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.
But the gist of the comments that I responded to, were from people saying that we needed to establish an "official" language in the US...by law.
My response was then, and it continues to be that the government is forbidden to do so by the First Amendment for anything beyond it's own workings.
The rest of you guys, obssesed with illegal immigrants (as you all are), immediately jumped on the "illegals have no wish to learn English" bandwagon.
Not what I am talking about.
I was very sad to read your post. Times have changed, and not for the better. I weep for this country.
Nice to hear you say that, I nominate you head of the INS then since Washington seems to think it's no big deal they're pouring into our communities and imposing their culture on us.
That's right, and these pandering politicians who refuse to toss these squatters out need to go along with them.
What time should I come over?
no tejano music please, it sounds like a polka with an accent
I said the same thing in posts #218, #310, #318, #322, #326, #332, and #336...several of them addressed to you by the way. Maybe YOU need to learn English.
This post made me laugh out loud. You just proved the point of the ones you are arguing against. If you had called someone a "faggot" in English here on FR, that post would have been deleted, so you use Spanish to subvert your message. Keep it up, this is rich stuff!
You mean to hide it from the .5% of the population that doesn't know what that word means?
PLEEEEZE!!!!
Here I am, hiding in plain sight again.
It's simply uncivilized to serve it otherwise.
Now, now Luis, I always spoke well of you.
You need to read my posts as well, I don't care what language legal Hispanics want to speak at home or on the street. I think it would be courteous of them though at work to speak English, it's not too much to ask since this wonderful country was generous enough to let them in. It's illegals who are splitting the country apart, and the boys in Washington need to stop playing games with this. Maybe Mr. Brock is the start of something, I hope so.
See?
My point, the one that I have been making since my arrival on the thread, is that the First Amendment to the constitution prevents the Feds from establishing an official language.
Period.
The secondary point being that given time, people will assimilate into the culture, but only if they are here legally. You can't both be marginalized and assimilate.
That's because you are not one Joe. And the race-baiter here is you, you sorry ass bigot. No one is talking about race here, other than you and the rest of the Mexiphobes.
If I'm not mistaken the Founders did vote to make English the official language, beating out German or French by one vote. And it was a German immigrant?? who voted to keep it English (someone can correct me if I'm wrong). No, technically there isn't anything in the Constitution that specifically mandates an official language, but unofficially we all know English is.
As I have been saying since the beginning of this thread, if Congress would get immigration under control, we wouldn't be having these problems since the assimiliation process would work much better than it is now.
Get out of town!!! Really?
All this time I've been pissed off at JimRob for the lack of Spanish threads in the forum...and here I thought it was the software.
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