Lino Lakes takes a step backward
The following editorial appeared in the Mankato Free Press.
MANKATO – If you pass it, they won't come.
Could that have been the intent of Lino Lakes passing an ordinance that makes English the only language to be used in city materials?
No one in the northern suburb had ever made a request for city materials to be printed in other languages. Some city leaders claimed they were being pro-active by proposing the ordinance, just in case.
City budgets are tight all over, but passing an ordinance to keep bilingual materials out of the budget when they were never in the budget or requested is a waste of time — and money. Staff time to research and prepare an ordinance is not donated. And if this English-only ordinance is challenged in court, as it has been in some places, that could be another much bigger expense.
And in reality, the ordinance provides exceptions to using strictly English in many areas, including public health, public safety, tourism, "the administration of justice" and emergencies. So the way the city does business probably won't change much.
Instead, critics say that Lino Lakes, which is about 92 percent white, just wants to send a clear message about who is welcome in the community.
Whether that was the intent or not doesn't matter. That is the perceived outcome. Lino Lakes is now on the map for being the first Minnesota city that has gone out of its way to make it clear that non-English speakers will not receive extra help. The message is that you need to talk like us to belong here.
Anyone who lives in this country knows the value of speaking, reading and writing English. It is the road to further education, employment, independence and stability. The generations of Europeans who came here years ago knew that, and so do the newcomers who come here today from Africa, Asia and Mexico. The adult English language classes offered through community education programs are full of eager students who want to belong and make life better. There really is no need to make the language "official."
Places that have a diverse population recognize the richness it provides, as well as the challenges. In Mankato, local government bodies are making concerted efforts to build bridges with people from other cultures about how the city and school district works. Panels made up of members from various ethnic backgrounds and city and school personnel have been formed to try to make those connections. The thought is that the more informed local residents are, the smoother the city and school districts run. The Diversity Council also plays a major role in educating everyone from business people to school children.
Our community may not have everything figured out when it comes to diversity, but like many other cities in the state, we are making attempts to improve relationships among the variety of people who live here and contribute to the local economy.
Lino Lakes leaders may want to take a few field trips around the state and find out why that's important.
This editorial is reprinted with permission.
More like this
- Council member wants English only for official business in Lino Lakes
- While we debate the issue of an official language, new immigrants line up to learn English in Minnesota
- The recurring political question: Economics or politics?
- 'Official' English: a solution in search of a problem
- An irritable start to August
Recent Stories
Most Commented
-
34 comments
-
21 comments
-
17 comments
-
10 comments
-
9 comments
Comments (7)
I don't think Lino Lakes intention was to keep minorities out. I think they see that Lino Lakes went from a dot on the map to a growing suburb of the Twin Cities within about 10 years. It will not be long before they will have many diverse people coming into their area.
There are places in St Paul where you have to search to find signs in English. How far should we accommodate other languages while accommodating our own? I wouldn't go to France or China and expect to find a lot of English translations for me. Granted you can still find English there but Lino Lakes will make accommodations as well. They just put a limit on how much they would do.
I'd suggest a name change: "TeaParty Lakes." That will make it clear where the ideology and sympathies of the leaders of the former Lino Lakes lie and what they have in mind for their growing community.
Of course if you fill an entire community with Tea Party-type, "I, me, mine," xenophobic, "my way or the highway," gun-toting, no taxes types, it could become a bit hard to govern especially after taxes have been cut enough to make them happy and there are no longer any police, no fire department, no city offices, no street maintenance, etc.).
Indeed, Lino Lakes may, in taking this action, find that it is inviting into itself a large number of people who will cause them far more trouble than the immigrants they seem to be trying to keep out would ever have caused.
Good luck with that!
What has been lost in all this is that HISTORICALLY our nation has been patient with new immigrants as they transition from their native language to ours. I have seen this personally.
Though a third generation Minnesotan, my maternal grandmother emigrated from Russia with three young children - my grandfather, did not come at that time and arrived years later. Though difficult, my grandmother slowly transitioned to English, and was essentially bilingual; but during the transition needed linguistic assistance.
My grandfather who eventually came, never did fully leanr English, but with assistance from an employer became a useful solid American citizen.
The three children who arrived with my grandmother were fully immersed in our language, and spoke articulate English.
The point is that all immigrants may face a transitional period in their assimilation whereby some reference to their native language is of value (that certainly does NOT mean that we have abrogated English as our official language). Indeed, I am old enough to remember that every Sunday, there were religious services IN SWEDISH on the Twin Cities radio stations.
Part of the difference now, I believe, is that at the turn of the 19th century, most immigrants were European, white, and from backgrounds familiar to the earlier immigrants who came before them. The immigrants of today are often people of color (Hispanic, Somalians, etc), and sadly ther is an element of xenophobia in the Lino Lakes actions.
However, if you look realistically into the future, the Lino Lakes folks are likely fighting a rear guard battle -- probably by 2050, the United States will be over 50% people of color. If we act senisibly, we will then be a great country...of mixed races and religions...with all the values and liberties we enjoy today as a primarily white culture.
What the leftists have lost in all this is that HISTORICALLY our nation has largely left new immigrants to fend for themselves.
Today, there are some that squirt tears if we don't accommodate every whim. Leftists have twisted "Land of the Free", as in freedom of self determination, to mean the "Land of free stuff".
Free housing. Free education. Free health care. Free food stamps. Free, Free, Free....because someone else is paying for it.
Personally, I don't care if an immigrant learns English or not. But I don't think we are obligated to accommodate newcomers at the expense of anyone else. If the scary smart, reality based community feels so strongly about this issue, they are free to buy translated materials and distribute them.
Mr Swift:
First, your comment is a non sequitur, in that the Lino Lakes ordinance has nothing to do with economics. If the prospect of the city ever having to spend a dollar to translate something were to arise, the city council could consider its ordinance then. In addition to being xenophobic, the sponsors are cowardly in being unwilling to concede the motivation.
Second, I would venture to suggest that the typical psychological projection of the Right that colors your comment has resulted again in up-is-downism. In supporting support for immigrants transitioning to our culture, the left is not trying to get something for free, it is trying to PAY FOR something to give to others for free. In part this rests on the leftist conviction that one should form social views from behind the Rawlsian veil of ignorance, in part it is from rational consideration of risk-spreading that is a basic benefit that humans can gain from being in a community, and in part it is from recognizing that if the existing community extends a hand to those who wish to join it, it becomes a stronger and richer community in all respects. Translating a few pamphlets is a small investment to gain the civic, economic and cultural participation of new citizens.
Mr Swift is also incredibly wrong about letting new immigrants "fend for themselves". Many (possibly most) had relatives, acquantances, or others here who could give them at least a bit of traction in assimilating and living.
If not relatives, there were numerous ethinic and religious organizations specifically formed to assist new immigrants of their nationality or religion. Additionally, the reasons ethinic neighborhoods were formed was to provide a "familiar" place (INCLUDING language) for the new arrivals; thus we had Chinatown, Jewish neighborhoods, Italian areas, etc.
Letting people "fend for themselves" is just another metaphor the right uses to promote what they believe is "personal responsibility". Sure, we are all personally responsible for our selves and our actions, but getting a bit of assistance along the way seems a nice, and the right thing, to do. As a matter of fact, perhaps Mr Swift, and others on the right might just find that very idea in their....Bible.
The irony is that for all the overexcited debate, the net effect of immigration is minimal (about a one tenth of 1 percent gain in GDP). Even for those most acutely affected—say, low-skilled workers, or California residents—the impact isn't all that dramatic. The shrill voices have tended to dominate our perceptions. But when all those factors are put together and the economists crunch the numbers, it ends up being a net positive, but a small one. Too bad most people don't realize it.
Truth is only good with his best friend context.