There are a lot of different gun rights advocates that I’ve run into in my life, but if there’s one thing that I’ve found that’s absolutely true is that there are a lot of jackasses in this issue, and they are loud. Here’s an example:
Ready to defend the Second Amendment’s guarantee of the right to bear arms, gun lovers packed the council meeting, only to find a different tradition they didn’t like. Corrales, a 300-plus-year-old village, pays tribute to its roots by saying the Pledge of Allegiance in both Spanish and English before each meeting. It’s been an unremarked-upon custom until the gun restriction meeting earlier this month. At that point, crowd members in love with the Second Amendment went to town to upend the First Amendment. According to news reports, the crowd began drowning out the Spanish pledge, shouting the words in English. The mayor stopped and invited people to use the language of their choosing, and the Spanish pledge began again. The shouting continued. No Spanish could be heard.
Personally, if a village whose history predates New Mexico as part of the United States wants to say the Pledge of Allegiance in Spanish as well as English, what’s it to you? But even if you want to object to the practice, the polite way to do it would be to take it up with the Town Council, in addition to your other issues, not to engage in jackassery and just drown out the Spanish speaking people. Because, you know, that just might make gun owners come off as xenophobic boobs. The fundamental truth is that if we do not convince our new immigrants into this country the importance of the Second Amendment, and other American values, we will lose them. If they are easier to reach in Spanish as opposed to English, so be it. They certainly aren’t the first group of immigrants, and certainly won’t be the last, to prefer their native language, and want to celebrate their ethnic heritage.
If these people had responded to a GOA alert, it would be one thing, but behavior like this makes me ashamed that they might also call themselves NRA members.
Agreed, except that those saying the pledge in Spanish are not new immigrants to this country–I dare say their family residencies here most likely predate that of most or all of those yelling at them to “speak Amurcan.” (And by the way, when I lived in New Mexico, I also found a high number of people who spoke Spanish at home or among friends were also vehemently opposed to illegal immigration.)
Thanks for reminding me why I’ve been averse to participating in group shoots and the like. Too many asshats out there.
As a Life Member of the NRA, as well as a 62 year old “newcomer” who has lived more than half my life so far in a NM village of largely Hispanic population (and pro- gun and 2nd Amendment whatever he party affiliation) I can only call this STUPID.
These are NOT Mexicans, and have a long track record of patriotism and military service. Their roots in some cases go back to the 1600’s, right here. San Miguel, our local Catholic church, contains a wall of the original, burnt in the Pueblo revolt in the 1620’s and rebuilt, and some parishioners descend form families who returned after the revolt.
The irony is that in gentrified Corrales, the so- called “patriots” likely haven’t been here as long as I have, never mind their Spanish speaking neighbors. Ignoramuses!
As a longtime New Mexican once put it to me, “These are the people who greeted descendants of the Plymouth and Jamestown colonies by saying ‘What took you so long to get out here?'”
P.S. As a fan of Mr. Bodio’s work, I’m thrilled to learn he has a blog!
I’ve taught third world communists the US Constitution in their native language, as well as the Declaration of Independence. I did this in their jungles, in their cities and even in their Ministries of Defense and Interior. Those attending could have been jailed for even being there. Likewise the so-called “Constitutional Monarchies” I have worked with.
Eff anyone who think our values come in one fracking language. They are universal and natural rights, and that means anyone can honor them any damn way they want.
Let me add that I never initiated these talks. They did. And it was done with fear of their government and relief that somewhere there was a place for them. The heard our words and asked if it was true – “yes”, I told them. They acted like they were receiving water at the end of the desert.
Some of them escaped on official trips to the US. They didn’t defect, because defection is a romantic concept in the current US political environment. It’s an artifact of a bygone area. Communists are not bad anymore.
Instead, they simply walked away. They are out there somewhere in the USA, living the undocumented dream. Knowing that being called illegal is better than what they had. One asked to stay at my ouse for a few days on a visit. He said thanks, gave me a small gift to remember him by and simply disappeared. I had no idea at the time he had “walked” two days earlier. Another disappeared into Australia, from what I was told. I think now he has a family…apparently Australia granted him some kind of status.
Point is: we got it good. Freedom doesn’t come with a zip code and a dictionary. It doesn’t matter how you honor and spread it…all that matters is that you do.
We need more talk of freedom in the USA, and I don’t care how many languages we do it in.
What many do not know is that the State Constitution for New Mexico prohibits discrimination based on language “These rights are again reasserted in Article VII, Section 3, which guaranteed the right to vote regardless of religion, race, language, color or ability to speak the English language.”
I first ran into this when one of our U.S. Senators voted against English as the official language. He was a staunch Republican and I didn’t understand why until he explained that he represented NM and that would have violated the state constitution. Heck look on the bright side THEY were saying the pledge, more than we can say for the OTUS half the time.
Sadly, there’s a reason NM has to put “New Mexico, USA” on its license plates. : )
New Mexico actually allowed use of Spanish in the legislature until 1935, and theoretically issues its laws in both languages (although maybe not in practice anymore). This was much like Louisiana. I was surprised when researching one of my books to find the official journal of the first state legislature of Louisiana printed in both English and French, on facing pages. The session laws, on the other hand, were ONLY in French.
I meant POTUS or POS
The accusation that gun owners disrupted a meeting by interrupting a recitation of the Pledge in any language is completely out of character for the shooting community. But an unsigned and unsupported accusation is not out of character for the vehicle.
Ordinarily, there would have been several comments either pro or con but there is nothing more supportive than “what happened, where are we” from the locals. Which would also be out of character if such a notorious and offensive event actually occurred.
We shall see what we shall see – but I will look for support for the accusation before I credit it.
Stranger
if a village who’s history
Fer crissakes, Sebastian, it’s whose; “who’s” is the contraction of “who is.” Second time this week you’ve done it, I’ve lost count of how many times this month.
I don’t care how smart or right you are, if you can’t get basic grammar right the entire message suffers. Humorist Dave Barry once wrote a column on grammar; in it he said “the use of an apostrophe means “an “s” is coming.” Either get the grammar and punctuation right or stop using the letter s.
That should be ‘”an ‘s’ is coming.”‘.
This is one of those things where I know the rule if you ask me, but generally get it wrong when I type it out. I have corrected this post, and corrected all the wrong usages of it going back several weeks. I’m sorry, but this blog just doesn’t make enough money for me to spend time reviewing every single post I do for grammar. So sometimes, I’m going to get it wrong. I generally don’t mind when people point out when I do, but please keep in mind I don’t have the time to edit, nor money to hire an editor.
Actually I’ve been trying to find a way to ask about this. People quote your blog all over the internet, so it’d be good to get the language right.
Would you be offended if someone pointed out things in the first few comments, so you could edit the post? You could even delete comment afterwards. It’d be just like having a volunteer editor, just in public.
I don’t mind. Feel free to correct.
Idiots. Every village has them.
I’m just opposed to saying the Pledge–in any language. But that’s another issue entirely, and the best thing to do is to quietly stand while others recite the Pledge, and be prepared to explain why you don’t.
At the same time, this has always been a “bee in my bonnet” about various issues. People like to say “We don’t need to respect the Constitution overseas, because the people involved aren’t citizens.” It’s as if these people are saying “Natural Rights are only natural on American soil.”
These rights are universal, it doesn’t matter what language is used to spread the knowledge of them. Indeed, we need to be translating these things into as many languages as possible, starting with Spanish, because we have so many illegal immigrants here, who are poised to be chained to government by bureaucrats eager to expand their domain, and pushed to vote against Freedom once amnesty is granted.
I, for one, think that our immigration laws are despotic, and that the people here illegally–even the drug dealers–are a great potential for good, if we could just convince them to live the American Dream! (And things like WIC and food stamps are poison to the American Dream…)
I’m mentioning this only because the subject reminded me, but I remember hearing many years ago (about 30?) of Scheutzen matches in Texas where participants were required to speak German! Because, the shoots had started out as a traditional German cultural activity in that area, and survived over a century that way.
I wonder what reaction would be today, if that language were Spanish?
BTW, H/T to Sebastian for citing the “English First” organization. For those who may not have caught it, it is another manifestation of Larry Pratt and GOA. At one time they operated out of the same offices.
So these Idiots think that saying the Pledge TO the Flag is Spanish is Bad? Gee, I wonder what they would do if they had to pass by some “Occupy” infested Park where the Hippies use the Flag as a Rag? Those people out there better learn who their Friends really are.