Dozens of tickets issued for not speaking English
I would be willing to bet that Dallas isn’t the only place this happens. I don’t get what it is that angers some people so much when they hear Spanish being spoken or see a business with a sign printed in Spanish, but it really does anger some people. I’ve seen letters to the editor of a local newspaper complaining about people speaking Spanish to each other while shopping and I always wonder why anyone would care.
Kudos to this Police Chief for addressing the problem.
Dallas Police Chief David Kunkle said this afternoon that his officers have written at least 39 citations to people over the past three years for not speaking English.
Apologizing publicly to the city’s Spanish-speaking community, the chief said all officers and supervisors involved will be investigated for dereliction of duty. All pending citations will be dismissed, and people who paid fines will be reimbursed.
The police chief added: “In my world, you would never tell someone not to speak Spanish.”
The bogus citations – there is no law requiring Dallas residents to speak English – came to light after it was revealed that a rookie officer, Gary Bromley, had issued a citation on Oct. 2 to Ernestina Mondragon for being a non-English-speaking driver.





October 24th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I grew up in northern California and in the 60′s and 70′s, my mom would come home from the grocery store complaining about the Spanish speaking customers. She would say, “When they speak Spanish to each other, you can’t understand a word they say. It’s so rude!” as if it was her right to eavesdrop on their conversations. Now, the people who live here (in central Arkansas) believe anyone who speaks Spanish is undocumented and if someone speaks another language they are a professor.
It funny because one of the things I miss most about California is the diversity and hearing different languages spoken in a public place. We went to Florida last year and as I was walking through the grocery store I heard German, Spanish and French within an aisle of each other and it made me smile. It felt like I was home.
Sage Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
LOL….”as if it were her right to eavesdrop on their conversations.” How true, that’s what a lot of people seem to think.
I’m like you….I like the diversity. Living in Florida around Cubans and in AZ around Mexicans I heard a lot of Spanish.
October 24th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Sometimes, it can be a form of disrespect to speak in a public place in a language that is not the common language IF it is being done intentionally AND if the person speaking is speaking in a derogatory manner to an associate about someone who doesn’t understand that “foreign” language.
However, if someone just doesn’t know English, than there is no intent to defame or defile.
There are instances in emergencies, such as a fire, where people not having a common language can have bad consequences.
.-= Alessandro Machi´s last blog ..Thirty Dirty Republican Politicians who voted not to sanction a federally funded company even after the company covered up an employee rape. =-.
Sage Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
I lived 7 miles from the Mexican border at one time. I heard Americans complaining about the Mexicans speaking Spanish in America but when Americans went into Mexico they spoke English. Not surprisingly they never saw the inconsistency in their complaint.
taoofterri Reply:
October 24th, 2009 at 10:40 pm
@Sage, You are so right. When my parents first started visiting Mexico in the late 80′s, they were appalled that some Mexican natives did not speak enough English to be understood by Americans and yet my parents never considered learning enough of the Spanish language to converse with the locals.
In so many other countries, it is considered mandatory for their children to grow up speaking their native language as well as English. In the U.S., foreign languages are electives and we assume and expect visitors and tourists to speak English to be understood.
Sage Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
How is the website for insurance denials coming along? Need anything?
October 25th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
is that last comment directed towards me?
.-= Alessandro Machi´s last blog ..Thirty Dirty Republican Politicians who voted not to sanction a federally funded company even after the company covered up an employee rape. =-.
Sage Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
@Alessandro Machi, No, I don’t think so.
October 25th, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Terry…it looks like I lost a comment you made. I got an email saying you made a new comment but it didn’t post here. I don’t know why.
taoofterri Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
@Sage, I didn’t post my response here, but sent it by return email. Sorry if it didn’t get to you. Following is my response to your question and the text of my email:
I’m just starting today. Since I know Blogger, I created a new blog using an existing template.
http://youdeservehealthcare.blogspot.com/
I’m a little overwhelmed and fuzzy this afternoon, but I started with an old one. I’ll start posting more tomorrow, one post for each of the six I know about already and any more I can come up with doing a little research. I thought I would list the posts on the sidebar by insurance company, showing how many per company have been posted…like a scorecard.
Any other ideas? The title is not very creative, but that can be changed.
Sage Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 10:23 pm
I think the title is fine. If you get too creative then nobody can find it.
I got the email, but I thought it said it was a reply here. Guess I’m fuzzy today as well.
I’ll put a link to it in my blog roll here.
October 25th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I miss hearing my grandmother speak Spanish, I miss my aunts and uncles and my own father and mother, all born in the united states. Spanish is a lovely language, and it is our right to choose what language is spoken in our own homes.
When we seek out certain nationalities and insist they speak English, it is an assault on their rights and ours to choose.
We all, with exception of the native Americans, immigrated to this country, and I for one am sick to death of whomever it is that think they know what is best for me and mine.
Sage Reply:
October 25th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Yes, Spanish IS a lovely language. I agree that nobody should tell you and yours what language to speak.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:58 am
Down at the Wal-Mart where I shop here in South Florida, these are some of the languages I hear as I cruise along the aisles:
Spanish
Portuguese
Haitian
French
English
Chinese/Vietnamese/Japanese
Farsi
I mean, WOW! What a variety of people and languages!
October 27th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Here’s a story out of Taos, NM about a new hotel owner who fired people for speaking Spanish. . .
“Hotel owner tells Hispanic workers to change names”
Aren’t we the most tolerant of nations? /snark
http://www.startribune.com/nation/65966477.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ
Sage Reply:
October 27th, 2009 at 12:40 am
I heard this on CNN today. The guys a jackass.