RSSNashville, TN Mayor Bill Purcell vetoes English-only bill
So Nashville, TN Mayor Bill Purcell thinks an English official language bill is unconstitutional, unnecessary mean-spirited? Mr. Mayor, some think you are gutless.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Mayor Bill Purcell vetoed a measure Monday that would have made English the official language of Nashville, saying it was unconstitutional, unnecessary and mean-spirited.
”This ordinance does not reflect who we are in Nashville,” Purcell said.
“Its does not reflect what we are”. You mean American? I am sure Nashville does not even remotely reflect the feeling of the state of TN on this subject.
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14 Responses to “Nashville, TN Mayor Bill Purcell vetoes English-only bill”
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Hola, mayor, maybe your paycheck can be paid in pesos.
SHOW ME THE ARTICLE IN THE CONSTITUTION THAT MADE YOU COME TO THIS CONCLUSION.
I wonder if he’s worried that the bill might come back and
bite him in the bazooka… the way they speak in Tennesee,
with that thick Southern accent, can hardly be rated as
good english.
(Joust Joinkin’ Wid Ya… I Theinnk)
well that was insulting.
Patti,
Having traveled throughout the USA, I can assure you that the south does not corner the market on small minded, bigoted, ignorant individuals. A point that you managed to prove single-handedly with your comment (“the way they speak in Tennessee”).
I would have thought that one intelligent enough to navigate a PC keyboard and put words in some form of coherency, would have been intelligent enough not to be an idiot. Evidently, I was wrong — at least about you.
Hmmm – so are we Americans going to have to speak another language in America? We all know the politicans speak a language no one understands.
Sometimes you just have to laugh about the world we live in!
Don’t you find it redundant that we would have a need for
such a bill in the first place? Isn’t it obvious that we
are an English-speaking country? Yes, it is; most of the
time. But it is also true that there are people that can,
truly, murder the English language!
Sometimes, I write with irony. Not meaning what I say but
making a point. I may be an idiot; or, maybe, you just
don’t get it.
Ronnie-To-Shues:
Lighten up! Things are rarely as bad as they seem.
Patti:
Oh, so do you consider English spoken with a thick Brooklyn accent “good English?” I was born, raised, and educated in Tennessee, and I make no attempt to hide my accent. It is a reflection of who I am and where I come from, and I am just as proud of it as someone raised in Brooklyn is proud of theirs. If you still don’t get it, let me help you out–accents are reflections of where we come from, not our I.Q.s. As long as someone is making an effort to learn the language when they come to this country, I couldn’t care less with what accent they speak it.
I think that Patti was trying to make a joke, and that is all. For the record, I once stopped at a diner in West Virginia, and it had paper mats at the table that poked gentle fun at Appalachian “hillbilly” ways and manners.
Those people felt secure enough with who and what they were to accept a little “ribbing” about it. And I think that Tennessee, the Volunteer State, is a terrific place.
Anyway, on this matter … I can say from my own experience, having lived and worked in several countries abroad, that if I had been held to the same rule I would have been in deep trouble.
In Japan, for instance, checks are almost unknown. Most bills are paid through electronic transfer at the bank, and you have to fill out a form in Japanese to get that done.
Luckily for me, the workers there were always obliging and usually rewrote it.
Illegal immigrants are one thing, but I hope we’re not going to see an epidemic of mean-spirited behavior that marks out as vulnerable those people who need assistance.
Of course, cooperation can go too far. Things like driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants are absolutely insane, in my view. But linguistic matters are different.
Richard:
You got it!
Whether it is considered fun to criticize the way people talk because of them being from a foreign country or being from another part of our own country, it is mean-spirited. Whether we complain about having to listen to someone with a Mexican accent, an Italian accent or broken English, it is wrong; just as it was wrong for me to poke fun at a thick Southern accent. I was simply trying to make a point, and obviously, my point came in loud and clear. No one, whether they be a foreigner or a citizen of this country wants to bear the brunt of someone else’s joke… And we have been bombarded by these jokes. To hear someone say, “Learn to speak English or shut up!” has become commonplace.
In my, most humble opinion, the Mayor of Memphis, is correct. This bill and all those like it are demeaning. How fortunate that the people of Memphis has a Mayor that will stand against the popular vote on the grounds of sound principle.
We all need to take the time to try to communicate with one another in spite of feeling distracted because of the manner in which one speaks. We, also, need to try to understand each other, in spite of our differences. The posting of my comment and the strong reactions derived from it, is proof of that.
Ohhhhhhhhhh no he didn’t! He can hang up his political career in Memphis and/or anywhere else for that matter
Susie:
I know what you’re laughing about and I’m laughing with you!
But, thanks to the mayor’s stance, we are allowed to make
mistakes. Thanks for your kindness…
(Smile)
Mabey he should go be the mayor in a mexican city and while he’s at it he can take all these ileagle mexicans with him. Quite frankley I’m sick of them infesting everything in sight like a bunch of cockroaches.
Obviously you’re not here legally if you can’t speak English and allowing everything to be translated into another language not only wastes ink and paper but encourages them to continue speaking in only thier language and not learn English (which our road signs are written in). I’m all for immagrants in Nashville as long as they are here legally and can at least read and write moderately well in our language. Think of it like this, if you went to live in another country, let’s say France, they wouldn’t suddenly start speaking or writing in English. Instead you would be expeted to learn French, just like everybody else had to.