Posted on 07/09/2002 10:43:24 AM PDT by Tancredo Fan
Singer's remark riles Hispanics -- Greeley debates 'English' comment
By Michael Riley
Denver Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 09, 2002
A country western singer who told his audience at the Greeley Independence Stampede that immigrants should learn to speak English ignited an emotional debate in a community that has seen an influx of Hispanics over the past decade.
Warner Brothers recording star Chad Brock said Monday that his comments were meant to express his "pride in being American." But Hispanic leaders said they were racist and the failure of Stampede organizers to condemn them shows the refusal to embrace newcomers.
Brock stepped on stage Friday to belt out hits like "Lighting Does the Work," but he salted his performance with some sharp opinions.
In a speech between sets, Brock said he was tired of having to adapt to the widening influence of the country's newcomers. "You are coming to our country. We don't speak Russian. We don't speak Spanish. We speak English here," Brock told an audience of 7,000, according to the Greeley Tribune. While many Hispanics in the audience walked out, people who attended the event said many non-Hispanics cheered.
Brock, a former pro wrestler, said Monday that the comments came out of an honest patriotic fervor, inspired in part by a recent court decision declaring the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional.
"I'm not a racist. I wasn't directing the comments toward any particular group. I was speaking my mind as an American" during the Fourth of July holiday, Brock said.
"But I had no idea there were so many Hispanics in Greeley," he said. "I didn't mean to offend anybody."
Hispanic leaders said "offend" doesn't even begin to cover it.
"His comments were bigoted, inflammatory and hateful," said Roberto Cordova, a local college professor.
The issue goes deeper than Brock, said Jorge Amaya, director of the Northern Colorado Latino Chamber of Commerce. "The problem isn't what Brock said. The problem is that our community leaders didn't step up to condemn it."
At a news conference Monday, the Hispanic leaders demanded an apology from city officials, the event's corporate sponsors and Stampede organizers. They said this isn't the first time the Stampede has offended the city's growing Hispanic population.
Citing poor ticket sales, Stampede organizers last year canceled the fiesta section of the annual event.
Stampede marketing director Kyle Holman said organizers wanted to make the fiesta more inclusive and renamed it Family Night.
"Mr. Brock has the right of free speech just like every other American," Holman said. "But his opinion aren't necessarily the opinions of the Greeley Stampede."
But some here said they share Brock's sentiments.
According to census figures, Greeley's Hispanic population nearly doubled in the 1990s, as immigrants, many with limited English skills, took jobs in the region's meat packing plants and feedlots.
As the ethnic makeup of schools and neighborhoods shifts, some residents say they feel left out. Language has become both a divide and a flashpoint.
"If we're going to communicate, everybody needs to speak the same language," said Billie Messner, a patron at a local coffee shop.
Greeley City Manager Leonard Wiest said the city is working to accommodate newcomers.
Brock said Monday that while he's sorry if his comments offended anyone, he won't apologize.
"I had the guts to speak out, but I think a lot of people feel the same way," he said.
"Refusal to embrace newcomers?" It is not apparently enough to tolerate them, while one sees if they will fit in, and become good productive and not troublesome residents. They must not be expected to prove themselves, or to win respect as others won respect by years of living decent lives. They must be embraced!
Well, I will not characterize that idea at a forum where refined women and some bright school aged children come to participate in patriotic ventures. But I think that I will take a pass on the embracing.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
Yes we do and In the past 8 months, the Border Patrol has apprehended 636,471 illegal aliens crossing the border. The INS Inspectors have intercepted 447,881 inadmissible aliens at the US ports of entry. The INS Criminal Investigators have successfully completed 32,417 cases and the Deportation Officers have removed 81,762 aliens from the United States.
11,000,000+ vs. 20,000+.
Maybe.
BS, I was born here. I am not an Immigrant.
I'm with ya.
I bet if I added just one more inane pro multculti, pro open-borders shibboleth along the lines of 'they're willing to do the jobs Americans won't do' my sarcasm would've been plainly apparent:)
Yeah, BUT,They won't!!
And how do you know what the INS will and will not do?
:)
Mr. Brock believes in free speech, just not for everyone.
There isn't a single place in the Constitution where English is mandated for anyone, or any language for that matter. People who wish to live here without ever learning English, have that right protected under the First Amendment, albeit marginalized by their inability to communicate in a common langauge, as long as they obey the laws of the land, pay their taxes, and are willing to defend the nation when needed.
Like it or not, freedom of speech extends itself unto language.
And no, those who refuse to learn English have no right to expect others to learn any language other than the common language of the nation, they must accept the fact that will live outside the mainstream of society...and that's their right as well, just like if a native-born American decides never to utter another word in any language tomorrow, or go live in the woods "away from society".
Freedom is a scary thing, you should try to understand it.
And BTW, "sir"...not everyone with a Hispanic surname is an illegal.
I always thought the Mexican agricultural laborers were called 'braceros', not 'embraceros'. ;^)
Like I said on another thread, I don't blame you or those in the rank and file of the INS but rather your leadership (Ziggy), and especially Congress who won't appropriate enough money for manpower to deal with this huge problem. 2000 interior agents to enforce laws against 10 million illegals isn't going to do it. And the fact Congress is dragging their feet, even after 9/11 tells me they don't want to confront it.
The "newcomers" we're talking about in this story, in Colorado, home to Tom Tancredo who's been the most outspoken critic of immigration policy, I'd wager are predominately illegal. There's no way the population would be exploding so quickly if they weren't.
If the INS had more field agents and a mandate from Congress, they would be more effective I don't doubt that.
Chad Brock clearly should have given his Chicano fans in the audience a cheery greeting in the language with which they're more comfortable:
¦La Migra! ¦Huya, funcione lejos a mis amigos!
That likely would have done it....
And damned proud to be one.
There's no way that most of these Mexicans are legal, when we have been flooded in five short years, in GEORGIA? How close is Georgia to the Mexican border? About 1200 miles.
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