I acknowledge your right to feel differently. I am not suggesting eavesdropping. I am suggesting excluding people is rude. If I am in a store and someone is speaking Spanish I am at a disadvantage. It is most likely not relevant to me and I suck it up. I would never have spoken as the woman did in the article. Her comment was more discourteous that the speaking of a child in Spanish. If I am with someone whose English is imperfect I generally use a redundant blend of the two languages so no one is excluded. The Mom could have done that. It’s not fair to expect a child to be exclusive in English or her other language in any given circumstance.
More relevant is the situation in schools where when Spanish is spoken in the hallways & there is a high level of violence I personally have had family get nervous and be in a perpetual state of Anxiety “are the talking about jumping me”?
We do not walk alone in a cone of silence; we take clues from the talk of those around us. Spanish speakers often found as though there is a problem because the language is more animated. If they conversation were in English one could discount it immediately as personal from a few words & tune out. If its in another language you are left unclear as to whether to offer assistance or move further away. Their use of Spanish in a public place isolates them and accentuates barriers.
the typos are slaying me...are they talking...often sound not found...
“More relevant is the situation in schools where when Spanish is spoken in the hallways & there is a high level of violence I personally have had family get nervous and be in a perpetual state of Anxiety “are the talking about jumping me”?”
That is understandable and students should not have an expectation of privacy in such situations. In fact I would support a teacher there requiring English to be spoken in the public areas of the school. The same would hold true for English speaking students making gang signs.
If the animated conversation of others leaves you wondering if they are simply loud or needing assistance it should be easy enough to look at non-verbal cues. They may be speaking Spanish because they want to be isolated. They should be careful though of accentuating barriers when it would be better for those barriers to come down.