O Say, Can You See...

By Paul Brennan Fri., Apr. 28 2006 at 8:04 AM

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If you're outraged by the idea of people singing the Star Spangled Banner in something other than English (a bit awkward having to make a nationalistic argument regarding language when your language is named for a different nation, but you have to work with what you've got), like, say, the new Spanish language version of the national anthem, I've got some bad news-- you're going to have to spend a lot of time being outraged. As Steve points out over at No More Mister Nice Blog, translating the anthem into another language is a widely accepted American practice-- except, to judge by news reports, when Latinos do it. German, French, Polish, even Tagalog, not a peep of protest, but reach for the Spanish/English dictionary and the howling starts on talk radio and cable news channels. Of course all the outraged types doing the howling in the media claim that race has nothing to do with this, it's the principle of the matter-- the Star Spangled Banner should only be sung in English. If you are one of those types, best of luck to you-- protesting all those non-Spanish translations is going to be a lot of work. Your anti-German language protests at Oktoberfest alone will be grueling. But it'll be worth it, right? Because it's all about the principle, and has nothing to do with race.

Me, I'll be in the beer tent, trying not to look surprised when the picket lines don't appear.

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The deportation issue sounds like one that was made around the time of the Civil War, here is the gist of that argument: Lincoln believed that the best solution was the send every single person brought over as a slave, every child born to such, every child born to the child of a slave; back to their African country of origin. Tiny chink in that plan though, the Constitution had ended the slave trade some forty years prior. No new slaves had come in during that time. So what's a president to do? Recommend that plan to people who knew NOTHING of the country they were going to be sent to. Sadly enough, he continued to believe that was the VIABLE solution for his own 'immigrant' problem. Luckily, he changed his mind, if only slightly. Sadly, in this day and age when we think 'illegal' (which in and of itself is backward thinking) we can't see past ourselves. For those out there of Caucasian (which is suspect at best) descent, please answer me this one tiny question: Can you trace your entire family line to someone or two people who already inhabited this land before Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock? Before Ponce de Leon landed on Floridan soil? Before Columbus claimed to have found the Indies? If you can then you DESERVE to be here. If you can't: Where are the papers you waited in line for? I'm a naturalized citizen, my parents got their papers after struggling through legalese and red tape and yet, where are your papers? There's this great political cartoon (I can't remember the artist) that showed a Native American and a politician. The politico was holding a sign saying, "Deport all immigrants!" The Native American asked, "Can we start with you first?" Just a question. Sorry, this went on for so long.
my daughter has the common sense not to go anywhere near a lowlife mexican......for fear of a life picking lettuce..ha ha ha
For all those that are concerned about the misuse of patriotic symbols, i.e. the National Anthem, the flag, etc. Does it also bother you when you see the flag on someone's ass as a thong, shorts, undies, bra, hats, pencils, labels, condoms, and all kinds of crap? Or is it only when it is used in spanish? I am starting to believe that the reason a lot of rednecks are pissed off is because their daughter's snatches are being popped by boys that speak spanish and their grandkids are brown, no lily white.
Illegal Aliens=more traffic More traffic=Foothill-South Foothill-South=Unimaginable Environmental Destruction and Devastation Stop Illegal Aliens and we'll stop population growth
This is just adding fuel to the illegal immigration fire. One, who gives a shit about the song. I'm glad I live in a country where we are free to translate a song and switch up some of the lyrics. Adios! PS Deport Illegals!
The Star Spangled Banner has been translated into German (in 1861), French, Polish, and Yiddish. Just this year, American Samoa proposed making the Samoan translation their official song.
What langauge are the Canadian anthem? The Belgian anthem? (These are two nations that are officially bi-lingual that come to mind). It was said that a popular song of ours is based on the British anthem: God Save the Queen. Yes, but it is only the melody, in a different country, sung with entirely different lyrics.
And to "The Serrach" or whatever your name is, the difference between legal residents like myself clogging the highways, hospitals, and schools, is that I pay taxes to maintain them, and the illegals do not, yet they benefit from them even though they don't pay into them. THAT'S the difference, it's not b/c I'm a bigot but if it makes you feel better to call me racist go right ahead b/c that seems to be all you people can say all the time as a defense....loser
Kim, First let's get something straight. Mexico is one of 20 nations in Latin America from which people emigrate (and that's not including Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.). So when you are talk about "Mexicans" I am going to assume that you are indignant towards all immigrants no matter what their point of departure might be. Immigrants do not hate "whitey". I'm not sure how you got that idea. Perhaps they mistrust "whitey" because of xenophobic people like you. Immigrants come to this country for economic opportunities that their home countries cannot offer. It is a matter of pure survival. I'm sure you would do the same if you lived in a poor town with no jobs or food. You should be happy that they want to sing the anthem. That is a sign of assimilation, a sign that they want to understand our traditions. I'm sure you'd be much angrier if they were singing the Mexican National Anthem in the streets of Los Angeles. I do admire the consistency in your thought. You don't care about your fellow humans simply because they have a different legal status than you do. But you are willing to foot the bill for their deportation and the resulting $8.00 lettuce in the market! At least you're not a hypocrite.
Let's get something straight--it's not fair for you to say that I don't care about my fellow humans, b/c that's not the case. I am married to an immigrant who is legal and I myself am of mixed races. However, I do believe that people that have come here illegally and are now demanding the laws be changed for them are hypocrites, as I could not go to Mexico and live. That's my point, they are hypocrites, and they have no right to be here. Period. And about the national anthem debacle, I would be happy that they want to sing the anthem if they sang it in English and not Spanish, as that tells me that they have no interest in learning English and that divides our country. That is all I'm going to say about this issue. Thanks for listening. :)
kim, i never called you a racist. i called you a bigot. get a dictionary and look it up. the serrach (or whatever my name is) PS Paul Brennan.. sorry about clogging things up here lately. we're not normally like this. i swear.
oh and, that song sucks in any language.
it's all in your point of view kim. the way i see it, bigots like you are clogging our highways, hospitals, and schools. i have a dream. that dream is for all the whiny white people of my country to start a seperatist movement down in the south somewhere. you won't get an arguement from me. oh i wish you were in dixie, hooray . hooray.
If Mexicans hate "whitey" so much, then why do they all come here? why do they want to live like us and even sing our anthem???
And another three cheers for the x number of billions of dollars required to deport 12 million undocumented immigrants from this nation.
Three cheers for $8.00 lettuce!
It is not just nannies, busboys, farm workers and other laborers who are here. It is their children and their children's children who are clogging our highways, hospitals, and schools. And with all this banter about reconquista, I know what their intentions really are. Didn't you see the upside down American flag at Montebello High School? Furthermore, their labor and wages earned from that labor are not being funneled back into the local economy, they are being funneled into Mexico!! And no, I do not hire illegals aliens to watch my children, cut my grass, or wash my car. I do it my damn self and would gladly pay $8.00 for a head of lettuce if that's what we must do to send all illegals back. We will survive without them!
Calm down, Kim. Take a few deep breaths. Illegal immigrants are not stealing your national anthem. Singing a song does not constitute theft. A group of Latin pop artists simply recorded a cover version of the tune in their native language. Second, it's not *your* national anthem (unless you own the copyright). It belongs to everyone. Tell me how singing a song about a battle fought against the British in 1814 in a language other than English will somehow destroy the moral fiber of this nation. And this land you say they are stealing "right out from under our feet"...which land are you referring to? Unless these "illegals" have stolen the deed to all the land tracts in California, I assume they are paying rent to landowners for the properties on which they reside. Thus, their labor and the wages earned from that labor are being funneled back into the local economy. I'm sorry you feel so threatened about people who are not white and do not speak English. But it sounds like you are prepared to send back all the nannies, bus boys, farm workers and other laborers to Mexico. I guess our supply-and-demand free market economy can do without these folks.
This is about the fact that most Americans already feel invaded by illegal immigrants that have snuck across the border and are now demanding that we change our laws to accommodate THEIR needs, and then to add fuel to the fire, they are now stealing our National Anthem and making it their own. They are stealing the land right out from under our feet. What do you expect us to do? Just lay down and let it happen? These aliens are such hypocrites, as I could not illegally sneak into Mexico and live, yet they expect us to greet them with open arms as they take our jobs, our land, and now our anthem. GO BACK TO MEXICO!!!!!!!!