"English bypassed in L.A."

The L.A. Daily News offers several anecdotes of immigrants to Los Angeles not bothering to learn English: "English bypassed in L.A.". Koreans learn Spanish, Hispanics learn Korean, and all don't need to learn English:

"To an outside person, it looks like something nice. There's an ethnic exchange going on. But the reality is that it's an exchange of necessity [because of commerce]," said Vy Nguyen, a lead organizer for the Korean Immigrant Worker's Advocate...

Well, to some outside persons, such as "liberals", it might be nice. But, to those who think about this it's just another byproduct of Gramscism, otherwise known as multiculturalism.

"In California, Spanish is more important than English," said [Korea Times columnist Martin Paik], a Seoul native. "I haven't found any inconvenience because I don't speak English. ... I don't need to speak English. If you can speak Spanish, you can drive, employers can have clients, you can order in restaurants, you can do anything."

And:

Paik admits he often gets funny looks from Spanish speakers who at first glance are surprised by his fluency. But once the tongue starts wagging, Latinos - especially immigrants - quickly let down their guard. They are accustomed to seeing Asians in their homelands. Mexico City boasts a robust Chinatown and Argentina is home to thousands of South Korean immigrants.

How high-minded of them.

["Yoon Seong, a 60-year-old Korean - by way of Spain" says:] "For me being here, the Hispanic community is the only world for me. I don't need English here. All that you need in California is Spanish."

Obviously, without knowing English they aren't prepared to be Americans. Their news will always be filtered through one ethnic lens or another, and they won't be exposed to as wide a spectrum of viewpoints. Somehow I think that that's one of the side-effects that the multiculturalists want. While those who only look at economic matters might rejoice in their economic benefit, from a civil standpoint this is not a good development.

Los_Angeles · Mon, 09/26/2005 - 17:47 · · Importance: 1