitic propaganda,

Apparently, these "Raza" cults are composed of people who unabashedly hate the United States and often support other groups and leaders who also hate America. Raza's hatred of America is so intense, that most make bedfellows to anyone else who also hates America, like dictator Fidel Castro; murderer of his own people Sadam Hussain; and the women hating Taliban -- and of course they sympathize with all Islamic Terrorists over the Israel/Palestine issue. Raza cults are the loudest and most insistent element of the immigration lobby in California. Inebriated with a sense of righteous victimhood, and entranced by myths of a heroic racial past, devotees of the Aztlan cults are rapidly extending their influence within California's Hispanic population, particularly among students in the university system.

[dalebert]

Wrong. Its being done using the Jesse Jackson master plan.