A group of Hispanic custodians at the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver are claiming they are victims of discrimination…Ribota said she was injured at work because she couldn’t read a warning sign that was in English. “If I could speak English I wouldn’t have the problems that exist,” said Ribota.[The dripping irony of that statement is apparently missed completely by Ribota and her lawyers.)
The Auraria Campus believes employees should understand some basic English. “It’s not our goal to provide every document translated or every conversation translated. Our employees are expected to interact with members of the public and that interaction we expect them to be able to understand English,” said Nickeson.
The EEOC could take several weeks to review the case. If they find actual damages the Department of Justice would get involved.
One wonders to what extent the forces of political correctness will take this principle? Should everything be translated? For instance, is a newspaper or magazine guilty of racism, discrimination or ethnocentrism if it fails to provide articles and ads in both Spanish and English? Indeed, why stop at two languages? One doesn't want to be charged with discrimination against those who speak Chinese, Russian, or Farsi, right?
Should we switch everything over to Esperanto?
Perhaps common sense will one day enter the arena and English will return as the standard for the United States -- with immigrants expected to learn the language. That's not only best for national unity and efficiency, but for the social and prosperity interests of the immigrants themselves.
