Tactless Governator Does It Again

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Everyone knows California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a big guy, and that since he is not a career politician, he is prone to blunder. But not everyone knows he has the tact of an elephant.

Last week, the governor told hundreds of Hispanic journalists that, in order to learn English, Latinos must stop watching Spanish-language television.

Mind you, he was participating in a convention attended by some 1,400 journalists, where some 20 percent of the participants work for Spanish-language TV stations. And they were there to celebrate the growth and accomplishments of the Hispanic media.

"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set," said "the Governator" at the annual convention of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) in San Jose, a city where many streets are named in Spanish, and where America's Hispanic heritage is clearly visible everywhere.

"You've got to learn English," he added. "I know this sounds odd and this is politically not the correct thing to say, but here I am, getting myself into trouble."

Indeed!

The remarks were rightfully condemned as "naive," "insensitive" and downright "ignorant" by many of the convention participants. They said the governor was perpetuating the fallacy that, in order to learn English and assimilate, immigrants have to reject their native culture and language.

It also feeds the misguided and ignorant view that Americans should only speak English, while the rest of the world is multilingual and much more tolerant of linguistic diversity.

Even those Latino journalists who said they understood the message he was trying to convey said the governor's choice of words was tactless.

"It was a good point, as poorly said as possible," said NAHJ president Rafael Olmeda, noting that Schwarzenegger could have easily explained that television is a good tool for learning English, without putting down the Hispanic media.

Citing his own method for learning English, Schwarzenegger explained that when he came to the United States from his native Austria, he used English-language TV to learn the new language.

"I know that when I came to this country, I did not, or very rarely, spoke German to anyone," Schwarzenegger said.

"Not that I didn't like Austria — my heart was always in Austria — but I wanted to, as quickly as possible, learn the English language."

His remarks also perpetuate the myth that new immigrants, particularly Latinos, don't want to learn English.

In fact, all over the country, English as a Second Language (ESL) courses have long waiting lists of immigrants who are eager to learn. They know this is the only way to get ahead in the United States. Yet, instead of providing more funds for these courses, politicians like Schwarzenegger take the cheap way out — with demagoguery. They find it easier to appeal to people's emotions and prejudices rather than their rationality.

However, just because Schwarzenegger chose to block out his own language and sell out his heritage, other immigrants shouldn't have to.

Besides, how many German-language TV stations were available for Schwarzenegger to watch when he came to the United States? The tough choice he now claims to have made was really no choice at all.

Spanish-language television is often the best way for Latinos to obtain news and information about their own community, and to stay connected to their cultural heritage. It doesn't make them any less capable of learning English.

In fact, if they were to avoid the Spanish TV channels, many Latinos who have yet to learn English would be totally uninformed about everything that's going on around them.

In retrospect, Schwarzenegger's latest blunder shouldn't surprise us. After all, this is the same guy who once went on a talk radio show and praised the Minuteman Project border vigilantes, and the same guy who once angered Latino leaders by observing that Mexican immigrants have problems when they arrive in the United States because "they try to stay Mexican."

Here's a guy who brags about selling out his roots and expects all other immigrants to follow in his disgusting footsteps. Shame!

To find out more about Miguel Perez, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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