Picture of the Week

The picture of the week is from last Sunday's PostSecret. Ok, I am not posting this for the photographic quality - but mainly for the feelings it provokes in me. It really hurts me to see the phrase: "People who live in the United States and don't bother to speak English make me sick" next to a bunch of Puerto Rican flags. The best way I can think of to best express everything that bothers me about this image is to enumerate them:

1. Why did the person that wrote this PostSecret chose a picture of Puerto Rican flags to express his feelings? I am pretty sure that there are more than one person from every other country in the world that has not learned English in this country. Is it really their fault? And if this is such a big problem.. why not do something about it?
2. I hate the assumption... That every Puerto Rican in the mainland does not know English. FYI, English has been the second official language of the island since 1993. English is a compulsory second language taught at schools and it is used in business, research, industry, and education. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the island. I cannot remember a time in my life where I did not know English. And I learned it the same way it is taught in American schools, no spanish/english translations.
3. And how many Americans travel/move every year to foreign countries without bothering to learn the native language either.
4. What probably hurts me the most is that, for a fact I know that many people live to the stereotype expressed in this PostSecret.
5. I am angered by some Americans' inability to accept other languages. I feel it has forgotten through history that this country, the land of the free, was born and conceived by immigrants searching for a better life, a better future. Those are the real roots of this country. There are bigger more important things to worry about in this country right now.
6. And I have done it all over this blog, but the US calling itself America is a little silly. This sign at Geno's Steaks in Philadelphia, tells customers, "This is America: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH.'" There are 22 countries in America. In 19 of these countries Romance Languages, primarily Spanish and Portuguese, are primarily spoken.



The world does not revolve around a single nation or a single language. I believe in the value and importance of a multilingual society. I believe it is important to adapt to your new environment and country of residence. Uneducated generalizations and assumptions bother me more than anything.

I found this other picture on a link on reddit.com. Oh so many ironies. Not only the forgot the "p", but as noted by one of the people on the message board where I found this, note the mayor's name. Definitely an immigrant.