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February 14, 2014

Use Your Words - February 2014






Today’s post is a writing challenge. This is how it works: participating bloggers picked 4 – 6 words or short phrases for someone else to craft into a post. All words must be used at least once and all the posts will be unique as each writer has received their own set of words. That’s the challenge, here’s a fun twist; no one who’s participating knows who got their words and in what direction the writer will take them. Until now.

Links to the other “Use Your Words” posts:

http://BakingInATornado.com                   Baking In A Tornado

http://www.justalittlenutty.com                 Just A Little Nutty

http://batteredhope.blogspot.com             Battered Hope

http://www. JuiceboxConfession.com          Juicebox Confession

www.theblacksheepmom.blogspot.com      Black Sheep Mom

http://stacysewsandschools.wordpress.com   Stacy Sews and Schools

http://thethreegerbers.blogspot.ch/              Confessions of a part time working mom

http://www.eviljoyspeaks.wordpress.com     Evil Joy Speaks

http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com         Spatulas on Parade

http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com.au      Searching for Sanity

http://berghamchronicles.blogspot.com/               The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

www.fbxadventures.blogspot.com                      FBX Adventures (In Parenting)

http://www.healingtomato.com                     Healing Tomato

http://dates2diapers2.blogspot.com                Dates 2 Diapers 2

http://followmehome.shellybean.com               Follow me home . . .

www.outmannedmommy.com/                       Outmanned

MY WORDS -   melting pot ~ Dora the Explorer ~ motorcycle ~tennis shoes ~ playground

SUBMITTED BY - Dates 2 Diapers

I admit it. At first I was completely stumped. What on Earth? Dora AND motorcycle?? YILES!!! But then something came along. A commercial to be precise. A beautiful commercial that brought out the ugly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=443Vy3I0gJs

So, I'm about to give you my 2 cents. You don't have to agree with me. I just ask that you not be ugly about it. Ok? We all have different opinions and that's one of the things that makes this world a great place to be. Imagine for a second that everyone was the exact same. HOW BORING!!! The differences between people are make this world better.

Here we go. You can stop reading if you like. ;)

This is the United States of America. We were built of the foundations of "different". First of all, there were already people living here. Remember them? The Native Americans?

Then came the Europeans. The Spanish, the British, the French and the Dutch. Look at all of those diverse languages right there. Look at the differences in religion.

You have all the languages of the Native Americans and their religious beliefs. You have the languages and religious beliefs of the different European settlers.

Diversity.

Then that all ended with wars here and there, some land takeovers and some buying of land.

Now we are here in 2014. That's a lot of time. We have 5o states and each one had a different beginning. Some of them even spoke a different language! GASP! Like Hawaii not so long ago.

Did you know that we are supposed to be a "melting pot"?? Not a mortal and pestle to ground out all the native cultures. No. A melting pot to absorb, take in, mix around, become one with other cultures.

Did you know that you do NOT have to speak English to get a green card? Did you know that the immigrants that came here (even through Ellis Island) did NOT have to speak English? It has NEVER been a requirement. I knew a kid in high school whose grandmother could only speak Polish. Should we have tossed her out??

I thinkI HOPE most people in this country get it. I hope that sounds of the people throwing such a hissy over such a beautiful commercial were just the loudest and NOT the majority.

Take a look at TV. On Nick they have "Dora the Explorer" and "Ni Hao Kai Lan". Why? Because we are a melting pot. We have many different types of people and THAT is what makes this country great.

Did you know that you can't tell by just the way someone looks what type of person they are or where they "come" from? Take my Dad for an example. He has black hair, brown eyes and dark complected skin. He has been mistaken for Mexican and Filipino. He isn't. He's a mixture. French, German, Cherokee, Shawnee.... Irish.... WOW! My DAD is a melting pot. Imagine that. All those different languages in one person.

To further that conversation, my Dad was also a motorcycle rider. He LOVED it. He would still be riding today if it wasn't for his health issues. But you know what. People would judge him because he looked like a biker. He must be a bad person! Quick! Grab your kids up when he walks onto the playground!

See, it's all part of the same thing. Prejudice. Someone "looks" a certain way. Someone "sounds" a different way.

There was a story going around about a woman that was on her phone in the checkout line. She was speaking a GASP different language. She hangs up and the man behind her says to speak English or leave the country. She turns and tells him that she was speaking Navajo! BAM!!!

But I have to wonder. Did THAT matter?? Look at what happened to the many Native languages. A lot of them are gone and forgotten. Why?  Because Native American children were taken from their homes. Their hair was cut, their clothing changed. They were forced to learn English and were only allowed to speak English. Is that what the people throwing hissy fits want now?? Should we waylay every immigrant and lock them up until they speak English and only English?

I guess I just don't understand. I don't understand that kind of hate. What is it to you if someone can't/won't speak English? Maybe they tried and just couldn't get it.

That why we have China Town and Little Italy. There are in cities all over this country. Why? Well, mostly because the immigrants were treated SO HORRIBLY when they got here that they found other immigrants like them and settled in the same place.

EVERY SINGLE group of mass immigrants has been treated atrociously. The Italians, the Irish, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Jewish. Why? Because their religions were different. Their faces were different. Their skin was different. Their language was different.

And in 2014 we are still doing it.

Yes, yes... I know. You call a call center and it says to press 2 for Spanish. No, it does NOT say press 1 for English. Think about it or call one. You'll see. But do you know WHY it says that?? No, not because of all the non-English speaking people here. It's because the call centers are OVER SEAS! In OTHER COUNTRIES. Places where they learned English OR Spanish as a second language and they need to know WHO to put you through to. Imagine this.  The man on the other end at the call center  is not a native English speaker and you want him to figure out another person who is also not a native English speaker but trying to speaking English. Confused? You sure would be.

But, but some of our products at the grocery store are in Spanish, too! Well, you can find many products that are in French. There are even big sections in most big grocery stores that are entirely made up of products from other countries. Why? Because we are a melting pot.

But, but there's a sign at the store that says they speak Spanish, too! First of all, why does that bother you? They aren't asking YOU to speak  Spanish. They are just letting those that are more comfortable speaking Spanish know that they can speak it as well. Good for them.

Maybe that's my whole point. Why??? No one is asking you to change your language. No one is asking you to change your culture. And when it comes to American culture, tell me one thing that didn't come from somewhere else. Our entire culture is based on other cultures being mixed together.

So you know what *I* think??  I think those bigoted jerks that say you can only speak 'Murican in 'Murica should slap on their tennis shoes and take a flying leap. Most of us like our melting pot, thank you very much!

So, if you stuck it until the end. Thanks. I hope I didn't offend anyone, that wasn't my intention. It also wasn't my intention to try to change the way people think. Bigotry takes more than something like this post to change. But it's a start, right? More than anything this post is to let others out there know that they aren't alone in their thinking. Just because we aren't raising a big stink doesn't mean we think the same way as those that are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gqwlggKwJ8







16 comments:

  1. Amen Stacy! Agreed 100%. I saw the commercial on Superbowl Sunday and thought it was beautiful.I couldn't believe the talk I was hearing the net day. Ridiculous.
    That second video: I could listen to that man sing all day!
    Thanks for such a thoughtful post. xx

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  2. I agree. When I saw the commercial, everyone in the room was all freaked out. I thought it was beautiful. It made me tear up. We ARE the great "melting pot". And yes, we are American, but our blood lines trace back to many different cultures that came here looking for freedom and few if any spoke "english".
    Love the last video as well. Beautiful and if people don't like it, well, they may need to look in the mirror and ask WHY does this bother me so much.
    Blessings!
    Dawn

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  3. Thank you SO MUCH!!!!!
    I was really hoping that more people agreed with me than agree with the other people. LOL

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  4. Love this intelligent and impassioned plea that we all accept each other just as we are. I thought the commercial was beautiful and very representative of what this country stands for. Bravo, Stacy!

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  5. Thank you so much, Karen!! I have been worrying about this post all week! LOL

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  6. Perfectly put! There is no one thing that is singularly American, unless you count the Native Americans! And the sad thing is most of their languages and customs were squashed! :(

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  7. Amen! Amen! Amen!
    This is a subject I really shouldn't get started on. I'm very passionate about it. You're 100% correct. People being in an uproar over the beautiful Coke commercial, is one of the biggest ironies I've witnessed. We are a nation of immigrants. A nation founded by many that spoke different languages. Saying that the Coke commercial is Unamerican is Unamerican. Is that a word?? Everywhere I turned after the Super Bowl, that word kept slapping me in my face. I kept thinking, if you truly had any grasp of what being Unamerican is, you wouldn't be using that word in regards to this commercial.
    It is sad that it is 2014, and things like this still happen. I love love love love your post!!! Thank you!!!

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  8. Thank YOU, Julie!!!!
    You are SO right!!!!!!!! I never fails to amaze me how people can be so ugly.

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  9. Is it silly to admit that I had not watched it until now?
    I don't have t.v. here under my rock. ;)
    Your words were perfectly put. We are "the motorcycle house" on our street. We have a business in bikes and my bearded, long haired motorcycle riding hubby is the first to stop on the side of the road and fix someone's flat or repair their car right there. The neighborhood kids bring their bikes, skateboards and then eventually their cars to him to fix.
    I like our melting pot. I love the variety of foods that can be purchased. It has allowed my family to learn about places and cultures as we nibble new foods. I can make authentic dishes with the right ingredients, with ease. I love that within twenty miles of my house I can order take out from any type of cuisine from around the whole world. That is REALLY cool. I only wish that I spoke one language as well as so many that have several under their belt and are working hard to keep their dream going.
    Awesome post!

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  10. Thank you, Meg!!
    I agree!
    We study different countries and cultures on a regular basis here. I love how easy it is to find resources by just going to the grocery store or World Market.
    I wish others could see how wonderful that is instead of feeling threatened by it.

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  11. Dear Stacy, I am from tiny little Switzerland (16.000 square miles, 8 million citizens) and we have similar issues. Just this past weekend people voted in favor of limiting "mass immigration" because they feel we have enough "strangers" benefitting from our land of milk and chocolate already. Makes me sad. I love how diverse Europe is. We should enjoy learning from each other.

    That was a great post, I loved reading it, thank you!

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  12. I was reading about that the other day. I agree, it's very sad.
    I figure, none of us got to pick the country we were born in so why try to keep others out? Makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever.
    THANK YOU!!!!!!

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  13. Very cool! Way to take the high road! Of all the arguments I had heard from people about the commercial, yours is one of the most succinct. I half agree with you and don’t understand what the hoopla is all about. People have the power LITERALLY in the palm of their hands. It is called the remote control. I forwarded through the ad and I didn’t give it second thought.
    I am impressed on how well you were able to incorporate Dora the explorer into this post. You definitely have a very keen writing sense and you are not afraid to be controversial. I admire that.

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  14. Thank you so very much!!!!!
    You are absolutely correct! If you don't like it, don't watch! Move on to something else. I wonder why some people won't do that....

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