English-Plus!

There's an important bill on the ballots in my hometown of Nashville, Tennessee today. Because I know that several amongst my small smattering of readers hail from that very city, I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't bring it up-- especially in light of all the high global and American community spirits currently aloft in my adoptive city of DC.

There is a group of citizens who've got bees in their bonnets about government services being conducted in languages other than English. They've brought forth this so-called English-Only bill to enact some dubious legislation that will prevent non-native English speakers from recieving services in their own tongues. Now, the impetus behind this bill is fear-- fear that the "fur-eigners" will take over; fear that, because so many immigrants will work for less money than born and bred Amurikuns, said Amurikuns will lose their gainful employment to these nefarious interlopers. Now, I could go on and on about how these fears are unfounded (we spoiled Americans are pretty effin' reluctant to fill all those thankless, menial brazero positions after all, aren't we?) but there's really no need. I can sum all that up by saying the bill is ethically questionable at best and a logistical nightmare at worst. In a best case scenario, it'll cost the city budget gajillions in added costs incurred while coping with skein after skein of brand new (totally needless) red tape.

It's important that my Nashville readers do their part for voting this thing down. My mom's been on her soapbox about it every time I've talked to her in this past month. My dad gives me poll numbers whenever I speak with him. And Jon. Well, Jon's been posting regularly about it for months, with some particularly interesting bits in the last 10 days or so.

Actually, I would have been harping about this here on my own blog much earlier, but my biggest source for links, information and commentary about it has been... Jon's blog. And well, dear readers, please forgive this: my impending over-share. As Jon's and my complicated relational enterprise came to a relatively abrupt end a few weeks ago, I've been reluctant to link him-- which is one part petty, one part self-preservation. On a daily basis, I'm still cycling through a regular rotation of disconsolate sadness about the demise of our conflicted association, hot rage at him for any number of perceived affronts, and nauseated irritation with myself for still feeling so passionately emotionally involved in the whole thing. He's been my closest human spirit for the last four years and this is a trying period of detachment. I made plane reservations for my annual excursion to the Nashville Film Festival last week and I'm experiencing something of an onslaught of mixed feelings at the prospect of attending the festival without him as my companion. The last thing I need to have happen is for the simple act of my linking pertinent, trenchant information from his blog to stir up some pit of uneasily salivating attack dogs from deep within me. The second-to-last thing I need is his interpreting a passing on of political commentary as an invitation to engagement of some sort. It's not. Really.

So, I know this post is an emo mess. That is, in part, I have no doubt, due to that fact that I'm feeling pretty deeply mired in my annual winter funk-fest at the moment. I may or may not have some more to say on how much January in DC sucks in a future post.

But nonetheless, I hope I can catch a couple readers before the polls close. Please. Go read Jon's posts. He's far more versed in the nuances of this thing than I am, so he sounds a lot smarter than I would if I tried to recount it all in my own words. And then go vote this thing back to racist-hell from which it came. Go!

UPDATE: As you can tell from the comments, this amendment did NOT pass. Now non-native English speakers can continue to receive 911 care with the aid of a translator. See? Nashville's not so heartless after all.