Posted on 10/23/2009 3:23:17 PM PDT by ma bell
"I was stunned that this would happen," Kunkle said at a news conference.
The police chief added: "In my world, you would never tell someone not to speak Spanish."
The bogus citations – there is no law requiring Dallas residents to speak English – came to light after it was revealed that a rookie officer, Gary Bromley, had issued a citation on Oct. 2 to Ernestina Mondragon for being a non-English-speaking driver.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Nothing like free speech...
“Dallas police chief: Dozens of tickets issued for not speaking English”
05:22 PM CDT on Friday, October 23, 2009
By SCOTT GOLDSTEIN / The Dallas Morning News
“Editor’s note: Comments have been disabled on this story.”
This is too odd. Sounds like a setup.
Noticed they disabled the comments for this story on the DMN website? The DMN is getting an ear-full from Texans about any story regarding illegals. People are/have reached a breaking point.
Looks like someone pranked the rookie cop.
When you’re out on an isolated stretch of road and the car on the other side crosses the line and you go off the road and your car flips, tell me if you want the other driver to return and speak English to you, or Spanish.
There are a number of situations where people should be able to speak English. I’m not in favor of this being a ticketable offense, but when it comes to time to get an official state motor vehicle operator’s license, proficiency in English should be required.
My read of the article was that she was pulled over for an illegal u-turn, and the officer NOTED on the ticket that she spoke no english.
Are these nasty notations on tickets for other things, or...is there some actual infraction?
How do the “drivers” read the street signs?
Considering that Belo has apparently hitched its star to illegal immigration and open borders, I am not surprised. How dare the peons disagree with them! How dare they resist their country being overrun!
Mutes? Illiterates? Dyslexics?
This brings up two things that should be (but sadly in today’s day and age are not always) undeniable truths.
1) Nobody should be forced to learn English.
2) Nobody should force me to subsidize people who are not successful because they don’t learn English.
The blind?
So what is wrong with issuing these tickets? People need to be fluent in English to understand road signs. Do you really want people driving who can’t read the words STOP, WRONG WAY, DO NOT ENTER, etc?
I’d like to give some help/customer service workers
tickets for not speaking english well enough to understand
or be any help.
Yea, I quit watching channel 8 years ago and moved over to channel 11. Channel 8 fell off a cliff along with 5, and 4.
Well, I’m sure glad the police, polizei and policia didn’t bust me for not speaking French, German, Italian and Portuguese. And heaven help me if I’d been pulled over in Scotland, where communication is impossible.
Back in the early ‘70s there was a Portland(Or.) police officer that ticketed at least 50 drivers for DWHUA(driving with head up a*s)...it all came to a stop when 1 motorist challenged it in court...everybody else just mailed in the money.
toooo, way toooo tooo much to read and digest for comprehension! you are asking way too much, it may stress out the driver to the point they need ER services.
If a person is illiterate, how do they take the test in the first place.
If they’re a mute, I do believe that could be problematic at times. I don’t believe it should preclude someone from driving. Not knowing a language is something someone can overcome. Being mute isn’t.
When it comes to visual mental perceptions I’m just not sure. If we’re talking about a high functioned person who has been diagnosed with Dyslexia, I don’t see it as a problem. If we’re talking about a person who has a tough time and problems enter into the equation then it might be a precluding condition.
I don’t know much about Dyslexia. Frankly I’m not sure if that alone causes someone enough problems that they wouldn’t be safe under certain conditions, where something unexpected was taking place in the roadway.
That level of dysfunction may not be reached by those with dyslexia, and I wouldn’t want to impugn them by suggesting that in fact it could. So on the subject of dyslexia I honestly don’t know.
The test is then given verbally.
Yes on both counts. It amazes me when so called conservatives who supposedly believe in smaller government voice the opinion that it would be perfectly ok with them if the state were to compel residents to speak English.
As a general rule, I don’t think long term U.S. Citizens should get driver’s licenses until they can converse in English. If we’re talking about people visiting from other countries here on a vacation, I would allow for an exception.
Look, that’s my take on it. I could be all wet, but this move to Balkanize the U.S. is something I’ll fight every way I can. Our language is English. Our citizens and even those who function here on a basis longer than thirty days should be conversational in and able to read English.
If they can pass the written test....and the driving test... they’re good to go.
This country is not a blank slate, we have a language and
a culture. That includes a lot of customs from a lot of
other countries, but people who move here and enjoy our
rights and privilages should respect the existing customs
and language.
Is that same person going to be with them all the time so they can read the road signs for the person that can’t?
Why are we looking for ways to get people who can’t read and write to get a license, when we should be trying to help them read and write?
“We ended up taking her to the [emergency room] because she was NERVOUS; she was just stressing over the ticket.”
No wonder the ER’s are packed! Too many nervous people. LOL
You won’t have to spend your time trying to convince me of that. Sadly, IMO, that’s not the case for a lot of people.
If they were to see the land they grew up on turned into foreign enclaves, perhaps they would. Perhaps not.
It doesn’t make sense to me, for half the adult working age men who live in Los Angeles not to be able to read or write conversational English, but that’s the way it is.
So when people advocate for what they do, I just have to wonder why they don’t see themselves as surrender-monkies?
Thank you. I live in Texas, aka Northern Mexico. Mexicans have taken over every facet of our lives. They flood the roads and hold up traffic because they can’t read where they’re going. They live here all their lives illegally and never make any effort to learn English. We are expected to learn Spanish or provide them with interpreters. Every retail business here has signs in both English and Spanish. Call a business and you have to “press 1 for English”. They want to be here badly enough to risk life and limb crossing the river yet once they get here they do their best to turn Texas into Mexico. It’s as if we’re the foreigners. Can you tell I’m passionate on this subject, lol?
McLynnan, I live in Southern California and we have the same dynamic at play here. LAUSD has to deal with over 160 different languages. 160! Yet the boneheads on this forum don’t see any problem whatsoever with those who speak different languages.
When people hire around here, they look for people who speak multiple languages. In our town there are three main languages spoken and everyone from teachers to emergency responders needs to be able to converse in multiple languages. For the later category, when seconds count, either an interpreter must be found or another person who speaks the language in question fluently enough to rescue the person.
So citizens become less desirable to hire, in their own nation. We cater to the person who won’t learn English, and punish those who do.
If you or I went to another nation to live, we would learn the language in months. There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I’d live somewhere not knowing the nation’s language.
When problems arise, people should be able to communicate. When we’re talking about a motor vehicle and the myriad of things that can go wrong, the operator should know English.
It’s just a fundamental truth.
“When you’re out on an isolated stretch of road and the car on the other side crosses the line and you go off the road and your car flips, tell me if you want the other driver to return and speak English to you, or Spanish.”
I, and I think most people, would be happy that the person came back to help.
Put yourself in your own scenario. You’re flipped over, hurt, in pain, broken arms, legs, whatever. It sounds like you are trying to say that you would stop someone trying to help you (1) to assess their language skills, and then (2) would deny their help if they ended up speaking Spanish, or Swedish, or German?!?!?!?!
You’d be happy they came back to help.
I agree that there are circumstances where you want people to speak English. I don’t think your crashed car scenario is one of them.
I once laid down a motorcycle on an isolated stretch of road in rural New Mexico and ended up lying in the middle of the road bleeding with broken bones. The Mexican family who came by 1/2 hour later spoke no English, but were like angels sent from heaven. They got me to a hospital. I didn’t care how they looked or sounded.
How about this one, vehicle flips over and the non-English speaking driver has 2-one gallon cans of gasoline in the vehicle and it's leaking, as the unsuspecting rescuers run to his aid...As the trapped non-English speaking driver babbles in a foreign language.
“...heaven help me if I’d been pulled over in Scotland, where communication is impossible.”
Sadly, that problem will still be around even in the distant future:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IKnv0QIemw
:-)
Damn right it is a set up.
I saw the same thing in Canada’s run up toward federal biligualism in English and French in the early 1960s.
English only Cop stops frenchman, tries to issue ticket. Frenchman forgets every word of ENglish he knows. GOes to the paper and TV stations, yelling “ I was fined for not speaking English!”
A few years later the police department has mandated quotas for bilingual cops , with a total change in promotion policies, bilingual is required for promotion.The better officers expert in law enforcement take a back seat, and guess what? Crime surges.
This is the beginnning of the bi cultural political movement in Texas. English tax dollars will fund it.This is how it starts. NO HABLA INGLISE!!
Hopey Changey folks. The USA is starting its evolution towards a pluralistic multicultural society. No more melting pot!!!
How do you fight it? Hold free English classes for legal immigrants. Tell them if they want Spanish speaking cops, that the English taxpayer will not pay for it.
And the Obama Junta will be all over this like flies on dog $hit.
It was actually an honest mistake
In Dallas, a citation may be given for non English speaking commercial operators.
The DPD has a system in which their patrol car computer displays violations for which a ticket may be issued. It was not clear on the display that the non English speaking violation applied only to commercial operators. So there have been several incidents where patrol officers mistakenly thought they were following the law based on the computer display.
An honest mistake but as you might suspect area Hispanic leaders are outraged
Oh, you’re just being a paranoid. What’s the chances of that?
I can’t believe you even bothered to post that nonsense...
/s Five, four, three... get ready, here it comes.
We are of the same mind. I work for a hospital in the trauma center. They come in injured (probably because they couldn’t read the English traffic signs) and can’t even tell the doctor where it hurts or if they have drug allergies or how to reach their families, etc. It’s dangerous that they can’t communicate. Naturally we call for the interpreter so we can make sure their free medical care is targeted to their injuries.
Same thing here with jobs. If you are bilingual you are worth your weight in gold. My daughter is fairly fluent in Spanish and is now in pharmacy college. She’s careful to not to let her Spanish get rusty because it’s going to mean extra dollars in her paycheck when she gets out in the working world.
Now that made me laugh!
It's OK with me--just as it's OK for the state to compel residents to obey traffic laws.
Candor, I don’t know why American’s won’t learn from our experience.
Trudeau almost ruined Canada, and we might not have recovered if we hadn’t been situated next to the USA.
Hubby and I remarked the other day, that Trudeau and Obama share many characteristics.
One was French, socialist, arrogant, charismatic, and and inspired a cult following.
The other one isn’t French.
It’s worked for the last 60 years. I haven’t heard any grim tales of the dangers of illiterate drivers.
Good question. Please tell me we're not issuing driver's licenses using bi-lingual tests. That would be stupid and probably dangerous.
You’re darn tootin’. I’ll never forget being on a construction site a few years back when a fully loaded AutoCar dump truck(gross vechicle wieght 40,000 pounds) rolled up and some Spanish speaking guy got out asking me in broken English(Spanglish I’d call it) where such and such aplace was. I thought to myself “Good God, who the heck gave this guy a cdl?”’ I just shook my head and walked away disgusted. Like to take odds on whether a guy like that knows what a Stop sign means?
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