SPEAK ENGLISH!

Being an open-minded individual, I've always felt that people who speak a foreign language weren't obligated to adapt English over their native tongues. From my own experiences, I know for a fact that there are people who are living in the United States who cannot speak a lick of English and they don't have to and they never will. There are pockets of communities where these individuals conduct all of their business and personal needs within the confines of their cultural mores. That is all well and good; however as of late, I have been feeling some type of way about people learning to speak English. I hate to think that I have evolved into a narrow-minded Conservative, but it's getting hard to ignore my level of frustration with non-English speaking Americans.

I am a practitioner of Santeria , an African-based religion who roots are deeply seated in Cuba and Puerto Rico. The majority of our practitioners' native language is Spanish, therefore I hear a lot of Spanish whenever we have ceremonies or events. I used to speak Spanish fluently when I was in college because the majority of my friends were Puerto Rican and Dominican. Once I moved back home to Maryland, I stopped using my Spanish everyday like I did when I was living in New Jersey. Needless to say, my Spanish skills got atrophied. Basically, I can understand what people are saying when they are speaking in Spanish. My responses are stunted and littered with English, so I guess I'm fluent in Spanglish. Two weeks ago, I spent time working and participating in an initiation ceremony and a drumming. For the whole four days that I was there, I heard enough Spanish to have been transported back to La Isla Bonita. In the midst of the weekend, I was told by one of the elders that I needed to learn Spanish. In my mind, I was like WTF!? At that moment, I wanted to mount a soap box and scream "This is America, and you should be speaking English"; however I demurely shook my head, smiled, and kept my mouth shut. I was deeply offended. How dare they!

I am so tired of going into stores and restaurants and dealing with people who cannot comprehend my needs. I am tired of people smiling and shaking their heads at me, as if they understand the words that are coming out of my mouth, and they hardly have a clue. Unlike some of my fellow Americans, I am well aware of the fact that people who do not speak or understand English, will not understand it any better if you speak louder. I am so frustrated! I know that I am not alone in this, I'm just being honest.

Peace.