I’m probably gonna hear about this, but Speak English already!

I get it, the land of opportunity, the melting pot, bring us your tired, your down-trodden.  I would be fighting to get across the Rio Grande if I were in that situation too.

You know, I can order food when in Mexico, sorta.  I can find the bathroom.  Heck, if I lived THERE, I would speak the language.

The deal is, I was at the unemployment office the other day.  First of all, the group that came in didn’t seem to speak our language.  We Americans are giving them money for not working.  No problem, that’s how it works.  If you’re eligible, get some money.  But is it too much to ask to have you speak our language when you are in the office where they cut the checks?  c’mon.

Then, about 5 minutes later, they had to call an interpreter to conduct another interview.  I mean the fact that they HAD a person that happened to speak Yabba Dabba do is amazing.  OK, I know.  It was some important language,  blah, blah, blah.  No disrespect meant, but it sounded like yabba dabba do.

Then, I happened to stop into a McDonalds.  This was before my wife and I watched  Super-Size Me.  So what’s more American than McDonalds, or Chevy or good old apple Pie?  They have Haupia pie here in Hawaii, which is another name for coconut, I think.

Anyhoo, the small person that took my order did not speak (much) English.  These kids, from other lands are taught just enough to take an order.  You go off the script, forget it.  I love to joke with the help, and hopefully make them laugh or at least chuckle.

Nope, no more of that.  No jokes, no playful banter, and certainly no questions about trans fats.

Not that long ago, I was working in a place that thankfully, I will never have to work in again.  Enough said about that.  Anyway, all of a sudden one day, a group of people showed up to picket.  They were trying hard to do things to dissuade people from doing business with me.  Trying to hurt my income.

Turns out, they don’t have a beef with my company, or the company that we are directly associated with.  These people have a gripe with a company that our two companies assciated or partnered with. THAT company took over management of a hotel, and put a bunch of these people out of work.  Sorry folks, but new managers and owners do that.  They get to.

So I went to confront a couple of the picketers, they were almost in my lap anyway.  They just stared back at me and would not talk.  Why?  They don’t speak English.  Hello, or is it Ola or something else.  Anyway, can’t you learn the language before you go picketing, trying to hurt the performance of other workers?

I guess they could go and work at McDonalds anyway….

I intend to solve my issue with this situation by avoiding BOTH of these establishments, and that employer…I hope I don’t run out of material to talk about….in English.