Prejudice meets frustration

[Applerod]

(I'm mainly thinking out loud on this one. Not expecting m/any responses, though of course they're appreciated.)

I work as a cashier at an upscale grocery store. About half the time I'm the only person (or one of two) up front who doesn't speak Spanish. Today for instance, for about half my shift, all 10 cashiers, baggers, and assistant managers were conversing in Spanish. I'm also pretty new here so this phenomenon is a trifle alienating, though not completely unfamiliar to me living and working in California. I already made another post about this so I'm not going to go beyond saying it is a bit frustrating, but out of necessity I've come to accept it.
A couple days ago a middle-aged lady came through my lane. I'll paraphrase our interaction:
Her: "Are you new here?"
Me: "Yep, I'm pretty new."
Her: "I thought you were new since you're the only one who isn't speaking Spanish."
Me: "Heh... yea." (smiling)
Her: "It's so rude when people speak another language in front of you. We speak English in this country!"
Me: "...yea, well... I speak French, but that's no help."
Her: "Moi aussi!"
Me: "..."
Her: "I spoke to G___ (the Manager) about this, but I guess my complaints fell on deaf ears."
Me: "..." (thinking) "...ok thanks, bye."
Her: "Bye."

I did have to cogitate about this interaction for awhile. This woman voiced what I in my darker fantasy would like to express--minus the part about hiring Caucasians/English-speakers. Nevertheless, I decided she was mostly in the wrong. I mean, it pisses me off feeling alienated, or worst, insulted in another language -- because that's something I would never do to someone else. But that's just the way it is and I see two general directions to head on this topic: 1) Become increasingly bitter about the changing demographics of the region in which I live; or 2) Accept it and try to adapt.
This is all about language and nothing to do with ethnicity. Ethnicity is incidental.

[Evil Queen]

Might I ask why you didn't just converse with the nice lady in French, then? I see she tried to engage you in it.

[Anriana]

I wouldn't be offended if I went to a grocery store and the employees spoke another language in front of me. As long as they tell me what I need to know in English, I really don't care about the rest of the transaction and might actually prefer if irrelevant things were in another language as they're easier to tune out.

Having worked with Spanish-speaking people with limited English skills, I prefer when they say work-related things to each other in Spanish. Much quicker.

I'm confused as to what the person complained to the manager about. "You hire people who speak foreign languages?" "You hire people who are more comfortable conversing in another language?" If the cashiers had ignored her and continued chatting, or said something in Spanish then looked at her and laughed, I could understand, but it sounds like she was just complaining that she had to hear a language she doesn't like.

[MoxisPilot]

I just have to throw in... Are you trying to learn Spanish? You should have little trouble, as you already speak a Latin-based language.

I understand that most Americans feel threatened by the changing demographics, and feel that people who come to the States should learn even perfunctory English (and I agree!), but I'm of the opinion that everyone should be required to learn at least a second language, especially one that's becoming more and more predominant like Spanish. (When I return to the States, I plan to return to learning the language on top of the mediocre French and Italian I already speak.)

And just to address this as well: I know some people find it very difficult to learn languages. That's why I'm suggesting that schools begin teaching a second language early on in a child's education (preschool, elementary), due to the rapid assimilation of knowledge that children display between the ages of two and ten. It's much easier to become a polyglot when you are already bilingual.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

[protege]

I understand that most Americans feel threatened by the changing demographics, and feel that people who come to the States should learn even perfunctory English (and I agree!), but I'm of the opinion that everyone should be required to learn at least a second language, especially one that's becoming more and more predominant like Spanish.

I don't think it's so much that...but something else. Why should we have to learn another language in our own country? It would be the same if I went to live in Spain, or Russia, or anywhere else that English isn't spoken very much.

[Eben56]

Have to tell a little spanish related story of my own.

I speak a little and understand basic Spanish moderately well. In Maine that is very unusual. If you know a second language here it will probably be French. (Thanks to my Canadian brothers)

When my In-laws moved up from Mass, the moving crew that showed up was Mexican. Boss spoke good English but non of the others tried. It was a snowy day, and I took the day off from work to supervise the unloading.

During the course of the day the crew had several very derogatory conversations about the fat white guy, and the backwoods town, and several phrases that I'm not even prepared to try and translate into anything outside a Del Toro experience. Of course all this time, I smile and point and basicly act dumb.

Finally had enough and when one of them put something down, I looked at him and told him in Spanish to put it in the bedroom next to the hutch.

The looks? Priceless!

[Bella_Vixen]

everyone should be required to learn at least a second language.

There are some people who canNOT manage to learn a second language, no matter how hard they try. Trust me.

[bainsidhe]

I don't think it's so much that...but something else. Why should we have to learn another language in our own country? It would be the same if I went to live in Spain, or Russia, or anywhere else that English isn't spoken very much.

That's just it. In many counties, students automatically have a second language as part of their curriculum, oftentimes starting at a young age where children learn and adapt more quickly. When I was in Germany, I was surprised at how many German students spoke fluent English. Even after studying German in college, my language skills were still a horrid mess.

Being excluded from conversations sucks, though. Can you attempt to socialize or start conversations? This only helps when you're involved directly in the conversation. Consider this an opportunity to tweak your language skills and learn about other cultures.

[MoxisPilot]

I don't think it's so much that...but something else. Why should we have to learn another language in our own country? It would be the same if I went to live in Spain, or Russia, or anywhere else that English isn't spoken very much.

...But many people in Spain and Russia DO speak English. That's what I'm saying. It's a show of goodwill. It's a way to communicate and understand one another. People here learn three languages in high school, even if they wind up only using their native tongue.

We should have to learn another language in our own country because, unfortunately, English will soon become one of two languages spoken in the U.S. I'm not advocating people coming in to the country and refusing to learn the predominant language, but how can they be expected to learn if we don't take the first step towards communicating?

[MoxisPilot]

There are some people who canNOT manage to learn a second language, no matter how hard they try. Trust me.

But I'm sure most people can understand perfunctory phrases like "hello', "Thank you", and "Where is the bathroom."

You don't need to be fluent. You just need to be able to convey an idea; phrase books are fantastic things.

[Becks]

I know how to say some things* in different languages**.

*They range from polite, to different phrases, to downright obscene. I have talent...and a horrific accent.

**English, of course...Spanish, French, German, Italian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Turkish, Arabic and I can read a tiny bit of Irish Gaelic and Portuguese. Danish and Polish are far beyond me, though.

[Geek King]

...But many people in Spain and Russia DO speak English. That's what I'm saying. It's a show of goodwill. It's a way to communicate and understand one another. People here learn three languages in high school, even if they wind up only using their native tongue.

Learning from goodwill or interest is much different from being forced to learn another language. I have no interest in learning Spanish or French (my only high school choices), so I did terrible. I have interest in learning German (family history), and did well with it in college. I've picked up a decent amount of Japanese from anime watching, and may one day take an actual language class to learn more.

Let's also consider that English is a popular second language in many countries because several jobs (Air Traffic Control, for instance) are done in English no matter where you are in the world. Japanese is also a decent one to learn for business purposes in most places.

Also, most people (in the US, at least) will not be in a situation where they use another language often enough to keep up any sort of fluency without constant reinforcement. People will almost never go out of their way to keep practicing, so the knowledge is lost anyway. Learning multiple Languages might be a nice ideal, but it is not a realistic unless it is going to be used often enough to keep in practice. Forcing someone to learn things that will go unused later almost always fails.

[protege]

Learning from goodwill or interest is much different from being forced to learn another language. I have no interest in learning Spanish or French (my only high school choices), so I did terrible.

I had to take Spanish in high school. Do I want to take it again? Nope. Why? After taking it 4 years, and then forgetting most of it because I *don't* use it at all...why would I waste my time?

[Anriana]

There are some people who canNOT manage to learn a second language, no matter how hard they try. Trust me.

I think their point was that people should be taught two languages in school. Unless you have a learning disability that prevents you from learning new things after five (which, from my understanding, is when people really learn their primary language anyways - look at all of the second gen immigrants who didn't learn English until they started school and speak it just as well as someone who has heard it from the womb), why wouldn't someone be capable of learning two languages?

[Bella_Vixen]

I took languages in high school: French and Spanish. I hung out with my Spanish speaking friends who went out of their way to help me learn Spanish. I just couldn't do it.

Like I said: some people canNOT learn a second language.