I was waiting in line at the grocery store the other day and in the line next to me was a pretty hispanic lady with a tiny, beautiful baby boy. Her checker looked at the woman and said, "You don't understand English, do you?" Then she gives me this look full of racial undertones. It reminded me of the mid-1800's when starving Irish immigrants flooded the streets of America. In New York City, signs were put up saying "No Irish Need Apply". A political party formed with the goal of getting rid of foreingers. Nowadays people say things like "This is America, speak English." Um, exactly, it's America, a country built on the backs of immigrants. It's all one big cycle. A certain country has a flood of emmigrants that make their way to America and the people who are already here feel threatened and turn into racist bigots. Yes, it's annoying when you have items whose labels are in Spanish instead of English. Yes, it's frustrating when the language barrier pops up and you feel like a fly bashing it's head against a window. But all the annoyance and frustration certainly shows you what kind of a person you are. Do you look at your changing world and try your best to change with it? Or do you turn up your nose and blame your uncomfortable ignorance on the subjects of your ignorance?
Here's another deep question: if you witness a crime or hear someone discussing a crime, should you be legally required to report what you know? Should you be legally required to get involved?
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