Cannot believe people still believe this.

[imabrat]

Some people are just stupid. I met this one guy who thought Portuguese and Spanish were the same thing! I can speak Portuguese, so I kind of got angry. How can people think two languages that sound hardly anything alike be the same?

In his defense, Spanish and Portuguese are a lot alike when spoken.
Example :

Computer - English
Computadora - Spanish
Computador - Portuguese (Brazilian anyway)

 

[MrsSparrow..]

Unemployment has become a big issue, at least locally for me. More and more of the jobs around here are being held by foreign exchange workers. Now, I'm not saying it's a horrible thing, but the companies hiring them are asking for them instead of the people who are jobless here.

Around where I live, it's next to impossible to get a job. Especially as a teen ager. It used to be that you applied and people would hire you right away for low-wage jobs like bussing tables and running cash registers. But now you literally have to know somebody to get a paying job because so many adults that used to hold other jobs are taking those low-wage jobs that teens used to have. And the problem is some teens need those jobs just as badly as the adults.

To get my job, my friend's mom called in a favour to the supervisor where I work. She literally said "hey, at least let this girl have an interview". Luckily, said supervisor was the mother of another friend and she decided to give me the job (it's $6.50/hour Saturday and Sunday, more on vacation weeks). It's not the type of job that most adults would take.

But I hardly see teens working anywhere anymore. It's all adults working two or three jobs at minimum wage. And those are the ones that are working. I know almost 20 people alone that have no job and are looking for one, but just can't find one. Just the other day I was in Irving paying for my gas and a woman came in with a kid on her hip asking if they were still hiring. The manager said they just filled the position. My aunt just got laid off, too.

The unemployment rate is going up. It can be seen here: http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp?StartYear=2000-01&EndYear=2008-11&submit1=Create+Report

Wow, thats awful! It is sad that teens can't get jobs, it must be really hard to launch a career or get into a job, as it would be much more competitive.

This is disgusting.
America was founded on the idea that everyone should be welcome. We were all immigrants here at one point or another. That's the American dream. We're a melting pot. They want to "purify" America? They would have to leave too. The only true Americans are Native Americans. They are also saying these girls should have donated to a charity in the United States. For one thing, they did this themselves, they should be able to choose wherever they wanted to donate. America is the one of the richest countries in the world. We don't need the money. People in third-world countries do.

Like Sonya said, I am British but I see what your saying. It is similar in Britain, we live in a multi-cultural society and it is a shame that not everyone sees this as a positive.

I can believe it even though it is not right it happens more often around here. Weve came along way but we still have along way to go. Our school =snd schools around us are general 95% white. On our basketball team we have three minority kids and when we go to certain places they here everything chants using the "N" word people calling them it on the court.

Wow, that is awful! Racism in sport is a sad thing.

 

[Disney Dork]

It's sad, but I have a feeling that some people will always be this way in one way or another. My grandmother, even though she will NEVER admit it, is racist about black people.

She's from Liverpool, England and in her 80's.

 

[jbcheerchick93]

ugh. shame on those people that think that they are above everyone else for silly reasons. i wish that racism wasnt even anything that anyone would know of anymore, but old habits die hard.

it is very hurtful to some people who read those comments.

 

[HouseMD1120]

Ugh. I hate that. People are just so obstinate about some of the stupid things and refuse to change their opinions. We have a school where I live that is about 50% black, but everybody says that it is an all-black school. I guess sorta like if somebody is mixed (black and white anyway) they automatically become a black person and nobody even considers the fact they are half white too.

 

[MrsSparrow..]

It's sad, but I have a feeling that some people will always be this way in one way or another. My grandmother, even though she will NEVER admit it, is racist about black people.

She's from Liverpool, England and in her 80's.

Everyone has a person like that in their family. I think it might just be a British thing though? Not sure.

But yeah, I get that. I cringe every time I hear a racist comment.

 

[Disney Dork]

Everyone has a person like that in their family. I think it might just be a British thing though? Not sure.

But yeah, I get that. I cringe every time I hear a racist comment.

I don't think it's a British thing, because like you said...there's people like that in every family. My grandmother has just always been that way...even now that she has a black grandson (he was adopted). I feel so bad for him sometimes, because he has to put up with a lot of hurtful comments from her...and I don't even think she realizes just how hurtful some of the things she says can be.

I really wish people would just get over this though. Slavery times are over. No Caucasians need to be looking down at African Americans any more. No African Americans need to be calling Caucasians things like "Cracker" and laughing at the idea of them wanting to join the step team. Nobody needs to be thinking that Mexicans are stupid or "taking over the U.S." and no one needs to be worried every time they see a person from the Middle East walking down the street.

We're all the same-PEOPLE. I wonder what some's reactions would be, though, if one day a green and purple polka-dotted person with pink hair came knocking on their door...

 

[MrsSparrow..]

I don't think it's a British thing, because like you said...there's people like that in every family. My grandmother has just always been that way...even now that she has a black grandson (he was adopted). I feel so bad for him sometimes, because he has to put up with a lot of hurtful comments from her...and I don't even think she realizes just how hurtful some of the things she says can be.

I really wish people would just get over this though. Slavery times are over. No Caucasians need to be looking down at African Americans any more. No African Americans need to be calling Caucasians things like "Cracker" and laughing at the idea of them wanting to join the step team. Nobody needs to be thinking that Mexicans are stupid or "taking over the U.S." and no one needs to be worried every time they see a person from the Middle East walking down the street.

We're all the same-PEOPLE. I wonder what some's reactions would be, though, if one day a green and purple polka-dotted person with pink hair came knocking on their door...

This doesn't really add much to the discussion but,

ITA.