Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The ugly side of not speaking English? Indiana’s SB 590 Attacks Immigrants and their Languages

This posting was inspired based on an article I read   dated January 14, 2011  from Hispanically Speaking News titled: “Indiana’s SB 590 Attacks Immigrants and their Languages” - this  is the link 
These words reflect my opinions and are sardonic in tone. They do not intended to insult anyone living or dead. Hopefully you will find this entertaining and and at best humorous.  
Remember though: 
"A joke is a very serious thing". 
                                  Winston Churchill
Being allowed to act on “reasonably suspicious” premises may totally eclipse prejudice; it reminds me of the fascist practices imposed by the Nazis during WWII. 
Please let me know about your thoughts on being questioned to proof your identity on the basis of your looks, that is, on the grounds of being "reasonable suspicious". 
Visible minorities, who are residents of Indiana, should not be afraid these days, you live in the “developed” world and this is the year 2011.  The probability of being questioned because the pimple on your nose is ugly, or because your accent is foreign, or because you prefer to speak in a foreign language is absolutely zero!  Believe me; all officers in Indiana are reasonable except when suspicious.    
If the color of your skin you wear is not within the “norm” it should not be a problem to you either; however, it may be a little controversial (if not illegal) if on top of your color your moves betray you as suspiciously gay!   But now seriously speaking, never mind if your loose apparel reveals you ethnicity or religious believes (touchy subject, mind me writing so small). Don’t worry for any of these totally insignificant stereotypes my dear friendly; minority looking resident of Indiana.  I am absolutely sure that it is still safe to J-walk there! 
One should only be fearful of “reasonable suspiciousness” if you are an innocent white Polish immigrant going through the control gates at the Vancouver international airport… There, the authorities mercilessly greet those of that kind with powerful Taser stun guns! (Robert Dziekanski – RIP Nov. 2007) But then, Indiana is not in Canada and thus one more reason not to be fearful. 
The truth is that legislators in the State of Indiana are reasonable persons and wish to protect your civil rights – they are only after illegal humans and not you. What???? Did I say that right?… illegal humans? – How can it be illegal to be a human? … Trust me there are illegal humans amongst us. There is nothing to hide about it any more. This was on the Wiki leaks cables, but even Mr JA (the big mouth!) had his reservations about going public with this one, but I will not!  
Legislators are mainly concerned about persecuting mutant aliens coming from outer space that look suspiciously human; these are the culprits of all things that go wrong in Indiana, they are dangerous to society, and the world is being invaded as we speak… watch out for them as they are lurking in your neighborhood, and we know for a fact that Indiana is a preferred destination! 
Now you have the real picture and an explanation of the truth,  Please tell the world that you read it in my blog!  If you still want to play it safe, my other best advice for you to evade being singled out in public, is to mind flatulence that smells too spicy – that will certainly get you in trouble, unless of course, you can blame it on someone else! 
Cheers. 
Cesar Macher
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Here is a copy of the article:


"Indiana State Sen. Mike Delph, R- Carmel not only wants to implement a Arizona style bill but wants to bar the use of any language but English in most government transactions.
“We’re taking the handcuffs off of law enforcement. We’re holding employers who are thumbing their noses at the law accountable. And we’re lifting up the English language,” Delph said Friday.
Opposition groups fear the bill will lead to profiling and hurting businesses in the state.
“I’m worried that the unintended consequences of what he’s doing is to put a sign on our state saying we don’t want immigrants,” said John Livengood, co-chairman of the Alliance for Immigration Reform in Indiana, a coalition of groups that want to see immigration reforms left to the feds.
Senate Bill 590 is a thirty page proposal and includes:
-requires state and local law enforcement officers who stop anyone for violating a law or ordinance to ask for proof that the person is here legally if the officers have “reasonable suspicion” that the person is not a citizen or legal visitor
- Businesses that hire illegal immigrants can be shut down.
- Most government transactions, documents and meetings would be in English. The state would shut down their Spanish language portal and printing forms, ballots in other languages
-The state will bill to Congress for reimbursement of all costs for undocumented residents in Indiana.
-No financial aid, scholarships or grants for education at U of I and would have to pay out of state tuition.
- Cities and counties would be barred from limiting the enforcement of federal immigration laws.( No Sanctuary Cities)
According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Indiana was estimated to have 120,000 illegal immigrants in 2009, up from 10,000 in 1990.
“This is going to lead to profiling almost surely,” Livengood , Alliance for Immigration Reform in Indiana co-chair, said. “Our biggest fear—my biggest fear—is that Indiana becomes known as a state where immigrants aren’t welcome.”
Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon, a Hammond Democrat who is one of two Hispanics in the legislature, agreed.
“While I don’t condone illegal activity, it’s pretty foolhardy to pass a bill modeled after a bill being litigated in federal court,” she said.
The bill has already been promised a hearing in the Senate Pensions and Labor Committee. Ten senators have signed on as co-sponsors, and Delph expects more.
He predicted: “This is going to fly.”
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the article also features on our facebook page, this is what a friend of mine had to say about it:
Oswaldo Trigueiros
It seems the republicans have nothing better to do, than blame immigrants for their failures, so instead of working on positive attitudes to generate employment, better working conditions for their states they sit around and waste their time on coming up onlaws based on prejudice. I guess they should have listened to MLK speech.
I agree everybody should speak english, and not only in the US but everywhere, its the language for doing business, plus we dont any more laws regulating our lives, we have to keep the Govt out of our lives.