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	the_wanlorn 2005-08-31 07:53 pm UTC (link)
	Mcity wins the comments. "I R T3H OUTRAGE!!!one" (Reply to this)

renata_hpjc
2005-08-31 08:11 pm UTC (link)

What difference does that make in any case? She could have been talking about living in the eastern half of Panama and having people swim the canal from the west, and the fact that they're Panamanians and that they're ending up in Panama doesn't negate the fact that they swam over.

... What?

And

jaia wins the "You did realize this was a joke and not an expression of Aryan solidarity, right?" prize for getting all off-topic about Puerto Ricans who don't want to learn English.

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darthmaligna
2005-08-31 11:37 pm UTC (link)

The original post simply stated (read: joked) that half the population of Houston swam there anyway, to which marieb replies that since Texas used to be omg a part of Mexico this is a moot point. Like the fact that Mexicans were swimming to crazy back-to-the-future-alternative-universe Mexico means that half the population didn't swim there. Because, um... earth logic?

I think what I typed makes sense, but of course I once calculated the average sentence length of my writing to be forty words, so I tend to kind of lose people along the way. I've had English teachers who couldn't diagram my sentences. XD

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eilan
2005-08-31 08:41 pm UTC (link)

Wait, the US has no official language???

Anyway, the wank... Just unbelievable. You know, my country occupied Poland for quite some time. Hell, my grandparents are from Pomeria, which at the time when they were born was part of Germany, but after WW2 was 'handed back' to Poland. Does that mean I could even go over there illegally if Europe didn't have the whole 'open borders' deal?

Oh, and by that logic, no UK citizen could ever be denied entrance to the US. I hope she realises that. The English were there before there even was a state called the USA...

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	eilan 2005-08-31 08:50 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, seems like it really doesn't. Boggles my mind, to be honest, but I am very used to countries having official languages ranging from one to four and more. But hey, Twenty-seven individual states have adopted English as their official language, seems like I need to speak English in half of the states... (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	vigilanterodent 2005-09-01 01:54 am UTC (link)
	I've always been curious what the purpose of having an official language (or languages, as the case may be) is, exactly. Is it to make it simplier to print governmental paperwork, or as a cultural thing, or what? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	eilan 2005-09-01 07:07 am UTC (link)
	Is it to make it simplier to print governmental paperwork Yes. They only need to be printed in the official languages. The official language defines what is spoken at school, what language parliament discussion are in etc. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

vigilanterodent
2005-09-01 04:27 pm UTC (link)

Ahhhh, I see.

Having helped sort several forms et. all in a multitude of languages while doing governmental volunteer work, I can see the point, but I dunno. It would be more practical, but from a symbolic standpoint, not having official language(s) sort of adds to the immigrant nation image.

(Besides, most of the U.S. proponents of an official language are just thinking ENGLISH, and there's simply no way at this point that we wouldn't have to have Spanish, too. The Hispanic population is too big a constituency for politicians to piss off like that. And given that most of the supporters of adopting an official language are doing it largely because of the steady influx of Spanish into schools, governmental paperwork, etc. etc. . .)

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	ladysorka 2005-08-31 09:07 pm UTC (link)
	Nope, it really doesn't. And anytime anyone in the government brings up possibly designating an official language at the federal level, everybody screams. shrugs (Reply to this)(Parent)

(Anonymous)
2005-09-02 05:46 am UTC (link)

Nope. Local governments usually just decide what languages official forms need to be in, based on the languages most widely spoken by the local population.

So, if you vote in lots of parts of the country, you'll get ballots issued in English and Spanish, whereas in other parts of the country, they'll just be in English.

My passport was printed in New Orleans, so it is in both English and French.

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	dracothelizard 2005-08-31 09:56 pm UTC (link)
	There were about four warnings in the LJ-cut ALONE. Why don't people ever listen? (Reply to this)

	xero_sky 2005-08-31 10:26 pm UTC (link)
	she's conveniently forgotten that Texas was actually a part of Mexico before the US decided they wanted the land for themselves and therefore we were here first. Well, neener neener to you too. Some of my ancestors were here before your poncy conquistadors with their shiny helmets and gaudy flags showed up, so shove off. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	kijikun 2005-09-01 12:24 am UTC (link)
	I find it very fitting that I was just reading some of the journals of Cortez for history? (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sukeban 2005-08-31 10:28 pm UTC (link)
	¿PERO.QUE.COÑO? WTF in Castilian Spanish, for you anglos :P (Reply to this)(Thread)

	annabelle_lee 2005-09-01 05:45 am UTC (link)
	[dies laughing] I must suck because it says "But what fuck?" to me. Damn my Latin American roots. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sukeban 2005-09-01 07:25 pm UTC (link)
	Idioms. Always difficult to translate... XDDDDDD (Reply to this)(Parent)

tardis
2005-09-01 01:23 am UTC (link)

As a Mexican (/PC-Tag), I know that 100 years later Mexicans are still angry at having lost Texas, and then California with all the stuff in between. Try mentioning that you are learning Californian history to ANY family member and you will have the whole "This used to be Mexico" thing stuffed in your face.

We are only sharing our oral history when we wank. And 100 years later, we still will wank. *emo tear*

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	annabelle_lee 2005-09-01 05:54 am UTC (link)
	Oh, marieb, stfu and sit down already. Even some hispanics are racist towards other hispanics, so don't come in preaching that we're all paragons of virtue. Hell, my mom's from Honduras and she thinks all Cubans are druggies and Mexicans are wetbacks. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	lush_rimbaud 2005-09-04 02:46 am UTC (link)
	Hee, my driving teacher is Mexican and he spent half our lessons telling me about how Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are all lazy drug-addicted dropouts. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	adora_spintriae 2005-09-01 10:06 am UTC (link)
	Mexican is an ethnicity, not a race ... Nooo comment. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	rowleyorama 2005-09-04 11:30 pm UTC (link)
	I really, really wanted to say "Are you a MexiCAN or a MexiCAN'T?" when I saw that... (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mael 2005-09-01 11:59 pm UTC (link)
	Wait a minute! Does this mean I'm actually gasp Austrian? And I didn't know? Dammit. And here I thought that a border meant, you know, something. And that 1918 had changed European geography. Considerably. shakes head (Reply to this)