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12 de Diciembre, 2006
Tancredo Braves the Primitives
Categorized under El Malestar Pálido , Español | Tags: assimilation, borders, False History, Language, Tancredo, The Skin of my Soul, The White Lens
AND SO THE DARING AND PIONEERING TOM TANCREDO will carve a path through the green, balmy español-woven wilds of "Florida"—that "third-world" state that he recently claimed could be dropped down into some barbaric, starving, country jammed up wit' Furreners and nobody would know the difference—and give lectures on the Importance of Assimilation. That's right. He's so brave, it really makes one shiver. Mmmmm. Feel it. Clearly not doing this simply to rack up good PR for some sort of run for office in the near future, or using people's outrage to boost his own limelight caboose, he claims he wants protestors to come, or "what else are we going for?"
What else indeed, Tom.
Oh, no, no, it's cool! Truly. Go bring your flabby, powdery ass down to Florida. Go bring your condescending, patronizing, showboating, conquistadorial ass into tropical florida and lecture people on why they should assimilate, on why—90 miles from Cuba—they ought to speak the language that fits in best with your idea of history, nation, or obligation.
Nezua now spins off into his own thoughts, his own memories. As you know he must. He spins back to nights barefoot on ultra-warm concrete wrapped in salty wind and bathed in mango streetlight, the Double G'zutch Bus song, the fences around the school, the sand in the toes, the lizards skittering under the sun, the beach, the Greek twins, the ¡Mira, Mira! everywhere. In the streets, in school, in stores, on the beach, in the park, Mira, Mira and por favor.
Soon we will come to the 5th part of The Skin of My Soul, where I finally lead us back up to my deciding to commit to learning Spanish again, or not actually learning Spanish "again," although that's how it feels to me. To take up where my childhood left off. To saw off all those ever-lengthening fades, to snap off those clucked-up, bent over "should haves," those "would haves," that "wish." Ain't nothing in this world like taking hold of an inner longing and smacking it down right here, green and leafy, into the Steamy, Salad Bowl of the Real. (Welcome, Tancredo! Dig in.)
I'm grateful for my time in Florida. It's another source of Spanish in my memories. Aside from the actual time I had with my papi or nanita, the language was all around in Miami. I don't know that I had any particular feelings about it, then. But I know the sound is intertwined with my years in Florida, woven with the people, and into the music, the radio, the TV, the land. And given this, I just can't imagine Florida a different way. In Florida you live with Cubans, Haitians, Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, everyone. And Spanish is at least as prevalent as English. Perhaps that is wrong. Perhaps Spanish is spoken more. Actually, it's been a few years since I've been there. So who knows by now. But even when I lived there, it was such a Spanish-speaking community that it would be not just senseless for this schmuck to go down and make lectures on such ludicrous topics, it would be insulting to a stunning degree. It's would be like me marching into a grove of pine trees and lecturing them on the glories of being deciduous. Something like that, at least. Aside from people not having branches, and trees not having tongues, it's exactly the same.
Anyway, strange forestry metaphors aside, I am getting a little tired of old, crusty White men talking all kinds of junk about invasions and "third world countries." I will now shout over the absolutely horrifying cacaphonous earthquake of irony that this tips off in the china shop of my disbelief long enough to question why it is that if we can sign onto a "long war" that requires the patience of many generations, we should erase the memories of the last few from our minds?
You have no right to tell anyone what language to speak on this here tierra. Comprendes?
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Comentarios (6)
Leesee dijo:
This is of course beyond pathetic. One can only hope they eventually understand the stupidity of their ways, but I realize that's a long shot at best.
Some people feel so entitled that they freely dispense judgements and opinions that have no real basis in fact. It's just good old fashioned racism and yet deny that it is.
Really, we are not that stupid.
Palabras por Leesee spat forth on el 22 de Diciembre, 2006 at 04:40 PM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
jeje. i don't think he's even trying to base his lectures on fact, if you mean Tancredo. in fact, i'm so jaded i dont even think he cares who hears him, and is only looking to get in the papers for being "for assimilation" and "tough on immigrants." that's why he's practically begging for a backlashs. i think the funniest thing would be if he went and spewed his nonsense and nobody even showed up to hear it.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 22 de Diciembre, 2006 at 04:41 PM
sand creek massacre dijo:
well taino es la lengua franca.
in those parts mostly seminole.
he is exemplary of impotent empire.
look at their sneering jefe, el 'chimpe'
they sing to their dull base, those
'good germans'. well the rising tide comes from the south, chavissismo.
pinochet is dead and the south surges mas norte. so okay its crismass en nuevo york.
it is pretty cool being chicano after all these 'ears', yo recuerdo el tigre del norte y corky. goddamn a 'virtual wall' wall aint gonna stop nuttn. espanol, span english, broken english.
tenemos el otro. la realidad. es aztlan, lost land. bingo gringo.
sand creek, kit carson, tancredo, broken record, impotent empire. apenas.
Palabras por sand creek massacre spat forth on el 22 de Diciembre, 2006 at 04:42 PM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
"he is exemplary of impotent empire."
boom. right there. what a line.
you do make a good point: it could read like i was saying Spanish was the language spoken in Florida before any other. i know that is not the case, of course, even though the cubans and spaniards were there before the colonists. i thought about people drawing that conclusion when i read it over when posting...which should have told me to reword things.
the Seminoles in Florida are a tragic story to me. yet more victims of the US's favorite tactic: trumped up manifest destiny aggression. what was it? 1888? i could google it to seem clever, but who would it impress? jeje.
regardless, i refuse to recognize some superior right of English over any of the other languages that came to the land earlier.
and mostly, i resent and refuse to recognize the power play, the continued colonization.
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 22 de Diciembre, 2006 at 04:43 PM
cheesesauce dijo:
Tancredo, que culero. I too, Nezua, am relearning the sounds of my youth and mi abuelos. I miss them porque, ellos son muerte. And I miss those tamales navidades, tambien! I always liked visits to San Antonio y El Paso where mexicans were not a minority. Viva surenos! And really, what is the problem with Spanish anyway? Is it not another white mans lengua? I wish I new the native lengua of my ancestors. I must go now. There is a beautiful white girl who wants to hear of my adventures con el General Jesus. Tonight me and my little soldier shall ride!
Palabras por cheesesauce spat forth on el 22 de Diciembre, 2006 at 04:43 PM
nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez dijo:
¡adelante!
Palabras por nezua limón xolagrafik-jonez spat forth on el 22 de Diciembre, 2006 at 04:43 PM