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ConAgra blasts singer's remarks
Story By Perry Swanson
July 11, 2002 -- 03:14:29 EDT
The chief executive of Greeley's largest employer on Wednesday condemned comments from a country western singer who said immigrants to the United States should speak English or leave.
John Simons, chief executive officer of ConAgra Beef, sent a letter to the Greeley Tribune, calling the singer's comments "closed-minded" and "out-of-step with the 21st century." ConAgra employs 4,500 people in Colorado. Many of them are Hispanic and speak only Spanish.
Reaction to singer Chad Brock's comments has been fierce since he made them Friday during a concert at the Greeley Independence Stampede. Much of it has been in support of Brock. He later said he didn't intend the comments to be offensive.
At the concert, Brock said he was tired of adapting to accommodate people who speak languages other than English.
"Why should we adapt? You are coming to our country. We don't speak Russian. We don't speak Spanish. We speak English here," he said.
Greeley's city government is considering a forum where residents can talk about their opinions. Some Hispanic leaders also have called on Stampede sponsors, such as ConAgra, to speak against Brock's opinion. A spokesman for ConAgra said Simons drafted his letter before he received requests from outside the company to do so.
"We are a major employer of members of the Hispanic community, and we take that role very seriously," spokesman Jim Herlihy said. "We have had some calls from people in the community, but we wouldn't do it because of that."
ConAgra is a longtime sponsor of the annual Stampede festival.
Herlihy said he didn't know the details of the arrangement. Sponsorship packages range in price from $2,000 to $200,000. The Stampede reported $653,568 in direct public support for its 2000 season, or 21 percent of its revenues that year.
ConAgra is the first sponsor to take a public stand on the issue.
In his letter to the Tribune, Simons said ConAgra does not condone Brock's opinion but also does not dispute Brock's right to express it.
"Our nation is grounded in open-armed acceptance of peoples of all races and ethnic backgrounds," Simons wrote.
"Sometimes we're better at it than others. What makes this country great is our ability to ultimately learn from and adapt to each new wave of peoples who come to us from abroad."
The feedback from Brock's comments has largely focused on Greeley residents who were born in another country or who speak only Spanish. According to the 2000 census, 6,414 Greeley residents list a Latin American country as their nation of birth. Census data also indicate 18.5 percent of Greeley residents speak Spanish at home.
At ConAgra, 75 percent of production workers are Hispanic. Data do not exist on the number who speak only Spanish, but estimates range as high as 60 percent.
Delores Miller of Greeley said she feels sympathy for people who speak only Spanish. But they're experiencing the same cultural evolution other U.S. immigrants have, she said. Miller's family were Germans living in Russia before they moved here, she said.
"I am so happy my parents and grandparents decided to come to this country," Miller said. "Just because Mexico is closer, that doesn't mean we have to adopt their language in this country."
A man who speaks only Spanish said he agrees, but that's easier said than done. Armando Rios-Vasquez came from Guatemala five years ago. He lives in Greeley and works in Loveland.
"All the people should learn English when there is money and time," Rios-Vasquez said in Spanish. "But for a lot of people there is no opportunity."